Transferrin Is Up-Regulated by Microbes and Acts as a Negative Regulator of Immunity to Induce Intestinal Immunotolerance

Cross-talks (e.g., host-driven iron withdrawal and microbial iron uptake between host gastrointestinal tract and commensal microbes) regulate immunotolerance and intestinal homeostasis. However, underlying mechanisms that regulate the cross-talks remain poorly understood. Here, we show that bacterial products up-regulate iron-transporter transferrin and transferrin acts as an immunosuppressor by interacting with cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14) to inhibit pattern recognition receptor (PRR) signaling and induce host immunotolerance. Decreased intestinal transferrin is found in germ-free mice and human patients with ulcerative colitis, which are characterized by impaired intestinal immunotolerance. Intestinal transferrin and host immunotolerance are returned to normal when germ-free mice get normal microbial commensalism, suggesting an association between microbial commensalism, transferrin, and host immunotolerance. Mouse colitis models show that transferrin shortage impairs host’s tolerogenic responses, while its supplementation promotes immunotolerance. Designed peptide blocking transferrin–CD14 interaction inhibits immunosuppressive effects of transferrin. In monkeys with idiopathic chronic diarrhea, transferrin shows comparable or even better therapeutic effects than hydrocortisone. Our findings reveal that by up-regulating host transferrin to silence PRR signaling, commensal bacteria counteract immune activation induced by themselves to shape host immunity and contribute for intestinal tolerance.

Origin of peculiar inerratic diffraction patterns recorded by charge-coupled device cameras

A peculiar and regular diffraction pattern is recorded while using either a color or a monochrome charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to capture the image of the micro air plasma produced by femtosecond laser pulses. The diffraction pattern strongly disturbs the observation of the air plasma, so the origin and eliminating method of these diffraction patterns must be investigated. It is found that the Fourier transform of the periodic surface structure of either the mask mosaic of the color CCD or the pixel array of the monochrome CCD is responsible for the formation of the observed pattern. The residual surface reflection from the protection window of a CCD camera plays the essential role in forming the interesting two- dimensional diffraction spots on the same CCD sensor. Both experimental data and theoretical analyses confirm our understanding of this phenomenon. Therefore remov-ing the protection window of the CCD camera can eliminate these diffraction patterns.