Mycobacterial glycolipid Di-O-acyl trehalose promotes a tolerogenic profile in dendritic cells

PLoS One. 2018 Dec 10;13(12):e0207202. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207202. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Due to prolonged coevolution with the human being, Mycobacterium tuberculosis has acquired a sophisticated capacity to evade host immunity and persist in a latent state in the infected individual. As part of this evolutive process, mycobacteria have developed a highly complex cell wall that acts as a protective barrier. Herein we studied the effects of Di-O-acyl trehalose, a cell-wall glycolipid of virulent mycobacteria on murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. We have demonstrated that Di-O-Acyl-trehalose promotes a tolerogenic phenotype in bone marrow-derived murine DCs activated with mycobacterial antigens and Toll-like receptor agonists. This phenotype included low expression of antigen presentation and costimulatory molecules and altered cytokine production with downregulation of IL-12 and upregulation of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine. Additional markers of tolerogenicity were the expression of Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and CD25. Furthermore, Di-O-Acyl-Trehalose promoted the expansion of FoxP3+ regulatory T lymphocytes. A better understanding of mycobacterial cell-wall components involved in the evasion of immunity is a prerequisite to designing better strategies to fight tuberculosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antigens, Bacterial / immunology
  • Dendritic Cells / cytology
  • Dendritic Cells / drug effects*
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology*
  • Dendritic Cells / metabolism
  • Female
  • Immune Tolerance / drug effects*
  • Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase / metabolism
  • Interleukin-10 / metabolism
  • Interleukin-12 / biosynthesis
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / chemistry*
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / cytology
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / drug effects
  • Trehalose / analogs & derivatives*
  • Trehalose / pharmacology*
  • Up-Regulation / drug effects

Substances

  • Antigens, Bacterial
  • Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase
  • Interleukin-10
  • Interleukin-12
  • Trehalose

Grants and funding

RM recieved funding for this work by Programa de Apoyos a Proyectos de Investigación e Inovación Tecnológica No. IN210816 (URL: http://dgapa.unam.mx/index.php/impulso-a-la-investigacion/papiit). AMP is recipent of doctoral scholarship from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología Grant number 429313 (URL: http://www.conacyt.mx/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.