Asthma is a common disease with profoundly variable natural history and patient morbidity. Heterogeneity has long been appreciated and much work has focused on identifying subgroups of patients with similar pathobiological underpinnings. Previous studies of the Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP) cohort linked gene expression changes to specific clinical and physiologic characteristics. While invaluable for hypothesis generation, these data include extensive candidate gene lists that complicate target identification and validation. In this analysis, we performed unsupervised clustering of the SARP cohort using bronchial epithelial cell gene expression data, identifying a transcriptional signature for participants suffering exacerbation prone asthma with impaired lung function. Clinically, participants in this asthma cluster exhibited a mixed inflammatory process and bore transcriptional hallmarks of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and activator protein 1 (AP-1) activation despite high corticosteroid exposure. Using supervised machine learning, we found a set of 31 genes that classified patients with high accuracy and could reconstitute clinical and transcriptional hallmarks of our patient clustering in an external cohort. Of these genes, IL18R1 (IL-18 Receptor 1) negatively associated with lung function and was highly expressed in the most severe patient cluster. We validated IL18R1 protein expression in lung tissue and identified downstream NF-κB and AP-1 activity, supporting IL-18 signaling in severe asthma pathogenesis and highlighting this approach for gene/pathway discovery.
Matthew J. Camiolo, Xiuxia Zhou, Qi Wei, Humberto E. Trejo Bittar, Naftali Kaminski, Anuradha Ray, Sally Wenzel
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease that causes periodic but explosive epidemics of acute disease throughout the tropical world. Vaccine development against chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has been hampered by the inability to conduct efficacy trials due to the unpredictability of CHIKV outbreaks. Therefore, immune correlates are being explored to gain inference into vaccine-induced protection. Current study is an in-depth serological characterization of Fab and Fc-mediated antibody responses in selected Phase 2 clinical trial participants following immunization with the recombinant measles-vectored CHIKV vaccine, MV-CHIK. Antibody comparisons were conducted between participants who received prime versus prime-boost vaccine regimens. MV-CHIK vaccination elicited potent Fab-mediated antibodies (such as CHIKV-specific IgG, neutralization and avidity), including dominant IgG3 responses which translated into strong antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP). At 1-month, prime-boost immunization lead to significantly greater responses in every measured Fab and Fc antibody parameter. Interestingly, prime-boost-elicited antibodies decreased rapidly over time, until at 6-months both vaccine regimens displayed similar antibody profiles. Nonetheless, antibody avidity and ADCP remained significantly greater following boost immunization. Our observations suggest that a prime-boost administration of MV-CHIK will be more appropriate for CHIKV-endemic regions, while a prime only regimen may be sufficient for travel purposes or outbreak situations.
Roland Tschismarov, Raphaël M. Zellweger, Min Jie Koh, Yan Shan Leong, Jenny G. Low, Eng Eong Ooi, Christian W. Mandl, Katrin Ramsauer, Ruklanthi de Alwis
mascRNA is a highly conserved tRNA-like noncoding RNA whose function remains largely unknown. We show here that this small RNA molecule played a role in the stringent control of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated innate immune responses. mascRNA inhibited activation of NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling and the production of inflammatory cytokines in macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a TLR4 ligand. Furthermore, exogenous mascRNA alleviated LPS-induced lung inflammation. On the contrary, mascRNA potentiated the phosphorylation of IRF3 and STAT1 and the transcription of interferon-related genes in response to the TLR3 ligand poly(I:C) both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, mascRNA was found to enhance K48-linked ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of TRAF6, thereby negatively regulating TLR-mediated MyD88-dependent proinflammatory signaling while positively regulating TRIF-dependent interferon signaling. Additionally, hnRNP H and hnRNP F were found to interact with mascRNA, promote its degradation, and contribute to the fine-tuning of TLR-triggered immune responses. Taken together, our data identify a dual role of mascRNA in both negative and positive regulation of innate immune responses.
Tao Sun, Chunxue Wei, Daoyong Wang, Xuxu Wang, Jiao Wang, Yuqing Hu, Xiaohua Mao
BACKGROUND. Childhood cancer survivors who received abdominal radiotherapy (RT) or total body irradiation (TBI) are at increased risk for cardiometabolic disease, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We hypothesize that RT-induced adipose tissue dysfunction contributes to the development of cardiometabolic disease in the expanding population of childhood cancer survivors. METHODS. We performed clinical metabolic profiling of adult childhood cancer survivors previously exposed to TBI, abdominal RT, or chemotherapy alone, alongside a group of healthy controls. Study participants underwent abdominal subcutaneous adipose biopsies to obtain tissue for bulk RNA-sequencing. Transcriptional signatures were analyzed using pathway and network analyses and cellular deconvolution. RESULTS. Irradiated adipose tissue is characterized by a gene expression signature indicative of a complex macrophage expansion. This signature includes activation of the TREM2-TYROBP network, a pathway described in diseases of chronic tissue injury. Radiation exposure of adipose is further associated with dysregulated adipokine secretion, specifically a decrease in insulin-sensitizing adiponectin and an increase in insulin resistance-promoting plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. Accordingly, survivors exhibiting these changes have early signs of clinical metabolic derangement such as increased fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c. CONCLUSION. Childhood cancer survivors exposed to abdominal RT or TBI during treatment exhibit signs of chronic subcutaneous adipose tissue dysfunction, manifested as dysregulated adipokine secretion that may negatively impact their systemic metabolic health. FUNDING. Rockefeller University Hospital; National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM007739); National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR001866); National Cancer Institute (P30CA008748); American Cancer Society (133831-CSDG-19-117-01-CPHPS); American Diabetes Association (1-17-ACE-17); anonymous donor (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center).
