Exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) including perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are associated with increased liver enzymes in cohort studies including the C8 Health Study. In animal models, PFAAs disrupt hepatic lipid metabolism and induce apoptosis to cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). PFAAs are immunotoxic and inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine release from stimulated leukocytes in vitro. This cross-sectional study tests the hypothesis that environmental PFAAs are associated with increased hepatocyte apoptosis and decreased proinflammatory cytokines in serum. Biomarkers previously associated with PFAS exposures and/or NAFLD were evaluated as secondary endpoints. Two hundred adult C8 Health Study participants

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Cadmium (Cd) is generally found in low concentrations in the environment due to its widespread and continual use, however, its concentration in some foods and cigarette smoke is high. Although evidence demonstrates that adult exposure to Cd causes changes in the immune system, there are limited reports of immunomodulatory effects of prenatal exposure to Cd. This study was designed to investigate the effects of prenatal exposure to Cd on the immune system of the offspring. Pregnant C57Bl/6 mice were exposed to an environmentally relevant dose of CdCl2 (10 ppm) and the effects on the immune system of the offspring were assessed at two time points following birth (2 and 7 weeks of age). Thymocyte and splenocyte phenotypes were analyzed by flow cytometry. Prenatal Cd exposure did not affect thymocyte populations at 2 and 7 weeks of age. In the spleen, the only significant effect on phenotype was a decrease in the number of macrophages in male offspring at both time points. Analysis of cytokine production by stimulated splenocytes demonstrated that prenatal Cd exposure decreased IL-2 and IL-4 production by cells from female offspring at 2 weeks of age. At 7 weeks of age, splenocyte IL-2 production was decreased in Cd-exposed males while IFN-γ production was decreased from both male and female Cd-exposed offspring. The ability of the Cd-exposed offspring to respond to immunization with a S. pneumoniae vaccine expressing T-dependent and T-independent streptococcal antigens showed marked increases in the levels of both T-dependent and T-independent serum antibody levels compared to control animals. CD4+FoxP3+CD25+ (nTreg) cell percentages were increased in the spleen and thymus in all Cd-exposed offspring except in the female spleen where a decrease was seen. CD8+CD223+ T cells were markedly decreased in the spleens in all offspring at 7 weeks of age. These findings suggest that even very low levels of Cd exposure during gestation can result in long term detrimental effects on the immune system of the offspring and these effects are to some extent sex-specific.

In many bacteria, including the enteric species Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli, heme is synthesized starting from glutamate by a pathway in which the first committed step is catalyzed by the hemA gene product, glutamyl-tRNA reductase (HemA). We have demonstrated previously that when heme limitation is imposed on cultures of S. typhimurium, HemA enzyme activity is increased 10- to 25-fold. Western (immunoblot) analysis with monoclonal antibodies reactive with HemA revealed that heme limitation results in a corresponding increase in the abundance of the enzyme. Similar regulation was also observed for E. coli. The near absence of regulation of hemA-lacoperon fusions suggested a posttranscriptional control. We report here the results of pulse-labeling and immunoprecipitation studies of this regulation. The principal mechanism that contributes to elevated HemA abundance is protein stabilization. The half-life of HemA protein is ≃20 min in unrestricted cells but increases to >300 min in heme-limited cells. Similar regulation was observed for a HemA-LacZ hybrid protein containing almost all of the HemA protein (416 residues). Sodium azide prevents HemA turnover in vivo, suggesting a role for energy-dependent proteolysis. This was confirmed by the finding that HemA turnover is completely blocked in a lon clpP double mutant of E. coli. Each single mutant shows only a small effect. The ClpA chaperone, but not ClpX, is required for ClpP-dependent HemA turnover. A hybrid HemA-LacZ protein containing just 18 amino acids from HemA is also stabilized in thelon clpP double mutant, but this shorter fusion protein is not correctly regulated by heme limitation. We suggest that the 18 N-terminal amino acids of HemA may constitute a degradation tag, whose function is conditional and modified by the remainder of the protein in a heme-dependent way. Several models are discussed to explain why the turnover of HemA is promoted by Lon-ClpAP proteolysis only when sufficient heme is available.

BackgroundGroup A Streptococcus (GAS) is a human-specific pathogen responsible for a number of diseases characterized by a wide range of clinical manifestations. During host colonization GAS-cell aggregates or microcolonies are observed in tissues. GAS biofilm, which is an in vitro equivalent of tissue microcolony, has only recently been studied and little is known about the specific surface determinants that aid biofilm formation. In this study, we demonstrate that surface-associated streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1) plays an important role in GAS biofilm formation.ResultsBiofilm formation by M1-, M3-, M28-, and M41-type GAS strains, representing an intraspecies breadth, were analyzed spectrophotometrically following crystal violet staining, and characterized using confocal and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The M41-type strain formed the most robust biofilm under static conditions, followed by M28- and M1-type strains, while the M3-type strains analyzed here did not form biofilm under the same experimental conditions. Differences in architecture and cell-surface morphology were observed in biofilms formed by the M1- and M41-wild-type strains, accompanied by varying amounts of deposited extracellular matrix and differences in cell-to-cell junctions within each biofilm. Importantly, all Scl1-negative mutants examined showed significantly decreased ability to form biofilm in vitro. Furthermore, the Scl1 protein expressed on the surface of a heterologous host, Lactococcus lactis, was sufficient to induce biofilm formation by this organism.ConclusionsOverall, this work (i) identifies variations in biofilm formation capacity among pathogenically different GAS strains, (ii) identifies GAS surface properties that may aid in biofilm stability and, (iii) establishes that the Scl1 surface protein is an important determinant of GAS biofilm, which is sufficient to enable biofilm formation in the heterologous host Lactococcus. In summary, the GAS surface adhesin Scl1 may have an important role in biofilm-associated pathogenicity.