Cell Host & Microbe
Volume 18, Issue 1, 8 July 2015, Pages 27-37
Journal home page for Cell Host & Microbe

Article
Innate Immune Defenses Mediated by Two ILC Subsets Are Critical for Protection against Acute Clostridium difficile Infection

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2015.06.011Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open archive

Highlights

  • Recovery from acute C. difficile infection is independent of adaptive immunity

  • Lack of innate lymphoid cells leads to mortality following C. difficile infection

  • Transfer of ILCs into susceptible hosts restores protection against C. difficile

  • Type-1 ILCs mediate IFN-γ-dependent protection against C. difficile

Summary

Infection with the opportunistic enteric pathogen Clostridium difficile is an increasingly common clinical complication that follows antibiotic treatment-induced gut microbiota perturbation. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are early responders to enteric pathogens; however, their role during C. difficile infection is undefined. To identify immune pathways that mediate recovery from C. difficile infection, we challenged C57BL/6, Rag1−/− (which lack T and B cells), and Rag2−/− Il2rg−/− (Ragγc−/−) mice (which additionally lack ILCs) with C. difficile. In contrast to Rag1−/− mice, ILC-deficient Ragγc−/− mice rapidly succumbed to infection. Rag1−/− but not Ragγc−/− mice upregulate expression of ILC1- or ILC3-associated proteins following C. difficile infection. Protection against infection was restored by transferring ILCs into Ragγc−/− mice. While ILC3s made a minor contribution to resistance, loss of IFN-γ or T-bet-expressing ILC1s in Rag1−/− mice increased susceptibility to C. difficile. These data demonstrate a critical role for ILC1s in defense against C. difficile.

Cited by (0)