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A Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Role of Toll-like Receptor 2 and 4 in Host Immune

Response against Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii 에 대항하는 숙주면역

반응에서 톨유사 수용체 2 및 4 의 역할

Chang-Hwan Kim, D.V.M.

August 2014

Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine

College of Veterinary Medicine

Graduate School of Seoul National University

Role of Toll-like Receptor 2 and 4 in Host Immune

Response against Acinetobacter baumannii

By

Chang-Hwan Kim

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirement for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Supervisor: Jae-Hak Park, D.V.M., Ph.D.

June 2014

Dissertation Committee:

Woo, Hee-Jong (인) (Chairman of Committee) Park, Jae-Hak (인) (Vice chairman of Committee) Chae, Chan-Hee (인) (Committee member) Hur, Gyeung-Haeng (인) (Committee member) Park, Jong-Hwan (인) (Committee member)

- i -

ABSTRACT

Role of Toll-like Receptor 2 and 4 in Host Immune

Response against Acinetobacter baumannii

(Supervisor: Jaehak Park)

Chang-Hwan Kim

Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of

Veterinary Medicine Graduate School, Seoul National University

Interest in the genus Acinetobacter, from both the scientific and public

community, has risen sharply over recent years. Toll–like receptors (TLRs) are the

most studied pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and TLR2 and TLR4 play

important roles in the recognition of bacterial pathogen. TLR2 is a membrane

sensor for bacterial lipoprotein and TLR4 has been identified as a sensor for LPS,

a major cell wall component of Gram-negative bacteria. In these studies, we

investigated in vitro and in vivo innate immune mechanism against Acinetobacter

- ii -

baumannii focusing on TLR2 and TLR4.

In the first study, we studied the role of TLR2 and TLR4 on innate immune

responses of immune cells against A. baumannii. Bone marrow-derived

macrophages (BMDMs) and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) were

isolated from wild type (WT), TLR2- and TLR4-deficient mice and infected with

A. baumannii. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed

revealing that the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α

(TNF-α) by A. baumannii was impaired in TLR4-deficient macrophages. In

addition, TLR4 was required for the optimal production of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-

12 in BMDCs in response to A. baumannii. However, the absence of TLR2 did

not affect A. baumannii-induced cytokines production in BMDMs. Western blot

analysis showed that A. baumannii leads to the activation of nuclear factor-kappa

B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in macrophages via

TLR4-dependent pathway. mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase

(iNOS) and nitric oxide (NO) production was elicited in WT BMDMs in response

to A. baumannii, which was abolished in TLR4-deficienct cells. Although TLR4

deficiency did not affect phagocytic activity of macrophages against A. baumannii,

bacterial killing ability was impaired in TLR4-deficient BMDMs. In addition, A.

baumannii induced apoptosis in BMDMs via TLR4-independent pathway.

In the second study, WT, TLR2- and TLR4-deficient mice were infected

- iii -

intranasally with A. baumannii to determine the role of TLR2 and TLR4 in host

defense against A. baumannii infection. Body weight, pulmonary bacterial load,

cytokine and chemokine levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung

histopathology were examined after infection. Body weight loss of TLR2-

deficient mice was comparable to WT mice but that of TLR4-deficient mice was

significantly less than WT mice. Pulmonary bacterial loads of TLR2-deficient

mice were only increased at 1 day and those of TLR4-deficient mice were higher

than WT mice at 1, 3 and 5 days after infection. In TLR2-deficient mice, there

was a significant increase in pulmonary IL-6 and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand

2 (CXCL2) at 1 day after infection. When compared with WT mice, cytokine and

chemokine concentrations of TLR4-deficient mice were significantly increased at

day 1 but decreased thereafter. The histopathological features of lung tissue were

comparable between WT and TLR2-deficient mice but inflammation was marked

alleviated in TLR4-deficient mice compared with WT mice at 5 days after

infection.

In conclusion, our studies demonstrated that TLR4 was essential for inducing

innate immune response in immune cells and host against A. baumannii and TLR2

contributed to the host defense against A. baumannii at an early stage of infection.

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Key words: Acinetobacter baumannii, toll-like receptor, innate immunity, bone

marrow derived macrophages, mouse, pneumonia, cytokine.

Student number: 2007-30453

- v -

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................i

CONTENTS........................................................................................................ v

LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................................................................vii

ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ ix

LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................... 1

Genus Acinetobacter ........................................................................................... 2

Microbiology ....................................................................................................... 3

Epidemiology ...................................................................................................... 5

Virulence Factor ................................................................................................. 6

Pathogenesis...................................................................................................... 10

Immune Respose against Acinetobacter Infection ........................................... 11

Resistance to antibiotics ................................................................................... 13

Clinical Manifestinations ................................................................................. 14

Detection and Diagnosis ................................................................................... 18

Treatment ......................................................................................................... 20

Toll-like Receptor ............................................................................................. 21

References ......................................................................................................... 30

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CHAPTER I. Essential role of toll-like receptor 4 in Acinetobacter

baumannii-induced immune responses in immune cells ................................. 48

Introduction ...................................................................................................... 49

Materials and Methods .................................................................................... 51

Results ............................................................................................................... 56

Discussion ......................................................................................................... 60

References ......................................................................................................... 73

CHAPTER II. Role of toll-like receptor 2 and 4 in the pulmonary infection

with Acinetobacter baumannii .......................................................................... 78

Introduction ...................................................................................................... 79

Materials and Methods .................................................................................... 82

Results ............................................................................................................... 85

Discussion ......................................................................................................... 88

References ......................................................................................................... 99

GENERAL CONCLUSION ........................................................................... 106

ABSTRACT IN KOREAN ............................................................................. 108

- vii -

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER I.

