Downregulation of GPR183 on Infection Restricts the Early Infection and Intracellular Survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Macrophage

GPR183/EBI2 is a key chemotactic receptor for the positioning of B cells in lymphoid organs, and also for the migration of T cells and other immune cells. Here, we demonstrate that the downregulation of GPR183 in macrophage induced during Mtb infection restrains the bacterial early infection and intracellular survival. Overexpression of GPR183 or stimulation with its natural ligand favors Mtb survival in macrophage, while treatment with its antagonist represses both Mtb early infection and intracellular survival. With mutational analysis, we find that substitution of Asp-73, Arg-83, Tyr-112, Tyr-256 abolished the promotive effect of GPR183 on Mtb early infection and survival in macrophage. In conclusion, we demonstrated that beside the known role of chemotaxis receptor, GPR183 also functions directly in the interaction between macrophage and Mtb in a cell-autonomous way.