Xiaojing Huang, Olivia A. Maguire, Jeanne M. Walker, Caroline S. Jiang, Thomas S. Carroll, Ji-Dung Luo, Emily Tonorezos, Danielle Novetsky Friedman, Paul Cohen
Fibrotic posterior capsular opacification (PCO), a major complication of cataract surgery, is driven by transforming growth factor β (TGFβ). Previously, αV integrins were found to be critical for the onset of TGFβ-mediated PCO in vivo, however, the functional heterodimer was unknown. Here, β8 integrin conditional knockout (β8ITGcKO) lens cells (LCs) were observed to attenuate their fibrotic responses, while both β5 and β6 integrin null LCs underwent fibrotic changes similar to WT at 5 days PCS. RNAseq revealed that β8ITGcKO LCs attenuated their upregulation of integrins and their ligands, as well as known targets of TGFβ induced signaling at 24 hours PCS. Treatment of β8ITGcKO eyes with active TGFβ1 at the time of surgery rescued the fibrotic response. Treatment of wild type mice with an anti- αVβ8 integrin function blocking antibody at the time of surgery ameliorated both canonical TGFβ signaling and LC fibrotic response PCS, and treatment at 5 days PCS, after surgically induced fibrotic responses are established, largely reversed this fibrotic response. These data suggest that αVβ8 integrin is a major regulator of TGFβ activation by LCs PCS and that therapeutics targeting αVβ8 integrin could be effective for fibrotic PCO prevention and treatment.
Mahbubul H. Shihan, Samuel G. Novo, Yan Wang, Dean Sheppard, Amha Atakilit, Thomas D. Arnold, Nicole M. Rossi, Adam P. Faranda, Melinda K. Duncan
Cytokine-producing CD4+ T cells play a crucial role in the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection; however, there is a delayed appearance of effector T cells in the lungs following aerosol infection. The immunomodulatory cytokine IL-10 antagonizes control of Mtb infection through mechanisms associated with reduced CD4+ T cell responses. Here, we show that IL-10 overexpression only before the onset of the T cell response impairs control of Mtb growth. During chronic infection, IL-10 overexpression reduces the CD4+ T cell response without impacting the outcome of infection. IL-10 overexpression early during infection did not significantly impair the kinetics of CD4+ T cell priming and effector differentiation; however, CD4+ T cells primed and differentiated in a IL-10-enriched environment display reduced expression of CXCR3 and do not migrate into the lung parenchyma thereby limiting their ability to control infection. Importantly, these CD4+ T cells maintain their vasculature phenotype and are unable to control infection even after adoptively transferred into low IL-10 settings. Together our data support a model wherein, during Mtb infection, IL-10 acts intrinsically on T cells impairing their parenchymal migratory capacity and ability to engage with infected phagocytic cells thereby impeding control of infection.
Catarina M. Ferreira, Ana Margarida Barbosa, Palmira Barreira-Silva, Ricardo Silvestre, Cristina Cunha, Agostinho Carvalho, Fernando Rodrigues, Margarida Correia-Neves, António G. Castro, Egídio Torrado
Interleukin-33 (IL-33), a nuclear alarmin released during cell death, exerts context-specific effects on adaptive and innate immune cells eliciting potent inflammatory responses. We screened blood, skin and kidney tissues from patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), a systemic autoimmune disease driven by unabated type I interferon (IFN) production, and found increased amounts of extracellular IL-33 complexed with Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs), correlating with severe, active disease. Using a combination of molecular, imaging and proteomic approaches, we show that SLE neutrophils -activated by disease immunocomplexes- release IL-33-decorated NETs that stimulate robust IFNα synthesis by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) in an IL-33-receptor (ST2L)-dependent manner. IL33-silenced neutrophil-like cells cultured under lupus-inducing conditions generated NETs with diminished interferogenic effect. Importantly, SLE patient-derived NETs are enriched in mature bioactive isoforms of IL-33 processed by the neutrophil proteases elastase and cathepsin G. Pharmacological inhibition of these proteases neutralized IL-33-dependent IFNα production elicited by NETs. These data demonstrate a novel role for cleaved IL-33 alarmin decorating NETs in human SLE, linking neutrophil activation, type I IFN production and end-organ inflammation with skin pathology mirroring that observed in the kidneys.
