Issue published January 3, 2023 Previous issue | Next issue
- Volume 133, Issue 1
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On the cover: ER quality-control mechanisms in the regulation of organellar organization in β cells
Shrestha et al. report intimate crosstalk among three endoplasmic reticulum (ER) quality-control mechanisms in the regulation of β cell function and organellar architecture in health and disease. The cover image shows a 3D rendering of a pancreatic β cell lacking autophagy, displaying ER (gray), mitochondria (purple), golgi (yellow), and insulin granules (blue). Image credit: Sebastian Spaar.
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Review Series
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Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive tumor in the central nervous system and contains a highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Tumor-associated macrophages and microglia (TAMs) are a dominant population of immune cells in the GBM TME that contribute to most GBM hallmarks, including immunosuppression. The understanding of TAMs in GBM has been limited by the lack of powerful tools to characterize them. However, recent progress on single-cell technologies offers an opportunity to precisely characterize TAMs at the single-cell level and identify new TAM subpopulations with specific tumor-modulatory functions in GBM. In this Review, we discuss TAM heterogeneity and plasticity in the TME and summarize current TAM-targeted therapeutic potential in GBM. We anticipate that the use of single-cell technologies followed by functional studies will accelerate the development of novel and effective TAM-targeted therapeutics for GBM patients.
Authors
Fatima Khan, Lizhi Pang, Madeline Dunterman, Maciej S. Lesniak, Amy B. Heimberger, Peiwen Chen
×Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a primary tumor of the brain defined by its uniform lethality and resistance to conventional therapies. There have been considerable efforts to untangle the metabolic underpinnings of this disease to find novel therapeutic avenues for treatment. An emerging focus in this field is fatty acid (FA) metabolism, which is critical for numerous diverse biological processes involved in GBM pathogenesis. These processes can be classified into four broad fates: anabolism, catabolism, regulation of ferroptosis, and the generation of signaling molecules. Each fate provides a unique perspective by which we can inspect GBM biology and gives us a road map to understanding this complicated field. This Review discusses the basic, translational, and clinical insights into each of these fates to provide a contemporary understanding of FA biology in GBM. It is clear, based on the literature, that there are far more questions than answers in the field of FA metabolism in GBM, and substantial efforts should be made to untangle these complex processes in this intractable disease.
Authors
Jason Miska, Navdeep S. Chandel
×Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most belligerent and frequent brain tumor in adults. Research over the past two decades has provided increased knowledge of the genomic and molecular landscape of GBM and highlighted the presence of a high degree of inter- and intratumor heterogeneity within the neoplastic compartment. It is now appreciated that GBMs are composed of multiple distinct and impressionable neoplastic and non-neoplastic cell types that form the unique brain tumor microenvironment (TME). Non-neoplastic cells in the TME form reciprocal interactions with neoplastic cells to promote tumor growth and invasion, and together they influence the tumor response to standard-of-care therapies as well as emerging immunotherapies. One of the most prevalent non-neoplastic cell types in the GBM TME are myeloid cells, the most abundant of which are of hematopoietic origin, including monocytes/monocyte-derived macrophages. Less abundant, although still a notable presence, are neutrophils of hematopoietic origin and intrinsic brain-resident microglia. In this Review we focus on neutrophils and monocytes that infiltrate tumors from the blood circulation, their heterogeneity, and their interactions with neoplastic cells and other non-neoplastic cells in the TME. We conclude with an overview of challenges in targeting these cells and discuss avenues for therapeutic exploitation to improve the dismal outcomes of patients with GBM.
Authors
Dinorah Friedmann-Morvinski, Dolores Hambardzumyan
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Most proteins destined for the extracellular space or various intracellular compartments must traverse the intracellular secretory pathway. The first step is the recruitment and transport of cargoes from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen to the Golgi apparatus by coat protein complex II (COPII), consisting of five core proteins. Additional ER transmembrane proteins that aid cargo recruitment are referred to as cargo receptors. Gene duplication events have resulted in multiple COPII paralogs present in the mammalian genome. Here, we review the functions of each COPII protein, human disorders associated with each paralog, and evidence for functional conservation between paralogs. We also provide a summary of current knowledge regarding two prototypical cargo receptors in mammals, LMAN1 and SURF4, and their roles in human health and disease.
