Project description:Type I interferons (IFN) are crucial mediators of human innate and adaptive immunity and are massively produced from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC). IRF7 is a critical regulator of type I IFN production when pathogens are detected by TLR7/9 in pDC. However, hyperactivation of pDC can cause life-threatening autoimmune diseases. To avoid the deleterious effects of aberrant pDC activation, tight regulation of IRF7 is required. Nonetheless, the detailed mechanisms of how IRF7 transcription is regulated in pDC are still elusive. To this end, we identified the global gene expression changes after stimulation of human primary pDC with the TLR9 agonist CpGB. We identified that the transcription factor MYC is prominently upregulated upon CpGB engagement in pDC. Moreover, when we knocked down MYC in the pDC-like cell line GEN2.2, production of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) was dramatically increased and was further enhanced by CpGB. Interestingly, MYC is shown to be recruited to the IRF7 promoter region through interaction with NCOR2/HDAC3 for its repression, and HDAC3 inhibition enhanced IRF7 expression and IFNβ production. Interestingly, activation of TLR9-mediated NF-kB and MAPK and nuclear translocation of IRF7 were greatly enhanced by MYC depletion. Pharmaceutical inhibition of MYC recovered IRF7 expression, further confirming the negative role of MYC in the antiviral response by pDC. Furthermore, the inverse correlation of MYC and IRF7 was validated in psoriasis skin sample datasets. Therefore, our results identify the novel immunomodulatory role of MYC in human pDC and may add to our understanding of aberrant pDC function in autoimmune diseases.
Project description:Type I interferons (IFN) are crucial mediators of human innate and adaptive immunity and are massively produced from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC). IRF7 is a critical regulator of type I IFN production when pathogens are detected by TLR7/9 in pDC. However, hyperactivation of pDC can cause life-threatening autoimmune diseases. To avoid the deleterious effects of aberrant pDC activation, tight regulation of IRF7 is required. Nonetheless, the detailed mechanisms of how IRF7 transcription is regulated in pDC are still elusive. To this end, we identified the global gene expression changes after stimulation of human primary pDC with the TLR9 agonist CpGB. We identified that the transcription factor MYC is prominently upregulated upon CpGB engagement in pDC. Moreover, when we knocked down MYC in the pDC-like cell line GEN2.2, production of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) was dramatically increased and was further enhanced by CpGB. Interestingly, MYC is shown to be recruited to the IRF7 promoter region through interaction with NCOR2/HDAC3 for its repression, and HDAC3 inhibition enhanced IRF7 expression and IFNβ production. Interestingly, activation of TLR9-mediated NF-kB and MAPK and nuclear translocation of IRF7 were greatly enhanced by MYC depletion. Pharmaceutical inhibition of MYC recovered IRF7 expression, further confirming the negative role of MYC in the antiviral response by pDC. Furthermore, the inverse correlation of MYC and IRF7 was validated in psoriasis skin sample datasets. Therefore, our results identify the novel immunomodulatory role of MYC in human pDC and may add to our understanding of aberrant pDC function in autoimmune diseases.
Project description:Type I interferons (IFN) are crucial mediators of human innate and adaptive immunity and are massively produced from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC). IRF7 is a critical regulator of type I IFN production when pathogens are detected by TLR7/9 in pDC. However, hyperactivation of pDC can cause life-threatening autoimmune diseases. To avoid the deleterious effects of aberrant pDC activation, tight regulation of IRF7 is required. Nonetheless, the detailed mechanisms of how IRF7 transcription is regulated in pDC are still elusive. To this end, we identified the global gene expression changes after stimulation of human primary pDC with the TLR9 agonist CpGB. We identified that the transcription factor MYC is prominently upregulated upon CpGB engagement in pDC. Moreover, when we knocked down MYC in the pDC-like cell line GEN2.2, production of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) was dramatically increased and was further enhanced by CpGB. Interestingly, MYC is shown to be recruited to the IRF7 promoter region through interaction with NCOR2/HDAC3 for its repression, and HDAC3 inhibition enhanced IRF7 expression and IFNβ production. Interestingly, activation of TLR9-mediated NF-kB and MAPK and nuclear translocation of IRF7 were greatly enhanced by MYC depletion. Pharmaceutical inhibition of MYC recovered IRF7 expression, further confirming the negative role of MYC in the antiviral response by pDC. Furthermore, the inverse correlation of MYC and IRF7 was validated in psoriasis skin sample datasets. Therefore, our results identify the novel immunomodulatory role of MYC in human pDC and may add to our understanding of aberrant pDC function in autoimmune diseases.
Project description:Plasmacytoid dendritic cells [pDCs] represent a rare innate immune subset uniquely endowed with the capacity to produce substantial amounts of type-I interferons [IFN-I]. This function of pDCs is critical for effective antiviral defenses and has been implicated in autoimmunity. While IFN-I and select cytokines have been recognized as pDC secreted products, a comprehensive agnostic profiling of the pDC secretome in response to a physiologic stimulus has not been reported. We applied LC-MS/MS to catalogue the repertoire of proteins secreted by pDCs in response to challenge with live influenza H1N1. Additionally, using single-cell RNA-seq [scRNA-seq], we perform multidimensional analyses of pDC transcriptional diversification following stimulation. Our data reveal an abundance of protein species released by pDCs in addition to IFN-I, and evidence highly specialized roles within the pDC population ranging from dedicated cytokine super-producers to cells with APC-like functions. Moreover, dynamic expression of transcription factors and surface markers characterize activated pDC fates.
