Background
Classic eosinophilic allergic asthma is characterized by a Th2 immune response as well as IL-4 and IL-5 production [
1]. A meta-analysis of clinical samples found that eosinophil inflammation was the most prevalent subtype of asthma. The airway cells in nearly 50% of asthmatic patients were not solely eosinophils, but a combination of two kinds of cells, eosinophils and neutrophils, which infiltrated airway inflammation and were associated with poor corticosteroid response and severe asthma (which we have called neutrophils-dominant asthma) [
2‐
6].
Allergens play an important role in asthma, but environmental factors, such as infection and chemical factors, also contribute to the exacerbation of asthma via a Th17-type immune response. Th17 cells are initially composed of CD4
+ T cells. Retinoid-related orphan nuclear receptor γt (RORγt) is a key transcriptional regulator of Th17 cell differentiation. IL-17 produced by Th17 cells can recruit neutrophils to the airway and is less susceptible to inhibition by glucocorticoids than IL-4 and IL-5 produced by Th2 cells [
7]. Numerous reports suggest that increased expression of IL-17 is associated with neutrophils-dominant asthma [
8]. Therefore, we sought to establish a neutrophil-predominant inflammatory phenotype asthma model. We used 100 μg of HDM and OVA combined with 15 μg of LPS to establish a neutrophil-predominant asthma model and to further study the relationship between the changes of Th17 cells and the epigenetic alterations.
About 90% of severe asthma attacks feature hypoxia, which exacerbates the condition. The effect of hypoxia is regulated via a specific transcription factor, hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), which is a heterodimer consisting of HIF-1α and -1β subunits [
9]. Studies have shown that HIF-1α deficiency diminishes Th17 cell development but enhances Treg cell differentiation and protects mice from autoimmune neuro-inflammation [
10]. In an allergic airway inflammation model, hypoxia was found to increase airway inflammation, but HIF-1α knockout mice were resistant to airway inflammation [
11]. Therefore, it is logical to hypothesize that HIF-1α may be involved in the pathogenesis of neutrophils-dominant asthma by regulating differentiation of Th17 cells.
Genetic and environmental factors also contribute to the development of asthma. For instance, DNA methylation is involved in CD4
+ T cells’ differentiation into T effector cells. Recent studies suggest that DNA methylation has an environmental impact on different types of “imprinting.” A DNA methylation imprint can be “read” by a methylated-CpG binding domain (methyl-CpG binding domain proteins, MBDs) conservative family [
12‐
14]. MBD2, specifically, can bind to the promoter region of a target gene and change in the post-transcriptional modification of histones through the recruitment of other molecules, therefore changing the chromatin structure and regulating the expression of target genes [
12‐
14]. Our previous work indicates that, compared to healthy volunteers, MBD2 and HIF-1α expression in CD4
+ T cells was increased in the peripheral blood of patients with asthma. What’s more, expression of HIF-1α decreased significantly in MBD2 knockout Jurkat T cells. MBD2 expression was also detected in splenic CD4
+ T cells and increased after differentiation stimulation. However, other MBD family members were not detected in splenic CD4
+ T cells. Compared to wild-type mice, splenic CD4
+ T cell differentiation was reduced in MBD2
−/− mice, as was Th17’s production of IL-17. Therefore, MBD2 may have a close relationship with the immunological pathogenesis of asthma and contribute to Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression through HIF-1α. Understanding the role of MBD2 and HIF-1α in neutrophils-dominant asthma may offer a theoretical basis for treatment.
Methods
Asthma mouse model
Female C57BL/6 mice (6–7 weeks old, 18–20 g) were provided by The Second Xiangya Hospital Animals Center (Changsha, China) and maintained under specific pathogen-free conditions. All experimental procedures were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Central South University. On days 0, 1, and 2, mice (
n = 6/group) in the neutrophils-dominant asthma group were given an intraperitoneal sensitization injection containing 100 μg of HDM (10 mg/ml, house dust mice, Greer Laboratories, Lenoir, N.C., USA), 100 μg of OVA (1 mg/ml, Ovalbumin, Grade V, Sigma Aldrich) and 15 μg of LPS (1 mg/ml, lipopolysaccharide, Sigma) with 2 mg of aluminum hydroxide (Sigma) dissolved in 200 μl of saline [
15]. On days 14, 15, 18, and 19, the mice were challenged with atomized 6% OVA solution for 30 min before 100 μg / 10 μl HDM was applied intranasally. A saline control group was sensitized and boosted with saline only, but the injection location, time, and dose were consistent with those of neutrophils-dominant asthma group.
