Host cellular and immune responses in models of inflammatory skin conditions
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ABSTRACT: Skin colonisation of varied communities of commensal microorganisms, such as Staphylococcus aureus (SA), Staphylococcus epidermidis (SE) and Staphylococcus capitis (SC) form the microbiome; a necessity for healthy skin. The skin changes characteristic of atopic dermatitis, a common inflammatory skin disease, have been shown to provide a favourable niche for SA colonisation. We utilised a reconstructed human epidermal (RHE) model recapitulating the stratified anatomy of the epidermis on which to test host responses to bacterial colonisation. SA proliferation was significantly inhibited in contrast to that seen with SE at both high and low colonisation loads after 24 hours. These data strongly suggest species specific regulation of staphylococcal growth, which is partially mediated by interaction with the epidermis.
Project description:During acute cutaneous inflammation in diseases such as atopic eczema there are alterations in the microbiome as well as histological and ultrastructural changes to the stratified epidermis, but the precise interaction between the keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation status and the skin microbiome has not been fully explored. We hypothesised that the skin microbiome contributes to regulation of keratinocyte differentiation and can modify antimicrobial responses. Therefore, we examined the effect of exposure to topical commensal or pathogenic Staphylococcal challenge on skin models. To further explore the cell types regulating inhibition specifically targeting SA, single-cell DropSeq analysis of unchallenged naïve, SE challenged, and SA challenged epidermis models was undertaken. Transcriptomic analysis distinguished cells from basal, spinous, and granular layers which could then be interrogated individually in relation to model exposure. In contrast to SE, SA specifically induced a sub-population of spinous cells which highly expressed transcripts related to epidermal inflammation and antimicrobial response such as IL36G, IVL, IL1RN, KLK7, PI3, MMP1, S100A7, S100A8, S100A9, SERPINB1, SERPINB2, SERPINB3, and SLPI. Furthermore, SA, but not SE, specifically induced a basal population which highly expressed IL-1-alpha and IL-1-beta.
Project description:Staphylococcus epidermidis (SE) is one of the most common bacteria of the human skin microbiota. Despite its role as a commensal, SE has emerged as an opportunistic pathogen, associated with 80% of medical devices related infections. Moreover, these bacteria are extremely difficult to treat due to their ability to form biofilms and accumulate resistance to almost all classes of antimicrobials developed so far. Thus new preventive and therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. In spite of its clinical importance, the molecular mechanisms associated with SE colonisation and disease are still poorly understood. A deeper understanding of the metabolic and cellular processes associated with response to environmental factors characteristic of SE ecological niches in health and disease might provide new clues on colonisation and disease processes. Here we studied the impact of pH conditions, mimicking the skin pH (5.5) and blood pH (7.4), in a S. epidermidis commensal strain, belonging to the B clonal lineage, by means of next-generation proteomics and 1H NMR-based metabolomics. Moreover, we evaluated the metabolic changes occurring when a sudden pH change arise, simulating the skin barrier break produced by a catheter. We found that exposure of S. epidermidis to skin pH induced oxidative phosphorylation and biosynthesis of peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acids and betaine. In contrast, at blood pH, the incorporation of monosaccharides and its oxidation by glycolysis and fermentation was promoted. Additionally, several proteins related to virulence and immune evasion, namely extracellular proteases and membrane iron transporters were more abundant at blood pH. In the situation of an abrupt skin-to-blood pH shift we observed the decrease in the osmolyte betaine and changes in the levels of several metabolites and proteins involved in redox cell homeostasis. Our results suggest that at the skin pH S. epidermidis cells are metabolically more active and adhesion is promoted, while at blood pH, metabolism is tuned down and cells have a more virulent profile. pH increase during commensal-to-pathogen conversion appears to be a critical environmental signal to the remodelling of the S. epidermidis metabolism towards a more pathogenic state. Targeting S. epidermidis proteins induced by a low alkaline pH and local acidification of medical devices microenvironment might be new strategies to treat and prevent S. epidermidis infections.
Project description:S. aureus and S. epidermidis were challenged with D-sphingosine, an antimicrobial lipid similar to sphingosines found in the major staphylococcal niche- human skin. Comparison of responses was used to identify resistance mechanisms and likely mode of action
Project description:Proteomic analysis of a commensal Staphylococcus epidermidis strain in different pH conditions for describing the molecular players involved in the skin-to-blood adaptation of the bacterium.