Figure 1. Cytokine production by WT and TLR4-deficient BMDMs in response to

A. baumannii ...................................................................................................... 65

Figure 2. Cytokine production by WT and TLR2-deficient BMDMs in response to

A. baumannii.. .................................................................................................... 67

Figure 3. Cytokine production by A. baumannii in WT and TLR4-deficient

BMDCs . ............................................................................................................ 68

Figure 4. NF-κB and MAPK activation in WT and TLR4-deficient BMDMs in

response to A. baumannii... ................................................................................. 69

Figure 5. iNOS expression and NO production in WT and TLR4-deficient

BMDMs infected with A. baumannii .................................................................. 70

Figure 6. Ability of phagocytosis and bacterial killing against A. baumannii and

induction of apoptosis by A. baumannii in BMDMs ........................................... 71

CHAPTER II.

Figure 1. Body weight changes by A. baumannii infection in WT, TLR2- and

TLR4-deficient mice .......................................................................................... 93

Figure 2. Bacterial clearance in the lung of mice infected with A. baumannii. ..... 94

- viii -

Figure 3. The production of cytokines and chemokines by A. baumannii in WT

and TLR2-deficient mice. ................................................................................... 95

Figure 4. The production of cytokines and chemokines by A. baumannii in WT

and TLR4-deficient mice. ................................................................................... 96

Figure 5. Histopathology in the lung of A. baumannii-infected mice ................... 98

- ix -

ABBREVIATIONS

AP-1 Activator protein-1

BALF Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid

BMDC Bone marrow derived dendritic cell

BMDM Bone marrow derived macrophage

CCL Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand

CFU Colony forming unit

CXCL Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand

ELISA Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

ERK Extracellular signal-regulated kinase

IKK IκB kinase

IL Interleukin

iNOS Inducible nitric oxide synthase

IRAK Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase

IRF Interferon regulatory factors

JNK c-Jun N-terminal kinases

LDH Lactate dehydrogenase

LPS Lipopolysaccharide

MAPK Mitogen-activated protein kinase

- x -

MDR Multidrug resistant

MOI Multiplicity of infection

MyD88 Myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88

NF-κB Nuclear factor kappa B

NO Nitric oxide

PAMP Pathogen associated molecular pattern

PRR Pattern recognition receptor

TLR Toll-like receptor

TNF-α Tumor necrosis factor alpha

TRIF TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon

-β

WT Wild type

- 1 -

LITERATURE REVIEW

- 2 -

Genus Acinetobacter

Bacteria of the genus Acinetobacter have gained increasing attention over the

past several decades. Acinetobacter baumannii is the most significant species in

the genus and a major cause of hospital-acquired infection globally (Munoz-Price

and Weinstein, 2008; Visca et al., 2011). Until now, A. baumannii strains resistant

to all known antibiotics have been reported (Peleg et al., 2007; Prashanth and

Badrinath, 2005) and they suddenly cause infections involving several patients in

a clinical care unit (Fierobe et al., 2001; Poirel et al., 2003). Acting in synergy

with this emerging resistance profile, some strains have the ability to survive on

the surfaces of hospital facilities and equipments for weeks, thus creating the

potential for nosocomial spread (Knapp et al., 2006; Peleg et al., 2008).

Acinetobacter can cause various kinds of clinical symptoms in humans.

Although pulmonary diseases are the most common infections caused by this

organism (Glew et al., 1977), infections involving the bloodstream, skin and soft

tissue, central nervous system, urinary tract and bone have emerged as highly

problematic in recent times. The organism commonly targets the most susceptible

hospitalized patients who are critically ill with skin wounds and airway problems.

The mortality rate associated with A. baumannii infection in the intensive care

unit setting can reach 40%.

Despite the great increase of infections caused by multidrug resistant (MDR)

- 3 -

Acinetobacter, there is still a lack of awareness about these microorganisms

(Doughari et al., 2010). Because of the limited therapeutic options for MDR

Acinetobacter infections, prevention of transmission among health care associated

facilities is critical in preventing morbidity. Moreover, there is also an urgent need

to develop novel therapeutic agents active against multidrug resistant strains.

Microbiology

The history of the genus Acinetobacter dates back to 1911, when Beijerinck, a

Dutch microbiologist, described an organism named Micrococcus calcoaceticus

that was isolated from soil with enrichment medium (Beijerinck, 1911). Over the

subsequent decades, similar organisms were described and assigned to at least 15

different genera and species. The current genus designation, Acinetobacter was

initially proposed by Brisou and Pre´vot in 1954 to separate the nonmotile from

the motile microorganisms within the genus Achromobacter (Brisou and Prevot,

1954). The name “Acinetobacter” originates from the Greek word “akinetos”

meaning “unable to move”, as these bacteria are not motile.

The genus Acinetobacter belongs to the family Moraxellaceae and order

Pseudomonadales. It consists of Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile, non-

fastidious, non-fermentative, oxidative-negative, indole-negative, catalase-

positive bacteria with a DNA G+C content of 39% to 47% (Barbe et al., 2004;

- 4 -

Vallenet et al., 2008). Acinetobacter spp. grow well on solid media that are

routinely used in clinical microbiology laboratories. The optimum incubation

temperature is 33-35°C for most strains. They are bacilli with 0.9 to 1.6 um in

diameter and 1.5 to 2.5 um in length in the exponential growth phase (Peleg et al.,

2008).

The cells of Acinetobacter vary in size and arrangement. They generally form

smooth and sometimes mucoid colonies on solid media, ranging in color from

white to pale yellow or grayish white. Some environmental strains have been

reported to produce a diffusible brown pigment. Several clinical isolates show

hemolysis on sheep blood agar plates (Peleg et al., 2008). Although the cell wall

of Acinetobacter is typically Gram-negative bacteria, destaining is difficult and

may therefore be misidentified as Gram-positive cocci (Marcella Alsan and

Michael Klompas, 2010).

Based on molecular studies, thirty-two species of Acinetobacter have now been

recognized. Twenty-two of them have assigned valid names, whereas other

species are described as a genomic group. Four of the species (A. calcoaceticus, A.

baumannii, Acinetobacter genomic species 3, and Acinetobacter genomic species

13TU) are very closely related and difficult to distinguish from each other by

phenotypic properties. Therefore, it has been proposed to refer to these species as

the A. baumannii-A.calcoaceticus (ABC) complex (Gerner-Smidt, 1992).