Mice (n = 6/group) in the conventional asthma group were given an intraperitoneal sensitization injection with 25 μg of OVA (1 mg/ml) and 1 mg of aluminum hydroxide on days 0 and 7, and then challenged with an atomized 6% OVA solution excitation for 30 min on days 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 [
16]. All mice were killed on day 21 for analysis.
Assessment of AHR
Methacholine (Mch)-induced airway resistance was measured on day 21 by direct plethysmography (Buxco Electronics, RC System, Wilmington, NC, USA), according to published methods [
17]. Mice were anesthetized, tracheotomized, and then intubated. First, baseline lung resistance (RL) was measured for 1 min. Then, mice were given 10 μl of atomized saline and 10 μl of Mch at increasing doses (0.39 mg/ml, 0.78 mg/ml, 1.56 mg/ml, 3.12 mg/ml) to stimulate the airway and RL was recorded once again.
BALF processing
Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected after three injections of 0.5 ml of saline (37 °C) through a tracheal cannula into the lung. BALF cells were centrifuged and resuspended in cold PBS. BALF cells were counted using a counting chamber. For differential BALF cell counts, cytospin preparations were made (1500 rpm, 5 min, 4 °C, Eppendorf Centrifuge Configurator, Hamburg, Germany). Next, cells were fixed and stained with Wright-Giemsa stain and 200 cells were counted under a light microscope.
Histopathology
Lungs were first fixed with 10% formalin via the trachea, and then removed and stored in 10% formalin. Fixed lung tissues were paraffinized and sectioned (5 μm) for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Lung tissues were stained for immunohistochemistry (neutrophil-specific antibody [0.2 mg/ml, anti-Gr1, Biolegend, San Diego, CA, USA], eosinophil antibody [1 mg/ml, anti-ECP, Biorbyt, Cambridge, United Kingdom], MBD2 antibody [Abcam, Cambridge, United Kingdom] and HIF-1α antibody [Proteintech]). Select stained sections from each group were collected and assessed for neutrophil, eosinophil, MBD2, and HIF-1α protein expression.
Bronchial lung tissue suspensions
Mouse bronchial lung fluid was collected, washed once with 5X antibiotic, and washed twice in PBS. Then, lungs were digested with collagenase1 (0.5 mg/ml, Sigma) and 10 μg/ml DNase in RPMI medium for 1 h in a 37 °C water bath using a shaking incubator. After digestion, tissue was filtered using a 70 μm Cell Strainer (BD Falcon, New York, USA) and cells were centrifuged and resuspended in a 10% FBS culture medium.
T cell purification, activation, and staining
Splenic CD4+ T cells from asthma model mice were selected using microbead (130–049-201, Miltenyi Biotec, Germany) sorting and were seeded in 12-well flat bottom plates for 24 h. Five hours later, cells were restimulated with 50 ng/ml of phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) (Multi Sciences Company, China), 1 μg/ml of ionomycin (Multi Sciences Company), and 3 μg/ml of monensin (Multi Sciences Company) for 5 h. Lung cells were then stained for surface marker FITC-anti CD4+ cytokine antibody (Biolegend) followed by fixation and permeabilization using fixation and permeabilization buffers (Multi Sciences Company) for 15 min. After washing with permeabilization buffer, lung and splenic CD4+ T cells were stained with intracellular markers APC-anti-IL-17 and PE-anti-IL-4 cytokine antibodies (Biolegend) in a permeabilization buffer for 20 min. Isotype controls were employed in the control group. Flow cytometry was performed and data were analyzed using FACSCalibur and FlowJo version X software.
Th17 cell differentiation
Splenic naïve CD4
+ T cells were purified from mouse spleens via magnetic isolation (Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany). For the preparation of spleen cell suspensions, spleens from 8-week-old female C57BL/6 mice were removed and minced using a nylon mesh (70 μm pore size). After the cells were pelleted, erythrocytes were lysed with a hypotonic buffer (0.15 mM NH
4Cl, 10 mM KHCO
3, 0.1 mM Na
2EDTA). Cells were washed in PBS and incubated with anti-CD4 antibody for 15 min at 4 °C. Cells were then conducted onto a magnetic separator to isolate CD4
+ T cells and were collected with positive selection. For Th17 cell directed differentiation, 1 × 10
5 naïve CD4
+ T cells from C57BL/6 mice were activated and cultured for 6 days with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 mouse Dynabeads (Invitrogen) under Th17 cell polarizing conditions in the presence of 5 ng/ml TGF-beta, 20 ng/ml IL-1beta, 20 ng/ml IL-6, 10 ng/ml IL-21, 10 μ g/ml anti-IL-4 and 10 μg/ml anti-INF-gamma [
18,
19]. All cytokines were purchased from Biolegend Co.
