Research Article
Abstract
Women with dense breasts have an increased lifetime risk of malignancy that has been attributed to a higher epithelial density. Quantitative proteomics, collagen analysis, and mechanical measurements in normal tissue revealed that stroma in the high-density breast contains more oriented, fibrillar collagen that is stiffer and correlates with higher epithelial cell density. microRNA (miR) profiling of breast tissue identified miR-203 as a matrix stiffness–repressed transcript that is downregulated by collagen density and reduced in the breast epithelium of women with high mammographic density. Culture studies demonstrated that ZNF217 mediates a matrix stiffness– and collagen density–induced increase in Akt activity and mammary epithelial cell proliferation. Manipulation of the epithelium in a mouse model of mammographic density supported a causal relationship between stromal stiffness, reduced miR-203, higher levels of the murine homolog Zfp217, and increased Akt activity and mammary epithelial proliferation. ZNF217 was also increased in the normal breast epithelium of women with high mammographic density, correlated positively with epithelial proliferation and density, and inversely with miR-203. The findings identify ZNF217 as a potential target toward which preexisting therapies, such as the Akt inhibitor triciribine, could be used as a chemopreventive agent to reduce cancer risk in women with high mammographic density.
Authors
Jason J. Northey, Alexander S. Barrett, Irene Acerbi, Mary-Kate Hayward, Stephanie Talamantes, Ivory S. Dean, Janna K. Mouw, Suzanne M. Ponik, Jonathon N. Lakins, Po-Jui Huang, Junmin Wu, Quanming Shi, Susan Samson, Patricia J. Keely, Rita A. Mukhtar, Jan T. Liphardt, John A. Shepherd, E. Shelley Hwang, Yunn-Yi Chen, Kirk C. Hansen, Laurie E. Littlepage, Valerie M. Weaver
Abstract
Arginase 1 (Arg1), which converts l-arginine into ornithine and urea, exerts pleiotropic immunoregulatory effects. However, the function of Arg1 in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains poorly characterized. Here, we found that Arg1 expression correlated with the degree of inflammation in intestinal tissues from IBD patients. In mice, Arg1 was upregulated in an IL-4/IL-13– and intestinal microbiota–dependent manner. Tie2-Cre Arg1fl/fl mice lacking Arg1 in hematopoietic and endothelial cells recovered faster from colitis than Arg1-expressing (Arg1fl/fl) littermates. This correlated with decreased vessel density, compositional changes in intestinal microbiota, diminished infiltration by myeloid cells, and an accumulation of intraluminal polyamines that promote epithelial healing. The proresolving effect of Arg1 deletion was reduced by an l-arginine–free diet, but rescued by simultaneous deletion of other l-arginine–metabolizing enzymes, such as Arg2 or Nos2, demonstrating that protection from colitis requires l-arginine. Fecal microbiota transfers from Tie2-Cre Arg1fl/fl mice into WT recipients ameliorated intestinal inflammation, while transfers from WT littermates into Arg1-deficient mice prevented an advanced recovery from colitis. Thus, an increased availability of l-arginine as well as altered intestinal microbiota and metabolic products accounts for the accelerated resolution from colitis in the absence of Arg1. Consequently, l-arginine metabolism may serve as a target for clinical intervention in IBD patients. IL-4/IL-13-
Authors
Julia Baier, Maximilian Gänsbauer, Claudia Giessler, Harald Arnold, Mercedes Muske, Ulrike Schleicher, Sören Lukassen, Arif Ekici, Manfred Rauh, Christoph Daniel, Arndt Ha rtmann, Benjamin Schmid, Philipp Tripal, Katja Dettmer, Peter J. Oefner, Raja Atreya, Stefan Wirtz, Christian Bogdan, Jochen Mattner
Abstract
Although IKK-β has previously been shown as a negative regulator of IL-1β secretion in mice, this role has not been proven in humans. Genetic studies of NF-κB signaling in humans with inherited diseases of the immune system have not demonstrated the relevance of the NF-κB pathway in suppressing IL-1β expression. Here, we report an infant with a clinical pathology comprising neutrophil-mediated autoinflammation and recurrent bacterial infections. Whole-exome sequencing revealed a de novo heterozygous missense mutation of NFKBIA, resulting in a L34P IκBα variant that severely repressed NF-κB activation and downstream cytokine production. Paradoxically, IL-1β secretion was elevated in the patient’s stimulated leukocytes, in her induced pluripotent stem cell–derived macrophages, and in murine bone marrow–derived macrophages containing the L34P mutation. The patient’s hypersecretion of IL-1β correlated with activated neutrophilia and liver fibrosis with neutrophil accumulation. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation reversed neutrophilia, restored a resting state in neutrophils, and normalized IL-1β release from stimulated leukocytes. Additional therapeutic blockade of IL-1 ameliorated liver damage, while decreasing neutrophil activation and associated IL-1β secretion. Our studies reveal a previously unrecognized role of human IκBα as an essential regulator of canonical NF-κB signaling in the prevention of neutrophil-dependent autoinflammatory diseases. These findings also highlight the therapeutic potential of IL-1 inhibitors in treating complications arising from systemic NF-κB inhibition.
