IMPORTANCERapid and precise pathogen identification is critical for the initiation of pathogen-specific immune responses and pathogen clearance. Bacteria and fungi express common molecular patterns on their exteriors that are recognized by cell surface-expressed host pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) prior to infection. In contrast, viral molecular patterns are primarily nucleic acids, which are recognized after virus internalization. We found that an initial antiviral immune response is induced by the repeating subunit pattern of virus exteriors (capsids), and thus, induction of this response is independent of viral infection. This early response to viral capsids required the cell surface-expressed PRR TLR2 and allowed for improved clearance of subsequent bacterial infection that commonly complicates respiratory viral infections. Since the repeating protein subunit pattern is conserved across viral capsids, this suggests that it is not easy for a virus to change without altering fitness. Targeting this vulnerability could lead to development of a universal antiviral vaccine.
Although viruses and viral capsids induce rapid immune responses, little is known about viral pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that are exhibited on their surface. Here, we demonstrate that the repeating protein subunit pattern common to most virus capsids is a molecular pattern that induces a Toll-like-receptor-2 (TLR2)-dependent antiviral immune response. This early antiviral immune response regulates the clearance of subsequent bacterial superinfections, which are a primary cause of morbidities associated with influenza virus infections. Utilizing this altered susceptibility to subsequent bacterial challenge as an outcome, we determined that multiple unrelated, empty, and replication-deficient capsids initiated early TLR2-dependent immune responses, similar to intact influenza virus or murine pneumovirus. These TLR2-mediated responses driven by the capsid were not dependent upon the capsid’s shape, size, origin, or amino acid sequence. However, they were dependent upon the multisubunit arrangement of the capsid proteins, because unlike intact capsids, individual capsid subunits did not enhance bacterial clearance. Further, we demonstrated that even a linear microfilament protein built from repeating protein subunits (F-actin), but not its monomer (G-actin), induced similar kinetics of subsequent bacterial clearance as did virus capsid. However, although capsids and F-actin induced similar bacterial clearance, in macrophages they required distinct TLR2 heterodimers for this response (TLR2/6 or TLR2/1, respectively) and different phagocyte populations were involved in the execution of these responses in vivo. Our results demonstrate that TLR2 responds to invading viral particles that are composed of repeating protein subunits, indicating that this common architecture of virus capsids is a previously unrecognized molecular pattern.
INTRODUCTIONRapid recognition of pathogens by the immune system is essential for the initiation of an efficient immune response. Nature has evolved a delicate system of immunity that allows for the recognition of harmful and/or damaging entities based on conserved elements that mark them as dangerous (1, 2). This early immune response depends on a pathogen recognition event mediated by the host pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that can either be secreted, expressed on the cell surface, or expressed intracellularly (1). Regardless of their cellular location, PRRs identify specific molecules common among foreign organisms, known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) (3). For many bacteria and fungi, there are well-known cell surface-expressed PRRs, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), that are able to alert the immune system to a threat before infection can be established. In contrast, viruses are typically identified after internalization, based on their nucleic acid recognition by intracellular PRRs (4). While early reports implicated cell surface-expressed TLRs in immune responses to viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (5, 6), classical external PAMPs are not known to be present on either the viral capsid or the viral envelope, the most external structures of nonenveloped and enveloped viruses, respectively (4). Consequently, little is known about common external viral PAMPs and how they could be involved in early antiviral immune responses.To address this gap in our understanding of virus recognition, we utilized empty capsids, the protein shells of viruses, as a probe to determine whether and how the immune system responds to the initial recognition of the virus prior to establishment of infection. Capsids are composed of repeating copies of either a single protein subunit or a small number of protein subunits (7). Importantly for this study, capsids retain the basic external architecture of a virus, but are devoid of common viral PAMPs such as nucleic acids (4). For these reasons, capsids provide a useful tool for examining how the host may initially sense external viral structure.Previously, we observed similarities between the immune responses induced by an infectious enveloped virus and by empty protein capsids in the lungs of mice (8–10). We showed that antigen-nonspecific priming of the murine lung by a capsid derived from the Salmonella bacteriophage P22 resulted in innate immune imprinting similar to influenza A virus (IAV) infection, and that this imprinting accelerated the immune response to lethal IAV challenge (8, 11, 12). We also showed that even a non-pathogen-associated capsid, small heat shock protein (sHSP) from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, induced immune responses similar to IAV and protected mice from a range of respiratory pathogens, including IAV, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, Coxiella burnetii, and Staphylococcus aureus (9–14). Immune imprinting by viruses can either reduce or enhance host susceptibility to subsequent bacterial infections (15, 16). Indeed, our preceding investigation revealed that protection from S. aureus challenge is time-dependent after IAV, with enhanced bacterial clearance 2 to 3 days post-IAV infection and reduced clearance 7 days post-IAV infection (11, 14). Considering that IAV and the capsids induced similar initial immune responses (9), we hypothesized that the time-dependent change in host susceptibility to subsequent S. aureus challenge, which we reported to occur after IAV infection, is not limited to IAV infection. Therefore, we speculated that this response is induced by recognition of certain common patterns on the virus exterior by host PRRs independently of infection.Here, we report induction of a similar time-dependent change in host susceptibility to post-IAV S. aureus infection (14) after inoculation of mice with various empty capsids unrelated to IAV. This provided us the opportunity to use this change in host susceptibility to a subsequent S. aureus infection as a readout for the capsid-induced immune responses (11, 14). We found that recognition of the multisubunit protein assembly architecture of virus capsids by the cell surface-expressed PRR TLR2 was required for induction of these responses. Our investigation also revealed that this time-dependent change in host susceptibility to a subsequent S. aureus infection was induced regardless of the size, shape, origin, or amino acid sequence of the virus capsid, but that induction of this response required the repeating protein subunit arrangement common to the majority of, if not all, virus capsids. Importantly, because the repeating arrangement of protein subunits extends beyond just capsid structure, we also found that linear multisubunit protein assemblies not derived from viruses, such as actin filaments (F-actin), also regulated host susceptibility to a subsequent S. aureus challenge. While we determined that TLR2 was required for initiation of these responses to both capsular and linear repeating protein assemblies, different TLR2 heterodimers (TLR2/6 or TLR2/1) and different effector cells (neutrophils and macrophages) were involved in the execution of these responses when induced by either virus capsids or F-actin.Taken together, these data support a novel role for TLR2 as a receptor that recognizes repeating protein subunit