Lipoproteins are key immunostimulatory components of Bacillus species for dendritic cell maturation and activation

Dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in immunity by sensing and responding to invasive microbes. Bacillus species are rod-shaped sporulating bacteria that include the pathogenic Bacillus cereus and commensal Bacillus subtilis. Although the interaction between DC and these two Bacillus species has been studied, their key structural component that prompts DC activation is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the two Bacillus species in DC activation by whole cells and their representative microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). MAMPs including lipoteichoic acid (LTA), lipoprotein (LPP), and peptidoglycan (PGN) were purified from the two Bacillus species. Among the MAMPs, LPP from both species most potently induced the maturation and activation of DCs while PGN, but not LTA, moderately stimulated DCs. LPPs from both Bacillus species enhanced the expression of DC maturation markers including CCR7, CD40, CD80, CD83, CD86, CD205, MHC-I, and MHC-II. Among the MAMPs from B. cereus, PGN most considerably lowered the endocytic capacity of DCs implying DC maturation whereas PGN from B. subtilis lowered it to a similar degree to its LPP. Furthermore, DCs sensitized with LPPs from both Bacillus species and PGN from B. subtilis moderately induced TNF-alpha and IL-6 production. Notably, a combination of MAMPs did not show any synergistic effect on DC activation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that LPP is the key structural component in B. cereus and B. subtilis that leads to DC activation.