The JI
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     
 

The Journal of Immunology, 2008, 181, 1365 -1374
Copyright © 2008 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Carrero, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Unanue, E. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Carrero, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Unanue, E. R.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
*Gene*GEO Profiles
*HomoloGene*Protein
*UniGene
*Compound via MeSH
*Substance via MeSH
Hazardous Substances DB
*CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
*CALCIUM, ELEMENTAL
*CHLOROQUINE
Medline Plus Health Information
*Listeria Infections

Granzymes Drive a Rapid Listeriolysin O-Induced T Cell Apoptosis1

Javier A. Carrero, Hector Vivanco-Cid and Emil R. Unanue2

Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110


   Abstract
Top
 Abstract
Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Disclosures
 References
 
The Listeria monocytogenes protein listeriolysin O (LLO) is a pore-forming protein essential for virulence. Although the major role for LLO is to allow L. monocytogenes entry into the cytosol, it also induces apoptosis of activated lymphocytes, an obligatory cellular response that modulates the infection. Induction of apoptosis by LLO proceeds through a fast, caspase-dependent pathway and a slow, caspase-independent pathway. Polyclonal T cell lines were generated from either normal mice or mice deficient in granzyme and perforin proteins, and then treated with apoptogenic doses of LLO. In this study we show that apoptosis of lymphocytes induced by LLO was characterized by activation of caspases as quickly as 30 min that was dependent on the expression of granzymes. In the absence of granzymes, all parameters of apoptosis such as caspase activation, phosphatidylserine exposure, mitochondrial depolarization, and DNA fragmentation were dramatically reduced in magnitude. Removal of perforin inhibited the apoptotic effect of LLO on cells by ~50%. Neutralization of intracellular acidification using chloroquine inhibited the rapid apoptotic death. In agreement with these findings granzyme-deficient mice harbored lower bacterial titers and decrease splenic pathology compared with normal mice following L. monocytogenes infection. Thus, LLO exploits apoptotic enzymes of the adaptive immune response to eliminate immune cells and increase its virulence.


   Introduction
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Disclosures
 References
 
Infection with the Gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a powerful model to examine bacterial virulence and immune regulation after infection. Infection of mice with L. monocytogenes causes marked apoptosis of lymphocytes, hepatocytes, and neurons (1, 2, 3). Indeed there is a growing list of bacterial pathogens that induce apoptosis making it important to understand the molecular mechanisms behind it (4, 5).

L. monocytogenes expresses a virulence cluster dedicated to invasiveness in mammalian species (6). One of the virulence factors in the cluster is the pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O (LLO),3 a member of the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin family (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins are expressed by a number of Gram-positive bacteria and have various functions, from delivery of toxins (streptolysin O) (13) to compromising phagosomes of infected cells (LLO). The main role attributed to LLO is to allow L. monocytogenes to escape from the phagosome into the permissive environment of the host cell cytosol (14, 15). Bacteria deficient in LLO are avirulent in vivo and in vitro. Treatment of mice with a mAb that neutralizes LLO also renders L. monocytogenes avirulent in vivo and in vitro (16, 17).

Lymphocyte apoptosis takes place in infective foci at the time of exponential growth of the microbe (1). Phagocytes also die after infection, but the mechanism of death is not understood. Mice deficient for the type I IFN receptor have decreased lymphocyte apoptosis and increased survival of a subset of macrophages (18, 19, 20). The apoptotic lesion is immunomodulatory, leading to decreased host resistance and increased bacterial proliferation (4, 21). We have postulated that during the exponential growth of L. monocytogenes, LLO is released to the extracellular fluids, leading to lymphocyte apoptosis. We favor this hypothesis based on the findings that 1) Abs to LLO blocked apoptosis in vivo (16); 2) free L. monocytogenes was found in the inflamed lesions surrounding apoptotic cells; 3) lymphocytes were never infected with L. monocytogenes; and 4) nanomolar doses of purified LLO induced apoptosis of dividing T cells with fast kinetics, and activation of caspase-3, noted as early as 30 min after treatment (22).

In examining the mechanism of action of LLO in causing lymphocyte apoptosis, we considered the role of granzymes. We reasoned that due to the rapid kinetics, a membrane proximal event should be the inductive event. Of all the apoptotic signals studied to date, granzyme-mediated induction of cellular death has kinetics most similar to LLO induced apoptosis. LLO has a pH optimum that enhances its activity in the phagosomal environment and could either lyse or permeabilize the acidic vesicles/granules that contain granzymes releasing them into the cytosol (23, 24). Hence, LLO may act as an endosomolytic agent. In fact, extracellular LLO has been used to deliver large amounts of purified recombinant granzyme B to target cells (25). Alternatively, LLO could be inducing signaling cascades inside cells that lead to granzyme-dependent apoptosis. To our knowledge this example is the only study of a protein that induces apoptosis through cell autonomous granzyme activity. We prove that granzyme is the major executor of the fast cellular death seen in activated T cells treated with LLO and, importantly, we also indicate an effect in the infection.


   Materials and Methods
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
Results
 Discussion
 Disclosures
 References
 
Mice and infections

129/SvJ mice were purchased from The Jackson Laboratory. Granzyme A x B–/–, granzyme B–/–, and granzyme A x B cluster–/– mice on a 129/SvJ background were a gift from Dr. T. J. Ley (Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO). A detailed description of how all the granzyme-deficient strains of mice generated can be found reported previously (26). In vivo infections were performed as previously described (21). H&E and TUNEL staining was performed as previously described (1). All mice were bred and maintained at our animal facility and used according to the protocols defined by the Division of Comparative Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine.

Cell culture and LLO treatment

T cell lines were generated by immunizing mice in the hind footpad with 10 nM OVA (Sigma-Aldrich) in CFA (Difco). Lymph nodes were isolated and lines were generated using conventional techniques. The initial T cell line was passaged as follows: 1 x 106 T cells and 2 x 107 dispersed irradiated (3000 rad) splenocytes were cultured in 20 ml of DMEM supplemented with 10% defined FCS, 50 U/ml IL-2, and 10 µM OVA. T cell lines were passaged every 7 days. At every passage and before any experiment, T cell lines were extensively purified by centrifugation over a Histopaque 1119 gradient (Sigma-Aldrich) to remove dead cells. This process also removes the irradiated splenocytes. T cells purified by this process were 100% CD4+, CD69+, and CD62L– by flow cytometric analysis (22). Wild-type 129/SvJ T cells were ~30–40% positive for granzyme B expression by intracellular flow cytometry vs ~0% for the granzyme A–/– x granzyme B–/–, granzyme B–/–, and granzyme A–/– x B cluster–/– T cell lines. T cell lines were treated with 250 ng/ml purified recombinant LLO as previously described (22). For chloroquine treatments, cells were incubated in the indicated concentrations of chloroquine (Sigma-Aldrich) for 10 min before being treated with LLO for the indicated times.

