Commentary
Abstract
People with COVID-19 can develop pneumonia and severe inflammatory response with excessive cytokine release known as the cytokine storm. The Janus kinase inhibitor baricitinib used to treat rheumatoid arthritis reduces inflammation by modifying the cytokine pathway. In this issue of the JCI, Bronte and Ugel et al. performed an observational longitudinal study to evaluated the use of baricitinib in 20 patients with COVID-19. Treated subjects showed reduced levels of plasma interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), IL-1β and phosphorylated STAT3 and swift lymphocyte restoration. Notably, these patients had a dramatically favorable clinical outcome. While bias can plague uncontrolled research, this study has biological credibility and warrants randomized control studies.
Authors
David L. Thomas
Abstract
Idiopathic CD4+ T cell lymphocytopenia (ICL) is a heterogeneous syndrome presenting with persistent CD4+ T cell lymphopenia of unknown origin, and opportunistic infections in some patients. The underlying pathogenesis and appropriate management remain understudied. In this issue of the JCI, Perez-Diez and Wong et al. assessed the prevalence of autoantibodies from the sera of 51 adult ICL patients (out of a cohort of 72). Some patients showed high levels of IgG and IgM autoantibodies against numerous autoantigens, and some autoantibodies were specific for lymphocytes. The researchers implicate these autoantibodies as a possible pathogenic mechanism responsible for the reduction in circulating CD4+ T cells. This study goes beyond defining a mechanism in a complex, poorly defined disease; it also brings a renewed focus on ICL that will likely result in improved diagnostic evaluation and treatment.
Authors
Jose S. Campos, Sarah E. Henrickson, Roshini S. Abraham
Abstract
The right ventricle (RV) is involved in systemic circulation in the fetal mammalian heart but quickly transitions to being solely responsible for pulmonary circulation after birth when the left ventricle (LV) becomes the systemic ventricle. To handle the increased workload, LV growth greatly outpaces that of the RV during postnatal stages. However, the molecular basis for this differential growth pattern between the 2 chambers is largely unknown. In this issue of the JCI, Yokota et al. reveal that the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/IRE1α/XBP1 axis specifically controls postnatal RV growth by suppressing cell cycle regulatory genes.
Authors
Tongbin Wu, Ju Chen
Abstract
Even with treatment of HIV with antiretroviral therapy (ART), the risk of tuberculosis (TB) reactivation remains higher in HIV-infected than HIV-uninfected persons. In this issue of the JCI, Ganatra et al. explored TB reactivation in the context of ART using TB and simian immunodeficiency virus–coinfected (TB/SIV-coinfected) nonhuman primates. The authors found that treating rhesus macaques with ART restored CD4+ T cells in whole blood, spleen, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, but not in the lung interstitium. TB risk was not decreased in the coinfected macaques treated with ART for 14–63 days, suggesting that ART does not decrease the short-term risk of reactivation. Reactivation occurred as CD4+ T cells were increasing, which is consistent with observations made in humans. This study provides a potential model for systematic evaluation of TB/SIV coinfection and different treatment regimens and strategies to prevent TB reactivation.
Authors
Timothy R. Sterling, Philana Ling Lin
Abstract
The tight junction protein claudin-2 is upregulated in inflammatory bowel disease, and yet its deficit worsens infectious and chemical colitis. In this issue of the JCI, Raju and Shashikanth et al. examined the contribution of claudin-2 to immune-mediated colitis. The authors used transgenic mouse models to show that claudin-2 deficiency attenuated colitis progression as well as a leak barrier defect, albeit at the risk of intestinal obstruction. Further, inhibition of claudin-2 by targeting casein kinase 2 (CK2) also ameliorated colitis. The findings reveal unsuspected links between the pore and leak pathways of intestinal permeability and immune responses leading to colitis. They additionally suggest potential targets for therapeutic intervention in inflammatory bowel disease.
Authors
Kim E. Barrett
Abstract
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination induces variable protection against pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), and a more effective TB vaccine is needed. The potential for BCG to provide protection against heterologous infections, by induction of innate immune memory, is increasingly recognised. These non-specific responses may substantially benefit public health, but are also variable. In this issue of the JCI, Koeken and de Bree et al. report that BCG reduces circulating inflammatory markers in males but not in females, whilst de Bree and Mouritis et al. describe how diurnal rhythms affect the degree of BCG-induced innate memory. These studies further delineate factors that influence the magnitude of responses to BCG and may be crucial to harnessing its potential benefits.
Authors
Sarah Prentice, Hazel M. Dockrell
Abstract
Orexin/hypocretin neurons located in the lateral hypothalamus play a critical role in the maintenance of arousal and contribute to the regulation of multiple homeostatic and behavioral processes. In this issue of the JCI, Tan and Hang et al. report that feeding a high-fat diet to mice compromised the function of the orexin system, leading to impairments in reward-seeking and active coping mechanisms. The researchers observed changes at the cellular and circuit levels suggesting that reduced excitability of orexin neurons affects behavior through induction of a hypoarousal state.
Authors
Natalie J. Michael, Joel K. Elmquist
Abstract
Heart failure (HF) with reduced contractile function is a common and lethal syndrome in which the heart cannot pump blood to adequately meet bodily demands, resulting in high mortality despite the current standard of care. In modern societies, the most common drivers of HF are ischemic heart disease and hypertension. However, in a substantial subset of cases, patients present with dilated and poorly contracting hearts without evidence of common inciting stressors, a syndrome called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Genome sequencing has identified a host of deleterious germline variants in key cardiomyocyte genes as causes of heritable DCM, including mutations in LMNA, which encodes the nuclear lamina-associated protein lamin A/C. In this issue of the JCI, Auguste et al. generate a mouse model of DCM in which they delete Lmna in cardiomyocytes and discover that bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) protein activation is a druggable epigenetic mechanism of disease pathogenesis in this heritable HF syndrome.
Authors
Michael Alexanian, Saptarsi M. Haldar
Abstract
An alarming increase in children presenting with fever, hyperinflammation and multiorgan dysfunction frequently requiring intensive care has been observed after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The illness resembles Kawasaki Disease (KD) with coronary dilatation and aneurysm occurring in some. However, the cardiovascular manifestations were typically on the severe end of the KD spectrum with cardiogenic shock a common presentation together with other features. This led to defining a unique syndrome named multisystem inflammatory syndrome in Children (MIS-C). In this issue of the JCI, Lee and Day-Lewis et al. and Diorio et al. explored the clinical profiles associated with COVID-19 in children. We posit that while splitting MIS-C into a separate disease may aid clinical management decisions, lumping it into the KD pot may better serve to understand pathobiology.
Authors
Rae S.M. Yeung, Polly J. Ferguson
Abstract
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) benefits increasing numbers of patients with otherwise lethal diseases. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), however, remains one of the most potentially life-threatening complications due to its own comorbidities and the side effects of its treatment. In this issue of the JCI, two groups have turned dogma on its head by providing evidence for alternative mechanisms of acute GVHD (aGVHD) in humans. The principle of donor T cell reactivity elicited by host antigen-presenting cells (APCs) expressing MHC-encoded major HLA disparities or expressing minor histocompatibility antigen (miHA) differences presented by identical HLA molecules remains intact. These reports, however, demonstrate that GVHD can additionally result from peripheral host T cells resident in skin and gut being stimulated against donor APCs in the form of monocyte-derived macrophages. Moreover, these donor monocyte-derived macrophages can themselves mediate cytopathic effects against resident host T cells in skin explants and against a keratinocyte-derived cell line.
Authors
James W. Young
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Copyright © 2020 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)