Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Trigger Species-Specific Alterations in Macrophage Proteome Signatures with Different Impacts in Host Innate Inflammatory Responses

ABSTRACT The molecular details underlying differences in pathogenicity between Rickettsia species remain to be fully understood. Evidence points to macrophage permissiveness as a key mechanism in rickettsial virulence. Different studies have shown that several rickettsial species responsible for mil...

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Main Authors: Pedro Curto, Cátia Santa, Luísa Cortes, Bruno Manadas, Isaura Simões
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2021-12-01
Series:Microbiology Spectrum
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.00814-21
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author Pedro Curto
Cátia Santa
Luísa Cortes
Bruno Manadas
Isaura Simões
author_facet Pedro Curto
Cátia Santa
Luísa Cortes
Bruno Manadas
Isaura Simões
author_sort Pedro Curto
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT The molecular details underlying differences in pathogenicity between Rickettsia species remain to be fully understood. Evidence points to macrophage permissiveness as a key mechanism in rickettsial virulence. Different studies have shown that several rickettsial species responsible for mild forms of rickettsioses can also escape macrophage-mediated killing mechanisms and establish a replicative niche within these cells. However, their manipulative capacity with respect to host cellular processes is far from being understood. A deeper understanding of the interplay between mildly pathogenic rickettsiae and macrophages and the commonalities and specificities of host responses to infection would illuminate differences in immune evasion mechanisms and pathogenicity. We used quantitative proteomics by sequential windowed data independent acquisition of the total high-resolution mass spectra with tandem mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS/MS) to profile alterations resulting from infection of THP-1 macrophages with three mildly pathogenic rickettsiae: Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia africae, and Rickettsia massiliae, all successfully proliferating in these cells. We show that all three species trigger different proteome signatures. Our results reveal a significant impact of infection on proteins categorized as type I interferon responses, which here included several components of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-1)-like signaling pathway, mRNA splicing, and protein translation. Moreover, significant differences in protein content between infection conditions provide evidence for species-specific induced alterations. Indeed, we confirm distinct impacts on host inflammatory responses between species during infection, demonstrating that these species trigger different levels of beta interferon (IFN-β), differences in the bioavailability of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and differences in triggering of pyroptotic events. This work reveals novel aspects and exciting nuances of macrophage-Rickettsia interactions, adding additional layers of complexity between Rickettsia and host cells’ constant arms race for survival. IMPORTANCE The incidence of diseases caused by Rickettsia has been increasing over the years. It has long been known that rickettsioses comprise diseases with a continuous spectrum of severity. There are highly pathogenic species causing diseases that are life threatening if untreated, others causing mild forms of the disease, and a third group for which no pathogenicity to humans has been described. These marked differences likely reflect distinct capacities for manipulation of host cell processes, with macrophage permissiveness emerging as a key virulence trait. However, what defines pathogenicity attributes among rickettsial species is far from being resolved. We demonstrate that the mildly pathogenic Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia africae, and Rickettsia massiliae, all successfully proliferating in macrophages, trigger different proteome signatures in these cells and differentially impact critical components of innate immune responses by inducing different levels of beta interferon (IFN-β) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and different timing of pyroptotic events during infection. Our work reveals novel nuances in rickettsia-macrophage interactions, offering new clues to understand Rickettsia pathogenicity.