RNA was isolated from cultured 129/SvJ or granzyme A–/– x B cluster-deficient mice (gzmAC) T cells using the RNeasy Mini kit (Qiagen). First strand cDNA was made using the Superscript III First Strand Synthesis kit (Invitrogen). PCR was conducted with GoTaq Green Master mix (Promega). All protocols were performed using the manufacturer’s protocols.

Con A (Sigma-Aldrich) was used at 25 µg/ml. Whole splenocytes were incubated in Con A for 16 h, then purified by density gradient and treated with LLO. For experiments involving calcium-free medium, MEM base (Sigma-Aldrich) was supplemented with all the components of complete DMEM except calcium.

Conventional DMEM containing calcium was made following the same protocol. T cells were washed out of conventional DMEM and resuspended in DMEM with or without calcium and 1% FCS for the duration of the experiment.

Abs and immunoblotting

Whole protein was isolated from 1 to 6 million cells by standard techniques, resolved by SDS-PAGE and transferred to Hybond-P membranes (Amersham Biosciences). Caspase-3 (8G10), caspase-6 (9762), and caspase-9 (9504) Abs were obtained from Cell Signaling Technology and used at 1/4000, 1/2000, and 1/2000 dilutions, respectively. Goat anti-rabbit HRP was obtained from Cell Signaling Technology and used at 1/8000 (caspase-3) or 1/4000 (caspase-6 and caspase-9) dilution. Detection was performed with ECL Plus (Amersham Biosciences).

Flow cytometry

The cationic dye JC-1 was purchased from Molecular Probes. For JC-1 incorporation assays, cells were washed twice in PBS and resuspended in DMEM containing 10 µg/ml JC-1. Cells were incubated for 30 min at 37°C, washed twice in DMEM, and analyzed by flow cytometry. Anti-active caspase-3 Ab, annexin V-PE and 7-aminoactinomycin D (7-AAD) were obtained from BD Biosciences and used per the manufacturer’s protocol. All flow cytometry was conducted on a FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences), and data were collected using CellQuest software (BD Biosciences) and subsequently analyzed using FlowJo (Tree Star). CFDA-SE was used by the manufacturer’s instructions at a final concentration of 10 µM dye (Molecular Probes).


   Results
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
Discussion
 Disclosures
 References
 
Granzymes are responsible for most of the rapid T cell apoptosis induced by LLO

CD4 T cells from normal mice and from mice deficient in granzyme expression were examined for LLO-induced apoptosis. We have chosen to mainly examine CD4 T cell lines because they are easily cultured, polyclonal, and are well propagated in culture. Limited experiments were made with CD8 T cells that are more fastidious in long-term culture.

Ag-specific T cell lines were generated against OVA by immunizing either 129/SvJ or granzyme A–/– x B cluster-deficient mice (gzmAC). The gzmAC mice are a cross between granzyme A–/– (gzmA–/–) and granzyme B–/– (gzmB–/–) cluster mice. The gzmB–/– cluster mouse is deficient for granzyme B and has reduced expression of granzymes C, D, F, and G due to a positional effect of neomycin insertion into the granzyme B gene locus (27, 28). The gzmAC T cell lines are completely deficient in granzymes A and B and have reduced expression of the granzyme B cluster granzymes C, D, F, and G. This observation was confirmed by RT-PCR. Our wild-type T cell lines expressed granzymes A and B at the RNA level (Fig. 1A). We also detected granzymes C, D, and G. In the gzmAC T cells, we did not detect granzymes A, B, or C, but still detected RNA for granzymes D and G. The reduction in granzymes A, B, and C mRNA in the gzmAC T cells is consistent with previous data (27). There is little data on the function of granzymes D and G. Based on sequence analysis they appear to cleave hydrophobic residues, unlike granzymes A and B, which are a tryptase and aspase, respectively. We were unable to detect granzymes E, F, K, M, or N in either cellular preparation (29).


Figure 1
View larger version (55K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 1. Rapid LLO-induced T cell apoptosis is dependent on expression of granzyme. A, Wild-type T cell lines express granzymes A, B, C, D, and G at levels detectable by RT-PCR. Granzyme A x B cluster–/– (gzmAC) T cell lines do not express detectable levels of granzymes A, B, or C. Granzymes D and G are expressed like the wild-type (L, ladder) and control (Ctrl, no RNA) cells. Lanes A–G, K, M, and N indicate the granzyme being amplified. B–D, A total of 1 x 106 purified T cells were treated with or without (UT) 250 ng/ml LLO for the indicated times. Cells were then stained for annexin V and 7-AAD. Untreated cells were in culture for 8 (B) and 24 (C) h before being stained. The flow cytometry plots are representative of at least three independent experiments performed in duplicate or triplicate. D, The percentage shown in each quadrant in B and C is plotted. Data for annexin V+/7-AAD– (lower right quadrant) is shown (green), red indicates the annexin V+/7-AAD+ (upper right quadrant), and gray represents the annexin V–/7-AAD– (lower left quadrant) of cells. Data are mean ± SEM for at least three independent experiments.

 
A time-course study examined whether the kinetics of LLO-induced apoptosis differed between cells derived from 129/SvJ and gzmAC mice. Fig. 1, B and C, are flow cytometry plots for annexin V and 7-AAD demonstrating a dramatic reduction of apoptosis following LLO treatment of gzmAC T cells. Fig. 1D shows the compiled data of all the flow cytometry plots of annexin V and 7-AAD staining following LLO treatment. Apoptotic cells are annexin V+ (a marker of phosphatidylserine) and 7-AAD– (a marker of DNA), depicted in green in Fig. 1D. Late apoptotic or necrotic cells are positive for 7-AAD (depicted in red in Fig. 1D).

LLO caused ~44.8%, 57.1%, and 76.7% T cell apoptosis at 2, 4, and 8 h posttreatment, respectively, in the 129/SvJ T cells with a background apoptosis in untreated cells of 9.61% (Fig. 1, B and D). In contrast, gzmAC T cells showed a reduction, with only 13.2%, 21.5%, and 28.6% apoptotic cells at 2, 4, and 8 h, respectively, over a background of 15.2% (Fig. 1, B and D).

