Abstract Title:

Theα-tocopherol form of vitamin E reverses age-associated susceptibility to streptococcus pneumoniae lung infection by modulating pulmonary neutrophil recruitment.

Abstract Source:

J Immunol. 2015 Feb 1 ;194(3):1090-9. Epub 2014 Dec 15. PMID: 25512603

Abstract Author(s):

Elsa N Bou Ghanem, Stacie Clark, Xiaogang Du, Dayong Wu, Andrew Camilli, John M Leong, Simin N Meydani

Article Affiliation:

Elsa N Bou Ghanem

Abstract:

Streptococcus pneumoniae infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in older patients. Uncontrolled neutrophil-driven pulmonary inflammation exacerbates this disease. To test whether theα-tocopherol (α-Toc) form of vitamin E, a regulator of immunity, can modulate neutrophil responses as a preventive strategy to mitigate the age-associated decline in resistance to S. pneumoniae, young (4 mo) and old (22-24 mo) C57BL/6 mice were fed a diet containing 30-PPM (control) or 500-PPM (supplemented) α-Toc for 4 wk and intratracheally infected with S. pneumoniae. Aged mice fed a control diet were exquisitely more susceptible to S. pneumoniae than young mice. At 2 d postinfection, aged mice suffered 1000-fold higher pulmonary bacterial burden, 2.2-fold higher levels of neutrophil recruitment to the lung, and a 2.25-fold higher rate of lethal septicemia. Strikingly, α-Toc supplementation of aged mice resulted in a 1000-fold lower bacterial lung burden and full control of infection. This α-Toc-induced resistance to pneumococcal challenge was associated with a 2-fold fewer pulmonary neutrophils, a level comparable to S. pneumoniae-challenged, conventionally fed young mice. α-Toc directly inhibited neutrophil egress across epithelial cell monolayers in vitro in response to pneumococci or hepoxilin-A3, an eicosanoid required for pneumococcus-elicited neutrophil trans-epithelial migration. α-Toc altered expression of multiple epithelial and neutrophil adhesion molecules involved in migration, including CD55, CD47, CD18/CD11b, and ICAM-1. These findings suggest that α-Toc enhances resistance of aged mice to bacterial pneumonia by modulating the innate immune response,a finding that has potential clinical significance in combating infection in aged individuals through nutritional intervention.

Study Type : Animal Study

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