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spelling doaj.art-ff0351c76d0148e485f02754f959d2fd2022-12-21T21:23:32ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972021-12-019310.1128/spectrum.00814-21Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Trigger Species-Specific Alterations in Macrophage Proteome Signatures with Different Impacts in Host Innate Inflammatory ResponsesPedro Curto0Cátia Santa1Luísa Cortes2Bruno Manadas3Isaura Simões4Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalCenter for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalCenter for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalCenter for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalCenter for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalABSTRACT The molecular details underlying differences in pathogenicity between Rickettsia species remain to be fully understood. Evidence points to macrophage permissiveness as a key mechanism in rickettsial virulence. Different studies have shown that several rickettsial species responsible for mild forms of rickettsioses can also escape macrophage-mediated killing mechanisms and establish a replicative niche within these cells. However, their manipulative capacity with respect to host cellular processes is far from being understood. A deeper understanding of the interplay between mildly pathogenic rickettsiae and macrophages and the commonalities and specificities of host responses to infection would illuminate differences in immune evasion mechanisms and pathogenicity. We used quantitative proteomics by sequential windowed data independent acquisition of the total high-resolution mass spectra with tandem mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS/MS) to profile alterations resulting from infection of THP-1 macrophages with three mildly pathogenic rickettsiae: Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia africae, and Rickettsia massiliae, all successfully proliferating in these cells. We show that all three species trigger different proteome signatures. Our results reveal a significant impact of infection on proteins categorized as type I interferon responses, which here included several components of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-1)-like signaling pathway, mRNA splicing, and protein translation. Moreover, significant differences in protein content between infection conditions provide evidence for species-specific induced alterations. Indeed, we confirm distinct impacts on host inflammatory responses between species during infection, demonstrating that these species trigger different levels of beta interferon (IFN-β), differences in the bioavailability of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and differences in triggering of pyroptotic events. This work reveals novel aspects and exciting nuances of macrophage-Rickettsia interactions, adding additional layers of complexity between Rickettsia and host cells’ constant arms race for survival. IMPORTANCE The incidence of diseases caused by Rickettsia has been increasing over the years. It has long been known that rickettsioses comprise diseases with a continuous spectrum of severity. There are highly pathogenic species causing diseases that are life threatening if untreated, others causing mild forms of the disease, and a third group for which no pathogenicity to humans has been described. These marked differences likely reflect distinct capacities for manipulation of host cell processes, with macrophage permissiveness emerging as a key virulence trait. However, what defines pathogenicity attributes among rickettsial species is far from being resolved. We demonstrate that the mildly pathogenic Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia africae, and Rickettsia massiliae, all successfully proliferating in macrophages, trigger different proteome signatures in these cells and differentially impact critical components of innate immune responses by inducing different levels of beta interferon (IFN-β) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and different timing of pyroptotic events during infection. Our work reveals novel nuances in rickettsia-macrophage interactions, offering new clues to understand Rickettsia pathogenicity.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.00814-21SFG Rickettsiaobligate intracellular bacteriamacrophage permissivenessimmune evasionhost-pathogen interactionspathogenicity
spellingShingle Pedro Curto
Cátia Santa
Luísa Cortes
Bruno Manadas
Isaura Simões
Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Trigger Species-Specific Alterations in Macrophage Proteome Signatures with Different Impacts in Host Innate Inflammatory Responses
Microbiology Spectrum
SFG Rickettsia
obligate intracellular bacteria
macrophage permissiveness
immune evasion
host-pathogen interactions
pathogenicity
title Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Trigger Species-Specific Alterations in Macrophage Proteome Signatures with Different Impacts in Host Innate Inflammatory Responses
title_full Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Trigger Species-Specific Alterations in Macrophage Proteome Signatures with Different Impacts in Host Innate Inflammatory Responses
title_fullStr Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Trigger Species-Specific Alterations in Macrophage Proteome Signatures with Different Impacts in Host Innate Inflammatory Responses
title_full_unstemmed Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Trigger Species-Specific Alterations in Macrophage Proteome Signatures with Different Impacts in Host Innate Inflammatory Responses
title_short Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Trigger Species-Specific Alterations in Macrophage Proteome Signatures with Different Impacts in Host Innate Inflammatory Responses
title_sort spotted fever group rickettsia trigger species specific alterations in macrophage proteome signatures with different impacts in host innate inflammatory responses
topic SFG Rickettsia
obligate intracellular bacteria
macrophage permissiveness
immune evasion
host-pathogen interactions
pathogenicity
url https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.00814-21
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