UC San Diego

The mouse pathogen Citrobacter rodentium is utilized as a model organism for studying infections caused by the human pathogens enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and to elucidate mechanisms of mucosal immunity. In response to C. rodentium infection, innate lymphoid cells and T cells secrete interleukin (IL)-22, a cytokine that promotes mucosal barrier function. IL-22 plays a pivotal role in enabling mice to survive and recover from C. rodentium infection, although the exact mechanisms involved remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigated whether particular components of the host response downstream of IL-22 contribute to the cytokine's protective effects during C. rodentium infection. In line with previous research, mice lacking the IL-22 gene (Il22^-/- mice) were highly susceptible to C. rodentium infection. To elucidate the role of specific antimicrobial proteins modulated by IL-22, we infected the following knockout mice: S100A9^-/- (calprotectin), Lcn2^-/- (lipocalin-2), Reg3b^-/- (Reg3β), Reg3g^-/- (Reg3γ), and C3^-/- (C3). All knockout mice tested displayed a considerable level of resistance to C. rodentium infection, and none phenocopied the lethality observed in Il22^-/- mice. By investigating another arm of the IL-22 response, we observed that C. rodentium-infected Il22^-/- mice exhibited an overall decrease in gene expression related to intestinal barrier integrity as well as significantly elevated colonic inflammation, gut permeability, and pathogen levels in the spleen. Taken together, these results indicate that host resistance to lethal C. rodentium infection may depend on multiple antimicrobial responses acting in concert, or that other IL-22-regulated processes, such as tissue repair and maintenance of epithelial integrity, play crucial roles in host defense to attaching and effacing pathogens.