No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Il a été suggéré que les Desulfovibrio, qui sont des bactéries anaérobies sulfato-réductrices, pourraient être impliqués dans les parodontites. Nous avons évalué le pouvoir invasif de Desulfovibrio vis-à-vis de cellules épithéliales et leur capacité à induire la production de cytokines par ces cellules. Nous avons montré que Desulfovibrio desulfuricans et Desulfovibrio fairfieldensis sont capables d'envahir et de se multiplier dans les cellules épithéliales buccales (cellules KB). La localisation intracytoplasmique de ces deux bactéries a été confirmée par microscopie confocale et électronique à transmission. L'internalisation de ces souches était dépendante de la polymérisation des microtubules mais pas de celle de l'actine. L'infection avec Desulfovibrio était responsable d'une augmentation de la production d'IL-6 et d'IL-8 par les cellules KB. La capacité de D. desulfuricans et de D. fairfieldensis à survivre dans les cellules épithéliales et à moduler leur réponse immunitaire pourrait contribuer au développement des maladies parodontales. Desulfovibrio ainsi que d'autres parodontopathogènes peuvent produire des ß-lactamases et sont capables d'envahir les cellules épithéliales. Il a été suggéré que l'hydrolyse de l'amoxicilline pourrait être évitée grâce à l'utilisation d'un complexe amoxicilline-ß-cyclodextrine (ßCD) et que la diffusion intracellulaire d'agents antimicrobiens pourrait être améliorée après complexation avec des ßCD. Un complexe stable amoxicilline-ßCD, caractérisé après analyse spectrale et thermique, n'a ni amélioré l'activité de l'amoxicilline vis-à-vis de souches produisant des ß-lactamases ni augmenté la diffusion intracellulaire de ce composé. / It has been suggested that Desulfovibrio, which are sulfate-reducing anaerobic bacteria, may be involved in periodontitis. We investigated the capacity of Desulfovibrio to invade epithelial cells and induce cytokine secretion from these cells. We showed that Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and Desulfovibrio fairfieldensis were able to invade and to multiply within oral epithelial cells (KB cells). Intracytoplasmic location of both bacteria was confirmed by confocal laser scanning and transmission microscopy. Invasion of these strains involved microtubule but not microfilament polymerization. Infection by Desulfovibrio resulted in an increase of the production of IL-6 and IL-8 by KB cells. The ability of D. desulfuricans and D. fairfieldensis to survive within oral epithelial cells and to modulate the epithelial immune response may contribute to the initiation and progression of periodontal diseases. Desulfovibrio as well as other periodontopathogens may produce ß-lactamases and have the capacity to invade epithelial cells. It has been suggested that the hydrolysis of amoxicillin might be prevented by using an amoxicillin-ß-cyclodextrin (ßCD) complex and that intracellular diffusion of antimicrobial agents might be enhanced after complexation with ßCDs. A stable [1:1] amoxicillin-ßCD complex, characterized by spectroscopic and thermal analysis, did neither improve the activity of amoxicillin against ß-lactamase producing strains nor enhance the intracellular diffusion of this compound.

<p>Immunity is broadly defined as a mechanism of protection against non-self entities, a process which must be sufficiently robust to both eliminate the initial foreign body and then be maintained over the life of the host. Life-long immunity is impossible without the development of immunological memory, of which a central component is the cellular immune system, or T cells. Cellular immunity hinges upon a naïve T cell pool of sufficient size and breadth to enable Darwinian selection of clones responsive to foreign antigens during an initial encounter. Further, the generation and maintenance of memory T cells is required for rapid clearance responses against repeated insult, and so this small memory pool must be actively maintained by pro-survival cytokine signals over the life of the host.</p><p>T cell development, function, and maintenance are regulated on a number of molecular levels through complex regulatory networks. Recently, small non-coding RNAs, miRNAs, have been observed to have profound impacts on diverse aspects of T cell biology by impeding the translation of RNA transcripts to protein. While many miRNAs have been described that alter T cell development or functional differentiation, little is known regarding the role that miRNAs have in T cell maintenance in the periphery at homeostasis. </p><p>In Chapter 3 of this dissertation, tools to study miRNA biology and function were developed. First, to understand the effect that miRNA overexpression had on T cell responses, a novel overexpression system was developed to enhance the processing efficiency and ultimate expression of a given miRNA by placing it within an alternative miRNA backbone. Next, a conditional knockout mouse system was devised to specifically delete miR-191 in a cell population expressing recombinase. This strategy was expanded to permit the selective deletion of single miRNAs from within a cluster to discern the effects of specific miRNAs that were previously inaccessible in isolation. Last, to enable the identification of potentially therapeutically viable miRNA function and/or expression modulators, a high-throughput flow cytometry-based screening system utilizing miRNA activity reporters was tested and validated. Thus, several novel and useful tools were developed to assist in the studies described in Chapter 4 and in future miRNA studies. </p><p>In Chapter 4 of this dissertation, the role of miR-191 in T cell biology was evaluated. Using tools developed in Chapter 3, miR-191 was observed to be critical for T cell survival following activation-induced cell death, while proliferation was unaffected by alterations in miR-191 expression. Loss of miR-191 led to significant decreases in the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the periphery lymph nodes, but this loss had no impact on the homeostatic activation of either CD4+ or CD8+ cells. These peripheral changes were not caused by gross defects in thymic development, but rather impaired STAT5 phosphorylation downstream of pro-survival cytokine signals. miR-191 does not specifically inhibit STAT5, but rather directly targets the scaffolding protein, IRS1, which in turn alters cytokine-dependent signaling. The defect in peripheral T cell maintenance was exacerbated by the presence of a Bcl-2YFP transgene, which led to even greater peripheral T cell losses in addition to developmental defects. These studies collectively demonstrate that miR-191 controls peripheral T cell maintenance by modulating homeostatic cytokine signaling through the regulation of IRS1 expression and downstream STAT5 phosphorylation.</p><p>The studies described in this dissertation collectively demonstrate that miR-191 has a profound role in the maintenance of T cells at homeostasis in the periphery. Importantly, the manipulation of miR-191 altered immune homeostasis without leading to severe immunodeficiency or autoimmunity. As much data exists on the causative agents disrupting active immune responses and the formation of immunological memory, the basic processes underlying the continued maintenance of a functioning immune system must be fully characterized to facilitate the development of methods for promoting healthy immune function throughout the life of the individual. These findings also have powerful implications for the ability of patients with modest perturbations in T cell homeostasis to effectively fight disease and respond to vaccination and may provide valuable targets for therapeutic intervention.</p> / Dissertation

Meningokokken gehören zu den wichtigsten Erregern bakterieller Sepsis und Meningitis. Der Schweregrad des Krankheitsverlaufs bei Meningokokkenerkrankungen korreliert mit der Konzentration an proinflammatorischen Zytokinen im Serum. Dendritische Zellen (DZ) bilden die erste Abwehr am humanen Epithel des Nasopharynx, welches die Eingangspforte von Neisseria meningitidis darstellt und sind eine wichtige Quelle proinflammatorischer Zytokine. In dieser Arbeit konnte gezeigt werden, dass bekapselte Meningokokken-Stämme bei DZ signifikant weniger proinflammatorische Zytokine als isogene Kapsel-defiziente Stämme oder obligat unbekapselte Stämme induzieren. Dieser Effekt ist unabhängig von der chemischen Zusammensetzung der Kapsel, da aufgereinigtes Kapselpolysaccharid der Serogruppe B nicht den reduzierenden Effekt der Zytokininduktion beeinflusste. Darüber hinaus spielt die Kapsel-O-Acetylierung bei Serogruppe C, W-135 und Y nur eine untergeordnete Rolle bei der Erkennung von Meningokokken durch DZ. Microarray Versuche zum Transkriptionsprofil von DZ, die mit dem konstitutiv unbekapselten Trägerisolat alpha 14, dem bekapselten MC58 oder dem isogenen unbekapselten Stamm MC58siaD durchgeführt wurden, zeigten nach 4 h ein identisches Profil von proinflammatorischen Zytokinen. Nur der phagozytierte unbekapselten Stamm MC58siaD zeigte eine differentielle Regulation von weiteren Zytokinen. Jedoch glich sich das Profil nach 18 h Infektion durch alle drei Stämme an. Der Scavenger Rezeptor der Klasse A (SR-A) wurde als Hauptrezeptor identifiziert, der die Erkennung und Phagozytose von Meningokokken durch DZ initialisiert. Eine Assoziation phagozytierter Meningokokken mit SR-A konnte mittels Elektronenmikroskopie bestätigt werden. Nach Infektion von THP-1 Makrophagen mit bekapselten Serogruppe B und C Stämmen, den isogenen Kapsel-defizienten Stämmen und dem obligat unbekapselten Stamm alpha 14 wurde auf Transkriptionsebene keine differentielle Regulation der SR-A nachgewiesen. Lediglich eine minimale Hochregulation des SR-A auf der zellulären Oberfläche konnte nach einer Stunde Infektion verzeichnet werden. Nach Infektion von DZ oder THP-1 Makrophagen mit MC58siaD kommt es zur Dephosphorylierung des SR-A. Unter Verwendung von globalen Phagozytose-Inhibitoren konnte gezeigt werden, dass für die maximale Induktion der proinflammatorischen Zytokine TNF-alpha, IL-6 und IL-1 Phagozytose von N. meningitidis benötigen wird, dies ist jedoch für die IL 8 Produktion nicht notwendig. Außerdem konnte gezeigt werden, dass mit dem spezifischen SR-A Inhibitor poly G eine Reduktion von TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1 und IL-8 zu verzeichnen war. Folglich ist die Phagozytose über SR-A nötig, um TNF-alpha, IL-6 und IL-1 zu induzieren, jedoch nur die Erkennung aber nicht die Phagozytose via SR-A die IL-8 Produktion initiiert. Die Aufnahme von Neisseria meningitidis über den SR-A durch DZ ist damit nicht nur für die Phagozytose und Abtötung verantwortlich sondern auch für die Zytokininduktion wichtig ist. Es gibt jedoch auch Meningokokken Stämme, die nicht vom SR-A erkannt werden. Mit alpha 14 konnte erstmals ein Meningokokken-Stamm identifiziert werden, der nicht an SR-A bindet. Die Induktion von Zytokinfreisetzung durch alpha 14 erfolgt dementsprechend unabhängig von SR-A und nach Kontakt von alpha 14 mit humanen DZ ist keine Veränderung der Phosphorylierungsstatus dieses Rezeptors zu beobachten. Die erhobenen Daten legen eine zentrale Rolle von SR-A in der Induktion von Immunität gegen N. meningitidis nahe. / Meningococci belong to the most important pathogens which cause bacterial sepsis and meningitis. The severity and outcome of meningococcal disease correlates with the concentration of proinflammatory cytokines in the serum. Dendritic cells (DC) build a first line of defence within the nasopharyngeal epithelium, which is the port-of-entry for Neisseria meningitidis and are an important source of proinflammatory cytokines. Infection of DC with encapsulated meningococcal strains induces significantly lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines than isogenic capsule-deficient mutants or constitutively unencapsulated strains. It could be shown that this effect does not depend on the chemical composition of the meningococcal capsule, because purified capsular polysaccharide of serogroup B is unable to modulate cytokine secretion. O-acetylation of serogroup C, W-135 and Y capsules plays a minor role in the recognition of meningococci by DC. Microarray studies on the expression of cytokine genes by DC infected with constitutively unencapsulated carriage isolate alpha 14, encapsulated serogroup B strain MC58 or the isogenic unencapsulated strain MC58siaD showed an identical pattern for proinflammatory cytokines after 4 h of infection. Only the unencapsulated strain MC58siaD which is easily phagocytosed induced additional cytokines. However, the cytokine profile after 18 h of infection was equal for all three strains. Scavenger receptor A (SR-A) was identified as the main receptor mediating recognition and phagocytosis of meningococci by DC. Association of phagocytosed meningococci with SR-A was visualized by electron microscopy. Infection of THP-1 macrophages with encapsulated serogroup B und C strains, their isogentic capsule-deficient muntants or the obligatory unencapsulated strain alpha 14 did not induce differential regulation of SR-A on the transcriptional level and only minor up-regulation of SR-A on cellular surface after one hour of infection. After infection of DC or THP-1 macrophages with MC58siaD dephosphorylation of SR-A can be detected. Using global phagocytosis inhibitors, it could be determined that the induction of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-1 require phagocytosis of N. meningitidis, whereas induction of IL-8 does not. In addition, the specific SR-A-inhibitor poly G also leads to a reduction of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1 and IL-8 secretion. Taken together these data indicate that phagocytosis via SR-A is necessary for TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-1 secretion, whereas recognition but not phagocytosis via SR-A enhances IL-8 secretion. Therefore, the uptake of Neisseria meningitidis via SR-A is not only important for phagocytosis and killing but also involved in cytokine induction. However, not all meningococcal strains are recognized via SRA. The cytokine induction by DZ infected with alpha 14 is completely independent of SR-A and after contact of human DC with alpha 14 no changes in SR-A phosphorylation can be detected. These data suggest that SR-A plays a central role in the induction of immunity against N. meningitidis.