Project description:Maturation and activation of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), induced by the interaction of pathogens or trauma-derived danger signals, with pattern-recognition receptors, is a pivotal step in pDC innate and adaptive immune activation. Exposure to metabolites present in the pDC microenvironment may well influence critical signaling pathways in their function, and thereby tune host immune responses against endogenous, bacterial and viral pathogens. In this experiment, we have addressed the impact of hyperlipidemia on human pDCs at baseline and after activation. We show that exposure to pro-atherogenic (oxidized) low density lipoproteins led to pDC lipid accumulation, which in turn ablated Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and 9 dependent up-regulation of pDC maturation markers CD40, CD83, CD86 and HLA-DR. Transcriptional profiling and in vitro cell experiments revealed that, oxLDL exposure dampened TLR9 activation induced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in a NUR77/IRF7 dependent manner and impaired the capacity of pDCs to prime and polarize CD4+ T helper (Th) cells. These results highlight the marked impact of hyperlipidemia on pDC responses to pathogen-derived signals.
Project description:The RIG-I like receptor pathway is stimulated during RNA virus infection by interaction between cytosolic RIG-I and viral RNA structures that contain short hairpin dsRNA and 5M-bM-^@M-^Y triphosphate (5M-bM-^@M-^Yppp) terminal structure. In the present study, an RNA agonist of RIG-I was synthesized in vitro and shown to stimulate RIG-I-dependent antiviral responses at concentrations in the picomolar range. In human lung epithelial A549 cells, 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA specifically stimulated multiple parameters of the innate antiviral response, including IRF3, IRF7 and STAT1 activation, andinduction of inflammatory and interferon stimulated genes - hallmarks of a fully functional antiviral response. Evaluation of the magnitude and duration of gene expression by transcriptional profiling identified a robust, sustained and diversified antiviral and inflammatory response characterized by enhanced pathogen recognition and interferon (IFN)signaling. Bioinformatics analysis further identified a transcriptional signature uniquely induced by 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA, and not by IFNM-NM-1-2bthat included a constellation of IRF7 and NF-kB target genes capable of mobilizing multiple arms of the innate and adaptive immune response. Treatment of primary PBMCs or lung epithelial A549 cells with 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA provided significant protection against a spectrum of RNA and DNA viruses. In C57Bl/6 mice, intravenous administration of 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA protected animals from a lethal challenge with H1N1 Influenza, reduced virus titers in mouse lungs and protected animals from virus-induced pneumonia. Strikingly, the RIG-I-specific transcriptional response afforded partial protection from influenza challenge, even in the absence of type I interferon signaling. This systems approach providestranscriptional, biochemical, and in vivo analysis of the antiviral efficacy of 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA and highlights the therapeutic potential associated with the use of RIG-I agonists as broad spectrum antiviral agents. Kinetic analysis of A549 cells treated with 5'pppRNA and analyzed at 1h, 2h, 4h, 6h, 8h, 12h, 24h or 48h.
Project description:The RIG-I like receptor pathway is stimulated during RNA virus infection by interaction between cytosolic RIG-I and viral RNA structures that contain short hairpin dsRNA and 5M-bM-^@M-^Y triphosphate (5M-bM-^@M-^Yppp) terminal structure. In the present study, an RNA agonist of RIG-I was synthesized in vitro and shown to stimulate RIG-I-dependent antiviral responses at concentrations in the picomolar range. In human lung epithelial A549 cells, 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA specifically stimulated multiple parameters of the innate antiviral response, including IRF3, IRF7 and STAT1 activation, andinduction of inflammatory and interferon stimulated genes - hallmarks of a fully functional antiviral response. Evaluation of the magnitude and duration of gene expression by transcriptional profiling identified a robust, sustained and diversified antiviral and inflammatory response characterized by enhanced pathogen recognition and interferon (IFN)signaling. Bioinformatics analysis further identified a transcriptional signature uniquely induced by 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA, and not by IFNM-NM-1-2bthat included a constellation of IRF7 and NF-kB target genes capable of mobilizing multiple arms of the innate and adaptive immune response. Treatment of primary PBMCs or lung epithelial A549 cells with 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA provided significant protection against a spectrum of RNA and DNA viruses. In C57Bl/6 mice, intravenous administration of 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA protected animals from a lethal challenge with H1N1 Influenza, reduced virus titers in mouse lungs and protected animals from virus-induced pneumonia. Strikingly, the RIG-I-specific transcriptional response afforded partial protection from influenza challenge, even in the absence of type I interferon signaling. This systems approach providestranscriptional, biochemical, and in vivo analysis of the antiviral efficacy of 5M-bM-^@M-^YpppRNA and highlights the therapeutic potential associated with the use of RIG-I agonists as broad spectrum antiviral agents. A549 cells were either non-treated, treated with RNAiMax only, transfected with 5'pppRNA, or treated with IFNa-2b and analysed at 6h or 24h.