Lack of functional selectin‐ligand interactions enhances innate immune resistance to systemic Listeria monocytogenes infection

Selectin‐ligand interactions are important for leukocyte homing and functionality. The roles of selectin‐ligand interactions in modulating immunity to intracellular infections are not completely understood. Mice lacking the expression of fucosyltransferase‐IV and ‐VII (Fucosyltransferase‐IV and ‐VII double knockout, FtDKO) exhibit deficient functionality of selectin‐ligand interactions. We addressed the kinetics of infection and immunity to Listeria monocytogenes (LM), an intracellular pathogen, in FtDKO mice. These mice exhibited enhanced ability to clear infection and increased survival to a lethal dose of LM infection relative to wild‐type (WT) C57BL/6J controls. This was associated with increased levels of neutrophils, monocytes, and dendritic cells (DCs) in the blood and/or infected organs. Adoptive transfer of bone marrow (BM) cells from FtDKO mice to WT mice resulted in enhanced neutrophil numbers and improved clearance of LM bacteria in recipients. In vivo depletion of myeloid innate immune cells, particularly neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages, and DCs, using anti‐Ly‐6G (RB6‐8C5) monoclonal antibody, reduced the ability of FtDKO mice to curtail LM infection. Nevertheless, depletion using anti‐Ly‐6G (1A8) known to exclusively deplete neutrophils did not abrogate increased resistance of FtDKO mice to LM infection, suggesting a role for other myeloid innate immune cells in this model. Examination of BM hematopoietic progenitors through flow cytometry and cell culture colony‐forming unit assay showed increased frequencies of granulocyte‐macrophage progenitors in FtDKO relative to WT mice, Overall, our results indicate that functional selectin ligand deficiency enhances innate immune‐mediated resistance to systemic LM infection despite defective leukocyte migration and lymphocyte homing.