Authors
Enrica E.K. Tan, Richard A. Hopkins, Chrissie K. Lim, Saumya S. Jamuar, Christina Ong, Koh C. Thoon, Mark J.A. Koh, Eun Mong Shin, Derrick W.Q. Lian, Madhushanee Weerasooriya, Christopher Z.W. Lee, Andreas Alvin Pumomo Soetedjo, Chang Siang Lim, Veonice B. Au, Edmond Chua, Hui Yin Lee, Leigh Ann Jones, Sharmy S. James, Nivashini Kaliaperumal, Jeffery Kwok, Ee Shien Tan, Biju Thomas, Lynn Xue Wu, Lena Ho, Anna Marie Fairhurst, Florent Ginhoux, Adrian K.K. Teo, Yong Liang Zhang, Kok Huar Ong, Weimiao Yu, Byrappa Venkatesh, Vinay Tergaonkar, Bruno Reversade, Keh Chuang Chin, Ah Moy Tan, Woei Kang Liew, John E. Connolly
Abstract
Males and females differ in body composition and fat distribution. Using a mouse model that segregates gonadal sex (ovaries and testes) from chromosomal sex (XX and XY), we showed that XX chromosome complement in combination with a high-fat diet led to enhanced weight gain in the presence of male or female gonads. We identified the genomic dosage of Kdm5c, an X chromosome gene that escapes X chromosome inactivation, as a determinant of the X chromosome effect on adiposity. Modulating Kdm5c gene dosage in XX female mice to levels that are normally present in males resulted in reduced body weight, fat content, and food intake to a degree similar to that seen with altering the entire X chromosome dosage. In cultured preadipocytes, the levels of KDM5C histone demethylase influenced chromatin accessibility (ATAC-Seq), gene expression (RNA-Seq), and adipocyte differentiation. Both in vitro and in vivo, Kdm5c dosage influenced gene expression involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, which is critical for adipocyte differentiation and adipose tissue expansion. In humans, adipose tissue KDM5C mRNA levels and KDM5C genetic variants were associated with body mass. These studies demonstrate that the sex-dependent dosage of Kdm5c contributes to male/female differences in adipocyte biology and highlight X-escape genes as a critical component of female physiology.
Authors
Jenny C. Link, Carrie B. Wiese, Xuqi Chen, Rozeta Avetisyan, Emilio Ronquillo, Feiyang Ma, Xiuqing Guo, Jie Yao, Matthew Allison, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Jerome I. Rotter, Julia S. El -Sayed Moustafa, Kerrin S. Small, Shigeki Iwase, Matteo Pellegrini, Laurent Vergnes, Arthur P. Arnold, Karen Reue
Abstract
Drivers of sporadic benign pituitary adenoma growth are largely unknown. Whole-exome sequencing of 159 prospectively resected pituitary adenomas showed that somatic copy number alteration (SCNA) rather than mutation is a hallmark of hormone-secreting adenomas and that SCNAs correlate with adenoma phenotype. Using single-gene SCNA pathway analysis, we observed that both cAMP and Fanconi anemia DNA damage repair pathways were affected by SCNAs in growth hormone–secreting (GH-secreting) somatotroph adenomas. As somatotroph differentiation and GH secretion are dependent on cAMP activation and we previously showed DNA damage, aneuploidy, and senescence in somatotroph adenomas, we studied links between cAMP signaling and DNA damage. Stimulation of cAMP in C57BL/6 mouse primary pituitary cultures using forskolin or a long-acting GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) analog increased GH production and DNA damage measured by H2AX phosphorylation and a comet assay. Octreotide, a somatostatin receptor ligand that targets somatotroph adenoma GH secretion in patients with acromegaly, inhibited cAMP and GH and reversed DNA damage induction. In vivo long-acting GHRH treatment also induced pituitary DNA damage in mice. We conclude that cAMP, which induces somatotroph proliferation and GH secretion, may concomitantly induce DNA damage, potentially linking hormone hypersecretion to SCNA and genome instability. These results elucidating somatotroph adenoma pathophysiology identify pathways for targeted treatment.
