Selection and identification of specific glycoproteins and glycan biomarkers of macrophages involved in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Nanoparticles target M2 macrophages to silence kallikrein-related peptidase 12 for the treatment of tuberculosis and drug-resistant tuberculosis

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in the breakdown of lung extracellular matrix and the consequent release of Mycobacterium tuberculosis into the airways. Recent studies indicate that kallikrein-related peptidase 12 (KLK12) regulate MMP-1 and MMP-9, suggesting that targeting the KLK12 gene could be a promising tuberculosis (TB) treatment. To maximise therapeutic potential, this strategy of silencing KLK12 needs to be delivered to the pathogenic cell population while preserving the immunoprotective and tissue homeostatic functions of other lung macrophages. Our research found that KLK12 is highly expressed in M2 macrophages, leading us to design mannose-based bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (MBNPs) for delivering siRNA to silence KLK12 in these cells. The results of in vitro experiments showed that MBNPs could accurately enter M2 macrophages and sustainably release KLK12-siRNA with the help of mannose and mannose receptor targeting. The results of the in vivo experiments showed that MBNPs could reach the lungs within 1 h after intraperitoneal injection and peaked at 6 h. MBNPs increased collagen fibre content in the lungs by decreasing the levels of KLK12/MMPs thereby limiting the progression of TB. Importantly, MBNPs provided greater alleviation of pulmonary TB symptoms and reduced bacterial load in both TB and drug-resistant TB models. These findings provide an alternative and effective option for the treatment of TB, especially when drug resistance occurs. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: RNA interference using small interfering RNA (siRNA) can target various genes and has potential for treating diseases such as tuberculosis (TB). However, siRNAs are unstable in the blood and within cells. This study presents bovine serum albumin nanoparticles encapsulating KLK12-siRNA (BNPs) synthesized via desolvation. A mannose layer was added (MBNPs) to target mannose receptors on M2 macrophages, facilitating endocytosis. The low pH-responsive MBNPs enhance lysosomal escape for siRNA delivery, downregulating the KLK12 pathway. Tests confirmed that MBNPs effectively inhibited Mycobacterium bovis proliferation, reduced granulomas, and decreased inflammation in a mouse model. This research aims to reduce antibiotic use, shorten treatment duration, and provide a novel TB treatment option.

Nanosensor-Enabled Detection and Identification of Intracellular Bacterial Infections in Macrophages

Opportunistic bacterial pathogens can evade the immune response by residing and reproducing within host immune cells, including macrophages. These intracellular infections provide reservoirs for pathogens that enhance the progression of infections and inhibit therapeutic strategies. Current sensing strategies for intracellular infections generally use immunosensing of specific biomarkers on the cell surface or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the corresponding nucleic acids, making detection difficult, time-consuming, and challenging to generalize. Intracellular infections can induce changes in macrophage glycosylation, providing a potential strategy for signature-based detection of intracellular infections. We report here the detection of bacterial infection in macrophages using a boronic acid (BA)-based pH-responsive polymer sensor array engineered to distinguish mammalian cell phenotypes by their cell surface glycosylation signatures. The sensor was able to discriminate between different infecting bacteria in minutes, providing a promising tool for diagnostic and screening applications.

Clinical Value of Glycan Changes in Cerebrospinal Fluid for Evaluation of Post-Neurosurgical Bacterial Meningitis with Hemorrhagic Stroke Patients

Post-neurosurgical bacterial meningitis (PNBM) is one of the severe complications in patients receiving neurosurgical procedures. Recent studies have found microbe-related glycans play important roles in adhesion, invasion, and toxicity toward innate immunological reactions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the glycomic profile and its potential diagnostic efficacy in post-neurosurgical bacterial meningitis (PNBM) patients with hemorrhagic stroke. A total of 136 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were recruited and divided into a PNBM group and a non-PNBM group based on the clinical diagnostic criteria. A lectin biochip-based method was established for the detection of glycans in CSF. The clinicopathological data and biochemical parameters in CSF from all patients were analyzed. Two models for multivariate analysis investigating glycan changes in the CSF were conducted, aiming at determining the specific expression and diagnostic efficacy of lectin-probing glycans (LPGs) for PNBM. In univariate analysis, we found that 8 out of 11 LPGs were significantly correlated with PNBM. Model 1 multivariate analysis revealed that PNA (p = 0.034), Jacalin (p = 0.034) and LTL (p = 0.001) were differentially expressed in the CSF of PNBM patients compared with those of non-PNBM patients. Model 2 multivariate analysis further disclosed that LTL (p = 0.021) and CSF glucose (p < 0.001) had independent diagnostic efficacies in PNBM, with areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.703 and 0.922, respectively. In summary, this study provided a new insight into the subject of CSF glycomics concerning bacterial infection in patients with hemorrhagic stroke.