Lentiviral siRNA transduction ex vivo
Splenic CD4+ T cells collected from normal mice were plated on a 12-well plate at a concentration of 1 × 105 cells per well. The cells were cultured in 1640 medium without serum. After 24 h, the medium was carefully removed. Cells were placed in 1640 culture with no serum after suspension (2 × 106/tube) and virally transfected at MOI = 20 (using the appropriate amount of virus) in the presence of polybrene. These cells were then seeded in 12-well flat bottom plates. Splenic CD4+ T cells were transfected with chemosynthesis MBD2 siRNA sequence (S) 5’-GTTTGGCTTAACACATCTCAA-3′; HIF-1α siRNA sequence (S) 5’-GCCACTTTGAATCAAAGAAAT-3′. The virus culture medium was removed by centrifugation after 4 h of transfection and replaced with 1640 complete medium with Th17 cell differentiation conditions. After 3 days, the cells were collected for detection.
Western blot
Total proteins were prepared using RIPA lysis buffer supplemented with protease inhibitors. Western blot was carried out by probing membranes with the indicated primary antibodies followed by incubation with an HRP-conjugated secondary antibody. MBD2 and HIF-1α antibodies were applied in the same manner.
qRT-PCR
Lungs were harvested from mice for qRT-PCR (Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR) analysis according to published methods [
20].
Statistical analysis
All data are expressed as means ± SEM unless otherwise specified and all in vitro experiments were conducted with three independent replications (p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant). SPSS version 17.0 was used for statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni’s post hoc tests where appropriate.
Discussion
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by an associated increase in airway responsiveness. Clinically, many asthma patients fail to respond satisfactorily to standard steroid therapy. This type of steroid-resistant severe asthma has been previously linked to the presence of neutrophilic inflammation in the lungs [
21,
22]. In order to better study the mechanisms of neutrophilic asthma, it is necessary to build a neutrophil-predominant inflammatory asthma model.
OVA is a classic allergen for inducing asthma. Epithelial damage by HDM allergens leaves the tissue more vulnerable during subsequent exposure to allergens [
23] and air toxins (biotoxins) such as endotoxin (LPS). LPS is used as an adjuvant in asthma models and associated with asthma severity as well as the occurrence of asthma exacerbation [
24,
25]. Increasing LPS doses shifted the predominant eosinophilic lung inflammation induced by HDM to a neutrophil-dominated inflammation, reproducing conditions of mixed eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltrations within the airways of some patients with asthma [
15]. In murine asthma models, LPS or HDM administration via the airways increased Th17 cell response and the production of IL-17 [
15]. In a previous study, we showed that 100 μg HDM + 100 μg OVA + 15 μg LPS was successful for establishing a neutrophils-dominant asthma [
26].
In the present study, mice with neutrophils-dominant asthma had more AHR, the highest total BALF cell and lung neutrophil counts, and more lung inflammatory cells and neutrophil infiltration compared to mice with conventional asthma and the control group.. The spleen is the classic observation target for immune cells, and Th17 cell levels were higher in the splenocytes observed from neutrophilic asthma mice compared to conventional asthma mice. However Th2 cell levels did not differ between the two asthma groups. This shows that neutrophilic asthma mice primarily exhibited Th17 cell differentiation, and the recruitment of neutrophils, thus promoting the development of asthma. And the data in detail was published by our team [
26].MBD2, a DNA methylation regulation element, can regulate T cell differentiation [
27,
28]. Although little is known about epigenetic regulation in neutrophils-dominant asthma, in our study we report that MBD2 expression in splenic CD4
+ T cells and lungs from neutrophils-dominant asthma mice was significantly higher compared to conventional asthma mice and the control group. MBD2 can also stimulate Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression. Apparently, genetic abnormalities are involved in the pathogenesis of neutrophils-dominant asthma and promote Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression.
