SummaryMycobacterium tuberculosis is a facultative intracellular pathogen that inhibits phagosome maturation in macrophages thereby securing survival and growth. Mycobacteria reside in an early endocytic compartment of near-neutral pH where they upregulate production of complex glycolipids such as trehalose dimycolate. Here, we report that trehalose dimycolate coated onto beads increased the bead retention in early phagosomes, i.e. at a similar stage as viable mycobacteria. Thus, a single mycobacterial lipid sufficed to divert phagosome maturation and likely contributes to mycobacterial survival in macrophages. Previous studies showed that activated macrophages promote maturation of mycobacterial phagosomes and eliminate mycobacteria through bactericidal effectors including nitric oxide generated by inducible nitric-oxide synthase. We show that deceleration of bead phagosome maturation by trehalose dimycolate was abolished in immune-activated wild type, but not in activated nitric-oxide synthase-deficient macrophages, nor when hydroxyl groups of trehalose dimycolate were chemically modified by reactive nitrogen intermediates. Thus, specific host defence effectors of activated macrophages directly target a specific virulence function of mycobacteria.

Tuberculosis remains the most hazardous bacterial infection worldwide. The causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a facultative intracellular pathogen of resting MU. IFN-c secreted by natural killer, CD4 Th 1 and CD8 T cells upon instruction by IL-12 and -18 activates MU to restrict mycobacterial growth. Production of both cytokines is induced by TLR signalling in DC and MU. Mice deficient for the TLR adaptor, MyD88, are highly susceptible to M. tuberculosis infection. Shared usage of MyD88 by signalling cascades for TLR and receptors for IL-1 and IL-18 prompted us to revisit the role of IL-18 during experimental infection with M. tuberculosis. We show that mice deficient for IL-18 and MyD88 but not for IL-18 receptor promptly succumbed to M. tuberculosis infection in contrast to WT or TLR-2/-4 double KO mice indicating that lack of IL-18 contributes to the high susceptibility of MyD88 KO mice to M. tuberculosis. Without IL-18, the protective Th1 response was decreased and hence, mycobacterial propagation was favoured. Neutrophildriven lung immunopathology concomitant with unrestrained growth of tubercle bacilli are most likely responsible for the premature death of IL-18 KO mice. Thus, IL-18 plays a decisive role in protective immunity against tuberculosis.Key words: IFN-c . IL-18 . Mouse . Neutrophils . Tuberculosis IntroductionDespite more than 125 years of research and development, tuberculosis (TB) remains the most hazardous bacterial infection worldwide with approximately 2 million people dying of the disease annually [1]. The risk of disease is increased by immunocompromising conditions such as AIDS emphasizing that T-cell immunity protects latently infected individuals against active TB. The innate immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis instructs acquired immunity in the initial stage, and executes effector mechanisms in the chronic stage.M. tuberculosis is usually transmitted via aerosols and establishes stable infection in the lung. There, M. tuberculosis is engulfed by MF and DC, which serve as host cells for mycobacterial survival and propagation. Binding of mycobacterial ligands to TLR-2, -4 and -9 promotes release of chemokines and proinflammatory cytokines, expression of adhesion molecules and attraction of MF, DC and PMN. Two crucial MF-and DCderived cytokines, , induce NK-cell activity and bias immunity towards a Th1 cell response characterized by profound 396IFN-g production, which is considered critical for protection against M. tuberculosis [2]. Activated MF express anti-mycobacterial molecules such as nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-2 (also known as inducible NOS) and LRG47 as well as cytokines such as TNF-a, which promotes granuloma formation within the infected tissue to sequester the bacilli from dissemination [2].Despite the prevailing assumption that resistance to M. tuberculosis infection depends on microbe sensing through TLR, their importance for mounting a protective immune response against M. tuberculosis remains controversial. While some groups found that TLR-mediated...

The PCM, a native microenvironment of chondrocytes, protects chondrocytes from apoptosis. Type VI collagen is a functional component of the PCM that contributes to the survival of chondrocytes.

The bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family of growth factors plays critical roles in bone formation. BMPs are regulated at multiple levels by various BMP antagonists. This study investigated how BMP antagonists are integrated into the cascade of events of bone formation during fracture healing. Forty mice underwent a controlled femur fracture; tissue samples at the fracture site were harvested at days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 after fracture, for quantification of the expression of BMPs and BMP antagonists. During fracture healing, BMP-2, -4 and -7 were up-regulated, but BMPR-1A and BMPR-2 showed reduced expression after day 14. Among BMP antagonists, the expressions of PRDC, SOST, Smad7, GREM1 and CERBERUS were generally down-regulated during fracture healing. In contrast, Noggin was significantly up-regulated in the first week after fracture; 7 days after fracture, other BMP antagonists, including DAN, CHRD, Smad6 and BAMBI, also showed significantly increased expression. In conclusion, this study indicates that BMP antagonists can be divided into two functional groups in relation to fracture healing: (1) those whose suppression may be essential for the initiation of osteogenesis; (2) those that are upregulated and may function in the remodeling of newly formed bone.

One of the major obstacles hindering cartilage repair is the integration of the reparative cartilage with the recipient cartilage. The purpose of this study was to develop an in vitro model that can be conveniently applied to simulate and improve the integration of tissue engineered cartilage with native articular cartilage. This model, a cartilage integration construct, consists of a cartilage explant and isolated chondrocytes. The explant was anchored to agarose gel on a culture plate as agarose gelation at 4 degrees C to seal the gap between the bottom of the explant and culture plate surface. Isolated chondrocytes were added and confined in the defect created in the center of the explant. After 4 weeks of culture, neocartilage containing proteoglycans and type II collagen was formed. Minimal integration occurred between the neocartilage and the cartilage explant, resembling the failure of cartilage integration manifested in experimental and clinical cartilage repair. In this model, agarose gel anchors the explant onto culture plate by altering temperatures and effectively prevents "leakage" of the isolated chondrocytes from the defect of the explant. This model provides a convenient simulation of the cartilage integration process in vitro and has applications in studies of cartilage integration and cartilage tissue engineering.