1
|
Lokken-Toyli KL, de Steenhuijsen Piters WAA, Zangari T, Martel R, Kuipers K, Shopsin B, Loomis C, Bogaert D, Weiser JN. Decreased production of epithelial-derived antimicrobial molecules at mucosal barriers during early life. Mucosal Immunol 2021; 14:1358-1368. [PMID: 34465896 PMCID: PMC8542637 DOI: 10.1038/s41385-021-00438-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Young age is a risk factor for respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. Here, we compared infant and adult mice to identify age-dependent mechanisms that drive susceptibility to mucosal infections during early life. Transcriptional profiling of the upper respiratory tract (URT) epithelium revealed significant dampening of early life innate mucosal defenses. Epithelial-mediated production of the most abundant antimicrobial molecules, lysozyme, and lactoferrin, and the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR), responsible for IgA transcytosis, was expressed in an age-dependent manner. This was attributed to delayed functional development of serous cells. Absence of epithelial-derived lysozyme and the pIgR was also observed in the small intestine during early life. Infection of infant mice with lysozyme-susceptible strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus in the URT or gastrointestinal tract, respectively, demonstrated an age-dependent regulation of lysozyme enzymatic activity. Lysozyme derived from maternal milk partially compensated for the reduction in URT lysozyme activity of infant mice. Similar to our observations in mice, expression of lysozyme and the pIgR in nasopharyngeal samples collected from healthy human infants during the first year of life followed an age-dependent regulation. Thus, a global pattern of reduced antimicrobial and IgA-mediated defenses may contribute to increased susceptibility of young children to mucosal infections.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristen L. Lokken-Toyli
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York USA.,for correspondence: Kristen L. Lokken-Toyli, PhD, New York University School of Medicine, Alexandria Center for Life Sciences - West Tower, 430 East 29th Street, Room 560, New York, NY 10016, Tel: (212) 263-1080, Fax: (646) 501-4645,
| | - Wouter A. A. de Steenhuijsen Piters
- Department of Paediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital/University Medical Center Utrecht, Lundlaan 6, 3584 EA Utrecht, the Netherlands; National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Tonia Zangari
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York USA
| | - Rachel Martel
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York USA
| | - Kirsten Kuipers
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York USA
| | - Bo Shopsin
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Cynthia Loomis
- Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York USA
| | - Debby Bogaert
- Department of Paediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital/University Medical Center Utrecht, Lundlaan 6, 3584 EA Utrecht, the Netherlands; National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, the Netherlands; University of Edinburgh Centre for Inflammation Research, Queen’s Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK.
| | - Jeffrey N. Weiser
- Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York USA
| |
Collapse
|