High-Risk HPV16 E6 Activates the cGMP/PKG Pathway Through Glycosyltransferase ST6GAL1 in Cervical Cancer Cells

Alterations in glycosylation regulate fundamental molecular and cellular processes of cancer, serving as important biomarkers and therapeutic targets. However, the potential association and regulatory mechanisms of E6 oncoprotein on glycosylation of cervical cancer cells are still unclear. Here, we evaluated the glycomic changes via using Lectin microarray and determined the corresponding enzymes associated with endogenous high-risk HPV16 E6 expression in cervical cancer cells. α-2,6 sialic acids and the corresponding glycosyltransferase ST6GAL1 were significantly increased in E6 stable-expressing HPV- cervical cancer C33A cells. Clinical validation further showed that the expression of ST6GAL1 was significantly increased in patients infected with high-risk HPV subtypes and showed a positive association with E6 in cervical scraping samples. Interfering ST6GAL1 expression markedly blocked the oncogenic effects of E6 on colony formulation, proliferation, and metastasis. Importantly, ST6GAL1 overexpression enhanced tumorigenic activities of both E6-positive and E6-negative cells. Mechanistical investigations revealed that E6 depended on activating YAP1 to stimulate ST6GAL1 expression, as verteporfin (inhibitor of YAP1) significantly suppressed the E6-induced ST6GAL1 upregulation. E6/ST6GAL1 triggered the activation of downstream cGMP/PKG signaling pathway and ODQ (inhibitor of GMP production) simultaneously suppressed the oncogenic activities of both E6 and ST6GAL1 in cervical cancer cells. Taken together, these findings indicate that ST6GAL1 is an important mediator for oncogenic E6 protein to activate the downstream cGMP/PKG signaling pathway, which represents a novel molecular mechanism and potential therapeutic targets for cervical cancer.

The Role of Glycosylation in Infectious Diseases

Glycosylation plays an important role in infectious diseases. Many important interactions between pathogens and hosts involve their carbohydrate structures (glycans). Glycan interactions can mediate adhesion, recognition, invasion, and immune evasion of pathogens. To date, changes in many protein N/O-linked glycosylation have been identified as biomarkers for the development of infectious diseases and cancers. In this review, we will discuss the principal findings and the roles of glycosylation of both pathogens and host cells in the context of human important infectious diseases. Understanding the role and mechanism of glycan-lectin interaction between pathogens and hosts may create a new paradigm for discovering novel glycan-based therapies that can lead to eradication or functional cure of pathogens infection.

MicroRNA-155 from sputum as noninvasive biomarker for diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis

Objectives

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a widespread infectious disease around the world. Early diagnosis is always important in order to avoid spreading. At present, many studies have confirmed that microRNA (miRNA) could be a useful tool for diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate whether miRNAs could be regarded as a noninvasive diagnosis biomarker from sputum for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).

Materials and Methods

The M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv was incubated and cultured with human macrophage line THP-1. The total RNA was extracted from the THP-1 cells for detection. Six increased expressions of miRNAs were selected by miRNA microarray chips and the miRNAs were confirmed by qRT-PCR in the M. tuberculosis infection cell model. At last, the efficiency of other methods was compared with using miRNA.

