Deficiency in Galectin-3, -8, and -9 impairs immunity to chronicMycobacterium tuberculosisinfection but not acute infection with multiple intracellular pathogens

Abstract

Macrophages employ an array of pattern recognition receptors to detect and eliminate intracellular pathogens that access the cytosol. The cytosolic carbohydrate sensors Galectin-3, -8, and -9 (Gal-3, Gal-8, and Gal-9) recognize damaged pathogen-containing phagosomes, and Gal-3 and Gal-8 are reported to restrict bacterial growth via autophagy in cultured cells. However, the contribution of these galectins to host resistance during bacterial infection remains unclear. We found that Gal-9 binds directly toMycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) andSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium (Stm) and localizes toMtbin macrophages. To determine the combined contribution of membrane damage-sensing galectins to immunity in vivo, we generated Gal-3, -8, and -9 triple knockout (TKO) mice.Mtbinfection of primary macrophages from TKO mice resulted in defective lysosomal trafficking but normal bacterial replication. Surprisingly, these mice had no discernable defect in resistance to acute infection withMtb,StmorListeria monocytogenes, and had only modest impairments in bacterial growth restriction and CD4 T cell activation during chronicMtbinfection. Collectively, these findings indicate that while Gal-3, -8, and -9 respond to an array of intracellular pathogens, together these membrane damage-sensing galectins play a limited role in host resistance to bacterial infection.