Project description:Staphylococcus epidermidis, the common inhabitant of human skin and mucosal surfaces has emerged as an important pathogen in patients receiving surgical implants and medical devices. Entering the body via surgical sites and colonizing the medical devices through formation of multi-layered biofilms it leads to refractory and persistent device-related infections (DRIs). Staphylococcal proportions within biofilms are more tolerant to antibiotics and immune responses, and thus are hard-to-treat. The consequent morbidity and mortality, and economic losses in health care systems has strongly necessitated the need for development of new anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm based therapeutics. In this study, we describe the biological activity of a marine sponge-derived Streptomyces sp. SBT348 extract in restraining staphylococcal growth and biofilm formation on polystyrene, glass, medically relevant titan metal and silicone surfaces. A bio-assay guided fractionation was performed to isolate the active compound (C3) from the crude SBT348 extract. Our results demonstrated that C3 effectively inhibits the growth (MIC: 31.25 µg/ml) and biofilm formation (sub-MIC range: 1.95-<31.25 µg/ml) of S. epidermidis RP62A in vitro. Chemical characterization of C3 by heat and enzyme treatments, and High-Resolution Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) revealed its heat-stable and non-proteinaceous nature, and high molecular weight (1258. 3257 Da). Cytotoxicity profiling of C3 in vitro on mouse fibroblast (NIH/3T3) and macrophage (J774.1) cell lines, and in vivo on the greater wax moth larvae Galleria melonella revealed its non-toxic nature at the effective dose. Transcriptome analysis of C3 treated-S. epidermidis RP62A has further unmasked the negative effect of C3 on central metabolism (carbon, amino acid and protein, lipids, nucleotide and energy) suggesting its mode of action. Taken together, these findings suggest that C3 could be possibly used as antibacterial and antibiofilm coatings on medically-relevant surfaces and prevent the relapsing staphylococcal DRIs.
Project description:Skin serves as both barrier and interface between body and environment. Skin microbes are intermediaries evolved to respond, transduce, or act in response to changing environmental or physiological conditions. Here, we quantify genome-wide changes in gene expression levels for one abundant skin commensal, Staphylococcus epidermidis, in response to an internal physiological signal, glucose levels, and an external environmental signal, temperature. We find 85 of 2354 genes change up to ~34-fold in response to medically-relevant changes in glucose concentration (0 mM to 17 mM; adj P value ≤ 0.05). We observed carbon catabolite repression in response to a range of glucose spikes, as well as upregulation of genes involved in glucose utilization in response to persistent glucose. We observed 366 differentially expressed genes in response to a physiologically-relevant change in temperature (37°C to 45°C; adj P value ≤ 0.05) and an S. epidermidis heat-shock response that mostly resembles the heat-shock response of related staphylococcal species. DNA motif analysis also revealed CtsR and CIRCE operator sequences arranged in tandem upstream of dnaK and groESL operons. We further identified 38 glucose-responsive genes as candidate ON or OFF genes for use in controlling synthetic genetic systems. Such systems might be used to instrument the in-situ skin microbiome or help control microbes bioengineered to serve as embedded diagnostics, monitoring, or treatment platforms.
Project description:The interplay between microbiota and skin cells is a key factor underlying the pathophysiology of this barrier organ. Keratinocytes, the main components of the epidermis, are crucial for skin barrier function, but their responses to different bacteria are not well understood. We present a high-throughput analysis of the transcriptome of human epidermal-like organoids exposed to two vastly different bacterial skin colonists: Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, which are commonly associated with mostly positive and negative interactions with the host, respectively. We observed partly overlapping but predominantly divergent epidermal changes in response to both bacteria. Among the genes most affected by S. aureus, those related to lipid metabolism were predominant. This work was supported by grants from the Polish National Science Center (UMO-2014/12/W/NZ6/00454 and 2019/35/B/NZ6/03357) and by a grant for research projects for Young Scientists and PhD students from the Jagiellonian University (N19/MNS/000020). The open-access publication has been supported by the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology under the Strategic Programme Excellence Initiative at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.