patterns regardless of the proteins involved. The significance of TLR2-mediated recognition of multivalent protein subunit architecture expands our current understanding of immunity to viruses and its impact on immunity to bacteria, and provides a new layer of motif-directed recognition. Importantly, these data demonstrate that the recognition of viral capsids is independent of infection and establishes TLR2’s role in the initial recognition of viruses.RESULTSExposure to empty virus capsid from P22 bacteriophage induces time-dependent kinetics of S. aureus bacterial clearance, similar to IAV.Building on previous results demonstrating either sHSP capsid- or IAV-induced clearance of subsequent S. aureus challenge, we examined another capsid, derived from the bacteriophage P22, and a natural mouse virus to ensure that this phenomenon was not capsid or virus specific. As with sHSP capsid, IAV and P22 capsids share no protein similarity, although they do share a similar spherical shape with a polyvalent protein surface (17) (Fig. 1A). The ability of the host to clear secondary post-IAV S. aureus pneumonia changes over time (11, 14), and we hypothesized that this time dependence and the associated immune responses may be utilized to characterize similarities in the recognition of the virus and the capsid. To test this initial hypothesis, wild-type (WT) mice were inoculated with either IAV or P22 capsid and then challenged with S. aureus 3, 7, or 14 days later (Fig. 1B). As capsids are replication deficient, we inoculated mice with 3 consecutive daily doses, mimicking the replication of an infectious virus.FIG 1 Inoculation of mice with P22 capsid or with IAV induces similar immune responses to subsequent S. aureus challenge and similar patterns of time-dependent alteration of bacterial clearance. (A) Structural representation of influenza A virus (IAV) (courtesy of CDC) and P22 capsid (PDB accession no. 2XYY). (B) Schematic of inoculation and S. aureus challenge timeline. (C) WT mice were either inoculated with IAV (black triangles) on day 0 or inoculated with P22 capsid (gray squares) or PBS (mock; white circles) on days 0, 1, and 2. Different groups of mice were challenged with S. aureus on day 3, 7, or 14 and were sacrificed 24 h after challenge to determine S. aureus lung bacterial load. (D) Fold change of cytokine concentration determined by ELISA on the BALFs of mice from day 3 and day 7 p.i. in panel C normalized to cytokine concentration in mice inoculated with PBS (mock control; statistical analyses compare individual treatments to mock treatment). (E and F) WT mice were inoculated as described for panel C, CD11c+ (E) or Ly6G+ (F) cells were purified from the lungs at day 3 or 7, and their ability to kill S. aureus following a 1.5-h (E) or 3-h (F) incubation ex vivo was determined. The experiment in panel C had a minimum of 5 animals per group, the ex vivo experiment in panel D had 5 biological and 3 technical replicates, and the ex vivo experiment in panels E and F had 3 combined biological with 5 technical replicates. Each was repeated three times. Data are represented as mean ± SD. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.Compared to mock-inoculated mice, mice inoculated with P22 capsid displayed a similar increase in clearance of S. aureus as did IAV-inoculated mice at day 3 post-inoculation (p.i.) (Fig. 1C). By day 7 p.i., both P22 capsid- and IAV-inoculated mice showed at least a 10-fold decrease in bacterial clearance (Fig. 1C). At day 14 p.i., IAV-inoculated mice, which by this point would still have resulting immune effects from a productive viral infection (18, 19), exhibited improved bacterial clearance, whereas bacterial clearance in P22 capsid-inoculated mice was similar to that of mock-inoculated mice (Fig. 1C). Inoculation of mice with pneumonia virus of mice (PVM), a cause of natural mouse viral infection that results in/induces pathology similar to that caused by human respiratory syncytial virus (20), resulted in a similar time-dependent clearance of S. aureus challenge as found with P22 capsids or IAV (see Fig. S1 in the supplemental material).10.1128/mBio.01356-17.1FIG S1 PVM infection results in time-dependent alteration of bacterial clearance during secondary bacterial challenge, similar to IAV. WT mice were inoculated with PVM or PBS on day 0. Different groups of mice were challenged with S. aureus on day 3 or 7 and were sacrificed 24 h after challenge to determine S. aureus lung bacterial load. Data are represented as mean ± SD. *, P < 0.05; ****, P < 0.0001. Download FIG S1, EPS file, 0.1 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.P22 capsid inoculation induces cytokine and cellular immune responses, similar to IAV, both before and after S. aureus challenge.To determine whether the similar patterns of bacterial clearance induced by IAV and by P22 capsid inoculation are also associated with a common cytokine response, we compared levels of interleukin-13 (IL-13), which contributes to clearance of S. aureus infection in the lung (11, 14), and gamma interferon (IFN-γ), which both we and others have found to be disease enhancing (11, 14, 21). Compared to mock-inoculated WT mice, both P22 capsid- and IAV-inoculated mice exhibited increased IL-13 production when challenged with S. aureus at day 3 p.i. (Fig. 1D). However, when challenged at day 7 p.i. with S. aureus, both P22 capsid- and IAV-inoculated mice showed diminished IL-13 production. For IFN-γ production, compared to mock-inoculated WT mice, both P22 capsid- and IAV-inoculated mice showed diminished production of this cytokine when challenged with S. aureus at day 3 p.i., but when challenged at day 7 p.i., both P22 capsid- and IAV-inoculated mice showed increased IFN-γ production (Fig. 1D).IFN-γ can impair bacterial clearance by macrophages (21), whereas IL-13 can be involved in neutrophil recruitment (22). We previously reported that both CD11c+ (alveolar macrophages) and Ly6G+ cells (neutrophils) isolated from IAV-inoculated mice on day 3 p.i. have an increased ability to kill S. aureus ex vivo compared to those from mock-inoculated mice, whereas neutrophils isolated from the lungs of IAV-inoculated mice on day 7 p.i. showed an impaired ability to kill S. aureus (14). Similar to IAV on day 3 p.i., both alveolar macrophages and neutrophils harvested from lungs of WT mice at day 3 post-P22 capsid inoculation killed between 6 and 12 times more S. aureus than cells from mock-inoculated mice (Fig. 1E and F). Additionally, similar to neutrophils harvested from mice at day 7 post-IAV inoculation, neutrophils harvested at day 7 post-P22 capsid inoculation exhibited impaired bactericidal activity compared to those from mock-inoculated mice (Fig. 1F). Alveolar macrophages isolated from P22 capsid-, IAV-, or mock-inoculated mice at day 7 showed similar bactericidal activities toward S. aureus ex vivo (Fig. 1E).Host responses involved in dictating susceptibility to S. aureus challenge during early viral infection are induced prior to bacterial challenge. Specifically, production of IFN-β over the course of early viral infection (day 2 to 3) contributes to increased bacterial clearance of S. aureus during subsequent challenge. However, decreased production of IFN-β and increased production of IFN-α later in viral infection reduce bacterial clearance (11, 14). Therefore, we investigated whether the cytokine responses induced by P22 capsid inoculation prior to S. aureus challenge were also similar to those induced by IAV. The two conditions induced similar early production of IFN-β (day 3) and late production of IFN-α (day 7) in WT mice compared to mock-inoculated WT mice (Fig. S2). This suggests that the induction of a protective immune response was a consequence of the initial viral or capsid recognition events and not a response to active challenge with S. aureus. Activation of adaptive immune responses at later times following active viral infection increases both the magnitude and the complexity of the immune response. Thus, for the remainder of this study, improved bacterial clearance on day 3 p.i. was used as a metric for better understanding the mechanisms of early recognition of virus capsid.10.1128/mBio.01356-17.2FIG S2 P22 capsid inoculation induces similar time-dependent cytokine sequelae as IAV prior to S. aureus challenge. WT mice were inoculated with IAV (day 0; black), P22 capsid (days 0, 1, and 2; gray), or PBS (days 0, 1, and 2; mock; white). Cytokine levels of IFN-β and IFN-α (31.3 to 20.00 pg/ml) were determined from cell-free BALF by ELISA from day 3 or 7 in postinoculated mice. Data are represented as mean ± SD. **, P < 0.01; ****, P < 0.0001. Download FIG S2, EPS file, 0.1 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.TLR2-dependent signaling is required for IAV- and P22 capsid-mediated clearance of S. aureus on day 3 p.i.Our results thus far suggest that active virus infection is not required for induction of the immunologic responses that regulate host susceptibility to subsequent bacterial infection. Thus, we hypothesized that a common structural pattern of viral capsids was recognized by a PRR with broad specificity, such as the TLRs. To reduce the number of possible candidate PRRs involved, the MyD88 adapter molecule, which is used by nearly all members of the TLR family to induce inflammatory signaling upon recognition of PAMPs, was examined (23). myd88−/− mice inoculated with either IAV or P22 capsid showed impaired clearance of S. aureus from the lung at day 3 p.i. compared to similarly inoculated WT mice (Fig. 2A). In addition to acting as a mediator for TLRs, MyD88 also complexes and transmits signals from the inflammation-mediating receptor IL-1R (24, 25). However, il-1r−/− mice, either IAV or P22 inoculated, demonstrated a similar pattern of clearance of S. aureus upon challenge as that seen in WT mice (Fig. S3), implicating TLRs and not IL-1R as a likely candidate in the recognition of and subsequent immune activation by IAV and P22 capsid.10.1128/mBio.01356-17.3FIG S3 il-1r−/− mice do not display the time-dependent alteration of bacterial clearance during secondary bacterial challenge following either virus or P22 capsid inoculation. WT and il-1r−/− mice were inoculated with IAV (day 0; black), P22 capsid (days 0, 1, and 2; gray), or PBS (days 0, 1, and 2; mock; white) and were challenged with S. aureus on day 3, and lung bacterial burden was evaluated 24 h after challenge. Data are represented as mean ± SD. ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001. Download FIG S3, EPS file, 0.1 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.FIG 2 TLR2-dependent signaling is required for IAV- and P22 capsid-mediated bacterial clearance of S. aureus during subsequent bacterial infection. (A) WT and myd88−/− mice were inoculated with IAV (day 0; black bars), P22 capsid (days 0, 1, and 2; gray bars), or PBS (days 0, 1, and 2; mock; white bars) and challenged with S. aureus on day 3, and lung bacterial burden was measured 24 h later. (B) Gene expression of tlr2 and tlr6 was analyzed by qRT-PCR on RNA isolated from whole WT lung or CD11c+ lung alveolar macrophages 6 h after treatment with either IAV, P22 capsid, or PBS (black, gray, or white bars, respectively). (C and D) WT and tlr2−/− mice were inoculated with IAV (C) (day 0; black bars) or P22 capsid (D) (days 0, 1, and 2; gray bars) or PBS (day 0 or days 0, 1, and 2; mock; white bars) and challenged with S. aureus on day 3, and lung bacterial burden was measured 24 h later. (E) IL-13 and IFN-β cytokine concentrations in cell-free BALF from mice in panels C and D were determined by ELISA (dashed red line is PBS). (F) WT mice were inoculated with PAM2 (hatched gray bar) or PBS (mock; white bar) (day 0) and challenged with S. aureus on day 3, and lung bacterial burden was measured 24 h later. (G) Levels of IL-13 and IFN-β were measured in the BALFs from mice in panel F by ELISA (dashed red line is PBS, and statistical analysis compares treatment to PBS). Mouse experiments (A, C, D, and F) had a minimum of 5 animals per group, the ex vivo experiment in panel B had 3 biological and 3 technical replicates, and the ex vivo experiment in panels E and G had 5 biological and 3 technical replicates. Each was repeated three times. Data are represented as mean ± SD. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001.To determine which TLRs were induced in response to IAV or P22 capsid, we quantified transcript levels for each TLR, in either whole-lung samples or purified alveolar macrophages, 6 h following either IAV or P22 capsid inoculation, a known time frame for TLR transcript induction (26, 27). The 6-h time point was chosen to identify TLRs involved in early recognition rather than in downstream immune activation events, which could be complicated by recognition of other viral structures, such as nucleic acids. Both IAV and P22 capsid inoculation induced TLR2 and TLR6 mRNA expression. While TLR2 was upregulated in both whole-lung samples and purified alveolar macrophages, TLR6 was upregulated only by alveolar macrophages (Fig. 2B). Based on the consistent upregulation of TLR2, we assessed the requirement for this receptor in the immune response induced by the capsid. In contrast to WT mice, inoculation of tlr2−/− mice on day 3 p.i. with either IAV (Fig. 2C) or P22 capsid (Fig. 2D) did not result in an increase of S. aureus clearance compared to mock-inoculated mice. This indicates that TLR2 signaling was required for the initiation of protective responses. tlr2−/− mice did not present the characteristic cytokine sequelae of type I IFNs and IL-13 at day 3 p.i. Specifically, tlr2−/− mice inoculated with IAV or P22 capsid had no increase in production of IL-13 or IFN-β compared to mock-inoculated tlr2−/− mice, while WT mice inoculated with IAV or P22 capsid had a 2-fold increase in production of IL-13 and IFN-β compared to mock-inoculated WT mice (Fig. 2E; Table S1). This indicated that TLR2 signaling contributes to the upregulation of IFN-β and IL-13 after either IAV or P22 capsid recognition on day 4 p.i. (Fig. 2E). Furthermore, we found that killing of S. aureus ex vivo by neutrophils and macrophages isolated from tlr2−/− mice on day 3 after inoculation with either IAV or P22 capsid did not induce increased bactericidal activity compared to these cells from WT mice (Fig. S4).10.1128/mBio.01356-17.4FIG S4 Killing of S. aureus ex vivo by IAV- and P22 capsid-stimulated macrophages and neutrophils requires TLR2. WT or tlr2−/− mice were inoculated with IAV (day 0; black), P22 capsid (days 0, 1, and 2; gray), or PBS (days 0, 1, and 2; mock; white) and CD11c+ (A) or Ly6G+ (B) cells were purified from the lungs at day 3 or 7, and their ability to kill S. aureus following a 1.5-h or 3-h incubation ex vivo, respectively, was determined. Data are represented as mean ± SD. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001. Download FIG S4, EPS file, 0.2 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.10.1128/mBio.01356-17.9TABLE S1 Raw mean values for IL-13 and IFN-β from Fig. 2E. Download TABLE S1, PDF file, 0.1 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.To examine whether TLR2 activation alone was sufficient to elicit protection against subsequent bacterial challenge, the known TLR2 agonist PAM2CSK5 (PAM2) was administered in place of IAV or P22 capsid. PAM2 treatment resulted in increased bacterial clearance compared to mock-inoculated mice and displayed a similar pattern of both IL-13 and IFN-β production at day 3 p.i. (Fig. 2F and G) as found with IAV and P22 capsid. These results support a role for TLR2 signaling in immune responses to secondary post-viral and post-capsid S. aureus challenge.Capsid-mediated immune events are independent of the capsid size and shape, but are dependent on TLR2 and recognition of intact capsid.TLR2’s involvement in the recognition of both IAV and P22 capsid suggested that TLR2 was responding to similar structural patterns on the surface of the two particles. This raised the possibility of TLR2 acting as a generic receptor for common structural elements of viral capsids. Despite having no sequence similarity and having distinct host specificities, IAV and P22 capsid have similar sizes (~80 nm for IAV [28] and 60 nm for P22 capsid [29]) and spherical shapes. To consider the possibility that size and/or shape may play a role in TLR2-mediated recognition of these particles, we tested a library of capsids with various sizes and shapes for their ability to induce a similar pattern of susceptibility to S. aureus challenge as found with P22 capsid and IAV. To examine the impact of shape, mice were inoculated with a large (~300-nm) rod-shaped capsid derived from a tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) coat protein (CP) mutant (which forms a capsid in the absence of the nucleic acid