1. Modeling Pneumonic Plague in Human Precision-Cut Lung Slices Highlights a Role for the Plasminogen Activator Protease in Facilitating Type 3 Secretion
- Author
-
Shalynn D. Mills, Richard C. Kurten, Samantha D. Huckuntod, Roger D. Pechous, and Srijon Kaushik Banerjee
- Subjects
Pneumonic plague ,human precision-cut lung slices ,Yersinia pestis ,plasminogen activator protease ,Immunology ,pulmonary infection ,Yersinia ,Microbiology ,Bubonic plague ,Bacterial Adhesion ,Cell Line ,Type three secretion system ,Proinflammatory cytokine ,Mice ,Plasminogen Activators ,03 medical and health sciences ,stomatognathic system ,Macrophages, Alveolar ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Lung ,Pathogen ,030304 developmental biology ,Plague ,0303 health sciences ,biology ,030306 microbiology ,respiratory system ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,Molecular Pathogenesis ,3. Good health ,Mice, Inbred C57BL ,Infectious Diseases ,hPCLS ,type 3 secretion ,Host-Pathogen Interactions ,Cytokines ,Pla ,Female ,lipids (amino acids, peptides, and proteins) ,Parasitology ,pneumonic plague ,Plasminogen activator - Abstract
Pneumonic plague is the deadliest form of disease caused by Yersinia pestis. Key to the progression of infection is the activity of the plasminogen activator protease Pla. Deletion of Pla results in a decreased Y. pestis bacterial burden in the lung and failure to progress into the lethal proinflammatory phase of disease. While a number of putative functions have been attributed to Pla, its precise role in the pathogenesis of pneumonic plague is yet to be defined., Pneumonic plague is the deadliest form of disease caused by Yersinia pestis. Key to the progression of infection is the activity of the plasminogen activator protease Pla. Deletion of Pla results in a decreased Y. pestis bacterial burden in the lung and failure to progress into the lethal proinflammatory phase of disease. While a number of putative functions have been attributed to Pla, its precise role in the pathogenesis of pneumonic plague is yet to be defined. Here, we show that Pla facilitates type 3 secretion into primary alveolar macrophages but not into the commonly used THP-1 cell line. We also establish human precision-cut lung slices as a platform for modeling early host/pathogen interactions during pneumonic plague and solidify the role of Pla in promoting optimal type 3 secretion using primary human tissue with relevant host cell heterogeneity. These results position Pla as a key player in the early host/pathogen interactions that define pneumonic plague and showcase the utility of human precision-cut lung slices as a platform to evaluate pulmonary infection by bacterial pathogens.
- Published
- 2019