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Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, Section for Clinical and Experimental Infection Medicine, Lund University, SE-22184 Lund, Sweden
Correspondence
Lisa I. Påhlman
Lisa.Pahlman{at}med.lu.se
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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TF is a transmembrane protein that binds to circulating factor VII/VIIa (F VII/VIIa). The TF/F VIIa complex subsequently activates factor X (F X) and factor IX (F IX), leading to thrombin generation, fibrin deposition and platelet activation. TF is found at high levels in adventitial fibroblasts surrounding blood vessels, where it forms a protective barrier against haemorrhage upon vessel injury (Mackman, 2006
). While the protein is normally not exposed to human blood, TF can be upregulated on the surface of activated monocytes under pathological conditions (Mackman, 2006
), and it has been suggested that in severe infectious diseases, bacteria-induced expression of TF in these cells is a hallmark of DIC (for a review see Doshi & Marmur, 2002
). It should be mentioned that various infection models have shown a reduced sepsis-related mortality when animals were treated with tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) (for a review see Price et al., 2004
). In a phase III clinical trial involving patients with severe sepsis, however, application of recombinant TFPI showed no evidence of a survival advantage (Abraham et al., 2003
).
Streptococcus pyogenes is an important Gram-positive human pathogen that causes a wide array of diseases, ranging from mild infections such as pharyngitis and superficial skin infections, to life-threatening conditions such as necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis (Cunningham, 2000
). In order to cause disease, the bacteria express a number of virulence factors, including M proteins, which were as early as in 1969 described to render the bacterium resistant to phagocytosis by immune cells (Lancefield, 1969
). M proteins form
-helical coiled-coil dimers with a conserved C-terminal end and a highly variable N-terminal end, based on which the streptococcal serotype is defined (for a review see Fischetti, 1989
). Today, more than 80 M serotypes have been identified, with the M1 and M3 type being the most common isolates from patients with invasive and toxic streptococcal diseases (for a review see Cunningham, 2000
). M proteins are normally anchored to the cell membrane, but can be released from the bacterial surface by the action of host- or bacteria-derived proteinases (Berge & Björck, 1995
; Herwald et al., 2004
). Thus, the present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of soluble M1 protein on pro-coagulant activity in human blood. Our results show that soluble M1 protein has a pronounced ability to trigger TF upregulation on the surface of human monocytes, which results in the induction of pro-coagulant activity in these cells.
| METHODS |
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Purification of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
PBMCs were isolated from fresh human heparinized blood from healthy volunteers. Blood was diluted 1 : 1 in PBS (138 mM NaCl, 8.1 mM Na2HPO4, 2.7 mM KCl, 1.5 mM KH2PO4, 0.5 mM MgCl2, 0.9 mM CaCl2; Gibco), layered on top of Ficoll-Paque Plus (Amersham Biosciences), and centrifuged at 1000 g for 20 min at room temperature. The PBMC cell layer was collected and cells were washed twice in PBS.
Clotting assays.
Human heparinized blood (250 µl) was treated with different bacterial compounds at 1 µg ml–1, various concentrations of M1 protein, or medium alone. After an overnight incubation on rotation at 37 °C, cells were washed twice in 135 mM NaCl, 12.9 mM sodium citrate, pH 7.4, in order to remove the plasma. Next, 100 µl of fresh and untreated human citrated plasma was reconstituted with 100 µl 30 mM CaCl2. The reconstituted plasma was pre-warmed for 60 s at 37 °C prior to the addition of 100 µl of the washed cell suspension, and the time to form a clot was determined in a coagulometer. Alternatively, 250 µl of PBMCs (2.5x106 ml–1 in PBS) was incubated with various concentrations (0.3–20 µg ml–1) of M1 protein, fragments A-S or S-C3 (130 nM), or LPS (100 ng ml–1; Sigma-Aldrich) overnight at 37 °C, followed by the determination of pro-coagulant activity in normal or F VII-deficient plasma (Hyphen BioMed) as described above. To analyse the intrinsic pathway of coagulation, 50 µl of normal citrated or F VII-deficient plasma was pre-incubated with 50 µl of a kaolin-containing solution (Technoclone) for 60 s at 37 °C. Clotting was initiated by adding 50 µl of a 30 mM CaCl2 solution, and the time to form a clot was measured.
Flow cytometry.
PBMCs (250 µl, 2.5x106 ml–1) in RPMI 1640 medium (Gibco) were treated with M1 protein (1 µg ml–1 final concentration), LPS (100 ng ml–1 final concentration) or medium alone at 37 °C overnight. Cells were then washed in PBS including 2 % (w/v) BSA, and incubated with mouse IgG (Sigma-Aldrich) for 30 min on ice to block unspecific binding of IgG. After two washing steps in PBS with 2 % (w/v) BSA, cells were incubated with FITC–anti-TF IgG (American Diagnostica), a FITC-conjugated isotype control antibody (BD Biosciences), or R-phycoerythrin–anti-CD14 IgG (DAKO) for 30 min on ice. Samples were washed and analysed in a FACSCalibur flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson). Monocytes were identified by side scatter/forward scatter characteristics and CD14 expression (Loken et al., 1990
).
