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Abstract
Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers are a major correlate of protection for influenza-related illness. The influenza virus hemagglutinin possesses antigenic sites that are the targets of HI active antibodies. Here, a panel of mutant viruses each lacking a classically defined antigenic site was created to compare the species-specific immunodominance of the antigenic sites in a clinically relevant hemagglutinin. HI active antibodies of antisera from influenza virus–infected mice targeted sites Sb and Ca2. HI active antibodies of guinea pigs were not directed against any specific antigenic site, although trends were observed toward Sb, Ca2, and Sa. HI titers of antisera from infected ferrets were significantly affected by site Sa. HI active antibodies of adult humans followed yet another immunodominance pattern, in which sites Sb and Sa were immunodominant. When comparing the HI profiles among different species by antigenic cartography, animals and humans grouped separately. This study provides characterizations of the antibody-mediated immune responses against the head domain of a recent H1 hemagglutinin in animals and humans.
Authors
Sean T. H. Liu, Mohammad Amin Behzadi, Weina Sun, Alec W. Freyn, Wen-Chun Liu, Felix Broecker, Randy A. Albrecht, Nicole M. Bouvier, Viviana Simon, Raffael Nachbagauer, Florian Krammer, Peter Palese
Abstract
The current inactivated influenza vaccines rely on the induction of neutralizing antibodies against the head domain of the viral hemagglutinin (HA). The HA head contains five immunodominant antigenic sites, all of which are subject to antigenic drift, thereby limiting vaccine efficacy. Bypassing the immune system’s tendency to focus on the most variable regions of the HA may be a step toward more broadly protective influenza vaccines. However, this requires a better understanding of the biological meaning of immunodominance, and of the hierarchy between different antigenic sites. In this issue of the JCI, Liu et al. determined the immunodominance of the five antigenic sites of the HA head in experimentally infected mice, guinea pigs, and ferrets. All three species exhibited different preferences for the five sites of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain. Moreover, human subjects exhibited yet a different pattern of immunodominance following immunization with the standard inactivated influenza vaccine. Together, these results have important implications for influenza vaccine design and interpretation of animal models.
Authors
Kristien Van Reeth
Abstract
In the vascular wall, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) produces NO to regulate peripheral vascular resistance, tissue perfusion, and blood pressure. In resistance arteries, eNOS couples with α-globin and, through chemical reactions, modulates NO diffusion needed for vascular smooth muscle relaxation. While α-globin protein alone is known to be unstable, the mechanisms that enable α-globin protein expression remain elusive. Here, Lechauve et al. report that arterial endothelium expresses α hemoglobin–stabilizing protein, which acts as a critical chaperone protein for α-globin expression and vascular function.
Authors
Adam C. Straub, Mark T. Gladwin
Abstract
Atypical antipsychotics are highly effective antischizophrenic medications but their clinical utility is limited by adverse metabolic sequelae. We investigated whether upregulation of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) underlies the insulin resistance that develops during treatment with the most commonly prescribed atypical antipsychotic, olanzapine. Olanzapine monotherapy increased BMI and circulating insulin, triglyceride, and MIF concentrations in drug-naive schizophrenic patients with normal MIF expression, but not in genotypic low MIF expressers. Olanzapine administration to mice increased their food intake and hypothalamic MIF expression, which led to activation of the appetite-related AMP-activated protein kinase and Agouti-related protein pathway. Olanzapine also upregulated MIF expression in adipose tissue, which reduced lipolysis and increased lipogenic pathways. Increased plasma lipid concentrations were associated with abnormal fat deposition in liver and skeletal muscle, which are important determinants of insulin resistance. Global MIF-gene deletion protected mice from olanzapine-induced insulin resistance, as did intracerebroventricular injection of neutralizing anti–MIF antibody, supporting the role of increased hypothalamic MIF expression in metabolic dysfunction. These findings uphold the potential pharmacogenomic value of MIF genotype determination and suggest that MIF may be a tractable target for reducing the metabolic side effects of atypical antipsychotic therapy.
Authors
Donghong Cui, Yanmin Peng, Chengfang Zhang, Zezhi Li, Yousong Su, Yadan Qi, Mengjuan Xing, Jia Li, Grace E. Kim, Kevin N. Su, Jinjie Xu, Meiti Wang, Wenhua Ding, Marta Piecychna, Lin Leng, Michiru Hirasawa, Kaida Jiang, Lawrence Young, Yifeng Xu, Dake Qi, Richard Bucala
Abstract
Preeclampsia remains a clinical challenge due to its poorly understood pathogenesis. A prevailing notion is that increased placental production of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) causes the maternal syndrome by inhibiting proangiogenic placental growth factor (PlGF) and VEGF. However, the significance of PlGF suppression in preeclampsia is uncertain. To test whether preeclampsia results from the imbalance of angiogenic factors reflected by an abnormal sFlt-1/PlGF ratio, we studied PlGF KO (Pgf–/–) mice and noted that the mice did not develop signs or sequelae of preeclampsia despite a marked elevation in circulating sFLT-1. Notably, PlGF KO mice had morphologically distinct placentas, showing an accumulation of junctional zone glycogen. We next considered the role of placental PlGF in an established model of preeclampsia (pregnant catechol-O-methyltransferase–deficient [COMT-deficient] mice) by generating mice with deletions in both the Pgf and Comt genes. Deletion of placental PlGF in the context of COMT loss resulted in a reduction in maternal blood pressure and increased placental glycogen, indicating that loss of PlGF might be protective against the development of preeclampsia. These results identify a role for PlGF in placental development and support a complex model for the pathogenesis of preeclampsia beyond an angiogenic factor imbalance.
Authors
Jacqueline G. Parchem, Keizo Kanasaki, Megumi Kanasaki, Hikaru Sugimoto, Liang Xie, Yuki Hamano, Soo Bong Lee, Vincent H. Gattone, Samuel Parry, Jerome F. Strauss, Vesna D. Garovic, Thomas F. McElrath, Karen H. Lu, Baha M. Sibai, Valerie S. LeBleu, Peter Carmeliet, Raghu Kalluri
Abstract
Emerging evidence indicates that angiopoietin-2 (Angpt2), a well-recognized vascular destabilizing factor, is a biomarker of poor outcome in ischemic heart disease. However, its precise role in postischemic cardiovascular remodeling is poorly understood. Here, we show that Angpt2 plays multifaceted roles in the exacerbation of cardiac hypoxia and inflammation after myocardial ischemia. Angpt2 was highly expressed in endothelial cells at the infarct border zone after myocardial infarction (MI) or ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice. In the acute phase of MI, endothelial-derived Angpt2 antagonized Angpt1/Tie2 signaling, which was greatly involved in pericyte detachment, vascular leakage, increased adhesion molecular expression, degradation of the glycocalyx and extracellular matrix, and enhanced neutrophil infiltration and hypoxia in the infarct border area. In the chronic remodeling phase after MI, endothelial- and macrophage-derived Angpt2 continuously promoted abnormal vascular remodeling and proinflammatory macrophage polarization through integrin α5β1 signaling, worsening cardiac hypoxia and inflammation. Accordingly, inhibition of Angpt2 either by gene deletion or using an anti-Angpt2 blocking antibody substantially alleviated these pathological findings and ameliorated postischemic cardiovascular remodeling. Blockade of Angpt2 thus has potential as a therapeutic option for ischemic heart failure.
Authors
Seung-Jun Lee, Choong-kun Lee, Seok Kang, Intae Park, Yoo Hyung Kim, Seo Ki Kim, Seon Pyo Hong, Hosung Bae, Yulong He, Yoshiaki Kubota, Gou Young Koh
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is particularly aggressive, with enhanced incidence of tumor relapse, resistance to chemotherapy, and metastases. As the mechanistic basis for this aggressive phenotype is unclear, treatment options are limited. Here, we showed an increased population of myeloid-derived immunosuppressor cells (MDSCs) in TNBC patients compared with non-TNBC patients. We found that high levels of the transcription factor ΔNp63 correlate with an increased number of MDSCs in basal TNBC patients, and that ΔNp63 promotes tumor growth, progression, and metastasis in human and mouse TNBC cells. Furthermore, we showed that MDSC recruitment to the primary tumor and metastatic sites occurs via direct ΔNp63-dependent activation of the chemokines CXCL2 and CCL22. CXCR2/CCR4 inhibitors reduced MDSC recruitment, angiogenesis, and metastasis, highlighting a novel treatment option for this subset of TNBC patients. Finally, we found that MDSCs secrete prometastatic factors such as MMP9 and chitinase 3–like 1 to promote TNBC cancer stem cell function, thereby identifying a nonimmunologic role for MDSCs in promoting TNBC progression. These findings identify a unique crosstalk between ΔNp63+ TNBC cells and MDSCs that promotes tumor progression and metastasis, which could be exploited in future combined immunotherapy/chemotherapy strategies for TNBC patients.
Authors
Sushil Kumar, David W. Wilkes, Nina Samuel, Mario Andres Blanco, Anupma Nayak, Kevin Alicea-Torres, Christian Gluck, Satrajit Sinha, Dmitry Gabrilovich, Rumela Chakrabarti
Abstract
Lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KRS) functions canonically in cytosolic translational processes. However, KRS is highly expressed in colon cancer, and localizes to distinct cellular compartments upon phosphorylations (i.e., the plasma membranes after T52 phosphorylation and the nucleus after S207 phosphorylation), leading to probably alternative noncanonical functions. It is unknown how other subcellular KRSs crosstalk with environmental cues during cancer progression. Here, we demonstrate that the KRS-dependent metastatic behavior of colon cancer spheroids within 3D gels requires communication between cellular molecules and extracellular soluble factors and neighboring cells. Membranous KRS and nuclear KRS were found to participate in invasive cell dissemination of colon cancer spheroids in 3D gels. Cancer spheroids secreted GAS6 via a KRS-dependent mechanism and caused the M2 polarization of macrophages, which activated the neighboring cells via secretion of FGF2/GROα/M-CSF to promote cancer dissemination under environmental remodeling via fibroblast-mediated laminin production. Analyses of tissues from clinical colon cancer patients and Krs–/+ animal models for cancer metastasis supported the roles of KRS, GAS6, and M2 macrophages in KRS-dependent positive feedback between tumors and environmental factors. Altogether, KRS in colon cancer cells remodels the microenvironment to promote metastasis, which can thus be therapeutically targeted at these bidirectional KRS-dependent communications of cancer spheroids with environmental cues.
Authors
Seo Hee Nam, Doyeun Kim, Doohyung Lee, Hye-Mi Lee, Dae-Geun Song, Jae Woo Jung, Ji Eon Kim, Hye-Jin Kim, Nam Hoon Kwon, Eun-Kyeong Jo, Sunghoon Kim, Jung Weon Lee
Abstract
Arteriolar endothelial cell–expressed (EC-expressed) α-globin binds endothelial NOS (eNOS) and degrades its enzymatic product, NO, via dioxygenation, thereby lessening the vasodilatory effects of NO on nearby vascular smooth muscle. Although this reaction potentially affects vascular physiology, the mechanisms that regulate α-globin expression and dioxygenase activity in ECs are unknown. Without β-globin, α-globin is unstable and cytotoxic, particularly in its oxidized form, which is generated by dioxygenation and recycled via endogenous reductases. We show that the molecular chaperone α-hemoglobin–stabilizing protein (AHSP) promotes arteriolar α-globin expression in vivo and facilitates its reduction by eNOS. In Ahsp−/− mice, EC α-globin was decreased by 70%. Ahsp−/− and Hba1−/− mice exhibited similar evidence of increased vascular NO signaling, including arteriolar dilation, blunted α1-adrenergic vasoconstriction, and reduced blood pressure. Purified α-globin bound eNOS or AHSP, but not both together. In ECs in culture, eNOS or AHSP enhanced α-globin expression posttranscriptionally. However, only AHSP prevented oxidized α-globin precipitation in solution. Finally, eNOS reduced AHSP-bound α-globin approximately 6-fold faster than did the major erythrocyte hemoglobin reductases (cytochrome B5 reductase plus cytochrome B5). Our data support a model whereby redox-sensitive shuttling of EC α-globin between AHSP and eNOS regulates EC NO degradation and vascular tone.
Authors
Christophe Lechauve, Joshua T. Butcher, Abdullah Freiwan, Lauren A. Biwer, Julia M. Keith, Miranda E. Good, Hans Ackerman, Heather S. Tillman, Laurent Kiger, Brant E. Isakson, Mitchell J. Weiss
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Abstract
Mutations in CDCA7 and HELLS that respectively encode a CXXC-type zinc finger protein and a SNF2 family chromatin remodeler cause immunodeficiency, centromeric instability, facial anomalies (ICF) syndrome type 3 and 4, respectively. Here, we demonstrate that classical non-homologous end joining (C-NHEJ) proteins Ku80 and Ku70, as well as HELLS coimmunoprecipitated with CDCA7. The coimmunoprecipitation of the repair proteins was sensitive to nuclease treatment and an ICF3 mutation in CDCA7 that impairs its chromatin binding. The functional importance of these interactions was strongly suggested by the compromised C-NHEJ activity and significant delay in Ku80 accumulation at DNA damage sites in CDCA7 and HELLS deficient HEK293 cells. Consistent with the repair defect, these cells displayed increased apoptosis, abnormal chromosome segregation, aneuploidy, centrosome amplification, and significant accumulation of γH2AX signals. Although less prominent, cells mutated for the other ICF genes DNMT3B and ZBTB24 (responsible for ICF type 1 and 2, respectively) showed similar defects. Importantly, lymphoblastoid cells from ICF patients shared the same changes detected in the mutant HEK293 cells to varying degrees. Although the C-NHEJ defect alone did not cause CG hypomethylation, CDCA7 and HELLS are involved in maintaining CG methylation at centromeric and pericentromeric repeats. The defect in C-NHEJ may account for some common features of ICF cells, including centromeric instability, abnormal chromosome segregation, and apoptosis.
Authors
Motoko Unoki, Hironori Funabiki, Guillaume Velasco, Claire Francastel, Hiroyuki Sasaki
Abstract
Glioblastoma is highly enriched with macrophages, and osteopontin (OPN) expression levels correlate with glioma grade and the degree of macrophage infiltration, thus we studied whether OPN plays a crucial role in immune modulation. Quantitative PCR, immune blotting, and ELISA were used to determine OPN expression. Knockdown of OPN was achieved using complementary siRNA, shRNA and CRISPR/CAS9 techniques followed by a series of in vitro functional migration and immunological assays. OPN gene-deficient mice were used to examine the roles of non-tumor-derived OPN on survival of mice harboring intracranial gliomas. Patients with mesenchymal GBM show high OPN expression, a negative survival prognosticator. OPN is a potent chemokine for macrophages, and its blockade significantly impaired the ability of glioma cells to recruit macrophages. Integrin αVβ5 (ITGαVβ5) is highly expressed on glioblastoma-infiltrating macrophages and constitutes a major OPN receptor. OPN maintains the M2 macrophage gene signature and phenotype. Both tumor-derived OPN and host-derived OPN was critical for glioma development. OPN deficiency in either the innate immune or glioma cells demonstrated a marked reduction of M2 macrophages and elevated T cell effector activity infiltrating the glioma. Furthermore, OPN deficiency in the glioma cells sensitized them to direct CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity. OPN can be exploited as an immune modulatory target, with efficacious therapeutic results using systemically administered OPN-4-1BB bispecific aptamers, increasing median survival time by 68% (P < 0.05). OPN is an important chemokine for recruiting macrophages to glioblastoma, mediates crosstalk between tumor cells and the innate immune system, and can be exploited as a therapeutic target.
Authors
Jun Wei, Anantha Marisetty, Brett Schrand, Konrad Gabrusiewicz, Yuuri Hashimoto, Martina Ott, Zacharia Grami, Ling-Yuan Kong, Xiaoyang Ling, Hillary G. Caruso, Shouhao Zhou, Y. Alan Wang, Gregory N. Fuller, Jason T. Huse, Eli Gilboa, Nannan Kang, Xingxu Huang, Roel Verhaak, Shulin Li, Amy B. Heimberger
Abstract
Transplantation with autologous hematopoietic progenitors remains an important consolidation treatment for multiple myeloma (MM) patients and is thought to prolong disease plateau-phase by providing intensive cytoreduction. However, transplantation induces inflammation in the context of profound lymphodepletion that may cause hitherto unexpected immunological effects. We developed preclinical models of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for MM using Vk*MYC myeloma-bearing recipients and donors that were myeloma-naïve or were myeloma-experienced to simulate autologous transplantation. Surprisingly, we demonstrate broad induction of T cell-dependent myeloma control, most efficiently from memory T cells within myeloma-experienced grafts, but also through priming of naïve T cells after BMT. CD8+ T cells from mice with controlled myeloma had a distinct TCR repertoire and higher clonotype overlap relative to myeloma-free BMT recipients. Furthermore, T cell-dependent myeloma control could be adoptively transferred to secondary recipients, and was myeloma clone-specific. Interestingly, donor-derived IL-17A acted directly on myeloma cells expressing the IL-17-receptor to induce a transcriptional landscape that promoted tumor growth and immune escape. Conversely, donor IFNγ secretion and signaling was critical to protective immunity, and was profoundly augmented by CD137 agonists. These data provide new insights into the mechanisms of action of transplantation in myeloma and suggests rational approaches to improving clinical outcome.
Authors
Slavica Vuckovic, Simone A. Minnie, David Smith, Kate H. Gartlan, Thomas S. Watkins, Kate A. Markey, Pamela Mukhopadhyay, Camille Guillerey, Rachel D. Kuns, Kelly R. Locke, Antonia L. Pritchard, Peter A. Johansson, Antiopi Varelias, Ping Zhang, Nicholas D. Huntington, Nicola Waddell, Marta Chesi, John J. Miles, Mark J. Smyth, Geoffrey R. Hill
Abstract
Activating mutations in the Wnt pathway drive a variety of cancers, but the specific targets and pathways activated by Wnt ligands are not fully understood. To bridge this knowledge gap, we performed a comprehensive time-course analysis of Wnt-dependent signaling pathways in an orthotopic model of Wnt-addicted pancreatic cancer, using a PORCN inhibitor currently in clinical trials, and validated key results in additional Wnt-addicted models. The temporal analysis of the drug-perturbed transcriptome demonstrated direct and indirect regulation of greater than 3,500 Wnt activated genes (23% of the transcriptome). Regulation was both via Wnt/β-catenin, and through the modulation of protein abundance of important transcription factors including MYC via Wnt/STOP. Our study identifies a central role of Wnt /β-catenin and Wnt/STOP signaling in controlling ribosomal biogenesis, a key driver of cancer proliferation.
Authors
Babita Madan, Nathan Harmston, Gahyathiri Nallan, Alex Montoya, Peter Faull, Enrico Petretto, David M. Virshup
Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) arises from mitochondrial dysfunction under sustained imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, but the underlying mechanisms controlling mitochondrial respiration have not been entirely understood. Heterotrimeric G proteins converge signals from activated GPCRs, and modulate cell signaling pathways to maintain metabolic homeostasis. Here, we investigated the regulatory role of Gα12 on hepatic lipid metabolism and whole-body energy expenditure in mice. Fasting increased Gα12 level in mouse liver. Gα12 ablation markedly augmented fasting-induced hepatic fat accumulation. cDNA microarray analysis from Gna12 KO liver revealed that Gα12 signaling pathway regulated sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and PPARα responsible for mitochondrial respiration. Defective induction of SIRT1 upon fasting was observed in the liver of Gna12 KO mice, which was reversed by lentivirus-mediated Gα12 overexpression in hepatocytes. Mechanistically, Gα12 stabilized SIRT1 protein through transcriptional induction of USP22 via HIF-1α increase. Gα12 levels were markedly diminished in liver biopsies from NAFLD patients. Consistently, Gna12 KO mice fed high-fat diet displayed greater susceptibility to diet-induced liver steatosis and obesity due to decrease in energy expenditure. Our results demonstrate that Gα12 regulates SIRT1-dependent mitochondrial respiration through HIF-1α-dependent USP22 induction, identifying Gα12 as an upstream molecule that contributes to the regulation of mitochondrial energy expenditure.
Authors
Tae Hyun Kim, Yoon Mee Yang, Chang Yeob Han, Ja Hyun Koo, Hyunhee Oh, Su Sung Kim, Byoung Hoon You, Young Hee Choi, Tae-Sik Park, Chang Ho Lee, Hitoshi Kurose, Mazen Noureddin, Ekihiro Seki, Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan, Cheol Soo Choi, Sang Geon Kim
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October 2018
October 2018 Issue
On the cover:
Enhanced β integrin adhesion underlies thrombosis risk in JAK2-V617F–driven neoplasms
In this issue of the JCI, Edelmann et al. reveal that a JAK2-V617F mutation that is common in patients with polycythemia vera and essential thrombocytosis enhances risk of developing life-threatening thromboses by increasing β1 and β2 integrin affinity for the endothelial adhesion molecules VCAM1 and ICAM2. This aberrant interaction underlies also altered myeloid trafficking to the spleen. The cover image shows the expression of endothelial VCAM1 (white) and ICAM1 (purple) together with myeloid-derived cells (yellow) and other immune cell populations in a mouse spleen. Image credit: Lars Philipsen.
JCI This Month
October 2018 JCI This Month
JCI This Month is a digest of the research, reviews, and other features published each month.
Review Series - More
Series edited by Michael Sack
Mitochondrial dysfunction in disease
Series edited by Michael Sack
Mitochondria transform nutrients and oxygen into chemical energy that powers a multitude of cellular functions. While mitochondrial aerobic glycolysis generates the majority of a cell’s ATP, its byproducts also have wide-ranging influences on cellular health and longevity. This review series, edited by Dr. Michael Sack, focuses on the many contributions of mitochondria to disease and aging. The reviews highlight evidence linking altered mitochondrial metabolism and oxidative stress to a range of pathophysiological phenomena: inflammation and immune dysfunction, heart failure, cancer development, metabolic disease, and more. In many diseases and conditions, mitochondrial dysfunction is considered the tipping point toward pathological progression. However, as these reviews discuss, therapeutic targeting of mitochondria may be a powerful strategy to subvert disease and aging processes.
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Copyright © 2018 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)