Niu et al report a diabetes-induced ISG15+ Müller glial subtype, triggered by microglial immune signaling, that weakens antioxidant defenses and contributes to early retinal vascular damage in murine diabetic retinopathy. The cover image shows murine retinal vasculature isolated using trypsin digestion followed by PAS staining, with acellular capillaries visible.
BACKGROUND. Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is commonly caused by autoimmunity in adults, known as autoimmune Addison’s disease (AAD). Autoantibodies against 21-hydroxylase are a hallmark of AAD but are absent in some patients diagnosed with AAD, posing a challenge to their clinical management. METHODS. We tested a polygenic risk score for AAD (PRS14AAD) to prioritize seronegative patients for etiologic reevaluation. The PRS14AAD was calculated in patients diagnosed with AAD but lacking 21-hydroxylase autoantibodies (n = 124). Patients with low (n = 35) or high (n = 10) genetic susceptibility to AAD underwent clinical re-evaluation and whole-genome sequencing. RESULTS. Of the 34 patients with low PRS14AAD, 14 (41%) were re-diagnosed with non-autoimmune adrenal insufficiency, whereas no alternative etiologies were identified in patients with high PRS14AAD. The low PRS group included six patients (17%) with confirmed monogenic PAI and eight patients (23%) with adrenal insufficiency due to either tuberculosis or non-primary causes. Notably, four of the six confirmed monogenic cases developed PAI in adulthood, consistent with late-onset disease caused by hypomorphic variants. Additionally, seven patients (20%) carried genetic variants suspected of causing monogenic disease. CONCLUSION. These findings support considering genetic evaluation in patients with seronegative PAI, regardless of the age at diagnosis.
Maribel Aranda-Guillén, Ileana Ruxandra Botusan, Venuja Fernando, Michela Barbaro, Maria Blomqvist, Ellen Christine Røyrvik, Anette Susanne Bøe Wolff, Eystein Sverre Husebye, Stephan Kemp, Anna Wedell, Olov Ekwall, Magnus Isaksson, Jeanette Wahlberg, Ola Lindgren, Jakob Skov, Ragnhildur Bergthorsdottir, Per Dahlqvist, Sophie Bensing, Olle Kämpe, Daniel Eriksson
D1-type receptor (D1R)-mediated dopaminergic signaling within the nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) is essential for forming adaptive circuit changes that embed persistent memories associated with drug seeking and craving. While D1R is expressed in both NAcSh neurons and astrocytes, the specific contribution of astrocytic D1R to drug-related circuit plasticity remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrated in mouse NAcSh slices that D1R agonists increased astrocytic Ca2+ activity, an effect that was attenuated by astrocyte-specific D1R knockdown. Furthermore, selective knockdown of astrocytic D1R in the NAcSh prior to cocaine self-administration inhibited cocaine-induced generation of silent synapses, thereby hampering the associated remodeling of NAcSh circuits. Behaviorally, knockdown of NAcSh astrocytic D1R expedited the extinction of cocaine seeking and reduced cue-induced reinstatement. These results identified astrocytic D1R as a fundamental component of NAcSh dopamine signaling during cocaine experience that remodeled synaptic connections and neural networks underlying drug seeking and relapse.
Shi Yan, Qize Li, Yao Wang, Wanqiu Chen, Zhong Chen, Alexander K. Zinsmaier, Paloma R. Huguet, Zhengsong Lu, Xiguang Qi, Zheng Xu, Yi Han, Gouri Sharma, Charles Wang, Eric J. Nestler, Oliver M. Schlüter, Yan Dong
Golgin-45 (G45) is a coiled-coil protein that transits reversibly between the Golgi and nucleus. In the Golgi, G45 serves as a tether for effectors of a pro-tumorigenic secretory program, but its nuclear role remains unclear. Here, we report that, upon entering the nucleus, G45 functions as a basic leucine zipper transcription factor. From genomic mapping, RNA-sequencing, and functional validation studies, we identify G45-binding sites and show that nuclear G45 can function as a transcriptional activator or repressor, a versatility enabled by phase separation into nuclear bodies enriched in transcriptional co-regulators. In lung cancer models, Golgi-docking reinforces, whereas nuclear translocation opposes, pro-tumorigenic activity of G45. Nuclear G45 incorporates into dimeric transcription factors that silence pro-tumorigenic secreted cargos. Epigenetic events in lung cancer degrade nuclear G45 and sequester G45 in the Golgi, which unleashes malignant secretion. Thus, inter-organelle transitions govern a G45-dependent secretory axis that drives lung cancer progression.