Authors
Vi T. Tang, David Ginsburg
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Review
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Abstract
Infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and vaccinations targeting the spike protein (S) offer protective immunity against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This immunity may further be shaped by cross-reactivity with common cold coronaviruses. Mutations arising in S that are associated with altered intrinsic virus properties and immune escape result in the continued circulation of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Potentially, vaccine updates will be required to protect against future variants of concern, as for influenza. To offer potent protection against future variants, these second-generation vaccines may need to redirect immunity to epitopes associated with immune escape and not merely boost immunity toward conserved domains in preimmune individuals. For influenza, efficacy of repeated vaccination is hampered by original antigenic sin, an attribute of immune memory that leads to greater induction of antibodies specific to the first-encountered variant of an immunogen compared with subsequent variants. In this Review, recent findings on original antigenic sin are discussed in the context of SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Unanswered questions and future directions are highlighted, with an emphasis on the impact on disease outcome and vaccine design.
Authors
Muriel Aguilar-Bretones, Ron A.M. Fouchier, Marion P.G. Koopmans, Gijsbert P. van Nierop
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Commentaries
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Abstract
More than twenty years ago, non–HBV-specific CD8+ T cells were found to contribute to liver immunopathology in chronic HBV infection, while HBV-specific CD8+ T cells were noted to contribute to viral control. The role of HBV-specific CD8+ T cells in viral control and the mechanisms of their failure in persistent infection have been intensively studied during the last two decades, but the exact nature of nonspecific bystander CD8+ T cells that contribute to immunopathology has remained elusive. In this issue of the JCI, Nkongolo et al. report on their application of two methodological advances, liver sampling by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq), to define a liver-resident CD8+ T cell population that was not virus specific but associated with liver damage, thus representing hepatotoxic bystander CD8+ T cells.
Authors
Hendrik Luxenburger, Christoph Neumann-Haefelin
×Abstract
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare pediatric inflammatory disorder characterized by immune cell hyperactivation, cytokine storm, and the production of autoantibodies. The mechanisms underlying such immune dysregulation still need to be unraveled. In this issue of the JCI, Benamar et al. demonstrated the critical role of the Notch receptor 1/CD22 (Notch1/CD22) axis in Tregs, which, when activated, impairs Treg functions and promotes inflammation. They showed that the Notch1/CD22 axis contributed to dysregulated immune responses in MIS-C. These findings may have implications for MIS-C and many other inflammatory diseases.
Authors
Magali Noval Rivas, Moshe Arditi
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Type I regulatory T (Tr1) cells are a population of regulatory CD4+ T cells implicated in the suppression of pathological immune responses across multiple diseases, but a unifying transcriptional signature of Tr1 identity across disease contexts has not been characterized. In this issue of the JCI, Edward, Ng, and colleagues identified a conserved transcriptional signature that distinguished Tr1 (IL-10+IFN-γ+) from Th1 (IL-10–IFN-γ+) cells in human and mouse malaria. This signature implicated genes encoding inhibitory receptors — including CTLA-4 and LAG-3 — and transcription factors — including cMAF. The authors identified coinhibitory receptor expression that distinguished Tr1 cells from other CD4+ T cell subsets. Furthermore, cMAF — and, to a lesser extent, BLIMP-1 — promoted IL-10 production in human CD4+ T cells. BLIMP-1 also played a role in supporting the expression of inhibitory receptors. These findings describe a few key features that seem to be conserved by Tr1 cells across multiple species, disease contexts, and marker definitions.
Authors
Jason Nideffer, Prasanna Jagannathan
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Research Letter
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Abstract
Authors
Peter Manza, Ehsan Shokri-Kojori, Şükrü Barış Demiral, Rui Zhang, Evan Dennis, Allison Johnson, Leah Vines, Diana Sotelo, Dardo Tomasi, Gene-Jack Wang, Nora D. Volkow
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Research Articles
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Abstract
Control of intracellular parasites responsible for malaria requires host IFN-γ+T-bet+CD4+ T cells (Th1 cells) with IL-10 produced by Th1 cells to mitigate the pathology induced by this inflammatory response. However, these IL-10–producing Th1 (induced type I regulatory [Tr1]) cells can also promote parasite persistence or impair immunity to reinfection or vaccination. Here, we identified molecular and phenotypic signatures that distinguished IL-10–Th1 cells from IL-10+Tr1 cells in Plasmodium falciparum–infected people who participated in controlled human malaria infection studies, as well as C57BL/6 mice with experimental malaria caused by P. berghei ANKA. We also identified a conserved Tr1 cell molecular signature shared between patients with malaria, dengue, and graft-versus-host disease. Genetic manipulation of primary human CD4+ T cells showed that the transcription factor cMAF played an important role in the induction of IL-10, while BLIMP-1 promoted the development of human CD4+ T cells expressing multiple coinhibitory receptors. We also describe heterogeneity of Tr1 cell coinhibitory receptor expression that has implications for targeting these molecules for clinical advantage during infection. Overall, this work provides insights into CD4+ T cell development during malaria that offer opportunities for creation of strategies to modulate CD4+ T cell functions and improve antiparasitic immunity.
