Description
Airway epithelium is the initial point of host-pathogen interaction in Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, an important pathogen in cystic fibrosis and nosocomial pneumonia. We used global gene expression analysis to determine airway epithelial transcriptional responses dependent on matrilysin (MMP-7) and stromelysin-2 (MMP-10), two matrix metalloproteinases induced by acute P. aeruginosa pulmonary infection. Extraction of Differential Gene Expression (EDGE) analysis of gene expression changes in P. aeruginosa infected organotypic tracheal epithelial cell cultures from wildtype, Mmp7-/-, and Mmp10-/- mice identified 2,089 matrilysin-dependent and 1,628 stromelysin-2-dependent genes that were differentially expressed. Key node network analysis showed that these MMPs controlled distinct gene expression programs involved in proliferation, cell death, immune responses, and signal transduction, among other host defense processes. Our results demonstrate discrete roles for these MMPs in regulating epithelial responses to pseudomonas infection and show that a global genomics strategy can be used to assess MMP function.