- 5 -

Epidemiology

Acinetobacter species are ubiquitous in nature and have been found in soil,

water, animals and humans. Some strains of Acinetobacter can survive for weeks

in the environment promoting transmission within the hospital settings (Doughari

et al., 2011). A. baumannii was recovered from the skin, throat, rectum and

respiratory tract of humans and account for nearly 80% of reported Acinetobacter

infections (Eliopoulos et al., 2008). Skin carriage of Acinetobacter species has

been implicated as a cause of nosocomial outbreaks of infection (Fournier et al.,

2006). However, an epidemiological study found that most people are typically

colonized with Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii (Seifert et al.,

1997). Although A. baumannii is not a normal inhabitant of human skin, its DNA

was detected in 21% of 622 lice collected worldwide, suggesting that A.

baumannii is endemic to human body lice (La Scola and Raoult, 2004).

Pathogenic Acinetobacter infections were encountered in military personnel

during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and was named by the media as

Iraqibacter (O'Shea, 2012). Between January 2002 and August 2004, multi-drug

resistant ABC was isolated from blood samples of 102 veterans of Iraq-

Afghanistan combat who were hospitalized in military medical facilities in Iraq.

Epidemics of ABC in soldiers wounded abroad are primarily attributable to

nosocomial transmission because strains recovered from healthy U.S.-based

- 6 -

soldiers differ from those recovered from injured soldiers (Griffith et al., 2006)

and A. baumannii has not routinely been isolated from soil and water reservoirs in

Iraq (Griffith et al., 2007).

Spread of multidrug resistant A. baumannii can occur on a national and even

international scale. There are several cases of infection in many countries (Coelho

et al., 2006; Lolans et al., 2006). Some studies have reported the epidemiology of

A. baumannii infections in different parts of the world including Europe, the

United States and South America (Kurcik-Trajkovska, 2009; Siau et al., 1999).

The movement of personnel, patients, equipments or other shared products may

cause the monoclonal multi-institutional outbreaks, which suggests the

importance of rigorous infection control procedures.

Virulence Factor

Acinetobacter was considered to be an organism with low virulence in the past.

However, the occurrence of fulminant Acinetobacter pneumonia indicates that

these organisms may sometimes be of high pathogenicity and cause invasive

disease. The study of more specific virulence mechanisms in Acinetobacter has

focused on the the lipopolysaccharide (Erridge et al., 2007; Knapp et al., 2006),

siderophore (Dorsey et al., 2004), quorum sensing (Bhargava et al., 2011;

González et al., 2001) and outer membrane protein (OMP) function (Lee et al.,

- 7 -

2006; Siroy et al., 2006).

When the genome of A. baumannii was compared to that of the nonpathogenic

species A. baylyi, 28 gene clusters were unique to A. baumannii, with 16 of these

clusters having a potential role in virulence. One of the most interesting of these

was a 133,740-bp island that contained not only transposons and integrases but

also genes homologous to the Legionella/Coxiella type IV virulence/secretion

systems. Other relevant genes included those involved in the pilus biogenesis, cell

envelope and iron uptake and metabolism (Smith et al., 2007).

Lipopolysaccharide and Capsular Polysaccharide

Lipopolysaccharides found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria

are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide joined by a covalent

bond. The lipopolysaccharide produced by Acinetobacter elicits a strong immune

response and is responsible for lethal toxicity in laboratory animals (Pantophlet,

2008). It also induces a positive endotoxin detection test during Acinetobacter

bloodstream infection in humans.

Acting in synergy with the capsular exopolysaccharide, the lipopolysaccharide

is involved in resistance to complement system in human serum. A relationship

has been investigated between Gram-negative bacteria isolated from bacteremic

patients and their in vitro resistance against the lytic activity of complement. In

- 8 -

experimental models of Gram-negative infections, it has been demonstrated that

capsular polysaccharide blocks the access of complement to the microbial cell

wall and prevents the triggering of the alternative pathway of complement

activation (Goel and Kapil, 2001).

Siderophores

Siderophores are small, high-affinity iron chelating compounds responsible for

iron uptake in bacteria. Bacteria meet their iron requirement by binding

exogenous iron using siderophores or hemophores (Lesouhaitier et al., 2009).

Acinetobacter siderophores are called acinetobactins and are chiefly made up of

the amine histamine which results from histidin decarboxylation (Mihara et al.,

2004). In order to thrive in the iron-deficient condition of a human host,

Acinetobacter spp. secrete acinetobactins around the environment (Dorsey et al.,

2004).

Quorum Sensing

Quorum sensing has been shown to regulate a wide array of virulence

mechanisms in many Gram-negative organisms such as P. aeruginosa. In

Acinetobacter spp., four different quorum sensing signal molecules capable of

activating N-acylhomoserine-lactone biosensors have been identified (González et

- 9 -

al., 2001). Quorum sensing may be a central mechanism for auto induction of

multiple virulence factors in an opportunistic pathogen such as Acinetobacter and

this process should be studied for its clinical implications (Joly-Guillou, 2005).

Outer Membrane Protein (OMP)

Outer membrane proteins in some Gram-negative bacteria are known to have

essential roles not only in pathogenesis and adaptation in host cells but also in

antibiotic resistance. Several OMPs of the OmpA family have been characterized

in various Acinetobacter strains (Dijkshoorn et al., 2007; Gordon and Wareham,

2010). The cells of Acinetobacter spp. are surrounded by OmpA, a protein that

kills host cells (Choi et al., 2008). During an infection, OmpA binds to eukaryotic

cells and gets translocated into the nucleus where it causes cell death (Choi et al.,

2008; Dijkshoorn et al., 2007).

Verotoxins

Verotoxin production in Acinetobacter was first identified from A.

haemolyticus (Grotiuz et al., 2006). The toxins belong to the RNA N-glycosidases

which directly target the cell ribosome machinery and inhibit protein synthesis.

Verotoxins can be classified into two antigenic groups, vtx-1 and vtx-2, which

include an important number of genotypic variants. The mechanism by which A.