cargo [30]). To examine the impact of size, mice were inoculated with small (~12 nm in diameter [31]) ferritin capsids of either a self (murine) or foreign (Pyrococcus furiosus) origin (Fig. 3A). Similar to mice inoculated with P22 capsid, mice inoculated with TMV capsid or with either pyrococcal (nonself) or murine (self) ferritin capsids showed improved bacterial clearance when challenged with S. aureus at day 3 p.i., but not at day 7 p.i. (Fig. 3B). Additionally, tlr2−/− mice inoculated with TMV or with either ferritin capsid did not clear subsequent S. aureus challenge better than mock-inoculated mice on day 3 p.i. (Fig. 3C). These results demonstrated that the capsid recognition resulting in time-dependent alteration of host susceptibility to S. aureus pneumonia required TLR2, and was not determined by the capsid’s size or shape, and suggested that the capsid recognition preceded the recognition of self versus nonself.FIG 3 Repeating protein subunit structure, but not spherical shape or size, is required for time-dependent alteration of S. aureus clearance. (A) To-scale structural representations of TMV capsid, P22 capsid, and ferritin capsid (assembled using PDB accession numbers 4UDV, 2XYY, and 3AJO, respectively). (B) Mice were inoculated with P22 capsid (gray symbols), TMV capsid (green symbols), murine (open blue symbols) or P. furiosus (solid blue symbols) ferritin capsid, or PBS (mock; white symbols) (days 0, 1, and 2) and challenged with S. aureus on either day 3 or day 7. (C) tlr2−/− mice were inoculated with TMV capsid (green symbols), murine (open blue symbols) or P. furiosus (solid blue symbols) ferritin capsid, or PBS (mock; white symbols) (days 0, 1, and 2) and challenged with S. aureus on day 3. (D) Structural representation of P22 capsid and P22 dimer. Sizes are not to scale (PDB accession no. 2XYY). (E) WT mice were inoculated with P22 capsid (gray symbols), P22 dimer (white symbols with gray outline), or PBS (mock; white symbols with black outline) (days 0, 1, and 2) and were challenged with S. aureus on either day 3 or day 7. (B, C, and E) S. aureus lung bacterial burden was determined 24 h after challenge. Experiments had a minimum of 5 animals per group and were repeated two (C) or three (B and E) times. Data are represented as mean ± SD. *, P < 0.05; ***, P < 0.001.Viral capsids have long been known to induce more-efficient humoral responses than their isolated subunits as their repeated subunit structure better cross-links B-cell receptors (32, 33). While IAV is an enveloped virus, proteins (including primarily hemagglutinin, but also neuraminidase and matrix 2 protein) on the IAV surface are tightly distributed, with an average spacing between hemagglutinin subunits of ~9 nm, leading to a similarly spaced polyvalent protein surface as the coat protein of the P22 capsid (average spacing of ~6 nm between subunits) (28, 34). To consider whether the repeating protein subunit arrangement was similarly required for the TLR2-dependent recognition, we inoculated WT mice with the disassembled P22 coat protein subunit, which can be stably maintained in solution as a dimer (29, 35) (Fig. 3D). In contrast to mice inoculated with an intact P22 capsid, inoculation of mice with P22 dimer neither showed improved bacterial clearance at day 3 p.i. nor decreased the clearance of S. aureus upon challenge on day 7 p.i. (Fig. 3E). In fact, mice inoculated with P22 dimer showed a similar pattern of susceptibility to S. aureus challenge as did mock-inoculated mice (Fig. 3E). This finding further supports the hypothesis that antiviral immune responses mediate time-dependent changes in host susceptibility to subsequent S. aureus challenge via sequence-independent recognition of the structural pattern of the viral capsid. These results strongly suggest/imply a pivotal role for repeating protein subunit structures in the induction of antiviral immune responses by a mechanism involving a common recognition pathway for this pattern.TLR2 recognizes repeating protein structures and does not require the subunits to be spherically organized.The induction of common antiviral immune responses and the requirement for TLR2 by all of the intact capsids examined suggested that TLR2 might be involved in recognizing the repeating subunit pattern of viral capsids. In nature, repeating protein subunit patterns are not limited to capsids, i.e., multisubunit protein assemblies surrounding a hollow cargo volume. Thus, we rationalized that if TLR2 recognition is initiated solely by multisubunit protein assemblies, then it might extend to noncapsid structures. Therefore, we examined filamentous (F) actin as a model noncapsid repeating protein subunit assembly. Unlike the capsids tested thus far, F-actin is an extended helical microfiber, but it is still composed of a repeating protein subunit (Fig. 4A).FIG 4 F-actin inoculation induces similar time-dependent alteration of bacterial clearance after S. aureus challenge, but different cytokines compared to IAV or P22 capsid inoculation. (A) A structural representation of F-actin and G-actin generated from PDB accession numbers 3J8K and 1J6Z, respectively. (B) WT mice were inoculated with F-actin (orange symbols) or PBS (mock; white symbols) (days 0, 1, and 2) and were challenged with S. aureus on either day 3 or day 7, and lung bacterial burden was evaluated 24 h after challenge. (C) WT mice were inoculated with 50 μg of either F-actin (orange symbols), G-actin (dark red symbols), or PBS (mock; white symbols) (days 0, 1, and 2) and were challenged with S. aureus on day 3, and lung bacterial burden was evaluated 24 h after challenge. (D) WT or tlr2−/− mice were inoculated with F-actin (orange symbols) or PBS (mock; white symbols) (days 0, 1, and 2) and challenged with S. aureus on day 3, and lung bacterial burden was evaluated 24 h after challenge. (E) Cytokine concentration determined by ELISA on the BALFs of mice from panel C. Experiments shown in panels B, C, and D had a minimum of 5 animals per group, and the ex vivo experiment in panel E had 5 biological and 3 technical replicates. Each was repeated three times. Data are represented as mean ± SD. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; N.S., not significant.Inoculation of mice with F-actin allowed for a 10-fold increase in bacterial clearance at day 3 p.i., but rendered mice less able to clear S. aureus following challenge at day 7 p.i. than mock-inoculated mice (Fig. 4B). Thus, F-actin inoculation resulted in a similar time-dependent pattern of host susceptibility to bacterial challenge as did inoculation with either the capsids or viruses (Fig. 1C, 3B, and S1). Additionally, as was found with P22 dimer (Fig. 4C), the globular F-actin monomers (G-actin) did not induce the time-dependent alteration of susceptibility to S. aureus challenge compared to F-actin-inoculated mice, further supporting our hypothesis that repeating protein assemblies composed of repeating protein subunits are inducing this response. F-actin inoculation also did not increase clearance of S. aureus in tlr2−/− mice at day 3 p.i. compared to F-actin-inoculated WT mice, indicating a requirement for TLR2 in bacterial clearance after F-actin inoculation (Fig. 4D), similar to IAV and P22 capsid (Fig. 2C and D). However, in contrast to IAV and P22 capsid (Fig. 2C), there was not a significant difference in the production of IFN-β or IL-13 in the F-actin-inoculated tlr2−/− mice compared to that found in F-actin-inoculated WT mice (Fig. 4E), suggesting that F-actin induced a different TLR2-mediated mechanism than P22 capsid. As F-actin is known to be recognized by the c-type lectin receptor Clec9a (DNGR1) (36, 37), we determined whether Clec9a was involved in the antiviral immune response regulating host susceptibility to a subsequent bacterial challenge. Inoculation of clec9a−/− mice with F-actin resulted in increased clearance of S. aureus compared to mock-treated clec9a−/− mice (Fig. S5), indicating that Clec9a is not required for the F-actin-mediated immune responses that regulate host susceptibility to a subsequent S. aureus pneumonia. Together, these results support a general role for TLR2 recognition of proteins with repeating subunit structure regardless of their origin, but also suggest that TLR2 recognition can be promiscuous and, as such, can result in different downstream cytokine responses.10.1128/mBio.01356-17.5FIG S5 F-actin inoculated