Authors
Anat Ben-Shlomo, Nan Deng, Evelyn Ding, Masaaki Yamamoto, Adam Mamelak, Vera Chesnokova, Artak Labadzhyan, Shlomo Melmed
Abstract
Tumor immunosuppression is a limiting factor for successful cancer therapy. The lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), which signals through 5 distinct G protein–coupled receptors (S1PR1–5), has emerged as an important regulator of carcinogenesis. However, the utility of targeting S1P in tumors is hindered by S1P’s impact on immune cell trafficking. Here, we report that ablation of the immune cell–specific receptor S1PR4, which plays a minor role in immune cell trafficking, delayed tumor development and improved therapy success in murine models of mammary and colitis-associated colorectal cancer through increased CD8+ T cell abundance. Transcriptome analysis revealed that S1PR4 affected proliferation and survival of CD8+ T cells in a cell-intrinsic manner via the expression of Pik3ap1 and Lta4h. Accordingly, PIK3AP1 expression was connected to increased CD8+ T cell proliferation and clinical parameters in human breast and colon cancer. Our data indicate a so-far-unappreciated tumor-promoting role of S1P by restricting CD8+ T cell expansion via S1PR4.
Authors
Catherine Olesch, Evelyn Sirait-Fischer, Matthias Berkefeld, Annika F. Fink, Rosa M. Susen, Birgit Ritter, Birgitta E. Michels, Dieter Steinhilber, Florian R. Greten, Rajkumar Savai, Kazuhiko Takeda, Bernhard Brüne, Andreas Weigert
Abstract
Pathologic lymphatic remodeling in lymphedema evolves during periods of tissue inflammation and hypoxia through poorly defined processes. In human and mouse lymphedema, there is a significant increase of hypoxia inducible factor 1 α (HIF-1α), but a reduction of HIF-2α protein expression in lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). We questioned whether dysregulated expression of these transcription factors contributes to disease pathogenesis and found that LEC-specific deletion of Hif2α exacerbated lymphedema pathology. Even without lymphatic vascular injury, the loss of LEC-specific Hif2α caused anatomic pathology and a functional decline in fetal and adult mice. These findings suggest that HIF-2α is an important mediator of lymphatic health. HIF-2α promoted protective phosphorylated TIE2 (p-TIE2) signaling in LECs, a process also replicated by upregulating TIE2 signaling through adenovirus-mediated angiopoietin-1 (Angpt1) gene therapy. Our study suggests that HIF-2α normally promotes healthy lymphatic homeostasis and raises the exciting possibility that restoring HIF-2α pathways in lymphedema could mitigate long-term pathology and disability.
Authors
Xinguo Jiang, Wen Tian, Eric J. Granucci, Allen B. Tu, Dongeon Kim, Petra Dahms, Shravani Pasupneti, Gongyong Peng, Yesl Kim, Amber H. Lim, F. Hernan Espinoza, Matthew Cribb, J. Brandon Dixon, Stanley G. Rockson, Gregg L. Semenza, Mark R. Nicolls
Abstract
Transcription infidelity (TI) is a mechanism that increases RNA and protein diversity. We found that single-base omissions (i.e., gaps) occurred at significantly higher rates in the RNA of highly allergenic legumes. Transcripts from peanut, soybean, sesame, and mite allergens contained a higher density of gaps than those of nonallergens. Allergen transcripts translate into proteins with a cationic carboxy terminus depleted in hydrophobic residues. In mice, recombinant TI variants of the peanut allergen Ara h 2, but not the canonical allergen itself, induced, without adjuvant, the production of anaphylactogenic specific IgE (sIgE), binding to linear epitopes on both canonical and TI segments of the TI variants. The removal of cationic proteins from bovine lactoserum markedly reduced its capacity to induce sIgE. In peanut-allergic children, the sIgE reactivity was directed toward both canonical and TI segments of Ara h 2 variants. We discovered 2 peanut allergens, which we believe to be previously unreported, because of their RNA-DNA divergence gap patterns and TI peptide amino acid composition. Finally, we showed that the sIgE of children with IgE-negative milk allergy targeted cationic proteins in lactoserum. We propose that it is not the canonical allergens, but their TI variants, that initiate sIgE isotype switching, while both canonical and TI variants elicit clinical allergic reactions.