Thin-sectioning and transmission electron microscopy.
Purified PBMCs (5x106 cells ml–1 in PBS) were incubated in the presence or absence of M1 protein (1 µg ml–1) or fragment S-C3 (0.34 µg ml–1) for 20 h at 37 °C. Afterwards, samples were mixed with pre-warmed Ca2+-reconstituted human plasma, and were allowed to form a clot. Clots were fixed for 1 h at room temperature and then overnight at 4 °C in 2.5 % glutaraldehyde in 0.15 M sodium cacodylate, pH 7.4 (cacodylate buffer). Samples were then washed with cacodylate buffer and post-fixed for 1 h at room temperature in 1 % osmium tetroxide in cacodylate buffer, dehydrated in a graded series of ethanol, and then embedded in Epon 812 (SPI Supplies) using acetone as an intermediate solvent. When experiments were performed in the absence of calcium, cells were incubated with human plasma, centrifuged (12 000 g for 30 s) and resuspended in cacodylate buffer. Specimens were sectioned with a diamond knife into 50–70 nm-thick ultrathin sections on an LKB ultramicrotome. The ultrathin sections were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate. Specimens were observed in a JEOL JEM 1230 electron microscope operated at 80 kV accelerating voltage. Images were recorded with a Gatan Multiscan 791 CCD camera.
| RESULTS |
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| DISCUSSION |
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S. pyogenes is one of the most common human pathogens and is responsible for an estimated 616 million cases of pharyngitis and 111 million cases of pyoderma worldwide every year (Carapetis et al., 2005
). In addition to these superficial infections, the bacterium is believed to cause 663 000 cases of invasive diseases, resulting in 163 000 deaths, annually (Carapetis et al., 2005
). Although rare, invasive streptococcal infections are feared conditions in intensive care medicine due to mortality rates ranging from 25 to 70 % (Carapetis et al., 2005
; Stevens, 2003
). The pathogenesis of invasive streptococcal infections is often associated with an overamplification of the innate immune system. Notably, even though streptococcal interactions with so-called human effector systems have been studied intensively over the last two decades (for a review see Bisno et al., 2003
), the reasons why some, but not all, S. pyogenes infections develop into these devastating conditions are still obscure. It has been, however, speculated that gene polymorphisms both in streptococci and the human host could contribute to the severity of the disease. For instance, Beres et al. (2006)
recently reported that gene polymorphisms, likely to influence M3 protein expression or function, seem to affect the ability of S. pyogenes to cause invasive disease, and Kotb et al. (2002)
reported that variations in MHC class II alleles/haplotypes influence the outcome of invasive streptococcal infectious diseases. A genetic association study performed by Sutherland et al. (2005)
revealed that a special tlr2 genotype (16933AA) is associated with significantly increased prevalence of sepsis on admission to the intensive care unit, and specifically increased prevalence of Gram-positive sepsis. Recently, we showed that M1 protein interacts with human monocytes via TLR2 (Toll-like receptor 2) (Påhlman et al., 2006
). Since TF expression is under the control of transcription factors such as nuclear factor
B (NF
B) (Guha et al., 2001
), which is also activated by TLR2 (Roeder et al., 2004
), it is tempting to speculate that tlr2 polymorphisms may influence the severity of coagulation disorders in invasive streptococcal infections.
Several epidemiological studies have shown that severe infections caused by S. pyogenes are associated with certain serotypes, with the M1 and M3 serotypes as the most prevalent (Stevens, 1992
). Although an induction of the coagulation system is a common feature of these devastating conditions, little is known about the molecular mechanisms employed by streptococci to impair normal haemostasis. Bryant et al. (2003)
reported that heat-killed S. pyogenes bacteria of serotypes M1 and M3, but not M6, have the ability to stimulate TF and cytokine induction in endothelial cells and monocytes. Our findings that M1 protein alone induces TF-expression in monocytes support these data and show an important role for M proteins in coagulation disorders. Moreover, our data show that S. pyogenes bacteria have developed a mechanism that evokes coagulation dysfunction that is not restricted to the site of infection and may result in a systemic activation of the coagulation system. Thus, taken together, our data further emphasize the ability of M protein to induce inflammation and thrombosis, and may help to explain the pathogenesis of sepsis and DIC.
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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Edited by: T. Msadek
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Received 9 October 2006;
revised 23 April 2007;
accepted 7 May 2007.
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