title: A Pseudomonas aeruginosa hepta-acylated lipid A variant associated with cystic fibrosis selectively activates human neutrophils.
abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease causes airway neutrophilia and hyperinflammation without effective bacterial clearance. We evaluated the immunostimulatory activities of lipid A, the membrane anchor of LPS, isolated from mutants of PA that synthesize structural variants, present in the airways of patients with CF, to determine if they correlate with disease severity and progression. In a subset of patients with a severe late stage of CF disease, a unique hepta-acylated lipid A, hepta-1855, is synthesized. In primary human cell cultures, we found that hepta-1855 functioned as a potent TLR4 agonist by priming neutrophil respiratory burst and stimulating strong IL-8 from monocytes and neutrophils. hepta-1855 also had a potent survival effect on neutrophils. However, it was less efficient in stimulating neutrophil granule exocytosis and also less potent in triggering proinflammatory TNF-α response from monocytes. In PA isolates that do not synthesize hepta-1855, a distinct CF-specific adaptation favors synthesis of a penta-1447 and hexa-1685 LPS mixture. We found that penta-1447 lacked immunostimulatory activity but interfered with inflammatory IL-8 synthesis in response to hexa-1685. Together, these observations suggest a potential contribution of hepta-1855 to maintenance of the inflammatory burden in late-stage CF by recruiting neutrophils via IL-8 and promoting their survival, an effect presumably amplified by the absence of penta-1447. Moreover, the relative inefficiency of hepta-1855 in triggering neutrophil degranulation may partly explain the persistence of PA in CF disease, despite extensive airway neutrophilia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
authors.forename: Shuvasree
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: SenGupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Hittle
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Maryland, USA rkernst@umaryland.edu.
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky, USA; silvia.uriarte@louisville.edu.|Department of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky, USA; and.
authors.forename: Silvia M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Uriarte
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky, USA; tom.mitchell@louisville.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000215:Acylation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008050:Lipid A / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D018375:Neutrophil Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016897:Respiratory Burst / Q000187:drug effects; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000819:agonists*
chemical_list: D008050:Lipid A; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C495345:TLR4 protein, human; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4; C000622452:hepta-1855; C000622454:hexa-1685; C482199:lipopolysaccharide, E coli O55-B5; C000622453:penta-1447
keywords: TLR4; chronic infection; immunoevasion; inflammation