Despite the dramatic reduction of apoptosis and total cell death within the first 8 h following LLO treatment, a slower death was found in the gzmAC T cells, at 24 h after treatment. By 24 h of treatment with LLO there was a total of 74.7% cell death in the 129/SvJ T cells, and 48.8% in the gzmAC T cells (annexin V-positive cells). The cell death seen in gzmAC cells at 24 h was distinct from the rapid granzyme-mediated death, the annexin V+/7-AAD– cells were not found but instead annexin V+/7-AAD dull to bright cells and annexin V–/7-AAD+ cells dominated the culture (Fig. 1, C and D).

CD4+ T lymphocytes are not conventionally thought to be cytotoxic cells that express granzyme and perforin. However, recent evidence has shown that human CD4+ T cells activated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD46 express granzyme B (30). Also, granzyme B is important in the regulation of activation induced cell death in different Th cell subsets (31). Granzyme B RNA was detected by quantitative RT-PCR in the wild-type but not the gzmAC T cell lines. Levels of message were >212 higher in the 129/SvJ T cells than the gzmAC T cells. This result was confirmed with a cross-reactive mouse anti-human granzyme B Ab. Intracellular staining for granzyme B protein, although weak, disclosed 29.6% of the T cells positive for granzyme B by flow cytometry in the wild-type and 0.61% granzyme-positive cells in the gzmAC T cells. Examination of lymphocytes by immunofluorescent microscopy revealed that granzyme B showed a punctate distribution compatible with compartmentalization in secretory granules.

Caspase activation, mitochondrial depolarization, and DNA fragmentation following LLO treatment was attenuated in gzmAC T cells

Caspase immunoblots performed on whole cell lysates of T cells treated with LLO detected both the pro- and active forms of the caspases (32). Activated caspase-3, caspase-6, and caspase-9 were detected as early as 30 min after treatment with LLO but were not found in gzmAC T cells (Fig. 2A). Fig. 2B shows representative flow cytometry plots for activated caspase-3 on either untreated or LLO-treated T cells. By 2 h after treatment with LLO, 41% of 129/SvJ T cells were caspase-3-positive over a background of 6.09%. In contrast, only 12.1% of the gzmAC T cells were caspase-3-positive after 2 h of LLO treatment compared with a background of 9.32%.


Figure 2
View larger version (35K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 2. Treatment of T cells with LLO induces granzyme-dependent rapid caspase activation. A, A total of 1 x 106 T cells were treated with 250 ng/ml LLO for the indicated times and tested for caspase-3, caspase-6, and caspase-9 activation by immunoblot. The Abs used in these assays detect both the inactive pro-form of the enzyme (the high molecular weight species) and the cleaved, active form of the enzyme. Expected pro-form and active form band sizes are labeled on the gel. Gels shown are representative of two to six independent experiments. B, Caspase-3 activation was measured by intracellular flow cytometry after treatment of 1 x 106 T cells with 250 ng/ml LLO for 2 or 24 h. Untreated cells were tested at either 2 or 24 h after being put in culture. Cells were permeabilized and stained using an Ab that detects only the active form of caspase-3. The plots are representative of three independent experiments, each performed in duplicate or triplicate.

 
After 24 h of treatment there were 70.1% active caspase-3-positive T cells, but the background cell death had risen to 24.1% (Fig. 2B). The background levels were approximately the same in gzmAC T cells after 24 h in culture, but after treatment with LLO only 46.1% active caspase-3-positive cells were found. This result indicates that most of the caspase activation seen within the first 2 h of treatment with LLO is granzyme-dependent, but that there is a slower pathway to caspase activation that operates in the absence of granzyme.

Fig. 3A shows the data obtained after staining LLO-treated T cell lines with the mitochondrial dye JC-1, a cationic lipophilic dye that binds preferentially to mitochondrial membranes and undergoes a green to red color transition when the intermembrane space depolarizes due to apoptosis. A rapid increase in mitochondrial permeability was detected, with ~66.1%, 72.5%, and 81.4% of the 129/SvJ T cells becoming JC-1 red after 2, 4, and 8 h compared with ~21.9% background. This magnitude of mitochondrial depolarization was not seen in gzmAC T cells, which displayed 27.8%, 32.7%, and 42.4% JC-1 red at 2, 4, and 8 h after LLO treatment vs a background of ~21.3%.


Figure 3
View larger version (13K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 3. Rapid mitochondrial depolarization and DNA degradation in T cells caused by LLO is granzyme dependent. A, A total of 1 x 106 T cells were treated with 250 ng/ml LLO for the indicated times and then stained using the mitochondrial dye JC-1. Results are the percentage of total cells that became JC-1 red, indicating loss of mitochondrial permeability. B, T cells were treated with 250 ng/ml LLO for either 2 or 24 h and then cells were permeabilized and stained by TUNEL. Cells under the marker are indicated as the percentage of TUNEL-positive. Untreated cells were assayed 8 h after being put in culture.

 
The final parameter examined was DNA fragmentation as measured by TUNEL reaction. As early as 2 h after treatment with LLO, 57.2% of the 129/SvJ T cells showed fragmented DNA, compared with 11% for the untreated (Fig. 3B). The gzmAC T cells, showed 24.8% TUNEL-positive after LLO treatment compared with 13.8% for the control. By 24 h of treatment with LLO, 86.4% of the 129/SvJ T cells were TUNEL-positive over a 26.1% background. Even in the absence of granzyme we still detected DNA fragmentation, with 48.9% of the gzmAC T cells TUNEL-positive over a 17.1% untreated background.

Role of perforin, extracellular calcium, and mitogenic stimulation on granzyme-mediated LLO-induced apoptosis

Delivery of granzymes from cytotoxic lymphocytes to their targets is dependent on the expression of perforin. Perforin allows granzyme to translocate across membranes through an unknown mechanism. Both perforin and the cholesterol-dependent cytolysins contain a conserved membrane attack complex/perforin domain that participates in the oligomerization and pore formation of these proteins (33). To determine the extent of perforin’s contribution to the granzyme-dependent death seen after treatment with LLO, we treated perforin-deficient (prf–/–) T cells with LLO and tested annexin V or 7-ADD as previously described. Fig. 4A shows representative flow cytometry plots of either untreated or LLO-treated T cell lines. We detected approximately the same level of background cell death in all three cell lines. After treatment with LLO, we detected a 22%, 16%, and 5% increase in the number of annexin V+/7-AAD– cells in 129/SvJ, gzmAC, and prf–/– cell lines, respectively. Analysis of three independent experiments revealed that prf–/– cells died early after LLO treatment but the incidence dropped ~50% compared with the 129/SvJ T cells (Fig. 4B). Perforin appears to enhance the ability of LLO to induce apoptosis of treated lymphocytes but the mechanism for this enhancement inside cells is unknown.


