InVivoMAb rat IgG1 Isotype control, anti-trinitrophenol

Respiratory viral infections are extremely common, but their impacts on the composition and function of the gut microbiota are poorly understood. We previously observed a significant change in the gut microbiota after viral lung infection. Here, we show that weight loss during respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or influenza virus infection was due to decreased food consumption, and that the fasting of mice altered gut microbiota composition independently of infection. While the acute phase tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) response drove early weight loss and inappetence during RSV infection, this was not sufficient to induce changes in the gut microbiota. However, the depletion of CD8(+) cells increased food intake and prevented weight loss, resulting in a reversal of the gut microbiota changes normally observed during RSV infection. Viral infection also led to changes in the fecal gut metabolome, with a significant shift in lipid metabolism. Sphingolipids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and the short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) valerate were all increased in abundance in the fecal metabolome following RSV infection. Whether this and the impact of infection-induced anorexia on the gut microbiota are part of a protective anti-inflammatory response during respiratory viral infections remains to be determined. IMPORTANCE The gut microbiota has an important role in health and disease: gut bacteria can generate metabolites that alter the function of immune cells systemically. Understanding the factors that can lead to changes in the gut microbiome may help to inform therapeutic interventions. This is the first study to systematically dissect the pathway of events from viral lung infection to changes in gut microbiota. We show that the cellular immune response to viral lung infection induces inappetence, which in turn alters the gut microbiome and metabolome. Strikingly, there was an increase in lipids that have been associated with the resolution of disease. This opens up new paths of investigation: first, what is the (presumably secreted) factor made by the T cells that can induce inappetence? Second, is inappetence an adaptation that accelerates recovery from infection, and if so, does the microbiome play a role in this?

Hematopoiesis in patients with cancer is characterized by reduced production of red blood cells and an increase in myelopoiesis, which contributes to the immunosuppressive environment in cancer. Some tumors produce growth factors that directly stimulate myelopoiesis such as G-CSF or GM-CSF. However, for a majority of tumors that do not directly secrete hematopoietic growth factors, the mechanisms involved in the activation of myelopoiesis are poorly characterized. In this study, we document in different murine tumor models activated hematopoiesis with increased proliferation of long-term and short-term hematopoietic stem cells and myeloid progenitor cells. As a consequence, the frequency of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and its ratio to CD8(+) T cells increased in tumor-bearing mice. Activation of hematopoiesis and myeloid differentiation in tumor-bearing mice was induced by TNFα, which was mainly secreted by activated CD4(+) T cells. Therefore, the activated adaptive immune system in cancer induces emergency myelopoiesis and immunosuppression. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings characterize a regulatory circuit linking activated T cells to suppression of tumor-specific immune responses, providing a conceptual advance in the understanding of emergency-hematopoiesis in cancer and opening new targets for therapeutic approaches.

Malaria-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and acute lung injury (ALI) are life-threatening manifestations of severe malaria infections. The pathogenic mechanisms that lead to respiratory complications, such as vascular leakage, remain unclear. Here, we confirm that depleting CD8(+)T cells with anti-CD8β antibodies in C57BL/6 mice infected with P. berghei ANKA (PbA) prevent pulmonary vascular leakage. When we transfer activated parasite-specific CD8(+)T cells into PbA-infected TCRβ(-/-) mice (devoid of all T-cell populations), pulmonary vascular leakage recapitulates. Additionally, we demonstrate that PbA-infected erythrocyte accumulation leads to lung endothelial cell cross-presentation of parasite antigen to CD8(+)T cells in an IFNγ-dependent manner. In conclusion, pulmonary vascular damage in ALI is a consequence of IFNγ-activated lung endothelial cells capturing, processing, and cross-presenting malaria parasite antigen to specific CD8(+)T cells induced during infection. The mechanistic understanding of the immunopathogenesis in malaria-associated ARDS and ALI provide the basis for development of adjunct treatments.

Interleukin-22 (IL-22)-producing group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) maintains gut homeostasis but can also promote inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The regulation of ILC3-dependent colitis remains to be elucidated. Here we show that Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg cells) prevented ILC3-mediated colitis in an IL-10-independent manner. Treg cells inhibited IL-23 and IL-1beta production from intestinal-resident CX3CR1(+) macrophages but not CD103(+) dendritic cells. Moreover, Treg cells restrained ILC3 production of IL-22 through suppression of CX3CR1(+) macrophage production of IL-23 and IL-1beta. This suppression was contact dependent and was mediated by latent activation gene-3 (LAG-3)-an immune checkpoint receptor-expressed on Treg cells. Engagement of LAG-3 on MHC class II drove profound immunosuppression of CX3CR1(+) tissue-resident macrophages. Our study reveals that the health of the intestinal mucosa is maintained by an axis driven by Treg cells communication with resident macrophages that withhold inflammatory stimuli required for ILC3 function.