Control of tuberculosis worldwide depends on our understanding of human immune mechanisms, which combat the infection. Acquired T cell responses are critical for host defense against microbial pathogens, yet the mechanisms by which they act in humans remain unclear. We report that T cells, by the release of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), induce autophagy, phagosomal maturation, the production of antimicrobial peptides such as cathelicidin, and antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in human macrophages via a vitamin D–dependent pathway. IFN-γ induced the antimicrobial pathway in human macrophages cultured in vitamin D–sufficient sera, but not in sera from African-Americans that have lower amounts of vitamin D and who are more susceptible to tuberculosis. In vitro supplementation of vitamin D–deficient serum with 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 restored IFN-γ–induced antimicrobial peptide expression, autophagy, phagosome-lysosome fusion, and antimicrobial activity. These results suggest a mechanism in which vitamin D is required for acquired immunity to overcome the ability of intracellular pathogens to evade macrophage-mediated antimicrobial responses. The present findings underscore the importance of adequate amounts of vitamin D in all human populations for sustaining both innate and acquired immunity against infection.

The “enhanced intracellular survival” (eis) gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is involved in the intracellular survival of M. smegmatis. However, its exact effects on host cell function remain elusive. We herein report that Mtb Eis plays essential roles in modulating macrophage autophagy, inflammatory responses, and cell death via a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent pathway. Macrophages infected with an Mtb eis-deletion mutant H37Rv (Mtb-Δeis) displayed markedly increased accumulation of massive autophagic vacuoles and formation of autophagosomes in vitro and in vivo. Infection of macrophages with Mtb-Δeis increased the production of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 over the levels produced by infection with wild-type or complemented strains. Elevated ROS generation in macrophages infected with Mtb-Δeis (for which NADPH oxidase and mitochondria were largely responsible) rendered the cells highly sensitive to autophagy activation and cytokine production. Despite considerable activation of autophagy and proinflammatory responses, macrophages infected with Mtb-Δeis underwent caspase-independent cell death. This cell death was significantly inhibited by blockade of autophagy and c-Jun N-terminal kinase-ROS signaling, suggesting that excessive autophagy and oxidative stress are detrimental to cell survival. Finally, artificial over-expression of Eis or pretreatment with recombinant Eis abrogated production of both ROS and proinflammatory cytokines, which depends on the N-acetyltransferase domain of the Eis protein. Collectively, these data indicate that Mtb Eis suppresses host innate immune defenses by modulating autophagy, inflammation, and cell death in a redox-dependent manner. Tuberculosis is a global health problem: at least one-third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Mtb is a successful pathogen that enhances its own intracellular survival by arresting phagolysosomal fusion. Recently, autophagy has emerged as a host defense strategy against Mtb infection, through stimulation of the fusion of phagosomes and lysosomes. However, excessive and uncontrolled autophagic activity can be detrimental to host cells and can result in their death. The Mtb “enhanced intracellular survival” (eis) gene has been implicated in the intracellular survival of M. smegmatis. However, its exact role and how it regulates host innate immune responses have not been fully explained. Here, we provide evidence that Eis suppresses macrophage autophagy, inflammation, and cell death through the inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Although it has previously been demonstrated that autophagy is a key host defense response to mycobacterial infections, our data indicate that excessive autophagy, and the resulting cell death, do not significantly affect host defense responses to mycobacteria. Additionally, our data reveal that Eis's ability to regulate ROS generation and proinflammatory responses depends on its N-acetyltransferase domain. These results underscore a previously unrecognized role of Eis in modulating host inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, and cell survival/death during mycobacterial infection.

In human monocytes, Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/1 activation leads to vitamin D3-dependent antimycobacterial activities, but the molecular mechanisms by which TLR2/1 stimulation induces antimicrobial activities against mycobacteria remain unclear. Here we show that TLR2/1/CD14 stimulation by mycobacterial lipoprotein LpqH can robustly activate antibacterial autophagy through vitamin D receptor signalling activation and cathelicidin induction. We found that CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)-β-dependent induction of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol-1α-hydroxylase (Cyp27b1) hydroxylase was critical for LpqH-induced cathelicidin expression and autophagy. In addition, increases in intracellular calcium following AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation played a crucial role in LpqH-induced autophagy. Moreover, AMPK-dependent p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation was required for LpqH-induced Cyp27b1 expression and autophagy activation. Collectively, these data suggest that TLR2/1/CD14-Ca²⁺-AMPK-p38 MAPK pathways contribute to C/EBP-β-dependent expression of Cyp27b1 and cathelicidin, which played an essential role in LpqH-induced autophagy. Furthermore, these results establish a previously uncharacterized signalling pathway of antimycobacterial host defence through a functional link of TLR2/1/CD14-dependent sensing to the induction of autophagy.

The scaffolding adaptor protein p62/SQSTM1 (p62) has been shown to be an autophagy receptor that acts as a link between the ubiquitination and autophagy machineries. However, the roles of autophagy and p62 in human keratinocytes are not well understood. In this study, we show that keratinocyte autophagy negatively regulates p62 expression, which is essential for the prevention of excessive inflammation and the induction of cathelicidin in human keratinocytes. Stimulation of TLR2/6 or TLR4 in primary human keratinocytes robustly activated autophagy pathways and up-regulated p62 expression through induction of NADPH oxidases 2 and 4 and the generation of reactive oxygen species. MyD88 and TNFR-associated factor 6, key signaling molecules that mediate TLR activation, played an essential role in the induction of autophagy and p62 expression. Additionally, blockade of autophagy significantly increased the generation of inflammatory cytokines and expression of p62 in primary human keratinocytes. Notably, silencing hp62 through RNA interference resulted in a significant decrease in NF-κB activation, inflammatory cytokine production, cathelicidin expression, and cell proliferation (as well as cyclin D1 expression) in keratinocytes. Epidermal expression of p62 was further found to be significantly higher in psoriatic skin than in skin affected by atopic dermatitis or from healthy controls. Collectively, our data provide new insights into the roles of autophagy and p62 in controlling cutaneous inflammation.