Results

Only miR-155 showed a better diagnostic value for PTB than the other five miRNAs to distinguish PTB from non-PTB, including pneumonia, lung cancer, and unexplained pulmonary nodules. Next, we detected and analyzed the results of 68 PTB patients and 122 non-PTB, the sensitivity and specificity of miR-155 detection was 94.1% and 87.7%, respectively. It was higher than sputum smear detection and anti-TB antibody detection. But slightly lower than ELISpot (97%, P=0.404). Interestingly, the ranking of sputum smear by Ziehl-Neelsen staining had positive correlation with the expression level of miR-155 in smear-positive sputum (R²=0.8443, P<0.05).

Conclusion

Our research suggested that miR-155 may be an efficiency biomarker for active PTB diagnosis and bacteria-loads evaluation.

Quantitative analysis of serum-based IgG agalactosylation for tuberculosis auxiliary diagnosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious cause of mortality worldwide, especially in developing countries. However, effective means for TB diagnosis, especially for bacillus-negative (Bn) TB laboratory diagnosis, are urgently needed. In the present study, serum IgG from each tuberculosis patients and healthy controls was purified using affinity chromatography. The samples were then analyzed using mass spectrometry (MS) and ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC) methods. We quantitatively assessed the changes of serum IgG galactosylation in 567 human serum samples including 377 pulmonary TB patients and 190 healthy donors (HDs). We found significantly more agalactosylated (G0) vs monogalactosylated (G1) and digalactosylated (G2) N-glycans of IgG in TB patients, including smear-negative TB patients, than in HDs. The detection rate of TB diagnostic performance by MS for IgG-Gal ratio G0/(G1 + G2 × 2) is 90.48% for bacillus-positive (Bp) and 73.16% for Bn TB patients. Further, combination of MS method with other routine laboratory TB diagnostic methods significantly increased the detection rate to 91.01%-98.39%. Similar results were observed in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) infection mouse models. The decrease in galactosylation of IgG in TB patients was also qualitatively confirmed using specific lectin blot assay. Using the above techniques, we can discriminate the content of IgG G0 with terminal N-acetylglucosamine and IgG-Gal ratio G0/(G1 + G2 × 2) between TB patients and HDs. Our data suggest that quantitative analysis of serum-based IgG-Gal ratio G0/(G1 + G2 × 2) could be used for TB auxiliary diagnosis with high effectiveness and feasibility and its combination with other routine laboratory TB diagnostic methods could remarkably improve the detection rate.

Identification of pyrvinium pamoate as an anti-tuberculosis agent in vitro and in vivo by SOSA approach amongst known drugs

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) bacteria, is a leading infectious cause of mortality worldwide. The emergence of drug-resistant M. tb has made control of TB more difficult. The selective optimization of side activities (SOSA) approach uses old drugs for new pharmacological targets. In the present study by using SOSA approach, we have successfully identified pyrvinium pamoate (PP) which is capable of inhibiting the growth of mycobacteria, including M. tb H37Rv, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), M. tb H37Ra, and drug-resistant M. tb clinical isolates in vitro from 1280 known drugs library. The MIC₉₉ of PP, the minimum inhibitory concentration that inhibits more than 99% of M. tb H37Rv and the drug-resistant M. tb clinical isolates, ranges from 1.55 to 4.8 µg/mL. Importantly, PP could reduce the bacterial colony-forming units (CFUs) in lung, spleen and liver tissues, and effectively inhibit inflammatory response in M. tb H37Rv, multidrug-resistant (MDR) M. tb and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) M.tb-infected mice. Our results clearly show that the PP has the potential application for treatment of TB.

Lectin microarrays for glycoproteomics: an overview of their use and potential

Introduction: Glycoproteomics is an important subdiscipline of proteomics, focusing on the role of protein glycosylation in various biological processes. Protein glycosylation is the enzymatic addition of sugars or oligosaccharides to proteins. Altered glycosylation often occurs in the early stages of disease development, for example, certain tumor-associated glycans have been shown to be expressed in precursor lesions of different types of cancer, making them powerful early diagnostic markers. Lectin microarrays have become a powerful tool for both the study of glycosylation and the diagnosis of various diseases including cancer.Areas covered: This review will discuss the most useful features of lectin microarrays, such as their technological advances, their capability for parallel/high-throughput analysis for the important glycopatterns of glycoprotein, and an overview of their use for glycosylation analysis of various complex protein samples, as well as their diagnostic potential in various diseases.Expert opinion: Lectin microarrays have proved to be useful in studying multiple lectin-glycan interactions in a single experiment and, with the advances made in the field, hold a promise of enabling glycopatterns of diseases in a fast and efficient manner. Lectin microarrays will become increasingly powerful early diagnostic tool for a variety of conditions.