clec9a−/− mice have increased clearance of a subsequent S. aureus challenge. clec9a−/− mice were inoculated with F-actin (orange) or PBS (mock; white) (days 0, 1, and 2) and were challenged with S. aureus on day 3, and lung bacterial burden was evaluated 24 h after challenge. Data are represented as mean ± SD. *, P < 0.05. Download FIG S5, EPS file, 0.2 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.The repeating protein subunit assemblies of P22 capsid and F-actin mediate induction of protective immune responses through TLR6 and TLR1, respectively.The induction of different cytokine responses with a shared TLR2 dependence by P22 capsid and F-actin suggested that there might be differences in cellular recruitment and/or activation. Cellular analysis of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) revealed that P22 capsid inoculation induced recruitment of neutrophils (CD11b+ Ly6G+; similar to previous results from IAV [14]) while F-actin did not (Fig. 5A and S6A). In fact, the cellular composition of BALF from mice inoculated with F-actin resembled that of mock-inoculated mice and consisted of mostly resident alveolar macrophages (~93% CD11c+ SiglecF+ [Fig. 5A and S6A]). To determine whether these differences in cellular recruitment into the lung translated into differences in the function of these cells, we tested their bactericidal capacity against S. aureus in the ex vivo assay. P22 capsid increased the bactericidal capacity of both neutrophils (Ly6G+) and macrophages (CD11c+) isolated from WT mice on day 3 p.i., while F-actin increased the bactericidal capacity of only macrophages (Fig. 5B). These results indicated that while both P22 capsid and F-actin utilize TLR2 to modulate host susceptibility to subsequent S. aureus challenge, the P22 capsid-induced responses are more inflammatory than the responses induced by F-actin. Differences in cellular recruitment and inflammation often lead to differences in biological effects; thus, we tested whether P22 capsid and F-actin had distinct biological effects. P22 capsid inoculation resulted in significant weight loss from day 0 to day 3 in WT mice (Fig. 5C), but the mice were then protected from weight loss upon S. aureus challenge (day 3 to 4, P = 0.315) (Fig. 5C). F-actin inoculation had no impact on weight loss initially (day 0 to 3, P = 0.501) (Fig. 5C), but following S. aureus challenge, the mice lost a significant amount of weight, similar to mock-inoculated mice (day 3 to 4, Fig. 5C).10.1128/mBio.01356-17.6FIG S6 P22 capsid inoculation, but not F-actin inoculation, induced neutrophil migration. WT mice were inoculated with P22 capsid (gray), F-actin (orange), or PBS (mock; white) (days 0, 1, and 2), and cells isolated from the BALF were stained and analyzed using FACS. The gating for live cells was set on forward scatter versus side scatter. (i) In the leftmost graph, staining for CD11c versus CD11b was determined by gating on the total live cells. The gating strategy entailed major gates I (CD11c+) and II (CD11b+). The graphs to the right are subsets from I and II looking at SiglecF (Ia), MHC-II (Ib), and Ly6G (IIa) staining. Representative FACS plots with cell percentages are shown. Download FIG S6, EPS file, 2.4 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.FIG 5 P22 capsid and F-actin require different TLR2 heterodimers for their ability to induce S. aureus killing by macrophages. (A) WT mice were inoculated with P22 capsid, F-actin, or PBS (days 0, 1, and 2), and differential counts of white blood cells from BALF were done on day 3 p.i. (representative images shown; bar, 100 μm). (B) WT mice were inoculated with either P22 capsid (gray symbols), F-actin (orange symbols), or PBS (mock; white symbols) (days 0, 1, and 2); CD11c+ or Ly6G+ cells were purified from the lungs at day 3; and their ability to kill S. aureus following a 1.5-h (CD11c+) or 3-h (Ly6G+) incubation ex vivo was determined. (C) Percent initial body weights of mice inoculated with P22 capsid (gray symbols), F-actin (orange symbols), or PBS (mock; white symbols) (days 0, 1, and 2) and challenged with S. aureus on day 3. (D) Percent initial body weights of mice inoculated with PAM2, PAM3, or PBS (mock) (day 0) and challenged with S. aureus on day 3. (E and F) Differential counts of white blood cells from BALF of mice treated with PAM2, P22 capsid, or PBS (mock) (E) or PAM3, F-actin, or PBS (mock) (F) and challenged with S. aureus on day 3. (G and H) Immortalized BM macrophages from WT, tlr2−/−, tlr1−/−, and tlr6−/− mice were stimulated with P22 capsid (gray symbols) (G) or F-actin (orange symbols) (H) or PBS (mock; white symbols) for 12 h. Cells were washed and incubated at a 10:1 ratio of S. aureus to cells for 5 h. CFU were determined after overnight incubation of samples on TSA plates following cell lysis. Experiments shown in panels A and C to F had a minimum of 5 animals per group, the ex vivo experiment in panel B had 3 combined biological with 5 technical replicates, and the experiment shown in panels G and H had 5 technical replicates per cell line. Each was repeated three times. Statistics for panels C and D are for the change in weight loss from day 3 to day 4 (mock, F-actin, and PAM3) or from day 0 to day 3 (P22 capsid and PAM2). Data are represented as mean ± SD. **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.The observed differences between mice inoculated with P22 capsid and those inoculated with F-actin in terms of cellular recruitment and activation, as well as body weight loss, suggested a difference in downstream TLR2 signaling pathways. TLR2 can signal as a preassembled heterodimer with either TLR1 or TLR6 (38) and can induce distinct downstream immune responses (39–42); thus, we speculated that P22 capsid and F-actin engaged different TLR2 heterodimers. To specifically activate the distinct TLR2 heterodimers, mice were inoculated with agonists for TLR2/6 or TLR2/1, PAM2 or PAM3, respectively, prior to S. aureus challenge. PAM2 similarly mimicked the weight loss pattern mediated by P22 capsid with an initial decrease in weight from day 0 to day 3, whereas PAM3 mimicked the weight loss pattern mediated by F-actin with no initial change in weight loss (day 0 to 3, P = 0.702) (Fig. 5D and C). PAM3-inoculated mice lost a significant amount of weight from day 3 to day 4 following S. aureus challenge on day 3, whereas PAM2-inoculated mice did not (P = 0.287) (Fig. 5D) Additionally, the differences in cellular recruitment induced by P22 capsid and F-actin were recapitulated by PAM2 and PAM3 inoculation, respectively, independently of S. aureus challenge and further indicated that the immune response is dictated by the multisubunit protein inoculation and not the bacterial challenge (Fig. 5E and F and S6B and C). These results suggested that P22 capsid and F-actin might require distinct TLR2 heterodimers for their antibacterial induced responses. To test this, we utilized immortalized bone marrow-derived macrophages (BM macrophages) from tlr1−/−, tlr2−/−, or tlr6−/− mice to determine which receptors are involved in the P22 capsid-mediated versus F-actin-mediated responses. We found that P22 capsid induced an increase in killing of S. aureus in WT and tlr1−/− BM macrophages, but not in tlr2−/− or tlr6−/− BM macrophages, indicating a requirement for TLR6 in the P22 capsid response (Fig. 5G). F-actin improved killing of S. aureus by WT and tlr6−/− BM macrophages, but not by tlr2−/− or tlr1−/− BM macrophages, indicating a requirement for TLR1 in the F-actin response (Fig. 5H). Additionally, TMV capsid and both ferritin capsids demonstrated the same killing pattern as F-actin, with only tlr6−/− and WT BM macrophages showing increased killing of S. aureus (Fig. S7). These results suggest a role for the recognition of P22 capsid and F-actin, as well as the other capsids, by different TLR2 heterodimers and their ability to induce protective responses against S. aureus.10.1128/mBio.01356-17.7FIG S7 Macrophage killing of S. aureus by TMV, Pyrococcus ferritin, and murine ferritin capsids requires TLR2 and TLR1. Immortal BM macrophages from WT, tlr2−/−, tlr1−/−, and tlr6−/− mice were stimulated with TMV capsid (green), Pyrococcus (open blue) or murine (striped blue) ferritin capsids, or PBS (mock; white) for 12 h. Cells were washed and incubated at a 10:1 ratio of S. aureus to cells for 5 h. CFU were determined following cell lysis. Data are represented as mean ± SD. **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001. Download FIG S7, EPS file, 0.3 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.DISCUSSIONRapid recognition of viral pathogens by the host is essential for the initiation of an appropriate immune response mounted specifically against the infecting virus. The shape, size, and particulate structure common to most, if not all, viruses and capsids are known to be important for the recognition of a virus by B lymphocytes (33). However, it remains unknown whether these external characteristics of a virus trigger earlier recognition by innate immunity prior to internalization. We previously found that antigenically unrelated protein capsids (sHSP and P22) protected mice from subsequent IAV infection (8, 10, 12), suggesting that the protective immune responses involved the structural characteristics of the particles rather than the specific sequences of their proteins. Since unrelated protein capsids could also induce protection from other viral and bacterial infections, this suggested that they have the capacity to induce immune imprinting similar to that of many respiratory viruses (9, 43).Building upon our earlier work (8, 10, 12, 14), we demonstrated here that the initial immune responses induced by intact viruses, various unrelated capsids, and other proteins with repeating protein subunit structures are very similar. Furthermore, using S. aureus challenge as the readout for the initially induced antiviral immune responses, we found that this response influences the host’s capacity to resolve subsequent bacterial infections. Since improved clearance of S. aureus upon challenge could be elicited by the replication-deficient capsids devoid of genetic material, it also indicated that viral infection-independent recognition mechanisms were employed. Our results suggest that virus-induced TLR2 has a role in the upregulation of IFN-β production, and previous reports have demonstrated that TLR2 ligands can upregulate type I IFNs specifically in endosomal compartments (44), suggesting that virus-induced TLR2 may involve a similar mechanism. However, although our data suggest a role for TLR2 in induction of IFN-β on day 4 postinoculation, it remains unknown whether and how TLR2 is involved in the canonical viral recognition pathways earlier during viral infection. Importantly, we provide evidence that these protective immune responses elicited by the capsid are controlled by TLR2.TLR2 has one of the broadest ligand specificities among the currently known TLRs, owing partially to heterodimerization of TLR2 with other TLRs, primarily TLR1 and TLR6 (38, 45, 46). Although in this work we did not investigate the biochemical characteristics of TLR2-ligand interactions, others have shown that the specificity of a TLR, specifically TLR9, can be broadened through arranging ligands in repeating patterns. Specifically, Wong and coworkers demonstrated that TLR9 signaling was drastically amplified and that the ligand specificity was broadened by bundled DNA ligands with specifically spaced nucleotides through receptor cross-linking and high-avidity interactions (47). Thus, it is possible that TLR2 may also have a promiscuous interaction with general features of protein quaternary structure, perhaps due to the inherent multivalent interactions of these structures (32, 33). We speculate that, since the intersubunit spacing of all the capsids evaluated in this study covers the same low-nanometer range as these DNA ligands (47) (see Fig. S8A in the supplemental material) and individual subunits/dimers could not induce similar responses as the intact repeating protein structures, TLR2 may utilize a similar avidity mechanism as TLR9. Future studies will determine whether the TLR2-based recognition is dependent on the repeating pattern of the same subunit or, rather, as with TLR9, it relies upon the distinct spacing of subunits regardless of whether these subunits are the same or different. Additionally, to which feature of the protein subunit surface TLR2 is responding remains unknown; however, certain chemical elements common to most proteins, including electrostatics, may also play a role (Fig. S8B).10.1128/mBio.01356-17.8FIG S8 Surface charge and intersubunit spacing of capsids and proteins used in this study. (A) Red dots mark symmetrical sites on indicated polyvalent proteins. Nearest distance measurements marked by red dashed lines are as indicated: TLR2/1, 2.5 nm; P22 capsid, 2.5 nm; TMV capsid, 2.5 nm; ferritin capsid, 0.7 nm; and F-actin, 7 nm. Furthest distances indicated by blue dashed lines are as indicated: TLR2/1, 11 nm; P22 capsid, 12 nm; TMV capsid, 3.5 nm; ferritin capsid, 6.7 nm; F-actin, 7 nm. All renderings and measurements were made using USCF Chimera. PDB reference files are as indicated: TLR2/1, 2Z7X; P22 capsid, 2XYY; TMV capsid, 4UDV; PyFn capsid, 3AJO; F-actin, 3J8J. (B) Coulombic colored surface renderings of the polyvalent protein assemblies examined here as well as both the TLR2/1 and TLR2/6 heterodimers. Color scale units are kcal/(mol*e). Download FIG S8, EPS file, 2.7 MB.Copyright © 2017 Shepardson et al.2017Shepardson et al.This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.Interestingly, our results demonstrate a differential preference of P22 capsid, compared to F-actin, for TLR2 heterodimers containing TLR6 and TLR1, respectively, while still resulting in similar S. aureus bacterial clearance by macrophages. Our findings do not suggest that TLR2-dependent processes serve as the only means of viral recognition. Instead, our data indicate that TLR2-mediated immune recognition of general capsid architecture initiates a common antiviral immune response. While F-actin is not a viral capsid, our results demonstrating a similar requirement for TLR2 with virus-like capsids suggest the possibility that it is, at least initially, recognized as such. Thus, it is possible that while P22 capsid and F-actin could be initially recognized by TLR2, their binding to different coreceptors and/or other receptors (48–50) provides an additional level of recognition that further modifies or validates the initial response. TLR2/1 and TLR2/6 are known to recognize highly similar ligands that differ in one acyl group, specifically the bacterial triacyl lipopeptides (PAM3) and diacyl lipopeptides (PAM2), and these ligands can induce either distinct or similar signaling pathways (39–42). The fact that P22 capsid, F-actin, and the other capsids examined in our study, as well as PAM2 and PAM3, are recognized by TLR2, but utilize these different TLR2 heterodimers, suggests that TLR2 may act as a broad immune recognition receptor for viruses or proteins exhibiting a virus capsid-like subunit arrangement. While it remains unclear at this time why different structures utilize different TLR2 heterodimers, this distinction, once elucidated, may provide an additional level of control for the utilization of repeated protein subunit structures as immunomodulatory tools. As viruses can infect at low doses, the possibility remains that intact viruses, as they replicate, may trigger these responses through more complicated pathways. However, we found that TLR2-dependent signaling was required for protection from increased bacterial burden early on day 3 post-influenza virus infection.The P22 capsid-induced immune responses are remarkably similar to those of infectious viruses in that they temporarily protect against many virus infections (10), they induce similar lung cytokine and cell responses (9, 11, 14), and they induce very similar kinetics of susceptibility to bacterial infection with either Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pneumoniae (9, 11), secondary to virus infection. Even so, the immune response induced by the initial recognition of the virus eventually wanes and can be further altered by virus-specific genes (51). Consistent with this, TLR2 does not directly contribute to susceptibility to pneumococcal pneumonia induced much later, at 1 or 2 weeks post-IAV infection (52, 53), at which points the immune response is much different from the initial response (18, 19). However, the report in which TLR2 stimulation in mice prior to IAV infection provided increased survivability supports an early role for TLR2 in virus recognition (54). Although TLR2 was previously found to be required for protection from increased bacterial burden in a sepsis