Symbionts exploit complex signaling to educate the immune system

Abstract

Human health and the microbiota are intricately intertwined. A major interest in manipulating the microbiome has been focused on the use of symbiont microbes to improve human health. However, relatively little has been discovered on the specific molecules from microbes in the microbiota that are immunomodulatory and the mechanisms by which these molecules regulate immunity. Herein we have defined how a symbiont molecule modulates innate immunity. Using polysaccharide A of Bacteroides fragilis as the paradigm for microbiome-induced immune responses, we have discovered important mechanisms by which symbiont molecules induce antiinflammatory responses. We reveal a lipid structure on polysaccharide A that drives host antiinflammatory responses by triggering a complex collaborative integration of Toll-like receptor, C-type lectin-like receptor, and PI3K signaling pathways.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Dec 06, 2019
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1915978116

Entities

People

  • Deniz Erturk-hasdemir
  • Dennis L Kasper
  • Francesca S. Gazzaniga
  • Giuseppe Stefanetti
  • Nihal A. Okan
  • Peter Seeberger
  • Scott E. Plevy
  • Sungwhan F. Oh

Organizations

  • Brigham and Women's Hospital
  • Harvard Medical School
  • Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
  • United States Department of Defense
  • University of Milan
  • University of North Carolina
  • University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Immunology
  • Immunology and Pathology
  • Microbial Pathology