Severe influenza virus infection, including human infection with highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses is characterised by massive pulmonary inflammation, immunopathology and excessive cytokine production, a process in which macrophages may play a vital role. The aim of this project was to investigate the hypothesis that inhibition of inflammatory responses from infected macrophages, using either alternatively activated bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMf), or IFNg receptor deficient (IFNgR-/-) mice may ameliorate the devastating immunopathology and inflammation routinely observed in highly pathogenic influenza virus infections. Infection of alternatively activated BMDMf resulted in enhanced positivity for viral proteins, compared with classically activated, inflammatory BMDMf. However, neither subset propagated the infection indicating that while infection is abortive in both classical and alternatively activated BMDMf, the latter may prove more efficient at removing infectious virus from the site of infection due to enhanced infectivity. However, influenza virus was capable of driving expression of proinflammatory mediators such as iNOS and TNFa from classical and alternatively activated BMDMf even in the absence of IFNg signalling. IFNgR-/- BMDMf demonstrated a reduced inflammatory response to infection compared to Sv129 counterparts, suggesting a potentially impaired inflammatory response in vivo. This was investigated by infection of IFNgR-/- mice, which resulted in ameliorated disease, lower viral titres and mild immunopathology, demonstrating that inhibition of IFNg signalling limits the severity of disease. Additionally, mRNA expression for key inflammatory mediators was reduced, demonstrating that inhibition of the overwhelming inflammatory response to influenza virus infection is beneficial to the host, resulting in protection from immunopathology and improved prognosis, without impairing viral clearance.

Asma alérgica é uma inflamação pulmonar crônica mediada por células Th2. A Hipótese da Higiene é a teoria aceita para explicar o aumento das alergias nas últimas décadas e preconiza que a menor exposição dos indivíduos a componentes microbianos prejudica a geração mecanismos imunorregulatórios. Nosso estudo abordou a modulação da resposta alérgica pulmonar induzida por ovalbumina, por cepas de bacilo Calmette-Guérin recombinantes (rBCG) que expressam fragmentos de toxinas bacterianas. Observamos que dependendo do antígeno heterólogo expresso, a imunização intranasal com rBCG pode levar tanto a supressão como a exacerbação da resposta alérgica pulmonar. Demonstramos que tanto em um contexto profilático quanto terapêutico, rBCG é capaz de suprimir os parâmetros alérgicos, e a supressão não envolve o recrutamento de células T regulatórias, é um fenômeno local, está associada a maior produção de IFN-g do que IL-4 e é dependente de IL-12. Estes dados sugerem que a infecção pulmonar por rBCG gera um milieu capaz de bloquear a migração de células Th2 inflamatórias. / Allergic asthma is an atopic disorder mediated by Th2 cells. The Hygiene Hypothesis is the accepted theory to explain the increasing in allergy in recent deacades. It states that modern health care and hygiene practices have led to a reduced exposure to microorganisms components which impairs the generation of immunoregulatory mechanisms. The present study analysed how the intranasal infection with recombinant bacillus Calmette-Guérin (rBCG) strains expressing fragments of bacterial toxins could modulate an allergic pulmonary inflammation induced by ovalbumin. We demonstrated that the rBCG strains could supress or exacerbate the allergic inflammation depending on the expressed heterologous antigen. We analysed the effect of the mycobacterial infection in a prophylactic and in a therapeutical contexts, and we have identified that for both situations the of supression allergic features does not involve the recruitment of regulatory T cells to the lungs, is a local phenomena, is associated with an increased production of IFN-g, and is an IL-12 dependent mechanism. Taken togheter, this data suggest that the rBCG pulmonary infection generates a milieu capable to supress the chemotaxis for Th2 cells, which suppress the establishment of the allergic inflammation in the lungs.