Authors
Benoit Thouvenot, Olivier Roitel, Julie Tomasina, Benoit Hilselberger, Christelle Richard, Sandrine Jacquenet, Françoise Codreanu-Morel, Martine Morisset, Gisèle Kanny, Etienne Beaudouin, Christine Delebarre-Sauvage, Thierry Olivry, Claude Favrot, Bernard E. Bihain
Abstract
Cells sense the extracellular environment and mechanical stimuli and translate these signals into intracellular responses through mechanotransduction, which alters cell maintenance, proliferation, and differentiation. Here we use a mouse model of trauma-induced heterotopic ossification (HO) to examine how cell-extrinsic forces impact mesenchymal progenitor cell (MPC) fate. After injury, single-cell (sc) RNA sequencing of the injury site reveals an early increase in MPC genes associated with pathways of cell adhesion and ECM-receptor interactions, and MPC trajectories to cartilage and bone. Immunostaining uncovers active mechanotransduction after injury with increased focal adhesion kinase signaling and nuclear translocation of transcriptional coactivator TAZ, inhibition of which mitigates HO. Similarly, joint immobilization decreases mechanotransductive signaling, and completely inhibits HO. Joint immobilization decreases collagen alignment and increases adipogenesis. Further, scRNA sequencing of the HO site after injury with or without immobilization identifies gene signatures in mobile MPCs correlating with osteogenesis, and signatures from immobile MPCs with adipogenesis. scATAC-seq in these same MPCs confirm that in mobile MPCs, chromatin regions around osteogenic genes are open, whereas in immobile MPCs, regions around adipogenic genes are open. Together these data suggest that joint immobilization after injury results in decreased ECM alignment, altered MPC mechanotransduction, and changes in genomic architecture favoring adipogenesis over osteogenesis, resulting in decreased formation of HO.
Authors
Amanda K. Huber, Nicole Patel, Chase A. Pagani, Simone Marini, Karthik R. Padmanabhan, Daniel L. Matera, Mohamed Said, Charles Hwang, Ginny Ching-Yun Hsu, Andrea A. Poli, Amy L. Strong, Noelle D. Visser, Joseph A. Greenstein, Reagan Nelson, Shuli Li, Michael T. Longaker, Yi Tang, Stephen J. Weiss, Brendon M. Baker, Aaron W. James, Benjamin Levi
Abstract
Senescent cells (SnCs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of age-related diseases including osteoarthritis (OA), in part via expression of a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that includes immunologically relevant factors and cytokines. In a model of posttraumatic OA (PTOA), anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) induced a type 17 immune response in the articular compartment and draining inguinal lymph nodes (LNs) that paralleled expression of the senescence marker p16INK4a (Cdkn2a) and p21 (Cdkn1a). Innate lymphoid cells, γδ+ T cells, and CD4+ T cells contributed to IL-17 expression. Intra-articular injection of IL-17–neutralizing antibody reduced joint degeneration and decreased expression of the senescence marker Cdkn1a. Local and systemic senolysis was required to attenuate tissue damage in aged animals and was associated with decreased IL-17 and increased IL-4 expression in the articular joint and draining LNs. In vitro, we found that Th17 cells induced senescence in fibroblasts and that SnCs skewed naive T cells toward Th17 or Th1, depending on the presence of TGF-β. The SASP profile of the inflammation-induced SnCs included altered Wnt signaling, tissue remodeling, and cell-cycle pathways not previously implicated in senescence. These findings provide molecular targets and mechanisms for senescence induction and therapeutic strategies to support tissue healing in an aged environment.
Authors
Heather J. Faust, Hong Zhang, Jin Han, Matthew T. Wolf, Ok Hee Jeon, Kaitlyn Sadtler, Alexis N. Peña, Liam Chung, David R. Maestas Jr., Ada J. Tam, Drew M. Pardoll, Judith Campisi, Franck Housseau, Daohong Zhou, Clifton O. Bingham III, Jennifer H. Elisseeff
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Copyright © 2020 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)