Authors
Chelsea L. Edwards, Susanna S. Ng, Fabian de Labastida Rivera, Dillon Corvino, Jessica A. Engel, Marcela Montes de Oca, Luzia Bukali, Teija C.M. Frame, Patrick T. Bunn, Shashi Bhushan Chauhan, Siddharth Sankar Singh, Yulin Wang, Jinrui Na, Fiona H. Amante, Jessica R. Loughland, Megan S.F. Soon, Nicola Waddell, Pamela Mukhopadhay, Lambros T. Koufariotis, Rebecca L. Johnston, Jason S. Lee, Rachel Kuns, Ping Zhang, Michelle J. Boyle, Geoffrey R. Hill, James S. McCarthy, Rajiv Kumar, Christian R. Engwerda
×Molecular identification of bulbospinal ON neurons by GPER, which drives pain and morphine tolerance
Abstract
The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) exerts bidirectional descending modulation of pain attributable to the activity of electrophysiologically identified pronociceptive ON and antinociceptive OFF neurons. Here, we report that GABAergic ON neurons specifically express G protein–coupled estrogen receptor (GPER). GPER+ neurons exhibited characteristic ON-like responses upon peripheral nociceptive stimulation. Optogenetic activation of GPER+ neurons facilitated, but their ablation abrogated, pain. Furthermore, activation of GPER caused depolarization of ON cells, potentiated pain, and ameliorated morphine analgesia through desensitizing μ-type opioid receptor–mediated (MOR-mediated) activation of potassium currents. In contrast, genetic ablation or pharmacological blockade of GPER attenuated pain, enhanced morphine analgesia, and delayed the development of morphine tolerance in diverse preclinical pain models. Our data strongly indicate that GPER is a marker for GABAergic ON cells and illuminate the mechanisms underlying hormonal regulation of pain and analgesia, thus highlighting GPER as a promising target for the treatment of pain and opioid tolerance.
Authors
Yingfu Jiao, Po Gao, Li Dong, Xiaowei Ding, Youqiang Meng, Jiahong Qian, Ting Gao, Ruoxi Wang, Tao Jiang, Yunchun Zhang, Dexu Kong, Yi Wu, Sihan Chen, Saihong Xu, Dan Tang, Ping Luo, Meimei Wu, Li Meng, Daxiang Wen, Changhao Wu, Guohua Zhang, Xueyin Shi, Weifeng Yu, Weifang Rong
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Signaling circuits crucial to systemic physiology are widespread, yet uncovering their molecular underpinnings remains a barrier to understanding the etiology of many metabolic disorders. Here, we identified a copper-linked signaling circuit activated by disruption of mitochondrial function in the murine liver or heart that resulted in atrophy of the spleen and thymus and caused a peripheral white blood cell deficiency. We demonstrated that the leukopenia was caused by α-fetoprotein, which required copper and the cell surface receptor CCR5 to promote white blood cell death. We further showed that α-fetoprotein expression was upregulated in several cell types upon inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation. Collectively, our data argue that α-fetoprotein may be secreted by bioenergetically stressed tissue to suppress the immune system, an effect that may explain the recurrent or chronic infections that are observed in a subset of mitochondrial diseases or in other disorders with secondary mitochondrial dysfunction.
