Aging is linked to increased susceptibility to chronic inflammatory diseases several of which, including periodontitis, involve neutrophil-mediated tissue injury. Here, we found that aging-associated periodontitis was accompanied by diminished expression of Del-1 (EDIL3), an endogenous inhibitor of LFA-1 integrin-dependent neutrophil adhesion, and by a reciprocal increase in IL-17 expression. Consistently, IL-17 inhibited gingival endothelial cell expression of Del-1, thereby promoting LFA-1-dependent neutrophil recruitment. Young Del-1-deficient mice developed spontaneous periodontitis featuring excessive neutrophil infiltration and IL-17 expression; disease was prevented in Del-1–LFA-1 and Del-1–IL-17 receptor double-deficient mice. Locally administered Del-1 inhibited IL-17 production, neutrophil accumulation, and bone loss. Therefore, Del-1 suppresses LFA-1-dependent neutrophil recruitment and IL-17-triggered inflammatory pathology and may thus be a promising therapeutic for inflammatory diseases.

SUMMARY Certain low-abundance bacterial species, such as the periodontitis-associated oral bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis can subvert host immunity to remodel a normally symbiotic microbiota into a dysbiotic, disease-provoking state. However, such pathogens also exploit inflammation to thrive in dysbiotic conditions. How these bacteria evade immunity while maintaining inflammation is unclear. As previously reported, P. gingivalis remodels the oral microbiota into a dysbiotic state by exploiting complement. Now we show that in neutrophils P. gingivalis disarms a host-protective TLR2-MyD88 pathway via proteasomal degradation of MyD88, whereas it activates an alternate TLR2-Mal-PI3K pathway. This alternate TLR2-Mal-PI3K pathway blocks phagocytosis, provides ‘bystander’ protection to otherwise susceptible bacteria, and promotes dysbiotic inflammation in vivo. This mechanism to disengage bacterial clearance from inflammation required an intimate crosstalk between TLR2 and the complement receptor C5aR, and can contribute to the persistence of microbial communities that drive dysbiotic diseases.

Recent evidence suggests that complement and Toll-like receptors (TLRs) crosstalk to coordinate innate immunity. We report a novel immune subversion mechanism involving microbial exploitation of the ability of complement and TLRs for communication. Porphyromonas gingivalis, a major oral and systemic pathogen expressing complement C5 convertase-like activity, was shown to synergize with C5a for cAMP elevation resulting in macrophage immunosuppression and enhanced pathogen survival in vitro and in vivo. The cAMP synergy strictly required TLR2 signaling and a pertussis toxin- and thapsigargin-sensitive C5a receptor pathway, whereas protein kinase A and glycogen synthase kinase-3β acted as downstream effectors. Antagonistic blockade of the C5a receptor abrogated this evasive strategy and may thus have important therapeutic implications in periodontitis and atherosclerosis, where P. gingivalis is implicated. This first demonstration of complement-TLR crosstalk for immunosuppressive cAMP signaling indicates that pathogens may not simply undermine complement and/or TLRs as separate entities, but may also exploit their crosstalk pathways.

The C5a anaphylatoxin receptor (C5aR; CD88) is activated as part of the complement cascade and exerts important inflammatory, antimicrobial, and regulatory functions, at least in part, via crosstalk with TLRs. However, the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis can control C5aR activation by generating C5a through its own C5 convertase-like enzymatic activity. In this paper, we show that P. gingivalis uses this mechanism to proactively and selectively inhibit TLR2-induced IL-12p70, whereas the same pathogen-instigated C5aR-TLR2 crosstalk upregulates other inflammatory and bone-resorptive cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α). In vivo, the ability of P. gingivalis to manipulate TLR2 activation via the C5a-C5aR axis allowed it to escape IL-12p70–dependent immune clearance and to cause inflammatory bone loss in a murine model of experimental periodontitis. In the latter regard, C5aR-deficient or TLR2-deficient mice were both resistant to periodontal bone loss, in stark contrast with wild-type control mice, which is consistent with the interdependent interactions of C5aR and TLR2 in P. gingivalis immune evasion and induction of bone-resorptive cytokines. In conclusion, P. gingivalis targets C5aR to promote its adaptive fitness and cause periodontal disease. Given the current availability of safe and effective C5aR antagonists, pharmacological blockade of C5aR could act therapeutically in human periodontitis and reduce associated systemic risks.

