Campylobacter jejuni is a leading bacterial cause of human diarrheal disease in both developed and developing nations. Colonic mucosal invasion and the resulting host inflammatory responses are thought to be the key contributing factors to the dysenteric form of this disease. Dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in both the innate and adaptive immune responses to microbial infection. In this study, the interaction between human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and C. jejuni was studied. We found that C. jejuni was readily internalized by DCs over a 2-h period. However, after a prolonged infection period (24 or 48 h) with C. jejuni, only a few viable bacteria remained intracellularly. Minimal cytotoxicity of C. jejuni to dendritic cells was observed. C. jejuni induced the maturation of dendritic cells over 24 h, as indicated by up-regulation of cell surface marker proteins CD40, CD80, and CD86. In addition, Campylobacter-infected DCs triggered activation of NF-B and significantly stimulated production of interleukin-1␤ (IL-1␤), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, gamma interferon, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-␣) compared to uninfected DCs. Active bacterial invasion of DCs was not necessary for the induction of these cytokines, as heat-killed C. jejuni stimulated similar levels of cytokine production as live bacteria. Purified lipooligosaccharide of C. jejuni appears to be the major stimulant for the increased production of cytokines by DCs. Taken together, these data indicate that during infection, Campylobacter triggers an innate inflammatory response through increased production of IL-1␤, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-␣ and initiates a Th1-polarized adaptive immune response as predicted from the high level of production of IL-12.

Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, is a gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium. The inhalational form of anthrax is the most severe and is associated with rapid progression of the disease and the outcome is frequently fatal. Transfer from the respiratory epithelium to regional lymph nodes appears to be an essential early step in the establishment of infection. This transfer is believed to occur by means of carriage within alveolar macrophages following phagocytosis. Therefore, the ability of B. anthracis to transit through the host macrophage or dendritic cell appears to be an early and critical step in B. anthracis pathogenesis. In this work, we examined the cytokine responses to spore infection in mouse primary peritoneal macrophages, in primary human dendritic cells, and during a spore aerosol infection model utilizing the susceptible A/J mouse strain. We demonstrated that both mouse peritoneal macrophages and human dendritic cells exhibited significant intracellular bactericidal activity during the first hours following uptake, providing the necessary time to mount a cytokine response prior to cell lysis. Strong tumor necrosis factor (TNF-␣) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) responses were seen in mouse peritoneal macrophages. In addition to TNF-␣ and IL-6, human dendritic cells produced the cytokines IL-1␤, IL-8, and IL-12. A mixture of Th1 and Th2 cytokines were detected in sera obtained from infected animals. In this study, we provide further evidence of an acute cytokine response when cells in culture and mice are infected with B. anthracis spores.

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ABSTRACTCampylobacter jejuniis a leading worldwide bacterial cause of human diarrheal disease. Although the specific molecular mechanisms ofC. jejunipathogenesis have not been characterized in detail, host inflammatory responses are thought to be major contributing factors to the resulting typical acute colitis. The intestinal mucosal chemokine response is particularly important in the initial stages of bacterium-induced gut inflammation. Chemokines attract blood phagocytes and lymphocytes to the site of infection and regulate immune cell maturation and the development of localized lymphoid tissues. The production of chemokines by dendritic cells (DCs) followingCampylobacterinfection has not yet been analyzed. In the current study, we infected human monocyte-derived DCs withC. jejunito examine the production of key proinflammatory chemokines and chemokine receptors. The chemokines, including CC families (macrophage inflammatory protein 1α [MIP-1α], MIP-1β, RANTES) and CXC families (growth-related oncogene α [GRO-α], IP-10, and monokine induced by gamma interferon [MIG]), were upregulated inCampylobacter-infected DCs. Chemokine receptors CCR6 and CCR7, with roles in DC trafficking, were also induced inCampylobacter-infected DCs. Further,Campylobacterinfection stimulated the phosphorylation of P38, P44/42, and stress-activated protein kinase/Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in DCs. NF-κB activation was specifically involved in chemokine induction in DCs infected withC. jejuni. Additionally, STAT3 was significantly increased inCampylobacter-infected DCs compared to that in uninfected DCs. These results suggest that DCs play a significant role in the initiation and modulation of the inflammatory response by enlisting monocytes, neutrophils, and T lymphocytes during human intestinal infection withCampylobacter.