- 10 -

haemolyticus produces this toxin is not well understood. The pathogenicity, basic

structure, and chemical components of the toxins are the same as those of

verotoxins from E. coli and other bacteria (Lambert et al., 1993).

Virulence Conferring Enzymes

Cell surface enzymes facilitate the adhesion of bacterial cells to host cells. For

example, the urease activity of Acinetobacter promotes colonization of the mouse

stomach (Costa et al., 2006). Other virulence conferring enzymes secreted by the

bacteria include esterases, certain amino-peptidases, and acid phosphatases

(Rathinavelu et al., 2003; Towner, 2006). Two copies of the phospholipase C gene

with 50% identity to that of Pseudomonas are found in A. baumannii. It is

assumed that these lipases serve a similar function as a hydrolytic enzyme

(Vallenet et al., 2008).

Pathogenesis

An infection caused by Acinetobacter spp. results if the host first line of

defense is compromised. For example, chronic gastritis in gastrointestinal

infections with A. lwoffıi and H. pylori is induced when the normal tissue

architecture of the gastric epithelium is altered. Infections with A. lwoffıi induce

production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increase gastrin levels. Persistent

- 11 -

inflammation including the activation of antigen presenting cells and release of

pro-inflammatory molecules involve in acid secretion and changes in the number

of gastric epithelial cells. This can lead to gastritis, peptic ulcers, and gastric

cancer (Richet and Pierre Edouard Fournier, 2006).

Acinetobacter poses little risk to healthy people. However, people who have

weakened immune systems, chronic lung disease, or diabetes may be more

susceptible to infections with Acinetobacter. Interpreting the significance of A.

baumannii isolates from skin, pharynx, GI tract, urethra, conjunctiva, and the

vagina must be performed carefully, as these organisms can colonize both healthy

and devitalized tissues in these areas. Most infections occur in tissues with a high

fluid content, such as the respiratory tract, peritoneal fluid, and the urinary tract.

Nosocomial infection caused by Acinetobacter spp. is very common and risk

factors include length of hospital stay, surgery, treatment with broad-spectrum

antibiotics, indwelling catheters, mechanical ventilation, and breaches in infection

control practices.

Immune Response against Acinetobacter Infection

Several studies have described the innate immune response to A. baumannii and

the importance of TLR signaling (Erridge et al., 2007; Knapp et al., 2006). In a

mouse pneumonia model, TLR4 gene-deficient mice had increased bacterial

- 12 -

counts, increased bacteremia, impaired cytokine and chemokine responses, and

delayed onset of lung inflammation compared to wild-type mice. A. baumannii

LPS was identified as the major immunostimulatory factor. This was further

illustrated by the attenuated effects of A. baumannii on mice deficient in CD14, an

important molecule that enables LPS binding to TLR4 (Knapp et al., 2006).

These findings were confirmed using human cells, but in contrast to the mouse

model, TLR2 was also identified as an important signaling pathway (Erridge et al.,

2007). Authors demonstrated the potent endotoxic potential of A. baumannii LPS,

which stimulated the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis

factor alpha equally to the stimulation by E. coli LPS at similar concentrations

(Erridge et al., 2007). These studies suggest that A. baumannii endotoxin may

incite a strong inflammatory response during infection. Nod like receptors (NLRs)

such as Nod1 and Nod2 also contribute to host immune response against A.

baumannii infection (Bist et al., 2014).

Humoral immune responses have also been described for Acinetobacter

infection, with antibodies being targeted toward iron-repressible OMPs and the O

polysaccharide component of LPS (Smith and Alpar, 1991). A study showed that

mouse-derived monoclonal antibodies directed at A. baumannii OMPs expressed

in an iron depleted environment have bactericidal and opsonizing activity. These

antibodies were also able to block siderophore-mediated iron uptake (Goel and

- 13 -

Kapil, 2001).

Resistance to antibiotics

The concerning features of A. baumannii are its prodigious ability to avoid

desiccation and develop resistance to all current antibiotic classes. Although there

are significant differences in the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of A.

baumannii, the overall trend is increasing resistance since the 1970s (Wadl et al.,

2010). Resistance to antibiotics has hindered therapeutic management, causing

growing concern worldwide (Grotiuz et al., 2006; Perez et al., 2007).

Mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics by Acinetobacter spp. vary with species,

type of antibiotic, and geographical location (Jain and Danziger, 2004). A.

baumannii eludes antibiotics by several ways such as efflux pumps, mutations in

porins, mutations in antibiotic targets, and antibiotic-altering enzymes (Jain and

Danziger, 2004; Vila et al., 2002). β-lactam antibiotics are inactivated by the

production of β-lactamases, alterations of penicillin-binding proteins and

decreased permeability of the outer membrane to β-lactams (Poirel et al., 2003).

Resistance to cephalosporins is induced by chromosomally encoded

cephalosporinases and by cell impermeability and aminoglycosides via

aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. Quinolones are inactivated by altering the

target enzymes DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV through chromosomal

- 14 -

mutations, a decrease in permeability and increase in the active efflux of the drug

by the microbial cell.

Resistance to antibiotics is transferred via plasmids and transposons among

Acinetobacter. Plasmids are DNA elements that carry the antibiotic and heavy

metal resistance conferring genes capable of autonomous replication. On the other

hand, transposons are sequences of DNA that can move themselves to new

positions within the genome of a bacterium or any other prokaryotic cell. These

elements are often present in resistant bacteria and have been reported in clinical

isolates of Acinetobacter (Gallego and Towner, 2001). Plasmids and transposons

are easily transferred between bacteria via the process of genetic transformation.

Gene transfers in Acinetobacter spp. also occur via conjugation and transduction.

Conjugation in Acinetobacter involves a wide host range and chromosomal

transfer, while transduction involves a large number of bacteriophages with a

restricted host range (Rathinavelu et al., 2003).

Clinical Manifestations

As agents of nosocomial bloodstream infections, A. baumannii spp. are ranked

9th after S. aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella spp. P. aerugenosa, C. albicans,

Enterococci, Serratia and Enterobacter. They are the second most commonly

isolated nonfermenters in human specimens (Oberoi et al., 2009) after

- 15 -

Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The incidence of infection is on the rise and mortality

rates are quite high (Vallenet et al., 2008; Wisplinghoff et al., 2004).