Asma alérgica é uma inflamação pulmonar crônica mediada por células Th2. A Hipótese da Higiene é a teoria aceita para explicar o aumento das alergias nas últimas décadas e preconiza que a menor exposição dos indivíduos a componentes microbianos prejudica a geração mecanismos imunorregulatórios. Nosso estudo abordou a modulação da resposta alérgica pulmonar induzida por ovalbumina, por cepas de bacilo Calmette-Guérin recombinantes (rBCG) que expressam fragmentos de toxinas bacterianas. Observamos que dependendo do antígeno heterólogo expresso, a imunização intranasal com rBCG pode levar tanto a supressão como a exacerbação da resposta alérgica pulmonar. Demonstramos que tanto em um contexto profilático quanto terapêutico, rBCG é capaz de suprimir os parâmetros alérgicos, e a supressão não envolve o recrutamento de células T regulatórias, é um fenômeno local, está associada a maior produção de IFN-g do que IL-4 e é dependente de IL-12. Estes dados sugerem que a infecção pulmonar por rBCG gera um milieu capaz de bloquear a migração de células Th2 inflamatórias. / Allergic asthma is an atopic disorder mediated by Th2 cells. The Hygiene Hypothesis is the accepted theory to explain the increasing in allergy in recent deacades. It states that modern health care and hygiene practices have led to a reduced exposure to microorganisms components which impairs the generation of immunoregulatory mechanisms. The present study analysed how the intranasal infection with recombinant bacillus Calmette-Guérin (rBCG) strains expressing fragments of bacterial toxins could modulate an allergic pulmonary inflammation induced by ovalbumin. We demonstrated that the rBCG strains could supress or exacerbate the allergic inflammation depending on the expressed heterologous antigen. We analysed the effect of the mycobacterial infection in a prophylactic and in a therapeutical contexts, and we have identified that for both situations the of supression allergic features does not involve the recruitment of regulatory T cells to the lungs, is a local phenomena, is associated with an increased production of IFN-g, and is an IL-12 dependent mechanism. Taken togheter, this data suggest that the rBCG pulmonary infection generates a milieu capable to supress the chemotaxis for Th2 cells, which suppress the establishment of the allergic inflammation in the lungs.

The present study examined adverse effects of sunlight exposure (mimicked by intradermal cis-urocanic acid, cUCA) on local and systemic immune responses, with or without co-exposure to the immunotoxic insecticide permethrin. A single exposure to cUCA caused diminished splenic macrophage phagocytosis that was persistent up to 30 days post-exposure. Five-day exposure to cUCA subtly increased splenocyte proliferation in response to the T cell mitogen Concanavalin A. Four-week exposure to cUCA caused increased splenic lymphocyte cellularity, thymic hypocellularity, and enhanced hydrogen peroxide production by splenic leukocytes. Single exposure to topical permethrin resulted in decreased thymic and splenic weight and cellularity, and inhibited antibody production by splenic B cells. cUCA worsened the negative effect of permethrin on both thymic weight and cellularity, and depressed splenocyte blastogenesis, hydrogen peroxide production, and antibody production. Five-day exposure to either cUCA or permethrin also caused persistent decreased contact hypersensitivity responses, an effect that became more than additive when the chemicals were administered concurrently. Defects in antigen processing and presentation by cutaneous Langerhans cells were evaluated as possible contributing mechanisms to the cutaneous immunosuppression, using mice with deleted genes. Vehicle-exposed IFNg knockout mice displayed approximately a 22.1% depression in the ear swelling response as compared to control C57BL/6N mice, suggesting that this cytokine may be required for mounting a control-level hypersensitivity response. Ear swelling in cUCA-exposed IFNg knockout mice displayed a 21.4% depressed response as compared to cUCA-exposed wild-type C57BL/6N mice, again suggesting that IFNg is an important cytokine in the contact hypersensitivity (CH) response. TNFaR knockout mice exposed to cUCA displayed 33.9% greater ear swelling than cUCA-exposed wild-type C57BL/6N mice, suggesting that increased TNFa may be involved in inhibited CH by cUCA. TNFaR knockout mice exposed to permethrin displayed 33.9% greater ear swelling than permethrin-exposed C57BL/6N mice, suggesting that increased TNFa may also be involved in inhibited CH by permethrin. C57BL/6N mice exposed to cUCA + permethrin displayed severe reduction of the CH response to 8.7% of the control level. IFNg knockout mice exposed to permethrin + cUCA showed essentially identical depression of the CH response as IFNg knockout mice exposed to either permethrin or cUCA alone. These results suggest that IFNg is required for the greater than additive immunotoxic effect that occurred when these two agents were co-administered. TNFaR knockout mice exposed to cUCA + permethrin displayed 8.7 fold greater ear swelling than similarly exposed C57BL/6N mice, again suggesting that increased TNFa is involved in inhibited CH by both cUCA and permethrin. / Ph. D.

Replication-deficient adenovirus (Ad) and modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) vectors expressing single Plasmodium falciparum antigens can induce potent T cell and antibody responses and have entered clinical testing using a heterologous prime-boost immunisation approach (Ad_MVA). This thesis describes a number of pre-clinical approaches aimed at enhancing the efficacy of these viral vectored vaccines targeting the blood-stage of malaria. First, the development of a highly efficacious malaria vaccine is likely to require a multi-antigen and/or multi-stage subunit vaccine. The utility of an Ad_MVA immunisation regime combining vaccines expressing the 42kDa C-terminus of the blood- stage antigen merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP142) and the pre-erythrocytic antigen circumsporozoite protein (CSP) in the P. yoelii mouse model was investigated. It was found that vaccine co- administration leads to maintained antibody responses and efficacy against blood-stage infection, but reduced secondary CD8+ T cell responses and efficacy against liver-stage infection. CD8+ T cell interference can be minimised by co-administering the MVA vaccines at separate sites, resulting in enhanced liver-stage efficacy. The mechanisms of CD8+ T cell interference were explored. Second, Ad_MVA regimes expressing blood-stage antigens that can protect against P. chabaudi and P. yoelii blood-stage infection were tested against P. berghei, but did not confer protection. Similarly, IgG from rabbits immunised against P. falciparum MSP1 (PfMSP1) could not protect mice from a chimeric P. berghei parasite expressing PfMSP1. Third, two molecular adjuvants, the C4bp α-chain oligomerisation domain (IMX108/313) and the Fc fragment of murine IgG2a, were tested for their ability to enhance immunogenicity of recombinant adenoviruses when fused at the C-terminus of a blood-stage antigen. IMX108/313 was found to adjuvant T cell responses of small (< 80kDa) antigens and this was associated with antigen oligomerisation. However, the Fc fragment did not adjuvant responses. Finally, it was found that using a strong early promoter to drive antigen expression enhances the immunogenicity of single administration MVA vaccines, but that this did not enhance post-boost immunogenicity in an Ad_MVA regime.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T13:54:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Claudia Maria de Melo Silva.pdf: 2215806 bytes, checksum: c9afeecd5c357af061e1b38a8a31df56 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-28 / FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and remains a major worldwide public health problem, leading to almost 1.45 million deaths annually. The state of Amazonas has a high rate incidence of TB, about 68.3/100,000 inhabitants in 2012. Only 5 to 10% of infected individuals develop active TB. It has been suggested that host factors determine the immune response to pathogen. Thus, many immunogenetic researches have demonstrated TB associated genes, but in the north region, research in this field is still rare. This fact motivated the investigation of polymorphisms for IFNG, IL12B, CD80 and CD86 genes, which codify proteins for cellular immune response. Furthermore, IFN- concentration and its relation with genotypes found have been verified. A total of 177 patients and 224 controls (159 contacts and 65 non-contacts) were included in this study and DNA sequencing was performed for genes IFNG (SNP +874A/T and microsatellite +875), IL12B (SNPs +1030C/T, +1188A/C and +1254T/G), CD80 (SNPs -454 C/A, -387 T/C, -232 G/A, -79 C/G, -7T/C, +5C/A and an indel polymorphism -557_-561insCATGA) and CD86 (SNPs +1057G/A and +1079G/A). The IFN-y concentration was determined by enzyme-linked immunoassay. At IFNG, the presence of the allele +874A and the allele with 15 CA repeats were associated with susceptibility to pulmonary TB, while the allele +874T and the allele with 12 CA repeats were associated with protection from pulmonary TB. In addition, an association between genotype CC (SNP +1188A/C at IL12B) and increased risk of pulmonary TB was found. Furthermore, a significant difference between IFN- concentration and genotypes of SNP +1188A/C at IL12B and microsatellite at IFNG was observed, with decrease of IFN-at genotype CC and 15 CA repeats respectively. These outcomes lead to a better understanding of the immune response