No abstract

The complement and the Toll-like receptors are rapidly activatable systems which, in concert, provide first-line innate defense against infection and act as mediators between the innate and the adaptive immune response. The ability of periodontal bacteria to persist and establish chronic infections in the periodontium suggests that they may have evolved strategies to evade, disarm, or subvert these defense systems to their own advantage. Indeed, accumulating evidence indicates that at least some of the major periodontal pathogens utilize ingenious mechanisms to not only undermine each system separately, but also exploit crosstalk points between the complement and the Toll-like receptor pathways. It is conceivable that immune subversive activities by certain keynote periodontal pathogens, such as those comprising the so-called "red complex", may be critical for the persistence of the entire mixed-species biofilm community in the diseased periodontium. This review summarizes and synthesizes recent discoveries in this field, which offers important insights into the pathology associated with the complex periodontal host-microbe interplay.

dRecent microbiome studies have implicated a role for Filifactor alocis in periodontal disease. In this study, we investigated the colonization and survival properties of F. alocis in a mouse subcutaneous chamber model of infection and characterized host innate immune responses. An infection of 10 9 F. alocis successfully colonized all chambers; however, the infection was cleared after 72 h. F. alocis elicited a local inflammatory response with neutrophils recruited into the chambers at 2 h postinfection along with an increase in levels of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin 1␤ (IL-1␤), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). F. alocis also induced apoptosis in chamber epithelial cells and neutrophils. Consistent with resolution of infection, neutrophil numbers and cytokine levels returned to baseline by 72 h. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and quantitative PCR demonstrated that F. alocis exited the chambers and spread to the spleen, liver, lung, and kidney. Massive neutrophil infiltration was observed in the spleen and lungs, and the recruited neutrophils were in close proximity to the infecting bacteria. Significant epithelial injury was observed in the kidneys. Infection of all tissues was resolved after 7 days. This first in vivo study of the pathogenicity of F. alocis shows that in the chamber model the organism can establish a proinflammatory, proapoptotic local infection which is rapidly resolved by the host concordant with neutrophil influx. Moreover, F. alocis can spread to, and transiently infect, remote tissues where neutrophils can also be recruited.

Osteomyelitis (OM), or inflammation of bone tissue, occurs most frequently as a result of bacterial infection and severely perturbs bone structure. OM is predominantly caused by Staphylococcus aureus, and even with proper treatment, OM has a high rate of recurrence and chronicity. While S. aureus has been shown to infect osteoblasts, it remains unclear whether osteoclasts (OCs) are also a target of intracellular infection. Here, we demonstrate the ability of S. aureus to intracellularly infect and divide within OCs. OCs were differentiated from bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) by exposure to receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL). By utilizing an intracellular survival assay and flow cytometry, we found that at 18 h postinfection the intracellular burden of S. aureus increased dramatically in cells with at least 2 days of RANKL exposure, while the bacterial burden decreased in BMMs. To further explore the signals downstream of RANKL, we manipulated factors controlling OC differentiation, NFATc1 and alternative NF-κB, and found that intracellular bacterial growth correlates with NFATc1 levels in RANKL-treated cells. Confocal and time-lapse microscopy in mature OCs showed a range of intracellular infection that correlated inversely with S. aureus-phagolysosome colocalization. The propensity of OCs to become infected, paired with their diminished bactericidal capacity compared to BMMs, could promote OM progression by allowing S. aureus to evade initial immune regulation and proliferate at the periphery of lesions where OCs are most abundant. IMPORTANCE The inflammation of bone tissue is called osteomyelitis, and most cases are caused by an infection with the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. To date, the bone-building cells, osteoblasts, have been implicated in the progression of these infections, but not much is known about how the bone-resorbing cells, osteoclasts, participate. In this study, we show that S. aureus can infect osteoclasts and proliferate inside these cells, whereas bone-residing macrophages, immune cells related to osteoclasts, destroy the bacteria. These findings elucidate a unique role for osteoclasts to harbor bacteria during infection, providing a possible mechanism by which bacteria could evade destruction by the immune system.