Acinetobacter spp. cause a wide range of health care associated infections such

as ventilator-associated pneumonia, bloodstream infections, urinary tract

infections, meningitis, wound infections, and ventriculitis. They can also cause

infections in the community and predominant community-acquired infections are

pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia (Falagas et al., 2007).

Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia

Prior to the 1970s, Acinetobacter infections were mostly post-surgical urinary

tract infections and Acinetobacter spp. were isolated primarily from patients

hospitalized in surgical or medical wards. However, the significant improvement

in resuscitation techniques during the last several decades has changed the types

of infections caused by Acinetobacter. Today, the most important role of these

bacteria is as a cause of nosocomial pneumonia, particularly following the use of

mechanical ventilatory procedures.

Nosocomial pneumonias tend to be multilobar and develop later in the hospital

stay and can be complicated by effusions and bronchopleural fistulas (Lolans et

al., 2006). Using data from the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance

System, over 410,000 bacterial isolates were analyzed to determine the

- 16 -

epidemiology of Gram-negative bacilli in ICUs. Although the percentage of

pneumonia caused by Gram-negative bacilli was constant during the study period,

the proportion of ICU pneumonias attributable to Acinetobacter species increased

from 4% in 1986 to 7% in 2003 (Gaynes et al., 2005).

Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Community-acquired pneumonia due to A. baumannii has been described for

tropical regions of Australia and Asia (Anstey et al., 2002; Leung et al., 2006).

Acute pneumonia is the most frequent community-acquired infection involving

Acinetobacter. The disease most typically occurs during the rainy season and may

sometimes require admission to an ICU (Anstey et al., 2002). It is characterized

by a fulminant clinical course, secondary bloodstream infection, and mortality rate

of 40 to 60% (Leung et al., 2006). Patients with acute pneumonia generally have a

history of alcohol abuse, diabetes, cancer and bronchopulmonary disease.

Bloodstream Infection

Generally, bacteremia caused by Acinetobacter has been described in tropical

and ⁄ or developing countries such as New Guinea, Thailand and Australia

(Anstey et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2002). Several cases have been reported in

temperate countries such as Spain, France and the USA (Salas et al., 2003). Cases

- 17 -

have been shown to be more prevalent in warm and humid months, even in

temperate regions (McDonald et al., 1999).

Sources of bloodstream infection were not described in the previous studies but

are typically related or attributed to underlying pneumonia, UTI, or wound

infection (Seifert et al., 1995). Risk-factors have been defined in many studies and

are essentially the same as those identified for other opportunistic bacteria (Blot et

al., 2003).

Traumatic Battlefield and Other Wounds

Acinetobacter is a major pathogen in traumatic wounds and burns. It was first

noted to be a significant pathogen among the war victims in the Korean conflict.

This was confirmed in the Vietnam War where it was the most common Gram-

negative bacillus isolated from traumatic lower extremity infections and the

second most common organism isolated from the blood (Tong, 1972). Returning

soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan battlefields also have Acinetobacter

infections (Scott et al., 2007).

A. baumannii may occasionally cause skin/soft tissue infections outside of the

military population. The organism caused 2.1% of ICU-acquired skin/soft tissue

infections in one assessment (Weinstein et al., 2005). It is a well-known pathogen

in burn units and may be difficult to eradicate from such patients (Trottier et al.,

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2007).

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

A. baumannii is an occasional cause of UTI, being responsible for 1.6% of

ICU-acquired UTIs (Weinstein et al., 2005). Typically, the organism is associated

with catheter-associated infection or colonization. Genitourinary infections have

been typically reported in patients with other risk factors for infection such as

nephrolithiasis or indwelling catheters (Lolans et al., 2006).

Meningitis

In addition to pneumonia and bacteremia, intracranial infections with A.

baumannii can occur. Nosocomial postneurosurgical meningitis is an increasingly

important entity. Meningitis with A. baumannii is generally described in patients

following neurosurgical procedures and head trauma (Metan et al., 2007).

Detection and Diagnosis

Infection or colonization with Acinetobacter is usually diagnosed by culturing

clinical samples and samples from the environment. The most common

environmental samples include wastewater, soil, vegetables, and meat. The most

frequent clinical samples are blood, cerebrospinal fluid, wounds, pus, urine,

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respiratory secretions, and catheter tips. Microbiologic cultures can be processed

by standard methods on routine media. A wide range of media has been employed

in cultivating organisms from different sources. For routine clinical and laboratory

investigations, traditional culture media such as nutrient agar, tryptic soy agar and

Luria Bertani agar are used. Bauman’s Enrichment Medium is most commonly

used for environmental screening (Guardabassi et al., 1999).

Biochemical typing methods include the use of colorimetric systems which are

antibody-based agglutination tests (Chen et al., 2008). Serological identification

has been attempted with the analysis of capsular type and lipopolysaccharide

(Russo et al., 2010) molecules as well as protein profiles for taxonomy and

epidemiological investigations. A new molecular identification and typing method

has been developed for detection of Acinetobacter strains which has led to the

successful identification and outbreak management of the disease (Ecker et al.,

2006). The most important of these are polymerase chain reaction (Grotiuz et al.,

2006), PFGE, RAPD-PCR DNA fingerprinting (Peleg et al., 2007), fluorescent in

situ hybridization (Vanbroekhoven et al., 2004), and 16S rRNA gene restriction

analysis. A recent diagnostic method, the microsphere based array technique, was

reported to have high specificity and can discriminate between Acinetobacter

species. This technique combines an allele specific primer extension assay and

microsphere hybridization (Lin et al., 2008).

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Other methods introduced in the epidemiological investigation of outbreaks

caused by Acinetobacter spp. include biotyping, phage typing, cell envelope

protein typing, plasmid typing, ribotyping, restriction fragment length

polymorphisms and arbitrarily primed PCR.