Figure 4
View larger version (46K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 4. Participation of perforin and calcium and testing of Con A-activated splenocytes treated with LLO. A, T cell lines from perforin–/– mice were treated with LLO for 4 h and then annexin V or 7-AAD straining was performed. B, Data of three independent experiments as performed in A. Untreated (UT) cells were cultured for 8 h. C, 129/SvJ T cells were incubated in either DMEM with or without calcium and then treated with 250 ng/ml LLO for the indicated times (top blot). Cells were then immunoblotted for caspase-3. Whole splenocytes were either left untreated or activated using Con A and then treated with 250 ng/ml LLO for the indicated times (bottom blot). Immunoblots were performed for total caspase-3. Untreated cells were assayed at 2 h after culture. D, Con A-activated splenocytes were fractionated to purify CD8+ T cells. Cells were treated with 250 ng/ml LLO for 2 h and then caspase-3 activation was measured by intracellular stain and flow cytometry. Untreated cells were assayed after 2 h in culture.

 
To examine a possible role of extracellular calcium, T cells were cultured in complete medium in the presence or absence of calcium and then treated with LLO for different times. We found equivalent caspase-3 activation after treatment with LLO regardless of the presence of extracellular calcium (Fig. 4C). We also tested the involvement of the calcium-dependent protease calpain by treating T cells with the calpain inhibitor ALLM, but this treatment had no effect on LLO-induced apoptosis (data not shown). Perforin activity is calcium dependent (34). The fact that depletion of calcium had no effect on LLO activity in T cells suggests to us that there is no secretion of lytic granules that are causing neighboring T cells to die. This data would suggest that perforin potentiates the release of granzyme inside the LLO-treated cell.

One potential caveat to this work is that bulk Ag-specific T cells may reflect altered responses to stimuli after culture. We wanted to validate that the result obtained with bulk T cell lines in culture could be replicated with previously uncultured lymphocytes. Whole spleen cells were treated with Con A for 16 h to induce them to proliferate. The lymphocytes were then purified by density gradient centrifugation and treated with LLO for different times. Control splenocytes were treated in the same way but did not receive Con A. Fig. 4C shows the result of immunoblot against active caspase-3 following LLO treatment. We observed that treatment with Con A was sufficient to induce up-regulation of pro-caspase-3 in the splenocytes. This observation is consistent with previous observations that showed up-regulation of caspase-3 in T cells following activation (35). Treatment with Con A also sensitized the cells to the killing effects of LLO. There was activation of caspase-3 only in Con A-treated, but not resting splenocytes. We fractionated the Con A-treated T cells to determine whether CD8+ T cells would also undergo apoptosis in response to LLO treatment. Fig. 4D shows that activated CD8+ spleen T cells also activated caspase-3 in response to LLO exposure. Activation of caspase-3 in Con A activated CD8+ T cells was also dependent on expression of granzymes (Fig. 4D).

Cellular acidification was required for LLO-induced rapid apoptosis

LLO is unique in the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin family of toxins in its pH dependence of its pore-forming activity (23, 24). At neutral pH and physiological temperatures, LLO becomes inactivated due to an irreversible conformational change in the domain responsible for penetrating lipid bilayers (36). This dependence on pH limits its activity in the cytosol of infected cells; at pH 6.5 LLO would only be very weakly active (24). Accordingly, we tested the pH dependence of apoptosis induced by LLO by using the phagosomal-neutralizing agent chloroquine (37).

Treatment of the T cell lines with chloroquine alone did not cause cell death as measured by annexin V or 7-AAD staining (Fig. 5A). Chloroquine reduced the number of 129/SvJ T cells that became annexin V+/7-AAD– after 2 h of LLO treatment from 42.1% to 10.9%. The effect of chloroquine was titratable, as lowering the dose from 10 to 1 µM ablated its inhibitory ability on LLO (Fig. 5, B and C). Despite the effect of chloroquine on the wild-type cells, there was no effect on the 2-h LLO-treated gzmAC T cells. We found 9.72% annexin V+/7-AAD– gzmAC T cells after 2 h of LLO treatment and 8.38% if the cells were incubated in 10 µM chloroquine. Chloroquine reduced the number of annexin V+/7-AAD– 129/SvJ T cells found 24 h after treatment of LLO from 55.9% to 25.6% (30.3% reduction) (Fig. 5, A and C). However, this difference was the same found at 2 h (42.1% to 10.9% is 32.1% reduction). Interestingly, chloroquine reduced the number of dead gzmAC T cells at 24 h from 59.9% to 32.5%. This result suggests that part of the slow-death seen in the absence of granzymes also depends on phagolysosomal acidification. Neutralization of cellular acidity would have no effect on granzyme B activity in our assays because granzyme is more active at neutral than acidic pH (38). Also, perforin activity is also more active at neutral pH, therefore the entire perforin-granzyme pathway would be increased in activity by neutralization of acidity, arguing that the effect of choloroquine on LLO-induced apoptosis is at the level of LLO activity inside cells.


Figure 5
View larger version (48K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 5. Neutralization of lysosomal acidity by chloroquine blocks rapid granzyme-dependent LLO killing of T cells. A total of 1 x 106 129/SvJ or gzmAC T cells were either treated with 250 ng/ml LLO or left untreated (UT) for either 2 or 24 h. Cells were stained for annexin V or 7-AAD. A, Flow cytometry plots for annexin V or 7-AAD staining. B–C, Flow cytometry data at 2 (B) or 24 (C) h after treatment with LLO. All the untreated cells were in culture for the indicated times (2 or 24 h). Annexin V+/7-AAD– cells (lower right quadrant) are shown (green), red indicates the annexin V+/7-AAD+ (upper right quadrant) cells, and gray represents the annexin V–/7-AAD– (lower left quadrant) cells. Data are mean ± SEM for two independent experiments performed in triplicate.

 
Granzyme B accounted for most of the rapid LLO-induced apoptosis

We wanted to determine the contribution of specific granzymes to the rapid LLO-induced apoptosis. By immunoblot, we did not find much activation of either caspase-3 or caspase-9 in either gzmA–/– x gzmB–/– or gzmB–/– T cell lines (Fig. 6A). We detected a very small amount of caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation in gzmB–/– T cells by immunoblotting at 2 h after treatment. This finding would suggest that a minor component of the caspase activation seen after LLO treatment is dependent on granzyme A expression. The result was confirmed by intracellular staining for activated caspase-3; only the 129/SvJ T cells had activated caspase-3 over background after 2 h of treatment (Fig. 6B). By 24 h after treatment with LLO, some level of activated caspase-3 was found in all granzyme-deficient T cell lines; however, none of them reached the level of the 129/SvJ (Fig. 6C). Similar results were obtained with annexin V/7-AAD staining. The annexin V or 7-AAD data for the gzmB–/– and gzmA–/– x gzmB–/– T cells was similar to the data obtained with the gzmAC T cells. The granzyme-deficient T cells displayed cell death, but again not to the same level as the wild-type (Fig. 6, D and E). Removal of granzyme B alone eliminated most of the caspase-3 activation and diminished the rapid cell death seen after LLO treatment. In the absence of granzyme B there was still a small amount of caspase-3 activation that was dependent on granzyme A expression. It did not appear that this low level of caspase-3 activation was sufficient to induce extensive cell death, arguing that granzyme B was the dominant enzyme in the fast cell death induced by LLO.


