Detrimental role for CCAAT/enhancer binding protein δ in blood-borne brain infection.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The most frequent pathogen that causes bacterial meningitis is the Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae. CCAAT/enhancer binding protein δ is a transcription factor that has recently been hypothesized to play a detrimental role in outcome of meningitis caused by S. pneumoniae. Here, we studied the role of C/EBPδ prior to the development of pneumococcal meningitis.

METHODS:

Wild-type and C/EBPδ-deficient mice (C/EBPδ-/-) were intraveneously infected with S. pneumoniae and sacrificed after 24 or 48 h. cebpδ expression, bacterial loads, inflammatory response and pathology in the brain were assessed.

RESULTS:

S. pneumoniae induces cebpδ expression in the brain during blood-borne brain infection. In comparison to wild-type mice, C/EBPδ-/- animals showed decreased bacterial loads in blood and brain 48 h after inoculation. In the blood compartment, the host inflammatory response was significantly lower upon infection in C/EBPδ-/- mice as compared to wild-type mice.

CONCLUSION:

C/EBPδ facilitates bacterial dissemination to the brain and enhances the immune response in the blood compartment. Our study suggests that C/EBPδ plays a detrimental role during the initial development of blood-borne brain infection.

• Authors: JanWillem Duitman, Mercedes Valls Serón, JooYeon Engelen-Lee, Matthijs C Brouwer, C Arnold Spek, Diederik van de Beek
• Journal: BMC infectious diseases (BMC Infect Dis) Vol. 16 Issue 1 Pg. 670 (Nov 11 2016) ISSN: 1471-2334 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 27835970 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Transcription Factors
• CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-delta

Topics

• Animals
• Bacterial Load
• Brain (microbiology)
• CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-delta (metabolism)
• Humans
• Meningitis, Pneumococcal (metabolism, pathology)
• Mice
• Mice, Knockout
• Streptococcus pneumoniae
• Transcription Factors