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Enhancer associated long non-coding RNA transcription and immune gene regulation in experimental models of rickettsial infection

ABSTRACT: Recent discovery that much of the mammalian genome does not encode protein-coding genes (PCGs) has brought widespread attention to long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as a novel layer of biological regulation. Enhancer lnc (elnc) RNAs from the enhancer regions of the genome carry the capacity to regulate PCGs in cis or in trans. Spotted fever rickettsioses represent the consequence of host infection with Gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacteria in the Genus Rickettsia. Despite being implicated in the pathways of infection and inflammation, the roles of lncRNAs in host response to Rickettsia species have remained a mystery. We have profiled the expression of host lncRNAs during infection of susceptible mice with R. conorii as a model closely mimicking the pathogenesis of human spotted fever rickettsioses. RNA sequencing on the lungs of infected hosts yielded reads mapping to 74,964 non-coding RNAs, 206 and 277 of which were determined to be significantly up- and down-regulated in comparison to uninfected controls. Following removal of short non-coding RNAs and ambiguous transcripts, remaining transcripts underwent in-depth analysis of mouse lung epigenetic signatures H3K4Me1 and H3K4Me3, active transcript markers (POLR2A, p300, CTCF), and DNaseI hypersensitivity sites to identify two potentially active and highly up-regulated elncRNAs NONMMUT013718 and NONMMUT024103. Using Hi-3C sequencing resource, we further determined that genomic loci of NONMMUT013718 and NONMMUT024103 might interact with and regulate the expression of nearby PCGs, namely Id2 (inhibitor of DNA binding 2) and Apol10b (apolipoprotein 10b), respectively. Heterologous reporter assays confirmed the activity of elncRNAs as the inducers of their predicted PCGs. In the lungs of infected mice, expression of both elncRNAs and their targets was significantly higher than mock-infected controls. Induced expression of NONMMUT013718/Id2 in murine macrophages and NONMMUT024103/Apol10b in endothelial cells was also clearly evident during R. conorii infection in vitro. Finally, shRNA mediated knock-down of NONMMUT013718 and NONMMUT024103 elncRNAs resulted in reduced expression of endogenous Id2 and Apl10b, demonstrating the regulatory roles of these elncRNAs on their target PCGs. Our results provide very first experimental evidence suggesting altered expression of pulmonary lncRNAs and elncRNA-mediated regulation of PCGs involved in immunity and during host interactions with pathogenic rickettsiae.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE121808 | GEO | 2019/01/01

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:We have previously reported that Rickettsia conorii and Rickettsia montanensis have distinct intracellular fates within THP-1 macrophages, suggesting that the ability to proliferate within macrophages may be a distinguishable factor between pathogenic and non-pathogenic Spotted fever group (SFG) members. To start unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying the capacity (or not) of SFG Rickettsia to establish their replicative niche in macrophages, we have herein profiled the host proteomic alterations resulted by the infection of THP-1 macrophages with R. conorii and R. montanensis using a high throughput quantitative proteomics approach (SWATH-MS). Our results revealed that these two members of SFG Rickettsia with distinct pathogenicity attributes for humans, trigger differential proteomic signatures in macrophage-like cells. Although infection by both rickettsial species resulted in a lower abundance of enzymes of glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway, the pathogenic R. conorii specifically induced the accumulation of several enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid -oxidation and glutaminolysis, as well as of several inner and outer membrane mitochondrial transporters. These results suggest a profound metabolic rewriting of macrophages by R. conorii towards a metabolic signature of an M2-like (anti-inflammatory) activation program. Moreover, our results revealed that several subunits forming the proteasome and immunoproteasome are found in lower abundance upon infection with both rickettsial species, which may help bacteria to escape immune surveillance. Remarkably, R. conorii-infection specifically induced the accumulation of several host proteins implicated in protein processing and quality control in ER, suggesting that this pathogenic Rickettsia may be able to compensate the accumulation of misfolded proteins by increasing the ER protein folding capacity and subsequently restore host cell homeostasis. This work reveals novel aspects of macrophage-Rickettsia interactions, expanding our knowledge of how pathogenic rickettsiae explore host cells to their advantage.

Project description:Different types of cell death, including apoptosis, play an important role in the immune defense of arthropods, as infected cells are eliminated, preventing the dissemination of the infectious agent throughout the animal body. The apoptosis can be triggered by two main pathways: the intrinsic or mitochondrial pathway and the extrinsic or death receptor pathway. Both culminate in the activation of the effector caspases, such as caspase-3, resulting, for instance in DNA fragmentation and exposition of markers on the surface of the apoptotic cell, allowing its recognition and elimination by phagocytic cells. To ensure survival and proliferation, microorganisms can inhibit apoptosis of the host cell. The differential proteome of a tick cell line (BME26) in response to an experimental infection with Rickettsia rickettsii, causative agent of the severe Rocky Mountain spotted fever, showed that pro-apoptotic proteins are downregulated in the beginning of infection (6 h) and upregulated in a later time-point (48 h). We therefore evaluated the effects of infection on classic features of apoptotic cells: the spontaneous fragmentation of gDNA and the activity of caspase-3 and the exposition of phosphatidylserine in BME26 cells after induction with staurosporine, a classic activator of apoptosis. The spontaneous fragmentation of DNA was observed exclusively in non-infected cells. In addition, the activity of caspase-3 and the exposition of phosphatidylserine is lower in infected than in non-infected cells. Caspase-3 activity is also lower in infected IBU/ASE-16 cells, an embryonic tick cell line of one primary vector of R. rickettsii in Brazil, Amblyomma sculptum. Importantly, while the activation of caspase-3 exerted a detrimental effect on rickettsial proliferation in BME26 cells, the enzyme inhibition increased bacterial growth. Together, our results suggest that R. rickettsii controls the apoptosis in tick cells, which seems to be important to ensure the colonization of the vector cell. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the modulation of the apoptosis in a tick cell line upon the infection with a species of the genus Rickettsia.

Project description:Rickettsia conorii, the causative agent of the MSF is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus. The skin thus constitutes an important barrier for the entry and propagation of R. conorii. Given this, analysis of the survival strategies used by the bacterium within infected skin is critical for our understanding of rickettsiosis. Here, we report the first genome-wide analysis of R. conorii gene expression from infected human skin biopsies. Our data showed that R. conorii exhibit a striking transcript signature that was remarkably conserved across patients, regardless of genotype. The expression profiles obtained using custom Agilent microarrays were validated by quantitative RT-PCR. Within eschars, approximately 15% (n = 211) of the total predicted R. conorii ORFs appeared differentially expressed. These genes are mostly down-regulated and encode proteins essential for bacterial replication. Some of the strategies displayed by rickettsiae to overcome the host defense barriers, thus avoiding killing, were also pointed out. The observed up-regulation of rickettsial genes associated with DNA repair is likely to correspond to a DNA-damaging agent enriched environment generated by the host cells to eradicate the pathogens. Survival of R. conorii within eschars also involves adaptation to osmotic stress, changes in cell surface proteins and up-regulation of some virulence factors. Interestingly, in contrast to down-regulated transcripts, we noticed that up-regulated ones rather exhibit a small nucleotide size, most of them being exclusive for the spotted fever group rickettsiae. On the overall, this work provides some insights on how R. conorii counteracts the host cell attack at the site of inoculation which corresponds to the front line of human host defense against rickettsia diffusion and that resembles to battlefield. 9 R.conorii clinical isolates from eschars co-hybridized with reference strain R.conorii Strain Malish 7

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Enhancer associated long non-coding RNA transcription and immune gene regulation in experimental models of rickettsial infection

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