Spiros Georgakis, Katerina Gkirtzimanaki, Garyfalia Papadaki, Hariklia Gakiopoulou, Elias Drakos, Maija-Leena Eloranta, Manousos Makridakis, Georgia Kontostathi, Jerome Zoidakis, Eirini Baira, Lars Rönnblom, Dimitrios T. Boumpas, Prodromos Sidiropoulos, Panayotis Verginis, George Bertsias
Ozone is a highly reactive environmental pollutant with well-recognized adverse effects on lung health. Bronchial hyperactivity (BHR) is one consequence of ozone exposure, particularly for individuals with underlying lung disease. Our data demonstrate ozone induces substantial ATP release from human airway epithelia in vitro and into the airways of mice in vivo, and that ATP is a potent inducer of mast cell degranulation and BHR, acting through P2X7 receptors on mast cells. Both mast cell-deficient and P2X7 receptor-deficient (P2XT-/-) mice demonstrate markedly attenuated BHR to ozone. Re-constitution of mast cell-deficient mice with WT mast cells and P2X7-/- mast cells restores ozone-induced BHR. Despite equal numbers of mast cells in reconstituted mouse lungs, mice reconstituted with P2X7-/- mast cells demonstrated significantly less robust BHR than mice reconstituted with WT mast cells. These results support a model where P2X7 on both mast cells and other cell types contribute to ozone-induce BHR.
Xiaomei Kong, William C. Bennett, Corey M. Jania, Kelly D. Chason, Zachary German, Jennifer Adouli, Samuel D. Budney, Brandon T. Oby, Catharina van Heusden, Eduardo R. Lazarowski, Ilona Jaspers, Scott H. Randell, Barry A. Hedgespeth, Glenn Cruse, Xiaoyang Hua, Stephen A. Schworer, Gregory J. Smith, Samir N. P. Kelada, Stephen L. Tilley
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor cetuximab is the only FDA-approved oncogene-targeting therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Despite variable treatment response, no biomarkers exist to stratify patients for cetuximab therapy in HNSCC. Here, we applied unbiased hierarchical clustering to reverse phase protein array (RPPA) molecular profiles from patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumors, which revealed two PDX clusters defined by protein networks associated with EGFR inhibitor resistance. In vivo validation revealed unbiased clustering to classify PDX tumors with 88% accuracy. Next, a support vector machine (SVM) classifier algorithm identified a minimalist biomarker signature consisting of eight proteins – Caveolin-1, Sox-2, AXL, STING, Brd4, Claudin-7, Connexin-43, and Fibronectin – whose expression strongly predicted cetuximab response in PDXs using either protein (AUC=0.95) or mRNA (AUC=0.97). A combination of Caveolin-1 and Sox-2 protein levels was sufficient to maintain high predictive accuracy, which we validated in HNSCC patient tumor samples with known clinical response to cetuximab. These results support further investigation into the combined use of Caveolin-1 and Sox-2 as predictive biomarkers for cetuximab response in the clinic.
Mehdi Bouhaddou, Rex H. Lee, Hua Li, Neil E. Bhola, Rachel A. O'Keefe, Mohammad Naser, Tian Ran Zhu, Kelechi Nwachuku, Umamaheswar Duvvuri, Adam B. Olshen, Ritu Roy, Aaron Hechmer, Jennifer Bolen, Stephen B. Keysar, Antonio Jimeno, Gordon B. Mills, Scott Vandenberg, Danielle L. Swaney, Daniel E. Johnson, Nevan J. Krogan, Jennifer R. Grandis
BACKGROUND. Neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage has wide-ranging impacts on health outcomes, particularly in older adults. Although indices of disadvantage are a widely used tool, research conducted to date has not codified a set of standard variables that should be included in these indices for the US. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of literature describing the construction of geographic indices of neighborhood-level disadvantage and to summarize and distill the key variables included in these indices. We also sought to demonstrate the utility of these indices for understanding neighborhood-level disadvantage in older adults. METHODS. We conducted a systematic review of existing indices in the English-language literature. RESULTS. We identified 6,021 articles, of which 130 met final study inclusion criteria. Our review identified seven core domains that existed across the surveyed papers, including: income, education, housing, employment, neighborhood structure, demographic makeup and health. While not universally present, the most prevalent variables included in these indices were education and employment. CONCLUSION. Identifying these seven core domains is a key finding of this review. These domains should be considered for inclusion in future neighborhood-level disadvantage indices with at least 5 domains recommended to improve the strength of the resulting index. Targeting specific domains offers a path forward towards the construction of a new US-specific index of neighborhood disadvantage with health policy applications. Such an index will be especially useful for characterizing the lifecourse impact of lived disadvantage in older adults.
William R. Buckingham, Lauren Bishop, Christopher Hooper-Lane, Brittany Anderson, Jessica Wolfson, Stephanie V. Shelton, Amy J.H. Kind
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