Authors
Kimberly A. Jett, Zakery N. Baker, Amzad Hossain, Aren Boulet, Paul A. Cobine, Sagnika Ghosh, Philip Ng, Orhan Yilmaz, Kris Barreto, John DeCoteau, Karen Mochoruk, George N. Ioannou, Christopher Savard, Sai Yuan, Osama H.M.H. Abdalla, Christopher Lowden, Byung-Eun Kim, Hai-Ying Mary Cheng, Brendan J. Battersby, Vishal M. Gohil, Scot C. Leary
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Understanding the regulatory mechanisms of PD-L1 expression in tumors provides key clues for improving immune checkpoint blockade efficacy or developing novel oncoimmunotherapy. Here, we showed that the FDA-approved sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor canagliflozin dramatically suppressed PD-L1 expression and enhanced T cell–mediated cytotoxicity. Mechanistic study revealed that SGLT2 colocalized with PD-L1 at the plasma membrane and recycling endosomes and thereby prevented PD-L1 from proteasome-mediated degradation. Canagliflozin disturbed the physical interaction between SGLT2 and PD-L1 and subsequently allowed the recognition of PD-L1 by Cullin3SPOP E3 ligase, which triggered the ubiquitination and proteasome-mediated degradation of PD-L1. In mouse models and humanized immune-transformation models, either canagliflozin treatment or SGLT2 silencing significantly reduced PD-L1 expression and limited tumor progression — to a level equal to the PD-1 mAb — which was correlated with an increase in the activity of antitumor cytotoxic T cells. Notably, prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival curves were observed in the group of PD-1 mAb–treated patients with non–small cell lung cancer with high expression of SGLT2. Therefore, our study identifies a regulator of cell surface PD-L1, provides a ready-to-use small-molecule drug for PD-L1 degradation, and highlights a potential therapeutic target to overcome immune evasion by tumor cells.
Authors
Ling Ding, Xi Chen, Wenxin Zhang, Xiaoyang Dai, Hongjie Guo, Xiaohui Pan, Yanjun Xu, Jianguo Feng, Meng Yuan, Xiaomeng Gao, Jian Wang, Xiaqing Xu, Sicheng Li, Honghai Wu, Ji Cao, Qiaojun He, Bo Yang
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Accumulation of activated immune cells results in nonspecific hepatocyte killing in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis. This study aims to understand the underlying mechanisms in humans and to define whether these are driven by widespread activation or a subpopulation of immune cells. We enrolled CHB patients with active liver damage to receive antiviral therapy and performed longitudinal liver sampling using fine-needle aspiration to investigate mechanisms of CHB pathogenesis in the human liver. Single-cell sequencing of total liver cells revealed a distinct liver-resident, polyclonal CD8+ T cell population that was enriched at baseline and displayed a highly activated immune signature during liver damage. Cytokine combinations, identified by in silico prediction of ligand-receptor interaction, induced the activated phenotype in healthy liver CD8+ T cells, resulting in nonspecific Fas ligand–mediated killing of target cells. These results define a CD8+ T cell population in the human liver that can drive pathogenesis and a key pathway involved in their function in CHB patients.
Authors
Shirin Nkongolo, Deeqa Mahamed, Adrian Kuipery, Juan D. Sanchez Vasquez, Samuel C. Kim, Aman Mehrotra, Anjali Patel, Christine Hu, Ian McGilvray, Jordan J. Feld, Scott Fung, Diana Chen, Jeffrey J. Wallin, Anuj Gaggar, Harry L.A. Janssen, Adam J. Gehring
×Abstract
Background Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet syndrome) is a potentially fatal multiorgan inflammatory disease characterized by fever, leukocytosis, and a rash with a neutrophilic infiltrate. The disease pathophysiology remains elusive, and current dogma suggests that Sweet syndrome is a process of reactivity to an unknown antigen. Corticosteroids and steroid-sparing agents remain frontline therapies, but refractory cases pose a clinical challenge.Methods A 51-year-old woman with multiorgan Sweet syndrome developed serious corticosteroid-related side effects and was refractory to steroid-sparing agents. Blood counts, liver enzymes, and skin histopathology supported the diagnosis. Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptomic profiling, and cellular assays of the patient’s skin and neutrophils were performed.Results We identified elevated IL-1 signaling in lesional Sweet syndrome skin caused by a PIK3R1 gain-of-function mutation specifically found in neutrophils. This mutation increased neutrophil migration toward IL-1β and neutrophil respiratory burst. Targeted treatment of the patient with an IL-1 receptor 1 antagonist resulted in a dramatic therapeutic response and enabled a tapering off of corticosteroids.Conclusion Dysregulated PI3K/AKT signaling is the first signaling pathway linked to Sweet syndrome and suggests that this syndrome may be caused by acquired mutations that modulate neutrophil function. Moreover, integration of molecular data across multiple levels identified a distinct subtype within a heterogeneous disease that resulted in a rational and successful clinical intervention. Future patients will benefit from efforts to identify potential mutations. The ability to directly interrogate the diseased skin allows this method to be generalizable to other inflammatory diseases and demonstrates a potential personalized medicine approach for patients with clinically challenging disease.Funding Sources Berstein Foundation, NIH, Veterans Affairs (VA) Administration, Moseley Foundation, and H.T. Leung Foundation.