Figure 6
View larger version (33K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 6. Granzyme B is responsible for all of the rapid apoptosis following LLO treatment of T cells. A, A total 1 x 106 activated gzmB–/– and gzmA–/– x gzmB–/– T cells were treated with 250 ng/ml LLO for the indicated times. Immunoblots were performed against caspase-3 and caspase-9. B and C, A total of 1 x 106 gzmB–/–, gzmA–/– x gzmb–/–, and gzmAC T cells were treated with 250 ng/ml LLO or left untreated for either 2 (B) or 24 (C) h and then assayed for activated caspase-3 by flow cytometry. Data represent mean percentage ± SEM of active caspase-3-positive cells from at least three independent experiments performed in duplicate or triplicate. D and E, A total of 1 x 106 gzmB–/–, gzmA–/– x gzmB–/–, and gzmAC activated T cells were treated with 250 ng/ml LLO for either 2 (D) or 24 (E) h and then stained for annexin V or 7-AAD. Annexin V+/7-AAD– (lower right quadrant) is shown (breen), red represents annexin V+/7-AAD+ (upper right quadrant), and gray represents annexin V–/7-AAD– (lower left quadrant) cells.

 
It is possible that LLO is causing the release of lytic granules from the treated lymphocyte to adjacent lymphocytes. A variety of assays, including removal of calcium from the medium, treatment with mAbs against LLO, treatment with chloroquine, and using conditioned medium from LLO-treated cells suggests that this possibility is not the case. To directly examine this possibility, we labeled either 129/SvJ or gzmAC T cells with CFDA-SE and then treated these cells with LLO to see whether we could detect caspase-3 activation. We mixed CFDA-SE labeled 129/SvJ cells with unlabeled gzmAC cells or vice versa at an ~1:1 ratio and then determined which population of cells was dying after treatment with LLO. In unlabeled wild-type cells treated with LLO, we detected 52.6% caspase-3-positive cells (Fig. 7). When we mixed labeled 129/SvJ cells with unlabeled gzmAC cells we found that only the wild-type 129/SvJ T cells activated caspase-3 following treatment with LLO. Approximately 38% of the CFDA-SE labeled cells were positive for active caspase-3 vs 6% positive for the unlabeled gzmAC T cells. In the reciprocal experiment, we found that 44% of the unlabeled 129/SvJ cells activated caspase-3 vs 7% for the labeled gzmAC cells. We also performed control experiments without mixing the cells and found ~36% of the labeled 129/SvJ cells activated caspase-3 after treatment with LLO vs 3% for the labeled gzmAC T cells treated with LLO (data not shown). This demonstrates that granzyme is not being transferred to another cell after treatment with LLO.


Figure 7
View larger version (41K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 7. The activity of LLO is cell autonomous. T cells were either left untreated for 2 h (UT) or treated with LLO at 250 ng/ml for 2 h (LLO). The top two plots show unlabeled T cells. Plots are a 1:1 mix between 129/SvJ T cells (upper and middle) stained with CFDA-SE (green) and unlabeled gzmAC T cells. A 1:1 mix of unlabeled 129/SvJ T cells (bottom) and gzmAC cells labeled with CFDA-SE are shown.

 
Decreased apoptosis and increased resistance to infection in granzyme AC mice

129/SvJ and gzmAC mice were infected with ~2.5 x 104 CFU i.p., and bacterial burden and histology were determined. At day 2 of the infection, gzmAC mice contained ~15-fold fewer bacteria than the wild-type mice in both the spleens and livers (Fig. 8, A and B). At day 4 of the infection there was a ~10-fold decrease in the spleens and livers of the gzmAC mice compared with 129/SvJ (Fig. 8, C and D). The difference in colony counts was significant, with a range from p = 0.0313 to 0.0015 when comparing the difference between the 129/SvJ and the gzmAC mice (Fig. 8). The results of one experiment showed a drop in L. monocytogenes burden in both strains after 6 and 8 days of infection, an indication that T cell immunity was taking place. Examination of histology at day 2 following infection, the peak time of lymphocyte apoptosis (1), revealed a decrease in apoptotic lesions in the spleens of gzmAC mice compared with the 129/SvJ (Fig. 9). The reduction in apoptosis found in the gzmAC mice is not due to absence of infection in the white pulp as staining for L. monocytogenes by immunofluorescence detected infectious foci (data not shown). Fig. 9, A and C, shows an apoptotic lesion found in the 129/SvJ mice at day 2 of infection. The 129/SvJ mice showed the typical lesions in the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath with depletion of the lymphocytes and TUNEL-positive cells. Approximately one-third of the white pulp profiles were TUNEL-positive. In contrast the profiles found in the gzmAC mice showed no apoptotic lesions as examined by TUNEL (Fig. 9, B and D). Similar results were obtained in two independent experiments each examining four and six mice. Thus, our data demonstrates that one of the potential mechanisms of induction of lymphocyte apoptosis by L. monocytogenes infection is dependent on granzyme. Experiments of other researchers have not shown such a protective effect with prf–/– mice. Perforin deficiency leads to impairment in sterilization of the splenic compartment, but the overall bacterial growth is unaffected (39). This result has been confirmed by our laboratory (data not shown). The major phenotype of perforin during L. monocytogenes infection is in the secondary response, at which it is required in the CD8+ T cell compartment to mount an effective recall response. Additionally, we have examined the splenic pathology in prf–/– mice following infection with L. monocytogenes, and did not see a major difference in the extent or presence of apoptotic lesion.


Figure 8
View larger version (17K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 8. Increased resistance to infection in gzmAC mice. Mice were infected with ~2.5 x 104 CFU i.p. After the indicated day 2 (A and B) or day 4 (C and D), mice were sacrificed and colony counts were determined as previously described (21 ). Data represent mean ± SEM for a total of 10 mice analyzed in two independent experiments. Values for p were determined using the Mann-Whitney unpaired U test with two-tailed p values and 95% confidence intervals.