Mycobacterial mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan: a modulator bridging innate and adaptive immunity

Mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) is a high molecular mass amphipathic lipoglycan identified in pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) and M. bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). ManLAM, serves as both an immunogen and a modulator of the host immune system, and its critical role in mycobacterial survival during infection has been well-characterized. ManLAM can be recognized by various types of receptors on both innate and adaptive immune cells, including macrophages, dendritic cells (DCs), neutrophils, natural killer T (NKT) cells, T cells and B cells. MamLAM has been shown to affect phagocytosis, cytokine production, antigen presentation, T cell activation and polarization, as well as antibody production. Exploring the mechanisms underlying the roles of ManLAM during mycobacterial infection will aid in improving tuberculosis (TB) prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions. In this review, we highlight the interaction between ManLAM and receptors, intracellular signalling pathways triggered by ManLAM and its roles in both innate and adaptive immune responses.

Secreted Rv1768 From RD14 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Activates Macrophages and Induces a Strong IFN-γ-Releasing of CD4+ T Cells

As the first line defensive mediators against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection, macrophages can be modulated by M.tb to influence innate and adaptive immunity. Recently, we have identified several potential immunodominant T-cell antigens from the region of deletion (RD) of M.tb H37Rv, including Rv1768 from RD14. In this study, we further determined that Rv1768 was highly conserved among virulent M.tb strains and mainly distributed as a secreted protein. Exposure to recombinant purified Rv1768 (rRv1768) induced apoptosis of bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs) but showed no dose-dependent manner. Regarding macrophage activation, significant higher levels of iNOS and pro-inflammatory cytokines (like IL-6 and TNF-α) were detected in rRv1768-challenged BMDMs, whereas arginase 1 (Arg1) expression was markedly decreased. Meanwhile, MHC-II expression and antigen presentation activity of BMDMs were also enhanced by rRv1768 stimulation, leading to significantly increased IFN-γ expression of CD4⁺ T cells isolated from H37Rv-infected mice. It is worthy to note that Rv1768-induced IFN-γ production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and Rv1768-specific immunoglobulins was specifically observed in H37Rv-infected mice, but not BCG-infected or normal mice. Analysis of clinical blood samples further revealed that Rv1768 had a higher sensitivity and specificity (91.38 and 96.83%) for tuberculosis diagnosis than the results obtained from clinical CFP10 and ESAT6 peptides (CE)-based enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay. The area under ROC curve of Rv1768 was 0.9618 (95% CI: 0.919–1.000) when cutoff value set as 7 spots. In addition, Rv1768-specific IgG and IgM also exhibited moderate diagnostic performance for tuberculosis compared with CE specific antibodies. Our data suggest that Rv1768 is an antigen that strongly activates macrophages and has potential to serve as a novel ELISPOT-based TB diagnostic agent.

Accumulation of EBI3 induced by virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis inhibits apoptosis in murine macrophages

Macrophages are the primary host target cells of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb). As a subunit of immunoregulatory cytokines IL-27 and IL-35, Epstein–Barr virus-induced gene 3 (EBI3) has typically been explored as the secreted form and assessed in terms of its effects triggered by extracellular EBI3. However, little is known about intracellular EBI3 function. In the current study, we report that EBI3 production by macrophages is elevated in TB patients. We further demonstrate that increased EBI3 accumulates in virulent M. tb-treated murine macrophages. Eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1-alpha 1 (eEF1A1) binds to intracellular EBI3 to reduce Lys48 (K48)-linked ubiquitination of EBI3, leading to EBI3 accumulation. Moreover, the intracellular EBI3 inhibits caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in M. tb-treated macrophages. Herein, we propose a novel mechanism for accumulating intracellular EBI3 and its regulation of macrophage apoptosis in response to virulent M. tb.