Antibiotics Differentially Modulate Lipoteichoic Acid-Mediated Host Immune Response

• Main Authors: Marquerita Algorri, Annie Wong-Beringer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: Antibiotics
• Subjects: <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteremia; sepsis immunoparalysis; antibiotics; immunomodulation; lipoteichoic acid
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/9/573

In <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteremia, our group has shown that a dysregulated balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine response biased towards an immunoparalysis phenotype is predictive of persistence and mortality, despite receipt of antibiotics. Certain antibiotics, as well as lipoteichoic acid (LTA) released from <i>S. aureus</i>, can modulate immune response ex vivo. Here, we evaluated the effects of three anti-staphylococcal antibiotics (vancomycin, tedizolid, and daptomycin) on the expression of cytokines and cell surface markers of immune activation (TNFα, HLA-DR) and immunoparalysis (IL-10, PD-L1) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) exposed to high (10 μg) and low (1 μg) doses of LTA. Results suggested a dose-dependent relationship between LTA and induction of anti- and pro-inflammatory immune responses. Differential antibiotic effects were prominently observed at high but not low LTA condition. Vancomycin significantly induced IL-10 and TNFα expression, whereas daptomycin had no effects on cytokine response or expression of cell surface receptors. Tedizolid increased TNFα and modestly increased HLA-DR expression, suggesting a stimulatory effect. These findings suggest that anti-staphylococcal agents differentially alter LTA-mediated immune cell activation status and cytokine response, providing support for future clinical studies to better elucidate the complexities of host–microbial–antibiotic interaction that can help direct precision therapy for <i>S. aureus</i> bacteremia.