Authors
Shreya Bhattacharya, Sayon Basu, Emily Sheng, Christina Murphy, Jenny Wei, Anna E. Kersh, Caroline A. Nelson, Joshua S. Bryer, Hovik A. Ashchyan, Katherine Steele, Amy Forrestel, John T. Seykora, Robert G. Micheletti, William D. James, Misha Rosenbach, Thomas H. Leung
×Abstract
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) evolves in some pediatric patients following acute infection with SARS-CoV-2 by hitherto unknown mechanisms. Whereas acute-COVID-19 severity and outcomes were previously correlated with Notch4 expression on Tregs, here, we show that Tregs in MIS-C were destabilized through a Notch1-dependent mechanism. Genetic analysis revealed that patients with MIS-C had enrichment of rare deleterious variants affecting inflammation and autoimmunity pathways, including dominant-negative mutations in the Notch1 regulators NUMB and NUMBL leading to Notch1 upregulation. Notch1 signaling in Tregs induced CD22, leading to their destabilization in a mTORC1-dependent manner and to the promotion of systemic inflammation. These results identify a Notch1/CD22 signaling axis that disrupts Treg function in MIS-C and point to distinct immune checkpoints controlled by individual Treg Notch receptors that shape the inflammatory outcome in SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Authors
Mehdi Benamar, Qian Chen, Janet Chou, Amélie M. Julé, Rafik Boudra, Paola Contini, Elena Crestani, Peggy S. Lai, Muyun Wang, Jason Fong, Shira Rockwitz, Pui Lee, Tsz Man Fion Chan, Ekin Zeynep Altun, Eda Kepenekli, Elif Karakoc-Aydiner, Ahmet Ozen, Perran Boran, Fatih Aygun, Pinar Onal, Ayse Ayzit Kilinc Sakalli, Haluk Cokugras, Metin Yusuf Gelmez, Fatma Betul Oktelik, Esin Aktas Cetin, Yuelin Zhong, Maria Lucia Taylor, Katherine Irby, Natasha B. Halasa, Elizabeth H. Mack, Overcoming COVID-19 Investigators, Sara Signa, Ignazia Prigione, Marco Gattorno, Nicola Cotugno, Donato Amodio, Raif S. Geha, Mary Beth Son, Jane Newburger, Pankaj B. Agrawal, Stefano Volpi, Paolo Palma, Ayca Kiykim, Adrienne G. Randolph, Gunnur Deniz, Safa Baris, Raffaele De Palma, Klaus Schmitz-Abe, Louis-Marie Charbonnier, Lauren A. Henderson, Talal A. Chatila
×Abstract
Three principal ER quality-control mechanisms, namely, the unfolded protein response, ER-associated degradation (ERAD), and ER-phagy are each important for the maintenance of ER homeostasis, yet how they are integrated to regulate ER homeostasis and organellar architecture in vivo is largely unclear. Here we report intricate crosstalk among the 3 pathways, centered around the SEL1L-HRD1 protein complex of ERAD, in the regulation of organellar organization in β cells. SEL1L-HRD1 ERAD deficiency in β cells triggers activation of autophagy, at least in part, via IRE1α (an endogenous ERAD substrate). In the absence of functional SEL1L-HRD1 ERAD, proinsulin is retained in the ER as high molecular weight conformers, which are subsequently cleared via ER-phagy. A combined loss of both SEL1L and autophagy in β cells leads to diabetes in mice shortly after weaning, with premature death by approximately 11 weeks of age, associated with marked ER retention of proinsulin and β cell loss. Using focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy powered by deep-learning automated image segmentation and 3D reconstruction, our data demonstrate a profound organellar restructuring with a massive expansion of ER volume and network in β cells lacking both SEL1L and autophagy. These data reveal at an unprecedented detail the intimate crosstalk among the 3 ER quality-control mechanisms in the dynamic regulation of organellar architecture and β cell function.
Authors
Neha Shrestha, Mauricio Torres, Jason Zhang, You Lu, Leena Haataja, Rachel B. Reinert, Jeffrey Knupp, Yu-Jie Chen, Allen H. Hunter, Gunes Parlakgul, Ana Paula Arruda, Billy Tsai, Peter Arvan, Ling Qi
Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)