Treatment

Treatment of Acinetobacter infections should be individualized according to

results of susceptibility testing. For effective treatment of Acinetobacter infections,

combination therapy is usually required. Antibiotic-susceptible Acinetobacter

isolates have usually been treated with β-lactams, broad-spectrum cephalosporins,

β-lactam:β-lactamase inhibitor combinations or carbapenems. These agents are

used alone or in combination with an aminoglycoside (A Evans et al., 2013).

Antibiotic choices may be limited in cases of infections caused by multidrug-

resistant isolates. Carbapenems are often considered first-line agents in the

treatment of resistant A. baumannii. However, carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter

is increasingly reported (Jain and Danziger, 2004). Resistance to the carbapenem

class of antibiotics complicates the treatment of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter

infections. Many multidrug-resistant isolates remain susceptible to sulbactam. It

retain activity against A. baumannii in the setting of carbapenem resistance and

has been shown to be efficacious in treating ventilator-associated pneumonia

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(Wood et al., 2002).

The emergence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter strains has brought the

old antibiotic polymyxins back into clinical use. These antibiotics disrupt bacterial

cytoplasmic membranes, causing leakage of cytoplasmic contents. Clinicians

discontinued using this antibiotic in the 1970s due to several side effects in the

kidneys and neurons. Intravenous colistin has greater activity when combined

with rifampin (Motaouakkil et al., 2006). Inhaled colistin is occasionally

employed for ventilator-associated pneumonia although treatment is sometimes

limited by bronchospasm. Acinetobacter isolates resistant to colistin and

polymyxin have also been reported (Giamarellos-Bourboulis et al., 2001).

The new glycycline antibiotic tigecycline has an in vitro activity against some

strains of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii. However, in vivo resistance has been

reported to occur within a matter of weeks if not already present prior to initiation

of therapy.

Toll-like Receptor

General introduction

Innate immunity is considered to act as a sentinel for the immune system and is

promptly activated after recognition of the diverse repertoire of microbial

pathogens. Innate immune cells express various PRRs that recognize signature

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molecules of pathogens. These signature molecules, which are known as

pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), are considered to be an

indispensable component for the survival of the pathogen (Akira et al., 2006;

Beutler, 2009). Up to now, several classes of PRRs such as TLRs, Nucleotide-

binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor (NLRs) and Retinoic acid-

inducible gene (RIG)-I-like receptors (RLRs) have been identified. These PRRs

recognize various PAMPs in diverse cell compartments and trigger the release of

inflammatory cytokines and type I interferons for host defense (Akira et al., 2006;

Beutler, 2009). In addition to the elimination of pathogens, the innate immune

responses are also important to develop pathogen-specific adaptive immunity,

which is mediated by B and T cells.

Structure and localization

TLRs are type I integral membrane glycoproteins and consist of a triple domain

structure. The extracellular N-terminal domain is composed of 16–28 leucine-rich

repeats and is in charge of the interaction with PAMPs from pathogens. The

intracellular C-terminal domain is known as the Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain,

which shows homology with that of the IL-1 receptor (Akira et al., 2006; Beutler,

2009). TIR domain is required for the interaction and recruitment of various

adaptor molecules including myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88

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(MyD88) and TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β (TRIF) to

activate the downstream signaling pathway. After association with their respective

agonist/antagonist ligands, these complexes form heterodimers such as TLR1–

TLR2, TLR4–MD2 or a homodimer such as TLR3–TLR3 and form a

characteristic structure. This structure is essential for ligand binding and initiation

of downstream signaling pathway (Liu et al., 2008; Park et al., 2009). TLRs are

expressed in the distinct cellular compartments. TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, TLR5,

TLR6 and TLR11 are expressed on the cell surface whereas TLR3, TLR7, TLR8

and TLR9 are expressed in intracellular vesicles such as the endosome and

endoplamic reticulum.

TLR 1, TLR2 and TLR6

TLR2 recognizes a variety of microbial components like

lipoproteins/lipopeptides from various pathogens, peptidoglycan and lipoteichoic

acid from Gram-positive bacteria, lipoarabinomannan from mycobacteria, and

zymosan from fungi (Akira et al., 2006; Takeda and Akira, 2005). It also

identifies LPS preparations from some Gram-negative bacteria such as

Porphyromonas gingivalis, Leptospira interrogans and Helicobacter pylori

(Hirschfeld et al., 2001; Werts et al., 2001). These LPS are structurally different

from the typical LPS of Gram-negative bacteria recognized by TLR4 especially in

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the number of acyl chains in the lipid A component (Smith Jr et al., 2003). The

fact that TLR2 recognizes components from a variety of microbial pathogens has

been demonstrated by several studies. The mechanism can be explained by the

fact that TLR2 functionally associate with other TLRs such as TLR1 and TLR6 to

discriminate between the specific patterns of pathogens.

TLR 3

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is produced by most viruses during their

replication and induces the synthesis of type I interferons. The involvement of

TLR3 in the dsRNA has been observed in TLR3-deficient mice which show an

impairment in their response to dsRNA (Alexopoulou et al., 2001). Thus, TLR3 is

implicated in the recognition of dsRNA, thereby detecting viral infection.

TLR 4

Lipopolysaccharide is a major component of the outer membrane of Gram-

negative bacteria and shows potent immuno-stimulatory activity. TLR4 is an

essential receptor for LPS recognition (Hoshino et al., 1999). In addition, the

response to LPS requires several additional molecules such as LPS-binding

protein (LBP) and CD14, which was demonstrated by inflammatory cells and

knockout mice (da Silva Correia et al., 2001; Nagai et al., 2002). In addition to

- 25 -

LPS, TLR4 is implicated in the recognition of several ligands such as taxol (Byrd-

Leifer et al., 2001) and endogenous ligands including fibronectins, heparan sulfate

and fibrinogen (Triantafilou and Triantafilou, 2004; Zheng et al., 2009).