model of S. aureus infection (55), we found that the presence/absence of TLR2, in the absence of virus/capsid inoculation, does not affect the bacterial burden in our pneumonia model, suggesting the observed responses are due to the initial antiviral response in the lung environment.Earlier reports have also indicated a role for TLR2 in recognition of viral glycoproteins, which are exposed on the external surface of most enveloped viruses. These reports include human cytomegalovirus (CMV) exposed surface glycoproteins that were shown to require TLR2 for induction of inflammatory cytokine responses (56), TLR2 in conjunction with TLR9 that was shown to be involved in recognition of herpes simplex virus (HSV) by dendritic cells (57), and TLR2- and TLR4-mediated recognition of glycoproteins that were implicated in induction of immune responses to both EBV and RSV (5, 6). Glycoproteins like hemagglutinin and neuraminidase also decorate the envelope of influenza viruses (28), which we found to induce a TLR2-dependent immune response that was very similar to non-enveloped P22 capsid. Considering these reports, it should be noted that the capsids used here were heterologously expressed and the protein subunits have been previously confirmed by mass spectrometry to not contain detectable glycosylation patterns (58). Glycoproteins, much like virus capsids, can be organized in a repeating protein subunit pattern (59). Thus, our results suggest the possibility that the TLR2 recognition of glycoproteins reported for multiple viruses by others could involve the recognition of the repeating pattern of these multisubunit proteins by TLR2.Viruses and other pathogens have long been considered to be recognized solely based on specific classical molecular patterns, such as PAMPs. Under this model, since viral capsids do not display classical external PAMPs, viruses would usually require infection to occur for currently known viral PAMPs to become exposed to cognate innate immune receptors. The data presented here indicate that there is also immune recognition based purely on the structure of proteins with repeating subunit patterns common to many virus capsids. Understanding this TLR2-mediated recognition mechanism is essential in understanding immune responses to low-immunogenicity pathogens and provides an opportunity for the further development of multisubunit protein-based prophylactics and therapeutics. Our data also indicate the potential for engineering these ligands to be heterodimer specific. From the perspective of vaccine design, determining the importance of TLR2-dependent recognition of viruses in a more diverse host environment will be necessary to elucidate whether this response is dependent on allelic differences.We believe that the results presented here have broad implications within the understanding of viral infection and innate immunity. In addition, they provide a mechanistic context for previous studies demonstrating a strong correlation between repeating multisubunit structure and increased immunogenicity even when there is no preexisting adaptive immune memory. Importantly, that the repeating protein subunit pattern is conserved across viral capsids suggests that changing it to escape immune recognition may not be feasible to viruses. Moreover, TLR2 stimulation was shown to be able to provide protection from multiple viruses, not just influenza virus infection (46, 54, 60). Thus, targeting this viral vulnerability could aid in the development or augmentation of a universal antiviral vaccine, not specific to any single virus.MATERIALS AND METHODSMice.Male and female wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 (CD45.2), myd88−/−, clec9a−/−, and tlr2−/− mice (originally purchased from Jackson Laboratories) were bred and maintained at the Montana State University (MSU; Bozeman, MT) Animal Resources Center under pathogen-free conditions and were a kind gift from Mark Jutila (myd88−/− and tlr2−/− mice). All mice used in this study were between 7 and 8 weeks of age unless specifically indicated. Mice were weighed and monitored for signs of morbidity and mortality. All care and procedures were in accordance with the recommendations of the NIH, the USDA, and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (61). Animal protocols were reviewed and approved by the MSU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). MSU is accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC; accreditation no. 713).P22 and TMV capsid constructs.The construction of the P22 capsid expression vector has been previously described (62). For the construction of TMV mutants (D77N and E50Q), the TMV coat protein was purchased as an Escherichia coli codon-optimized gene from GenScript Inc. and cloned in a pRSFDuet vector for expression. Mutations (D77N and E50Q) were introduced through site-directed mutagenesis with the following primers (Eurofins MWG Operon and Integrated DNA Technologies) to create a capsid that does not allow RNA inclusion: TMV-CP D77N FP, CCGGATAGCGACTTCAAAGTTTATCGCTACAATGCCGTTCTGAACCCGCTGG; TMV-CP E50Q, AAAACGCACGGTGACCTGCGGAGACGGTTTCCAGACTTGGCTGAATTGGCGC.P22 and TMV capsid purification.All constructs were transformed into ClearColi (Lucigen), a nonimmunostimulatory lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-generating E. coli cell line, via electroporation. Transformed E. coli strains were grown on LB medium at 37°C in the presence of ampicillin or kanamycin. Expression of the genes was induced once the culture reached mid-log phase (optical density at 600 nm [OD600] of 0.6) by addition of isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) to a final concentration of 0.5 mM. Cultures were grown for 4 h after addition of IPTG, and then the cells were harvested by centrifugation and cell pellets were stored at −20°C overnight. Cell pellets were resuspended in lysis buffer (10 mM sodium phosphate, 125 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4) with lysozyme and RNase added and incubated at room temperature for 30 min. The cell suspension was lysed by sonication, and cell debris was removed by centrifugation at 12,000 × g for 45 min at 4°C. P22 or TMV particles were purified from the supernatant by ultracentrifugation through a 35% (wt/vol) sucrose cushion. The resulting viral pellets were resuspended in PBS (10 mM sodium phosphate, 175 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4) and then purified over an S-500 Sephadex size exclusion column using a Bio-Rad Biologic DuoFlow fast protein liquid chromatograph (FPLC). The flow rate for size exclusion chromatography (SEC) purification was 1 ml/min. P22 samples were diluted to ~1.5 mg/ml and heated at 67°C for 25 min to expand the capsids, which removed scaffold protein and nucleic acid contaminants from the sample, and were recovered by ultracentrifugation. Samples were assessed by SDS-PAGE, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and SEC-multiangle laser light scattering (MALS) for particle assembly and purity and by nanodrop and acrylamide gel electrophoresis for nucleic acid absence. All columns and containers were endotoxin free.P22 CP subunit purification.Unassembled P22 coat protein (CP) subunits were generated by combining 2-mg/ml samples of expanded P22 1:1 with 6 M guanidine HCl in PBS and incubating them at room temperature for 1 h. Samples were dialyzed against PBS overnight at 4°C and used within 24 h of recovery. Complete disassembly was confirmed by SEC-MALS.mFn and PfFn.pET30A plasmids harboring either the murine ferritin (mFn) or P. furiosus ferritin (PfFn) were transformed into ClearColi via electroporation (63). Expression of the genes was induced in 1-liter LB cultures by addition of isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) to a final concentration of 0.3 mM once the cells reached mid-log phase (OD600 of 0.6). Cultures were grown for 16 h after addition of IPTG, and then the cells were harvested by centrifugation (4,000 rpm at 4°C) and cell pellets were stored at −80°C overnight. Cell pellets were resuspended in Dulbecco’s PBS (10 mM sodium phosphate, 138 mM sodium chloride, 2.7 mM potassium chloride, pH 7.4) with lysozyme, DNase, and RNase added and were incubated at room temperature for 30 min. The cell suspension was lysed by sonication. Cellular components were removed by centrifugation at 12,000 × g for 45 min at 4°C. Postlysis supernatant was then heated to 60°C