 

Figure 9
View larger version (118K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]

  		FIGURE 9. Lymphocyte apoptosis is decreased in gzmAC mice following infection with L. monocytogenes. Mice were infected with 2.5 x 104 CFU of L. monocytogenes and spleens were stained by either H&E (A and B) or TUNEL (C and D). A and C, The results obtained from 129/SvJ mice. B and D, The results obtained from gzmAC mice. All micrographs were taken at a magnification of x400. Scale bar represents 50 µm. Results are representative of two independent experiments containing 10 total mice per strain.

 

   Discussion
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
Disclosures
 References
 
This study shows that granzymes are a major participant in lymphocyte apoptosis mediated by LLO, in vitro, as well as in vivo, during the first days of infection. The activation of caspases, kinetics of apoptosis, and the magnitude were all dependent on granzyme expression.

The results are best explained by an increase in permeability of vesicular compartments of the lymphocytes induced by LLO. When LLO is initially internalized it triggers a response by the cell that causes translocation of granzyme from the lytic granule into the cytosol. This effect is enhanced by the presence of perforin. Breakdown of the lytic granule requires that the phagolysosomal compartments acidify, suggesting that increased LLO activity in the endocytic compartment is required for inducing granzyme release into the cytosol. Indeed, chloroquine, which increases lysosomal pH, protected the lymphocyte from the rapid apoptotic death. We do not favor the interpretation that LLO allows transfer of granzyme from one cell to the next: neither cells treated with LLO nor the supernatant following LLO treatment induced apoptosis in fresh cells (4). Labeling with CFDA-SE demonstrated that only the 129/SvJ cells and not gzmAC cells could activate caspase-3 following LLO activation, further excluding the possibility of cell to cell transfer as the mechanism of LLO proapoptotic activities. Along this line, a previous report from the laboratory of Dr. Trapani (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) used LLO to deliver extracellular granzyme into target cells as a proof that LLO could act similarly to perforin in serving as a conduit to the cytosol. Thus the precedent is there that LLO can permit the passage of an enzyme into cytosol, and our studies place these findings into a pathophysiological context. Others have examined the mechanisms whereby granzyme induces apoptosis and envision a scenario in which granzyme induces maximal apoptosis through cleavage of bid to promote release of mitochondrial factors, apoptosome formation, and caspase-9 activation. Granzyme B can also directly cleave pro-caspase-3 into the active form, but this pathway is inefficient in the absence of bid activity (38).

The effects of LLO on T cells are akin to a model proposed for perforin in delivering granzyme to target cells (34). In the hybrid model proposed by Pipkin and Lieberman (34), perforin triggers coendocytosis of granzyme through calcium signaling and then disrupts the endocytic vesicle to allow entry of granzyme into the cytosol (34, 40, 41). It is believed that perforin and granzyme enter the target cells through calcium-dependent endocytosis and that the perforin allows granzyme egress from the endosome to the cytosol (25, 34, 42). In the case of LLO, its effects by way of granzyme were also enhanced by the presence of perforin.

The effects of LLO may vary depending on the cell type and its content of vesicular enzymes. In the case of L. monocytogenes-infected macrophages and dendritic cells, the cell death has slower kinetics than the death process seen in lymphocytes following LLO treatment (43, 44, 45). There is no immediate caspase activation or phosphatidylserine exposure in macrophages or dendritic cells either infected with L. monocytogenes or treated with LLO (J. A. Carrero and E. R. Unanue, unpublished observations) (45). We speculate that it would be disadvantageous to the microbe to kill its cellular host too quickly, but important to cause rapid death of adaptive immune cells. In fact, LLO is degraded very quickly in the cytosol of infected phagocytic cells and mutants of LLO that are not degraded or properly translationally regulated kill the host cell and decrease L. monocytogenes virulence (11, 12, 46). It remains to be determined whether other cell types that have high granzyme or protease content such as NK cells or neutrophils are also rapidly killed by LLO.

We still detected a slow cell death in limited cells, in the absence of granzymes and after blocking proteolytic activity. Examination of this slow death program is in progress but it appears not to depend on extracellular calcium signaling, cathepsins, granzymes, or autophagy. Some good candidates for slow death triggering of lymphocyte following LLO treatment are apoptosis-inducing factor, reactive oxygen intermediates, or reactive nitrogen moieties. Notalbly, pneumolysin triggers the release of intracellular calcium stores, which leads to release of apoptosis-inducing factor from the mitochondria and subsequent apoptosis in a peroxide-dependent manner (47).

In vivo, the peak of apoptosis was detected in wild-type mice at 48 h following infection. This coincides with the earliest detectable nonspecific activation of lymphocytes following infection with L. monocytogenes (19, 48). The apoptotic lesion resolves by 96 h following infection, presumably because of the initiation of a robust adaptive immune response that controls the infection (1). Removal of granzyme led to decreased apoptosis and bacterial titer. However, the difference was smaller compared with mice lacking lymphocytes (SCID or RAG–/–) or mice lacking the type I IFN receptor (18, 19, 20, 21). The difference in the former (i.e., normal vs granzyme AC) was 10- to 15-fold compared with the latter (i.e., wild-type vs SCID or RAG–/– mice or type I IFN receptor–/– mice), which was 100- to 1000-fold. We propose that there are multiple cell death pathways operating during L. monocytogenes infection. Some, like granzyme-dependent LLO cell death, are driven directly by the bacterial toxin. But in contrast, the perforin-deficient mice moreover, have a slight defect in clearance of the infection (39, 49). Other host molecules, like TRAIL enhance apoptosis after infection with L. monocytogenes, although the mechanism of induction of this pathway remains unresolved (50). In addition to a role for granzymes in the death of lymphocytes following infection, it is possible that other granzyme- or protease-expressing cell types, such as NK cells or neutrophils, may be dying by L. monocytogenes-induced apoptosis during the early phase of the infection. This possibility remains to be determined.


   Acknowledgments
 
We thank Dr. Boris Calderon for assistance with staining of tissue sections. We thank Kathy Frederick for animal husbandry. We thank Dr. Timothy J. Ley for the gift of mice.


   Disclosures
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Disclosures
References
 
The authors have no financial conflict of interest.


   Footnotes
 
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

1 This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Back

2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Emil R. Unanue, Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110. E-mail address: unanue{at}pathology.wustl.edu Back

3 Abbreviations used in this paper: LLO, listeriolysin O; 7-AAD, 7-aminoactinomycin D; gzmAC, granzyme A–/– x B cluster-deficient. Back

Received for publication April 4, 2008. Accepted for publication May 10, 2008.