Chao Wu, Abhishek Kumar, Shike Wang, Weina Zhao, Yuanxin Xi, Jing Wang, Abhinav K. Jain, William K. Russell, Hou-fu Guo, Xiaochao Tan, Jonathan M. Kurie
Engineered T and NK cell therapies have widely been used to treat hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, with promising clinical results. Current chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapeutics are, however, associated with treatment-related adverse events such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and are prone to immunologic exhaustion. CAR-NK therapeutics, while not associated with CRS, have limited in vivo persistence. We now demonstrate that a population of NK-like TCRαβ+ CD8 T cells (TKLR), identified and expanded ex vivo through its expression of the activating receptor NKG2C, can be transduced to express a second-generation CD19 CAR (1928z). These CAR+ TKLR demonstrates superior tumor clearance and longer persistence compared to 1928z CAR+ conventional CD8 T cells (TConv) and 1928z CAR+ NK cells in mouse xenograft models. Moreover, CAR-modified TKLR had decreased expression of PD-1, TIM-3, and LAG-3 and elicited significantly reduced CRS compared to CAR+ CD8 TConv in mouse xenograft models. Similarly, NKG2C+ TKLR engineered with a TCR targeting the NY-ESO-1 antigen exhibited robust tumor control compared to TCR-engineered CD8 TConv in a mouse xenograft model. These data establish NKG2C+ TKLR as a promising platform for cell engineering, and offer a safer, more durable alternative to conventional CAR-T and CAR-NK therapies.
Kyle B. Lupo, M. Kazim Panjwani, Aya G. Halawi, Sanam Shahid, Rosa Sottile, Clara Lawry, Gabryelle Kolk, Theodota Kontopoulos, Anthony F Daniyan, Smita S. Chandran, Christopher A. Klebanoff, Katharine C. Hsu
Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a hematological neoplasm characterized by expansion of malignant monocytes. However, as a stem cell neoplasm, the disease clone comprises most blood lineages, including granulocytes. To investigate their pathogenic contribution, we performed extensive phenotypic, transcriptomic and functional characterization of CMML granulocytes. These cells exhibited reduced granularity and impaired maturation, the latter of which is associated with poor prognosis. Functionally, CMML granulocytes displayed reduced phagocytic capacity and impaired NETosis, together with aberrant gene expression programs. Notably, RETN, encoding the chemokine resistin, was uniquely upregulated in CMML granulocytes. Accordingly, resistin levels were 10-fold higher in CMML plasma, correlating with inferior survival. Ex vivo exposure to resistin directly blocked monocyte maturation and macrophage differentiation, partly via TLR4 interaction, recapitulating the classical monocytosis repartitioning phenotype that characterizes CMML. Resistin-treated monocytes upregulated gene signatures related to immune suppression and myeloid-derived suppressor cell phenotype. Consistent with these findings, CMML patients displayed higher Treg proportions and Th2/Th1 ratios. Furthermore, we demonstrated that resistin directly skews the Th2/Th1 ratio via binding to monocytes. Thus, CMML granulocytes produce high levels of resistin, which contributes to defective monocyte maturation and induction of myeloid-derived suppressor cell features in monocytes, thereby fostering an immune-suppressive state in this disease.
Nathan J. Hull, Rachel Cant, Laura A. Guest, Yu-Hung Wang, Kristian Gurashi, Roberto Paredes, Carlos Rivera Rivera, Revekka Lefkati, Hector Huerga Encabo, Chien-Chin Lin, Hwei-Fang Tien, Robert Sellers, Sudhakar Sahoo, Dominique Bonnet, Eric Solary, Dorothee Selimoglu-Buet, Daniel H. Wiseman, Kiran Batta
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with more than 2 million women diagnosed each year. This series of reviews, curated by Dr. Rinath Jeselsohn, highlights recent breakthroughs in therapeutic development that are changing the outlook for breast cancer patients, including improvements in immunotherapy, antibody-drug conjugates, endocrine therapies, and kinase inhibitors.
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