for mFn and 80°C for PyFn in a hot water bath for 10 min to precipitate E. coli proteins. Aggregated proteins were removed by centrifugation at 12,000 × g for 20 min at 4°C. The remaining supernatant was dialyzed into PBS (50 mM sodium phosphate, 1 M sodium chloride, pH 7.4) overnight to facilitate additional removal of nucleic acids. The supernatant was then concentrated by spin filtration and loaded onto a Superose 6 10/300 GL (GE Healthcare Life Sciences) size exclusion column using a Bio-Rad Biologic DuoFlow FPLC. Fractions were checked by SDS-PAGE, and those containing ferritin were pooled and dialyzed into PBS (20 mM sodium phosphate, 50 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4) overnight. To further remove impurities, ferritin fractions were loaded onto a Fast Q Sepharose ion exchange column (GE Healthcare Life Sciences), and ferritin was eluted with a sodium chloride gradient (PBS [20 mM sodium phosphate, 50 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4] to PBS [20 mM sodium phosphate, 1 M sodium chloride, pH 7.4]). Fractions were again checked by SDS-PAGE, and those containing pure ferritin were pooled. Combined fractions were then dialyzed into Dulbecco’s PBS overnight and stored at 4°C. All columns and containers were endotoxin free.SDS-PAGE.Protein samples were mixed with 4× loading buffer containing 100 mM dithiothreitol (DTT), boiled for 10 min, and separated on a 15% acrylamide gel (35 mA) for 1 h. Gels were stained with Coomassie blue stain. Images were recorded on a UVP MultDoc-IT digital imaging system. A 10- to 180-kDa PageRuler prestained ladder was used for reference.Transmission electron microscopy.Samples (5 μl, 0.1-mg/ml total protein) were applied to carbon-coated grids (Electron Microscopy Sciences), incubated for 30 s, and washed with distilled water. Grids were stained with 2% uranyl acetate for 20 s. Images were taken on a JEOL 1010 transmission electron microscope at an accelerating voltage of 80 kV to determine particle assembly and purity (17).Inoculations and challenge.Nonsurgical intratracheal (i.t.) inoculations were performed as described previously (9). For capsid inoculations, mice were dosed with 100 μl i.t. of sterile PBS (mock), 100 μg of capsid (P22, TMV, murine/Pyrococcus ferritin), or P22 dimer on three consecutive days (0, 1, and 2). For virus inoculations, mice were inoculated with 100 μl of PBS or 0.1 50% lethal dose (LD50; 1,500 PFU) of IAV strain A-PR8/8/34 (PR8; H1N1) or 0.1 LD50 PVM (~3,000 PFU); PVM was a gift from Helene Rosenberg, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD (10). All mice for the PVM experiments were housed in isolation due to the PVM shedding phenotype. Filamentous actin (F-actin from rabbit skeletal muscle; Cytoskeleton, Inc. [AKF99]) was prepared according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Mice were inoculated with 100 μl of PBS or 100 μg (or 50 μg in G-actin experiments) of F-actin once on three consecutive days (0, 1, and 2). Globular actin (G-actin from rabbit skeletal muscle; Cytoskeleton, Inc. [AKL99]) was prepared according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Mice were inoculated with 120 μl of PBS or 50 μg of G-actin once on three consecutive days (0, 1, and 2). For the Pam2CSK4 (PAM2; InvivoGen, San Diego, CA) or Pam3CSK4 (PAM3) experiment, mice were inoculated with 100 μl of PBS or 10 μg of PAM2 or PAM3 once (64). For the experiment with the LAC strain of S. aureus (methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA] pulsed-field type USA300; a kind gift from Jovanka Voyich at MSU), inoculations of 108 CFU were used for challenge. Our previously described procedure for determining CFU (9) was followed on lung homogenate samples after overnight culture on tryptic soy agar (TSA) plates.Preparation of BALF samples and cytokine analyses.Mice were sacrificed by intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of 90 mg/kg of body weight sodium pentobarbital. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was obtained by lavaging the lungs with 3 mM EDTA in PBS (11), and cellular composition was determined by hemocytometer cell counts and differential counts of cytospins after staining with Quick-Diff solution (Siemens; Medical Solutions Diagnostics, Tarrytown, NY). Cell-free BALF was used to determine levels of IL-13 (4 to 500 pg/ml), IFN-β (1.9 to 500 pg/ml), and IFN-γ (15.6 to 1,000 pg/ml) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits (Ready-Set-Go; eBioscience, San Diego, CA, or BioLegend). Results are from 5 mice per group (biological replicates) and 3 technical replicates per mouse.Flow cytometry.A single-cell suspension was obtained by centrifugation of BALF specimens. Red blood cells were lysed with AKC lysis buffer (150 mmol/liter NH4Cl, 1 mmol/liter KHCO3, and 0.1 mmol/liter Na2-EDTA; pH 7.2 to 7.4) for 5 min and were blocked with Fc receptor block (2.4G2 hybridoma, made in-house) for 20 min. Cells were stained with CD11c (clone N418; BioLegend), CD11b (clone M1/70; eBioscience), Ly6G (clone 1A8; BioLegend), major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) (clone M5/114.15.2; BioLegend), and SiglecF (clone E50-2440; BD Bioscience). Cells were washed in fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) buffer (1% neonatal calf serum-PBS). Samples were acquired on a FACSCanto cytometer running FACSDiva software (both obtained from BD Bioscience), and FlowJo software (Tree Star, Inc., Ashland, OR) was used for analysis.Bacterial killing assays.For CD11c+ and Ly6G+, killing assays were performed as previously described (9, 14). For immortalized bone marrow-derived macrophage killing assays, immortalized BM macrophages from WT, tlr1−/−, tlr2−/−, and tlr6−/− mice (C57BL/6 background) were grown and maintained according to the manufacturer’s protocol (BEI Resources; NR-9456, NR-19977, NR-9457, and NR-19972, respectively). Cells were treated with either equal-volume PBS or 1 μg/ml either P22 capsid or F-actin for 12 h. Cells were washed with PBS and incubated with S. aureus (1:1 ratio) at 37°C and 5% CO2 for 5 h. After cell lysis with 1% saponin, CFU were determined by serial dilutions plated on TSA.Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) experiment/analysis.Mice were inoculated with P22 capsid, IAV, or PBS as described above and euthanized 6 h after treatment, and lungs were flash frozen, lyophilized, and then homogenized. CD11c+ cells were treated with RPMI containing PBS, P22 capsid, or IAV in a 2:1 (cell/particle) ratio for 6 h followed by immediate RNA isolation. Trizol reagent and chloroform were used to extract RNA. RNA was reverse transcribed with the QuantiTect reverse transcription kit (Qiagen, USA). Primers for all murine genes of interest were designed with PrimerQuest (IDT) and manufactured by IDT, USA. Sequences are as follows: TLR2 fwd, CAGCTGGAGAACTCTGACCC; TLR2 rev, CAAAGAGCCTGAAGTGGGAG; TLR6 fwd, TGGATGTCTCACACAATCGG; TLR6 rev, GCAGCTTAGATGCAAGTGAGC; rpl13a fwd, CTCTGGAGGAGAAACGGAAGGAAA; rpl13a rev, GGTCTTGAGGACCTCTGTGAACTT. All reactions were performed on a Roche LightCycler 96 real-time PCR detection system with iTaq universal SYBR green supermix (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). The threshold cycle (ΔΔCT) method was used to assess changes in mRNA abundance, using rpl13a as the housekeeping gene. Results presented are the means and standard deviations (SDs) from 3 biological and 3 technical replicates.Protein structural modeling.All structural models were generated using UCSF Chimera and available Protein Data Bank (PDB) files. Side chain positions from the P22 structure were estimated using Phyre2, which allowed for the generation of coulombic colored surface images. All measurements were made between identical or conserved residues on adjacent monomers.Statistical analyses.Unless otherwise specified in the figure legends, reported results are means ± SDs from 5 mice/group from a single experiment. Each experiment for which results are presented in this paper was independently performed at least twice with similar results. The differences between treatment groups were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Student’s t test (two-tailed) using GraphPad Prism software. Statistical differences with P values of <0.05 were considered significant.
pattern recognition bacterial superinfection innate immunity Toll-like receptors virology virus-host interactions