Publications by authors named "Saskia F Erttmann"

Introduction: Typhoid toxin-expressing causes DNA damage in the intestinal mucosa , activating the DNA damage response (DDR) in the absence of inflammation. To understand whether the tissue microenvironment constrains the infection outcome, we compared the immune response and DDR patterns in the colon and liver of mice infected with a genotoxigenic strain or its isogenic control strain.

Methods: spatial transcriptomic and immunofluorescence have been used to assess DNA damage makers, activation of the DDR, innate immunity markers in a multiparametric analysis.

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Bacterial membrane vesicles have emerged as gadgets allowing remote communication between the microbiota and distal host organs. Here we describe a protocol for enriching vesicles from serum and colon that could widely be adapted for other tissues. We detail pre-clearing of serum or colon fluids using 0.

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The microbiota are vital for immune homeostasis and provide a competitive barrier to bacterial and fungal pathogens. Here, we investigated how gut commensals modulate systemic immunity and response to viral infection. Antibiotic suppression of the gut microbiota reduced systemic tonic type I interferon (IFN-I) and antiviral priming.

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Sterile liver inflammation and fibrosis are associated with many liver disorders of different etiologies. Both type 1 and type 2 inflammatory responses have been reported to contribute to liver pathology. However, the mechanisms controlling the balance between these responses are largely unknown.

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Inflammasomes are multiprotein signaling platforms responsible for the maturation of pro-IL-1β and pro-IL-18 as well as the induction of an inflammatory cell death termed pyroptosis. Most inflammasomes consist of an upstream sensor, in most cases an adaptor protein (ASC) and inflammatory caspases such as caspase-1. Upon activation, sensor proteins oligomerize with adaptor proteins, forming large complexes called specks.

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Hydrogen peroxide (HO) has a major function in host-microbial interactions. Although most studies have focused on the endogenous HO produced by immune cells to kill microbes, bacteria can also produce HO. How microbial HO influences the dynamics of host-microbial interactions is unclear.

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Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are used by various Gram-negative pathogens to subvert the host defense by a host cell contact-dependent mechanism to secrete and translocate virulence effectors. While the effectors differ between pathogens and determine the pathogenic life style, the overall mechanism of secretion and translocation is conserved. T3SSs are regulated at multiple levels, and some secreted substrates have also been shown to function in regulation.

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The ATM kinase is a central component of the DNA damage repair machinery and redox balance. ATM dysfunction results in the multisystem disease ataxia-telangiectasia (AT). A major cause of mortality in AT is respiratory bacterial infections.

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Pathogenic bacteria have evolved numerous virulence mechanisms that are essential for establishing infections. The enterobacterium Yersinia uses a type III secretion system (T3SS) encoded by a 70-kilobase, low-copy, IncFII-class virulence plasmid. We report a novel virulence strategy in Y.

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Dysfunction in Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM), a central component of the DNA repair machinery, results in Ataxia Telangiectasia (AT), a cancer-prone disease with a variety of inflammatory manifestations. By analyzing AT patient samples and Atm(-/-) mice, we found that unrepaired DNA lesions induce type I interferons (IFNs), resulting in enhanced anti-viral and anti-bacterial responses in Atm(-/-) mice. Priming of the type I interferon system by DNA damage involved release of DNA into the cytoplasm where it activated the cytosolic DNA sensing STING-mediated pathway, which in turn enhanced responses to innate stimuli by activating the expression of Toll-like receptors, RIG-I-like receptors, cytoplasmic DNA sensors, and their downstream signaling partners.

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Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) are essential for the human innate immune defense, limiting expansion of invading microorganisms. PMN turnover is controlled by apoptosis, but the regulating signaling pathways remain elusive, largely due to inherent differences between mice and humans that undermine use of mouse models for understanding human PMN biology. Here, we aim to elucidate signal transduction mediating survival of human peripheral blood PMNs in response to bacteria, such as Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, an enteropathogen that causes the gastro-intestinal disease yersiniosis, as well as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

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The enteropathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis can survive in the harsh environment of lymphoid compartments that abounds in immune cells. This capacity is dependent on the plasmid-encoded Yersinia outer proteins (Yops) that are delivered into the host cell via a mechanism involving the Yersinia type III secretion system. We show that the virulence protein YopK has a role in the mechanism by which Y.

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Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prx 6) is a bifunctional enzyme with both glutathione peroxidase and acidic Ca(2+)-independent phospholipase A(2) activities. We have recently shown that exposure of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages to LPS and IFN-γ leads to induction of COX-2 expression and secretion of PGE(2), up-regulating Prx 6 mRNA levels. This study was designed to investigate various prostaglandins (PGs) for their ability to induce gene expression of Prxs, in particular Prx 6, and to determine the underlying regulatory mechanisms.

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Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are a family of multifunctional antioxidant thiol-dependent peroxidases. This study aimed to examine the regulatory mechanisms of Prx gene expression in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) using standardized serum-free conditions. Stimulation with LPS and IFNγ increased mRNA levels of Prx 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 in BMMs of both C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, with Prx 1, 2, 4, and 6 more strongly induced in C57BL/6 BMMs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Peroxiredoxin I (Prx I) is a protein that helps protect cells from oxidative stress and plays a role in cell signaling, proliferation, and apoptosis.
  • In RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells, Prx I levels increased when treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which also activated signaling pathways involving JNK and PKB.
  • The increase in Prx I expression due to LPS was mediated by specific protein interactions and was not influenced by NFkappaB, indicating it's part of the protective cellular response to stress.
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