FcgammaRIII is protective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia.
Defenses against bacterial infections involve activation of multiple systems of innate immunity, including complement, Toll-like receptors, and defensins. Reactions to chronic infections bring adaptive immune mechanisms into play as well, with the introduction of modulatory interactions between the two. In humans with chronic lung infections, the severity of inflammation and disease correlate with elevated levels of pathogen-specific immune complexes and complement activation. In mice with genetic deficiency in C5, or targeted deletion of the C5a receptor, Pseudomonas lung infections reveal a role for the C5a anaphylatoxin in disease severity. Deficient animals exhibit significantly reduced survival and clearance of infecting bacteria, simultaneous with greatly increased pulmonary influx of inflammatory cells. Among the actions of C5a on inflammatory cells mediated through the C5a receptor is a shift in the relative expression of Fcgamma receptors to increase FcgammaRIII relative to FcgammaRII. This shift may significantly impact defenses against chronic infection, reflecting the cellular activation profiles of these IgG receptors. We addressed the role of FcgammaRIII in defense against Pseudomonas lung infection, and found that, like C5aR-deficient mice, animals with targeted deletion of FcgammaRIII are more susceptible to mortality upon infection and exhibit reduced clearance of the pathogen. Pseudomonas infection was associated with an increase in the FcgammaRIII/FcgammaRII ratio in wild-type mice, and the data support its role as an additional mechanism of host defense against bacterial infection.
Rhein
Lawrence M
LM
Ina Sue Perlmutter Laboratory, Children's Hospital, 320 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA. Lawrence.rhein@childrens.harvard.edu
Perkins
Michael
M
Gerard
Norma P
NP
Gerard
Craig
C
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D002199:Capillary Permeability / Q000187:drug effects; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D015936:Complement C5a / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D007249:Inflammation; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D008168:Lung / Q000098:blood supply / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010586:Phagocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D044087:Receptor, Anaphylatoxin C5a / Q000276:immunology; D017452:Receptors, IgG / Q000172:deficiency / Q000276:immunology*; D015996:Survival Rate
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D016207:Cytokines; C485700:Fcgr3 protein, mouse; D044087:Receptor, Anaphylatoxin C5a; D017452:Receptors, IgG; D015936:Complement C5a