   References
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 Disclosures
 References
 

  1. Merrick, J. C., B. T. Edelson, V. Bhardwaj, P. E. Swanson, E. R. Unanue. 1997. Lymphocyte apoptosis during early phase of Listeria infection in mice. Am. J. Pathol. 151: 785-792. [Abstract]
  2. Rogers, H. W., M. P. Callery, B. Deck, E. R. Unanue. 1996. Listeria monocytogenes induces apoptosis of infected hepatocytes. J. Immunol. 156: 679-684. [Abstract]
  3. Schluter, D., E. Domann, C. Buck, T. Hain, H. Hof, T. Chakraborty, M. Deckert-Schluter. 1998. Phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C from Listeria monocytogenes is an important virulence factor in murine cerebral listeriosis. Infect. Immun. 66: 5930-5938. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  4. Carrero, J. A., E. R. Unanue. 2006. Lymphocyte apoptosis as an immune subversion strategy of microbial pathogens. Trends Immunol. 27: 497-503. [Medline]
  5. Ulett, G. C., E. E. Adderson. 2006. Regulation of apoptosis by Gram-positive bacteria: mechanistic diversity and consequences for immunity. Curr. Immunol. Rev. 2: 119-141.
  6. Glaser, P., L. Frangeul, C. Buchrieser, C. Rusniok, A. Amend, F. Baquero, P. Berche, H. Bloecker, P. Brandt, T. Chakraborty, et al 2001. Comparative genomics of Listeria species. Science 294: 849-852. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  7. Palmer, M.. 2001. The family of thiol-activated, cholesterol-binding cytolysins. Toxicon 39: 1681-1689. [Medline]
  8. Kayal, S., A. Charbit. 2006. Listeriolysin O: a key protein of Listeria monocytogenes with multiple functions. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 30: 514-529. [Medline]
  9. Rossjohn, J., G. Polekhina, S. C. Feil, C. J. Morton, R. K. Tweten, M. W. Parker. 2007. Structures of perfringolysin O suggest a pathway for activation of cholesterol-dependent cytolysins. J. Mol. Biol. 367: 1227-1236. [Medline]
  10. Tweten, R. K.. 2005. Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins, a family of versatile pore-forming toxins. Infect. Immun. 73: 6199-6209. [Free Full Text]
  11. Schnupf, P., D. A. Portnoy, A. L. Decatur. 2006. Phosphorylation, ubiquitination and degradation of listeriolysin O in mammalian cells: role of the PEST-like sequence. Cell Microbiol. 8: 353-364. [Medline]
  12. Schnupf, P., J. Zhou, A. Varshavsky, D. A. Portnoy. 2007. Listeriolysin O secreted by Listeria monocytogenes into the host cell cytosol is degraded by the N-end rule pathway. Infect. Immun. 75: 5135-5147. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  13. Madden, J. C., N. Ruiz, M. Caparon. 2001. Cytolysin-mediated translocation (CMT): a functional equivalent of type III secretion in Gram-positive bacteria. Cell 104: 143-152. [Medline]
  14. Gaillard, J. L., P. Berche, J. Mounier, S. Richard, P. Sansonetti. 1987. In vitro model of penetration and intracellular growth of Listeria monocytogenes in the human enterocyte-like cell line Caco-2. Infect. Immun. 55: 2822-2829. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  15. Portnoy, D. A., P. S. Jacks, D. J. Hinrichs. 1988. Role of hemolysin for the intracellular growth of Listeria monocytogenes. J. Exp. Med. 167: 1459-1471. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  16. Edelson, B. T., P. Cossart, E. R. Unanue. 1999. Cutting edge: paradigm revisited: antibody provides resistance to Listeria infection. J. Immunol. 163: 4087-4090. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  17. Edelson, B. T., E. R. Unanue. 2001. Intracellular antibody neutralizes Listeria growth. Immunity 14: 503-512. [Medline]
  18. Auerbuch, V., D. G. Brockstedt, N. Meyer-Morse, M. O'Riordan, D. A. Portnoy. 2004. Mice lacking the type I interferon receptor are resistant to Listeria monocytogenes. J. Exp. Med. 200: 527-533. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  19. Carrero, J. A., B. Calderon, E. R. Unanue. 2004. Type I interferon sensitizes lymphocytes to apoptosis and reduces resistance to Listeria infection. J. Exp. Med. 200: 535-540. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  20. O'Connell, R. M., S. K. Saha, S. A. Vaidya, K. W. Bruhn, G. A. Miranda, B. Zarnegar, A. K. Perry, B. O. Nguyen, T. F. Lane, T. Taniguchi, et al 2004. Type I interferon production enhances susceptibility to Listeria monocytogenes infection. J. Exp. Med. 200: 437-445. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  21. Carrero, J. A., B. Calderon, E. R. Unanue. 2006. Lymphocytes are detrimental during the early innate immune response against Listeria monocytogenes. J. Exp. Med. 203: 933-940. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  22. Carrero, J. A., B. Calderon, E. R. Unanue. 2004. Listeriolysin O from Listeria monocytogenes is a lymphocyte apoptogenic molecule. J. Immunol. 172: 4866-4874. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  23. Glomski, I. J., M. M. Gedde, A. W. Tsang, J. A. Swanson, D. A. Portnoy. 2002. The Listeria monocytogenes hemolysin has an acidic pH optimum to compartmentalize activity and prevent damage to infected host cells. J. Cell Biol. 156: 1029-1038. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  24. Beauregard, K. E., K. D. Lee, R. J. Collier, J. A. Swanson. 1997. pH-dependent perforation of macrophage phagosomes by listeriolysin O from Listeria monocytogenes. J. Exp. Med. 186: 1159-1163. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  25. Browne, K. A., E. Blink, V. R. Sutton, C. J. Froelich, D. A. Jans, J. A. Trapani. 1999. Cytosolic delivery of granzyme B by bacterial toxins: evidence that endosomal disruption, in addition to transmembrane pore formation, is an important function of perforin. Mol. Cell Biol. 19: 8604-8615. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  26. Cao, X., S. F. Cai, T. A. Fehniger, J. Song, L. I. Collins, D. R. Piwnica-Worms, T. J. Ley. 2007. Granzyme B and perforin are important for regulatory T cell-mediated suppression of tumor clearance. Immunity 27: 635-646. [Medline]
  27. Pham, C. T., D. M. MacIvor, B. A. Hug, J. W. Heusel, T. J. Ley. 1996. Long-range disruption of gene expression by a selectable marker cassette. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 13090-13095. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  28. Shresta, S., T. A. Graubert, D. A. Thomas, S. Z. Raptis, T. J. Ley. 1999. Granzyme A initiates an alternative pathway for granule-mediated apoptosis. Immunity 10: 595-605. [Medline]