regulation for TB and help to determine the genetic profile of the Amazon population. Future researches are still needed for a better understanding of the role of other genes involved in the immune response to M. tuberculosis and their influence at the production of citokines like IFN-. / A Tuberculose (TB) é uma infecção crônica causada pelo complexo Mycobacterium tuberculosis sendo um importante problema de saúde pública mundial, levando a aproximadamente 1,45 milhões de mortes a cada ano. O estado do Amazonas possui uma alta incidência desta doença, atingindo 68,3 casos por 100 mil habitantes em 2012. Dos indivíduos infectados pelo bacilo, cerca de 5 a 10% desenvolvem a Tuberculose ativa, sugerindo que há fatores associados ao hospedeiro que determinam o destino da resposta imune ao patógeno. Neste contexto, diversos estudos em imunogenética têm demonstrado genes associados à TB, mas na região norte ainda são raras as pesquisas nesta área, fato que motivou a investigação da frequência dos polimorfismos nos genes IFNG, IL12B, CD80 e CD86, que codificam para proteínas fundamentais na resposta imune celular. Além disso, foi verificado se a concentração de IFN- está relacionada com o genótipo encontrado. Foram incluídas amostras de 177 pacientes e 224 controles (159 contatos e 65 não contatos) e realizado sequenciamento de DNA para os genes IFNG (SNP +874A/T e microssatélite +875), IL12B (SNPs +1030C/T, +1188A/C e +1254T/G), CD80 (SNPs -454 C/A, 454 C/A, 454 C/A, 454 C/A, -387 T/C, 387 T/C, 387 T/C, -232 G/A, 232 G/A, 232 G/A, -79 C/G, 79 C/G, 79 C/G, -7T/C e 7T/C e 7T/C e 7T/C e +5C/A+5C/A +5C/A e um polimorfismo indel -557_-561insCATGA) e CD86 (SNPs +1057G/A e +1079G/A). A determinação das concentrações de IFN-foi realizada através de ensaio imunoenzimático. Foi verificada uma associação do gene IFNG, entre a presença do alelo +874A e 15 repetições CA, como fator de risco para TB pulmonar assim como a presença do alelo +874T e 12 repetições CA como fatores de proteção contra TB pulmonar. Também foi encontrada uma associação do genótipo CC, do SNP +1188A/C no gene IL12B, como fator de risco ao desenvolvimento da TB pulmonar. Houve diferença significativa na concentração de IFN-entre os genótipos do SNP +1188A/C no gene IL12B e o microssatélite no gene IFNG, com menor produção no genótipo CC e 15 repetições CA respectivamente. Estes resultados contribuem para o melhor entendimento da regulação na resposta imune à TB e auxilia na determinação do perfil genético da população da região Amazônica. Estudos futuros são necessários para uma melhor compreensão do papel de outros genes envolvidos na resposta imunológica a M. tuberculosis e influência nos níveis de produção de citocinas como IFN-.

The breadth of genetic diversity in the mammalian immune response stands out amongst the ubiquity of variation seen in the genome, evidence that microbial infections have been a major driver of evolution. As technology has facilitated an understanding of the etiology of immunological diversity, so too has it enabled the assessment of its varied functions. Functional genomics, with its ability to assess both cause and effect, has revolutionized our understanding of fundamental biological phenomena and recalibrated our hypotheses. We build upon the model of host immunity established by rare genetic variants that are causative of immunodeficiencies, but that incompletely consider the complexities of the genome. To expand our understanding, we performed a series of forward genetic screens to identify regulators of distinct functions of the innate immune system. Our studies discovered genes with novel functions in antigen presentation and immunoregulation, including several involved in central metabolism. Studies in macrophages and dendritic cells identified mitochondrial respiration as a positive regulator of the interferon-gamma response, and cells incapable of respiration failed to activate T cells. Notably, human mutations in several of these genes are responsible for immune dysfunction. In summary, this work uses new methods in genetic engineering to systematically assess the regulation of innate immunity. Our results suggest that variation in these regulatory pathways is likely to alter immunity in states of health and disease. Thus, our work validates a new approach to identify candidate genes relevant to immune dysfunction.

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