HIF-1α is a crucial sensor of oxygen and is responsible for initiating cellular responses to hypoxia. Under normoxia, the HIF-1α protein degrades rapidly, while hypoxia leads to stabilization and accumulation of HIF-1α. Under certain normoxic conditions, however, HIF-1α expression can be increased [
29,
30]. For example, HIF-1α expression is increased in asthma patients’ lung tissue and BALF and is also increased in patients experiencing rhinitis stimulated by antigens. HIF-1α expression is also significantly increased in mice with allergic airway inflammation [
29]. Expression of HIF-1α can be detected in purely antigen stimulation-induced allergic lung inflammation due to reduced perfusion, tissue edema, vascular injury, aerobic inflammatory cell aggregation, and other inducers of allergic inflammation. So, we speculate that hypoxia is present and aggravated due to increased expression of HIF-1α [
29]. Agents that inhibit HIF-1α (e.g., 2- methoxyestradiol and HIF-1 siRNA) lead to reductions in HIF-1α and VEGF expression, allergic airway response [
11,
31], inflammatory cell infiltration, airway hyper-responsiveness, and Th2 cytokine levels [
11]. Inhibition of HIF-1α expression can reduce airway inflammation and remodeling, suggesting that HIF-1α may be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma [
29].
In Jurkat T cells, Th17 cell differentiation can be induced by HIF-1α through the HIF-1/Stat3/RORγt/IL-17 pathway [
29]. ChIP analysis confirmed that HIF-1α is a transcription factor mainly due to its roles in regulating Th17 cell differentiation. HIF-1α acts as a promoter of RORγt, and directly collaborates with RORγt to activate Th17 signature genes, such as IL-17A, through mechanisms involving p300 recruitment and histone acetylation.
In our study, HIF-1α expression increased in mouse splenic CD4+ T cells and lung tissues in both the neutrophils-dominant asthma and conventional asthma groups, but this was more significant in the neutrophils-dominant asthma group. The results of our in vitro cell experiments show that Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression increased significantly with HIF-1α gene overexpression, and decreased with HIF-1α gene silencing. This indicates that HIF-1α stimulates Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression in splenic CD4+ T cells. As we have previously stated, about 90% of severe asthma attacks feature hypoxia which exacerbates the condition, and this hypoxic effect is regulated mainly through HIF-1. We have supposed that HIF-1 was not the initiating element in neutrophils-dominant asthma. After all, at the initiation of an asthma attack, there is no obvious hypoxia, but with asthma symptom exacerbation, severity of hypoxia increases. HIF-1α may be involved in the persistence and deterioration of neutrophils-dominant asthma through Th17 cell function and neutrophil recruitment.
Additionally, lentiviral MBD2 overexpression can promote HIF-1α expression in murine CD4+ T cells, suggesting that MBD2 is in the upstream of HIF-1α, and that MBD2, combined with HIF-1α and related signaling pathways, may be involved in Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression.
MBD2 and HIF-1α overexpression and silencing with a lentivirus indicated that MBD2+/ HIF-1α + lentivirus co-transfection can maximize Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression. MBD2-/HIF-1α + lentivirus co-transfected can partly counteract Th17 cell differentiation with double-overexpression, but this differentiation remains higher than normal, indicating that it is involved in methylation, and that MBD2 silencing can suppress the differentiation of Th17 cells. Also, silencing of MBD2 can inhibit HIF-1α downstream. This indicates that MBD2 may not be directly upstream of Th17 cell differentiation, and may play its role through HIF-1α. Regarding MBD2+/HIF-1α-, the sharp declines in Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression may indicate that HIF-1α can directly regulate Th17 cell differentiation, which is consistent with previous results [
10]. With double-silencing of MBD2-/HIF-1α-, Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression were observed to be the lowest, but this was not statistically significant compared with MBD2+/HIF-1α-. So, likely the effect of MBD2 is indeed exerted through HIF-1α. When HIF-1α was interrupted, MBD2’s effects were completely blocked. These results indicate that MBD2 is in the upstream of HIF-1α, and its regulation of Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17 expression is mediated by HIF-1α.
We supposed that there might be some other factors involved with MBD2 and HIF-1α, one of them being insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3). In an OVA-induced murine model of allergic asthma, IGFBP-3 expression was decreased [
32], and levels of HIF-1α and HIF-2α in nuclear protein extracts from lung tissues were increased at 48 h after OVA inhalation compared to levels measured 48 h after saline inhalation [
33]. Restoration of IGFBP-3 either by recombinant IGFBP-3 treatment or adenoviral IGFBP-3 gene transfer to OVA-inhalation mice substantially attenuated the increases in HIF-α activity, VEGF production, vascular leaking, and attenuated antigen-induced airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness [
32,
33]. The expression of IGFBP-3 is frequently decreased in tumors and this decrease is often a consequence of promoter methylation. IGFBP-3 has CpG islands in its promoters [
34]. In our exploratory experiment, expression of IGFBP-3 was increased significantly in MBD2 knockout Jurkat T cells (Additional file
1).