Die Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Oncostatin M-vermittelten Signaltransduktion und dessen Bedeutung für den entzündlichen Verlauf einer Rheumatoiden Arthritis, die immunmodulatorischen Fähigkeiten von Tumoren sowie die antivirale Immunantwort.

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic, multi systemic, recurrent vasculitis disease of unknown aetiology. The clinical manifestations are composed of relapsing episodes of recurrent oral ulcers, uveitis, skin lesions and genital ulcers along with musculoskeletal and neurological involvement. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are a key feature of the disease but the triggers for their induction are not well understood and/or controversial. Many cytokines (including IFNγ, IL-12, IL-23, IL-10 and IL-6) activate the JAK-STAT signalling pathway which is negatively regulated by Suppressor of Cytokine Signalling (SOCS) proteins. Therefore, it was hypothesised that SOCS proteins may be dysregulated in BD. The expression of SOCS 1-3 mRNA and protein was studied in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), Neutrophils and buccal mucosal cells (BMC) of BD patients and compared with healthy controls (HC) and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) patients. SOCS 1 and 3 were significantly upregulated in PBMCs of BD patients compared with HC (p=0.0149; p=0.0007) and there were subtle differences between expression in relapsed and symptom free BD (quiet BD). SOCS1 and SOCS 3 also significantly upregulated in BMC from oral ulcers of BD compared with HC (both at p=0.0001). Cytokines were examined in serum, saliva and culture supernatants from stimulated PBMCs. IL-6 were significantly upregulated in the saliva of relapsed BD patients compared with HC (p=0.0104) and the capacity for IL-10 secretion from BD was compromised. Phosphorylation of STATs, transcription factors RORγt, T-bet and 48 protein kinases were investigated using a novel PhosphFlow method and by microarray analysis. STATs were upregulated in BD and seven novel kinase proteins showed differential phosphorylation in BD. Conclusion: SOCS 1-3 expression has changed in BD patients with differences in PBMC and Neutrophil expression between the SOCS proteins. Phosphorylation of STATs and several kinases show up-regulation in BD and seven kinases with altered phosphorylation states in BD were identified as novel targets for future investigation.

Bacillus anthracis has been classified as one of the most dangerous bioterrorism agents causing high mortality rates in short periods of time. Anthrax spores are extremely resistant to chemical and environmental factors, and have the ability to return into a vegetative (virulent) state during the process of germination. Previous research has suggested that spores can be eradicated with common disinfectants after germination and release of spore coats. During germination, the spore coat is degraded, making the spore susceptible to penetration of chemicals into the spore core. While previous research has focused on a qualitative understanding of germination of spores by obtaining high-resolutions images of spore coats to understand how protein coat layers change during germination, very few studies have evaluated changes in mechanical properties of spores during germination, and how germination affects virulence of macrophages. In this study, we performed a series of in vitro experiments to do an in-depth analysis of germination and virulence of B. anthracis. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate changes in spore surface properties during germination including morphology, roughness, elasticity, and spring constant. AFM results suggested that germination mechanisms depend on germinants used to trigger germination and roughness of Bacillus species increase during germination. In addition, the elasticity and spring cell constant of B. anthracis spores are affected during germination since the elastic moduli and cell spring constant values decreased with time as the spore was germinating, making the cells more susceptible. Spore killing was also tested both in sporulated and vegetative B. anthracis using the antimicrobial peptide chrysophsin-3 and the surfactant dodecylamine (DDA). Both killing agents were capable of eradicating B. anthracis spores, but more killing was observed for spores that were germinating or had become vegetative. The presence of germinant receptors from the Ger operon and its role on germination kinetics of B. anthracis was also investigated. The germination of mutant spores that carried one receptor or lacked all germinant receptors was compared to the germination kinetics of wild-type B. anthracis. Our results suggest that germination of spores is modified by the presence or absence of germinant receptors. Furthermore, the mutant B. anthracis strain lacking all receptors germinated suggesting that other receptor independent pathways may exist in B. anthracis. Finally the ability of B. anthracis to adhere, grow, and invade macrophages was investigated. Invasion of macrophages by B. anthracis was dependent on germinant receptors and the ability of spores to germinate and multiply. Our results suggest that macrophages were not capable of killing infecting spores, and on the contrary, germination of spores inside macrophages caused the lysis of macrophages. An uncontrolled release of cytokines by macrophages was elicited by spores and germinated B. anthracis. Our study helps understand the process of germination of B. anthracis spores at a nanomolecular level. Our investigation may be a valuable tool in the design and development of antisporal compounds.