TLR 5

TLR5 has been shown to recognize an evolutionarily conserved domain of

flagellin through close physical interaction between TLR5 and flagellin (Smith et

al., 2003). TLR5 is expressed on the basolateral, but not the apical side of

intestinal epithelial cells (Gewirtz et al., 2001). TLR5 expression is also observed

in the intestinal endothelial cells of the subepithelial compartment (Maaser et al.,

2004). In addition, flagellin activates lung epithelial cells to induce inflammatory

cytokine production (Hawn et al., 2003). These findings indicate the important

role of TLR5 in microbial recognition at the mucosal surface.

TLR 7 and TLR 8

TLR7 and TLR8 are structurally highly conserved proteins, and recognize the

same ligand in some cases. Mouse TLR7, human TLR7 and human TLR8, but not

murine TLR8, recognizes imidazoquinoline compounds which are clinically used

for treatment of genital warts caused by the infection of human papillomavirus

(Jurk et al., 2002). TLR7 and human TLR8 recognize guanosine or uridine-rich

- 26 -

single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) from viruses such as human immunodeficiency

virus, vesicular stomatitis virus and influenza virus (Heil et al., 2004; Lund et al.,

2004). ssRNA is also produced within the host, but usually the host-derived

ssRNA is not detected by TLR7 or TLR8. This may be due to the fact that TLR7

and TLR8 are expressed in the endosome, and host-derived ssRNA is not

delivered to this site.

TLR 9

TLR9 is essential for the recognition of the CpG motif of bacterial and viral

DNA and TLR9 knockout mice do not show any response to CpG DNA (Hemmi

et al., 2000). There are at least two types of CpG DNA which are recognized by

TLR9, CpG-A and CpG-B (Hemmi et al., 2003). The first to be identified is CpG

-B DNA. It is conventional and a potent inducer of inflammatory cytokines such

as IL-12 and TNF-α. The second type, CpG-A DNA, is structurally different from

conventional CpG DNA in that it has a greater ability to induce IFN-a production

from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (Verthelyi et al., 2001).

TLR 10

Human TLR10 has been identified as a member that is closely related to TLR1

and TLR6. The ligand of TLR10 remains unclear.

- 27 -

TLR 11

TLR11 has been shown to be expressed in bladder epithelial cells in mice,

where they have been shown to mediate resistance to infection by uropathogenic

bacteria (Zhang et al., 2004). Mice deficient in TLR11 are highly susceptible to

uropathogenic bacterial infection.

TLR 12

TLR12, which is similar to TLR11, recognizes Toxoplasma gondii profilin

(TgPRF). It is critical for the innate immune response to T. gondii and may

promote host resistance by triggering pDC and NK cell function (Koblansky et al.,

2013).

TLR 13

TLR13 is an endosomal TLR expressed in mice and its role and ligand remain

unclear. Recently, some groups have identified 23S ribosomal RNA as a ligand

for TLR13 (Hochrein and Kirschning, 2013; Li and Chen, 2012). Humans lack

TLR13 and probably rely on other pathogen receptors to detect pathogenic

bacterial infection.

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TLR signaling

Recognition of microbial components by TLRs facilitates dimerization of TLRs.

Dimerization of TLRs triggers the activation of signaling pathways, which

originate from a cytoplasmic Toll-like receptor (TIR) domain. In the signaling

pathways downstream of the TIR domain, a TIR domain-containing adaptor,

MyD88, was first shown to be essential for induction of inflammatory cytokines

such as IL-12 and TNF-α through all TLRs except for TLR3 (Hayashi et al., 2001;

Schnare et al., 2000). However, activation of specific TLRs leads to slightly

different patterns of gene expression profiles. For example, activation of TLR3

and TLR4 signaling pathways results in induction of type I interferons. Thus,

individual TLR signaling pathways are divergent, and there are MyD88-

dependent and MyD88-independent pathways (Akira et al., 2006).

MyD88- dependent signaling

MyD88, harboring a C-terminal TIR domain and an N-terminal death domain,

associates with the TIR domain of TLRs. Upon stimulation, MyD88 recruits

IRAK-4 to TLRs through interaction of the death domains of both molecules, and

facilitates IRAK-4-mediated phosphorylation of IRAK-1. Activated IRAK-1 then

associates with TRAF6, leading to the activation of two distinct signaling

pathways. One leads to activation of AP-1 transcription factors through activation

- 29 -

of MAP kinases. Another pathway activates the TAK1/TAB complex, which

enhances activity of the IκB kinase (IKK) complex. Once activated, IKKβ of the

IKK complex induces phosphorylation and subsequent degradation of IκB, which

leads to nuclear translocation of the transcription factor NF-κB (Akira and Takeda,

2004). MyD88-deficient mice do not show production of inflammatory cytokines

such as TNF-α and IL-12p40 in response to all TLR ligands (Hayashi et al., 2001).

TRIF-dependent (MyD88-independent) signaling

In TLR4 ligand–stimulated MyD88-deficient macrophages, activation of NF-

κB was observed with delayed kinetics, leading to identification of a MyD88-

independent pathway (Kawai et al., 1999). This pathway originates from TLR3

and TLR4, and induces type I IFNs via activation of IRF3. TRIF is essential for

TLR3- and TLR4-mediated IRF3 activation, whereas TRIF-related adaptor

molecule (TRAM) is involved in IRF3 activation via TLR4 alone (Fitzgerald et al.,

2003). TRIF interacts with receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1), which leads to

TRIF-dependent NF-κB activation (Meylan et al., 2004). TRIF also interacts with

TRAF3, which bridges to TBK1 and IKKi/IKKε (Häcker et al., 2006; Oganesyan

et al., 2006)

- 30 -

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CHAPTER I

Essential role of toll-like receptor 4 in Acinetobacter

baumannii-induced immune responses in immune cells

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Introduction

Microbial molecules are sensed by PRRs on host cells including macrophage,

dendritic cells, and epithelial cells, leading to the activation of host innate

immunity (Creagh and O'Neill, 2006; Kawai and Akira, 2009). TLRs are a group

of PRRs and play a critical role in the innate immune system. TLRs recognize

various microbial molecules, so-called as PAMPs such as LPS, lipoprotein,

flagellin, and viral nucleic acids at the cell surface or endosomal membrane (Akira

et al., 2006). Signal transduction from TLRs is usually classified into two

pathways depending on the adaptor molecules; MyD88-dependent and MyD88-

independent (TRIF-dependent) pathway. MyD88 is an adapter molecule that

triggers inflammatory signals commonly utilized by various TLRs with the

exception of TLR3. Recruitment of MyD88 leads to the activation of NF-κB and

MAPKs to regulate the pro-inflammatory cytokines genes. On the while, TRIF is

recruited to TLR3 and TLR4 and activates an alternative pathway that triggers the

activation of NF-κB, MAPKs, and IRF3. These signaling cascades lead to the

production of proinflammatory cytokines, type I interferons, chemokines, and

antimicrobial peptides to remove the invading pathogens (Kawai and Akira, 2006;

Kumar et al., 2009).

