High Lethality of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Mice Lacking the Phagocyte Oxidase and Caspase1/11

Immune networks that control antimicrobial and inflammatory mechanisms have overlapping regulation and functions to ensure effective host responses. Genetic interaction studies of immune pathways that compare host responses in single and combined knockout backgrounds are a useful tool to identify new mechanisms of immune control during infection. For disease caused by pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infections, which currently lacks an effective vaccine, understanding the genetic interactions between protective immune pathways may identify new therapeutic targets or disease-associated genes. Previous studies have suggested a direct link between the activation of NLRP3-Caspase1 inflammasome and the NADPH-dependent phagocyte oxidase complex during Mtb infection. Loss of the phagocyte oxidase complex alone resulted in increased activation of Caspase1 and IL-1β production during Mtb infection, resulting in failed disease tolerance during the chronic stages of disease. To better understand this interaction, we generated mice lacking both Cybb, a key subunit of the phagocyte oxidase, and Caspase1/11. We found that ex vivo Mtb infection of Cybb macrophages resulted in the expected loss of IL-1β secretion but an unexpected change in other inflammatory cytokines and bacterial control. Mtb infected Cybb mice rapidly progressed to severe TB, succumbing within 4 weeks to disease characterized by high bacterial burden, increased inflammatory cytokines, and the recruitment of granulocytes that associated with Mtb in the lungs. These results uncover a key genetic interaction between the phagocyte oxidase complex and Caspase1/11 that controls protection against TB and highlight the need for a better understanding of the regulation of fundamental immune networks during Mtb infection.