  29. Trapani, J. A.. 2001. Granzymes: a family of lymphocyte granule serine proteases. Genome. Biol. 2: REVIEWS3014[Medline]
  30. Grossman, W. J., J. W. Verbsky, B. L. Tollefsen, C. Kemper, J. P. Atkinson, T. J. Ley. 2004. Differential expression of granzymes A and B in human cytotoxic lymphocyte subsets and T regulatory cells. Blood 104: 2840-2848. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  31. Devadas, S., J. Das, C. Liu, L. Zhang, A. I. Roberts, Z. Pan, P. A. Moore, G. Das, Y. Shi. 2006. Granzyme B is critical for T cell receptor-induced cell death of type 2 helper T cells. Immunity 25: 237-247. [Medline]
  32. Salvesen, G. S., V. M. Dixit. 1999. Caspase activation: the induced-proximity model. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 10964-10967. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  33. Rosado, C. J., A. M. Buckle, R. H. Law, R. E. Butcher, W. T. Kan, C. H. Bird, K. Ung, K. A. Browne, K. Baran, T. A. Bashtannyk-Puhalovich, et al 2007. A common fold mediates vertebrate defense and bacterial attack. Science 317: 1548-1551. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  34. Pipkin, M. E., J. Lieberman. 2007. Delivering the kiss of death: progress on understanding how perforin works. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 19: 301-308. [Medline]
  35. Sabbagh, L., S. M. Kaech, M. Bourbonniere, M. Woo, L. Y. Cohen, E. K. Haddad, N. Labrecque, R. Ahmed, R. P. Sekaly. 2004. The selective increase in caspase-3 expression in effector but not memory T cells allows susceptibility to apoptosis. J. Immunol. 173: 5425-5433. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  36. Schuerch, D. W., E. M. Wilson-Kubalek, R. K. Tweten. 2005. Molecular basis of listeriolysin O pH dependence. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 12537-12542. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  37. Ohkuma, S., B. Poole. 1978. Fluorescence probe measurement of the intralysosomal pH in living cells and the perturbation of pH by various agents. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75: 3327-3331. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  38. Wowk, M. E., J. A. Trapani. 2004. Cytotoxic activity of the lymphocyte toxin granzyme B. Microbes Infect. 6: 752-758. [Medline]
  39. Kagi, D., B. Ledermann, K. Burki, H. Hengartner, R. M. Zinkernagel. 1994. CD8+ T cell-mediated protection against an intracellular bacterium by perforin-dependent cytotoxicity. Eur. J. Immunol. 24: 3068-3072. [Medline]
  40. Russell, J. H., T. J. Ley. 2002. Lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 20: 323-370. [Medline]
  41. Bolitho, P., I. Voskoboinik, J. A. Trapani, M. J. Smyth. 2007. Apoptosis induced by the lymphocyte effector molecule perforin. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 19: 339-347. [Medline]
  42. Froelich, C. J., K. Orth, J. Turbov, P. Seth, R. Gottlieb, B. Babior, G. M. Shah, R. C. Bleackley, V. M. Dixit, W. Hanna. 1996. New paradigm for lymphocyte granule-mediated cytotoxicity: target cells bind and internalize granzyme B, but an endosomolytic agent is necessary for cytosolic delivery and subsequent apoptosis. J. Biol. Chem. 271: 29073-29079. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  43. Guzman, C. A., E. Domann, M. Rohde, D. Bruder, A. Darji, S. Weiss, J. Wehland, T. Chakraborty, K. N. Timmis. 1996. Apoptosis of mouse dendritic cells is triggered by listeriolysin, the major virulence determinant of Listeria monocytogenes. Mol. Microbiol. 20: 119-126. [Medline]
  44. Stockinger, S., T. Materna, D. Stoiber, L. Bayr, R. Steinborn, T. Kolbe, H. Unger, T. Chakraborty, D. E. Levy, M. Muller, T. Decker. 2002. Production of type I IFN sensitizes macrophages to cell death induced by Listeria monocytogenes. J. Immunol. 169: 6522-6529. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  45. Barsig, J., S. H. Kaufmann. 1997. The mechanism of cell death in Listeria monocytogenes-infected murine macrophages is distinct from apoptosis. Infect. Immun. 65: 4075-4081. [Abstract]
  46. Villanueva, M. S., A. J. Sijts, E. G. Pamer. 1995. Listeriolysin is processed efficiently into an MHC class I-associated epitope in Listeria monocytogenes-infected cells. J. Immunol. 155: 5227-5233. [Abstract]
  47. Braun, J. S., J. E. Sublett, D. Freyer, T. J. Mitchell, J. L. Cleveland, E. I. Tuomanen, J. R. Weber. 2002. Pneumococcal pneumolysin and H2O2 mediate brain cell apoptosis during meningitis. J. Clin. Invest. 109: 19-27. [Medline]
  48. Jiang, J., L. L. Lau, H. Shen. 2003. Selective depletion of nonspecific T cells during the early stage of immune responses to infection. J. Immunol. 171: 4352-4358. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
  49. Kagi, D., B. Ledermann, K. Burki, P. Seiler, B. Odermatt, K. J. Olsen, E. R. Podack, R. M. Zinkernagel, H. Hengartner. 1994. Cytotoxicity mediated by T cells and natural killer cells is greatly impaired in perforin-deficient mice. Nature 369: 31-37. [Medline]
  50. Zheng, S. J., J. Jiang, H. Shen, Y. H. Chen. 2004. Reduced apoptosis and ameliorated listeriosis in TRAIL-null mice. J. Immunol. 173: 5652-5658. [Abstract/Free Full Text]



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Immunol.Home page
P. Gurung, T. A. Kucaba, T. A. Ferguson, and T. S. Griffith
Activation-Induced CD154 Expression Abrogates Tolerance Induced by Apoptotic Cells
J. Immunol., November 15, 2009; 183(10): 6114 - 6123.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Infect. Immun.Home page
J. A. Carrero, B. Calderon, H. Vivanco-Cid, and E. R. Unanue
Recombinant Listeria monocytogenes Expressing a Cell Wall-Associated Listeriolysin O Is Weakly Virulent but Immunogenic
Infect. Immun., October 1, 2009; 77(10): 4371 - 4382.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Carrero, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Unanue, E. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Carrero, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Unanue, E. R.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
*Gene*GEO Profiles
*HomoloGene*Protein
*UniGene
*Compound via MeSH
*Substance via MeSH
Hazardous Substances DB
*CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
*CALCIUM, ELEMENTAL
*CHLOROQUINE
Medline Plus Health Information
*Listeria Infections

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS