Modulation of epithelial innate immune responses by microbiota metabolites

BMC Seminar Thursday 23rd of February at 12:00 in Læknagarður, room 201

Speaker: Dr. Iwona Teresa Myszor, Postdoctoral fellow, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland

Title: Modulation of epithelial innate immune responses by microbiota metabolites

Abstract: Epithelial cells provide efficient protection from pathogens by expressing antimicrobial effectors and maintaining epithelial barrier integrity. Disturbances of the epithelial homeostasis increase the risk of infections and contribute to chronic inflammatory conditions. Signals for the maintenance of epithelial homeostasis are provided in part by commensal bacteria metabolites.

Microbiota metabolites derived from host digestive bile acid - lithocholic acid (LCA) have recently been studied in relation to T cell differentiation and trained immunity. However, the effects of LCA and metabolites on the regulation of antimicrobial innate immune responses in epithelial tissues have not been investigated yet and need further studies.

This work investigated the effects of LCA and metabolites produced by microbiota on the regulation of innate immune responses in epithelial cells of different origin. The focus of this work was to study how expression of host defense peptides (HDPs) is regulated by microbiota metabolites in epithelial cells of the local colonic environment and remote epithelia of the lung.

Further, our study concentrated on deciphering signaling pathways regulating expression of the human HDP – cathelicidin, providing new insights into the modulation of innate immune responses by microbiota metabolites in the gut-lung axis.