A. baumannii is an aerobic, non-motile, Gram-negative coccobacillus that can

survive long period time in the environment such as soil and water. Over the last

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several decades, it has emerged as a significant nosocomial pathogen worldwide,

especially in patient with weakened immune systems (Doughari et al., 2011;

Towner, 2009). A. baumannii can cause a variety of clinical infections including

pneumonia, bloodstream infection, skin and soft tissue infection, urinary tract

infection, and meningitis (Peleg et al., 2008). The treatment of these infections has

become increasingly difficult due to the emergence of resistant strains to all

known antibiotics (Dijkshoorn et al., 2007; Fournier et al., 2006). Despite the

growing clinical importance of this organism, the immune mechanisms that

regulate infection are not understood well.

Recognition of bacterial LPS by TLR4 on immune cells such as macrophages

is thought to be the key factor determining the outcome of infection with Gram-

negative bacteria. To understand the role of TLR4 on innate immunity of immune

cells against A. baumannii, we examined the production of proinflammatory

cytokines and nitric oxide, the activation of NF-κB and MAPKs, and ability of

bacterial killing in macrophages or dendritic cells from WT and TLR4-deficient

mice. We demonstrate here that TLR4 is a crucial factor for optimal induction of

immune responses in immune cells against A. baumannii.

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Materials and Methods

Mice

TLR2- and TLR4-deficient mice on C57BL/6 background were purchased from

the Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). WT C57BL/6 mice were from

Koatech (Pyeongtaek, Korea). Animal studies were approved and followed by the

regulations of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee in Konyang

University.

Reagents and bacterial culture

Ultrapure LPS from E. coli O111:B4 and poly I:C were purchased from

InvivoGen (San Diego, CA, USA). A. baumannii strain KCCM 35453 (ATCC

15150) were purchased from Korean Culture Center of Microorganisms (Seoul,

Korea). For bacterial preparation, single colonies were inoculated into 5 ml of

Luria Bertani (LB) medium and grown overnight at 37℃ in the shaking incubator.

A 1:5 dilution of the culture was allowed to grow additional 2 hours at 37℃ with

shaking to A600 = 0.6, which corresponds to ~109 CFU/ml. After twice wash with

phosphate buffered saline (PBS; pH 7.4), bacteria were diluted to the desired

concentration with PBS or media and used in subsequent experiments.

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Preparation and stimulation of murine macrophages and dendritic cells

BMDMs and BMDCs were prepared as previously described (Celada et al.,

1984; Lutz et al., 1999), and finally cultured in 48-well plates at a concentration

of 2×105 cells/well or in 6-well plates at a concentration of 2×106 cells/well and

incubated in a 5% CO2 incubator at 37℃. The day after plating, cells were left

untreated, treated with reagents or infected with A. baumannii at different MOI.

After 1 h, extracellular bacterial growth was inhibited by gentamicin treatment

and culture supernatant was collected indicated times after infection for further

analysis.

Measurement of cytokines and NO

The concentration of IL-6 and TNF-α in culture supernatants were determined

by a commercial ELISA kit (R&D System, Minneapolis, MN, USA). NO synthase

activity in the supernatant of cultured cells was assayed for nitrite accumulation

by the Griess reaction (Green et al., 1982).

RNA extraction and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-

PCR)

BMDMs were infected with A. baumannii at MOI 1/10 and extracellular

bacteria were removed by the addition of gentamicin 60 min after infection. Total

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RNA was extracted from each cell using easy-BLUE (Intron biotechnology,

Daejeon, Korea) according to the manufacturer’s instruction. One microgram of

total RNA was reverse transcribed into cDNA, and PCR was performed using the

Power cDNA Synthesis Kit (Intron biotechnology) and One-step RT-PCR with

AccuPower® HotStart PCR PreMix (Bioneer, Daejeon, KOREA). The following

primer sets were used.

mouse iNOS, F:5’-GAGATTGGAGTTCGAGACTTCTGTG-3’

R:5’-TGGCTAGTGCTTCAGACTTC-3’

mouse GAPDH, F:5’-GTGGAGATTGTTGCCATCAACG-3’

R:5’-CAGTGGATGCAGGGATGATGTTCTG-3’

The PCR conditions consisted of 1 cycle of 94℃ for 5 min; 35 cycles of 94℃

for 30 sec, 56-60℃ for 30 sec, and 72℃ for 30 sec; and 1 cycle of 72℃ for 10

min. PCR products were then electrophoresed on a 1.5 % agarose gel and

visualized using a gel documentation system.

Immunoblotting

The cells were lysed in buffer containing 1% Nonidet-P40 supplemented with

complete protease inhibitor 'cocktail' (Roche, Mannheim, Germany) and 2 mM

dithiothreitol. Lysates were separated by 10% SDS-PAGE, transferred to

nitrocellulose membranes by electro-blotting. Membranes were immunoblotted

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with primary antibodies such as regular- or phospho-IκB-α, p38, ERK, JNK, and

caspase-3 (Cell signaling Technology, Beverly, MA, USA). Monoclonal anti-β-

actin antibody was from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). After

immunoblotting with secondary antibodies, proteins were detected with enhanced

chemiluminescence (ECL) reagent (Intron Biotechnology, Seongnam, Korea).

Phagocytic activity and bacterial killing ability of macrophages

To determine the ability of phagocytosis and bacterial killing of macrophag