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TLR7 agonism accelerates disease in a mouse model of primary Sjögren’s syndrome and drives expansion of age-associated B cells

ABSTRACT: Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of exocrine tissue, resulting in loss of tears and saliva. Patients also experience many extra-glandular disease manifestations. Treatment for pSS is palliative, and there are currently no treatments available that target disease etiology. Previous studies in our lab demonstrated that Myd88 is crucial for pSS pathogenesis in the NOD.B10Sn-H2b (NOD.B10) pSS mouse model, although the way in which Myd88-dependent pathways become activated in disease remains unknown. Based on its importance in other autoimmune diseases, we hypothesized that TLR7 activation accelerates pSS pathogenesis. We administered the TLR7 agonist Imiquimod (Imq) or sham treatment to pre-disease NOD.B10 females for 6 weeks. Parallel experiments were performed in age and sex-matched C57BL/10 controls. Imq-treated pSS animals exhibited cervical lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and expansion of TLR7-expressing B cells. Robust lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine tissues, kidney and lung was observed in pSS mice following treatment with Imq. TLR7 agonism also induced salivary hypofunction in pSS mice, which is a hallmark of disease. Anti-nuclear autoantibodies, including Ro (SSA) and La (SSB) were increased in pSS mice following Imq administration. Cervical lymph nodes from Imq-treated NOD.B10 animals demonstrated an increase in the percentage of activated/memory CD4+ T cells. Finally, aged-associated B cells (ABCs) were expanded in the spleens of Imq-treated pSS mice. Thus, activation of TLR7 accelerates local and systemic disease and promotes expansion of the ABC subset in pSS.

ORGANISM(S): synthetic construct Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE212467 | GEO | 2022/09/01

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important mediators of chronic inflammation in numerous autoimmune diseases, although the role of these receptors in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) remains incompletely understood. Previous studies in our laboratory established Myd88 as a crucial mediator of disease, although the upstream signaling events that culminate in Myd88 activation have yet to be identified. To objective of this study was to identify specific Myd88-dependent TLR-related pathways that are dysregulated both locally and systemically in a mouse model of pSS (NOD.B10Sn-H2b/J (NOD.B10)). We performed RNA-sequencing on spleens derived from NOD.B10 mice. We then harvested salivary tissue and spleens from Myd88-sufficient and deficient C57BL/10 (BL/10) and NOD.B10 mice and performed flow cytometry to determine expression of Myd88-dependent TLRs. We then cultured splenocytes with TLR2 and TLR4 agonists and measured IL-6 secretion by ELISA. Next, we evaluated spontaneous and TLR4-mediated inflammatory cytokine secretion in NOD.B10 salivary tissue. Finally, we assessed spontaneous Myd88-dependent cytokine secretion by NOD.B10 salivary cells. We identified dysregulation of numerous TLR-related networks in pSS splenocytes, particularly those employed by TLR2 and TLR4. We found upregulation of TLRs in both the splenic and salivary tissue from pSS mice. In NOD.B10 splenic tissue, B cell TLR1, TLR2, and TLR6 expression was reduced to levels of BL/10 controls in the absence of Myd88. Splenocytes from NOD.B10 mice were hyper-responsive to TLR2 ligation and the endogenous molecule decorin modulated inflammation via TLR4. Finally, we found spontaneous secretion of numerous inflammatory cytokines and this was enhanced following TLR4 ligation in female NOD.B10 salivary tissue as compared to males. Moreover, we found that spontaneous production of salivary IL-6, MCP-1 and TNFa requires Myd88 in pSS salivary tissue. Thus, our data demonstrate that Myd88-dependent TLR pathways contribute to the inflammatory landscape in pSS, and inhibition of such will likely have therapeutic utility.

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TLR7 agonism accelerates disease in a mouse model of primary Sjögren’s syndrome and drives expansion of age-associated B cells

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