Hippocampal development is coordinated by both extracellular factors like GABA neurotransmission and intracellular components like DISC1. We previously reported that SLC12A2-dependent GABA depolarization and DISC1 coregulate hippocampal neuronal development, and 2 SNPs in these genes linked to mRNA expression interactively increase schizophrenia risk. Using functional MRI, we now confirm this biological interaction in vivo by showing in 2 independent samples of healthy individuals (total
Joseph H. Callicott, Emer L. Feighery, Venkata S. Mattay, Michael G. White, Qiang Chen, David A.A. Baranger, Karen F. Berman, Bai Lu, Hongjun Song, Guo-li Ming, Daniel R. Weinberger
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a genetically mediated autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. B cells have recently emerged as major contributors to disease pathogenesis, but the mechanisms responsible for the loss of B cell tolerance in patients with MS are largely unknown. In healthy individuals, developing autoreactive B cells are removed from the repertoire at 2 tolerance checkpoints during early B cell development. Both of these central and peripheral B cell tolerance checkpoints are defective in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Here, we found that only the peripheral, but not the central, B cell tolerance checkpoint is defective in patients with MS. We show that this specific defect is accompanied by increased activation and homeostatic proliferation of mature naive B cells. Interestingly, all of these MS features parallel defects observed in FOXP3-deficient IPEX patients, who harbor nonfunctional Tregs. We demonstrate that in contrast to patients with RA or T1D, bone marrow central B cell selection in MS appears normal in most patients. In contrast, patients with MS suffer from a specific peripheral B cell tolerance defect that is potentially attributable to impaired Treg function and that leads to the accumulation of autoreactive B cell clones in their blood.
Tuure Kinnunen, Nicolas Chamberlain, Henner Morbach, Tineke Cantaert, Megan Lynch, Paula Preston-Hurlburt, Kevan C. Herold, David A. Hafler, Kevin C. O’Connor, Eric Meffre
The ELR+-CXCL chemokines have been described typically as potent chemoattractants and activators of neutrophils during the acute phase of inflammation. Their role in atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory vascular disease, has been largely unexplored. Using a mouse model of atherosclerosis, we found that CXCL5 expression was upregulated during disease progression, both locally and systemically, but was not associated with neutrophil infiltration. Unexpectedly, inhibition of CXCL5 was not beneficial but rather induced a significant macrophage foam cell accumulation in murine atherosclerotic plaques. Additionally, we demonstrated that CXCL5 modulated macrophage activation, increased expression of the cholesterol efflux regulatory protein ABCA1, and enhanced cholesterol efflux activity in macrophages. These findings reveal a protective role for CXCL5, in the context of atherosclerosis, centered on the regulation of macrophage foam cell formation.
Anthony Rousselle, Fatimunnisa Qadri, Lisa Leukel, Rüstem Yilmaz, Jean-Fred Fontaine, Gabin Sihn, Michael Bader, Amrita Ahluwalia, Johan Duchene
Milk fat globule-EGF 8 (MFGE8) plays important, nonredundant roles in several biological processes, including apoptotic cell clearance, angiogenesis, and adaptive immunity. Several recent studies have reported a potential role for MFGE8 in regulation of the innate immune response; however, the precise mechanisms underlying this role are poorly understood. Here, we show that MFGE8 is an endogenous inhibitor of inflammasome-induced IL-1β production. MFGE8 inhibited necrotic cell–induced and ATP-dependent IL-1β production by macrophages through mediation of integrin β3 and P2X7 receptor interactions in primed cells.
Nicolas Deroide, Xuan Li, Dominique Lerouet, Emily Van Vré, Lauren Baker, James Harrison, Marine Poittevin, Leanne Masters, Lina Nih, Isabelle Margaill, Yoichiro Iwakura, Bernhard Ryffel, Marc Pocard, Alain Tedgui, Nathalie Kubis, Ziad Mallat
iRHOM2, encoded by the gene
Priya Darshinee A. Issuree, Thorsten Maretzky, David R. McIlwain, Sébastien Monette, Xiaoping Qing, Philipp A. Lang, Steven L. Swendeman, Kyung-Hyun Park-Min, Nikolaus Binder, George D. Kalliolias, Anna Yarilina, Keisuke Horiuchi, Lionel B. Ivashkiv, Tak W. Mak, Jane E. Salmon, Carl P. Blobel
HIV infection results in gastrointestinal (GI) tract damage, microbial translocation, and immune activation, which are not completely ameliorated with suppression of viremia by antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. Furthermore, increased morbidity and mortality of ARV-treated HIV-infected individuals is associated with these dysfunctions. Thus, to enhance GI tract physiology, we treated SIV-infected pigtail macaques with ARVs, probiotics, and prebiotics or with ARVs alone. This synbiotic treatment resulted in increased frequency and functionality of GI tract APCs, enhanced reconstitution and functionality of CD4+ T cells, and reduced fibrosis of lymphoid follicles in the colon. Thus, ARV synbiotic supplementation in HIV-infected individuals may improve GI tract immunity and thereby mitigate inflammatory sequelae, ultimately improving prognosis.
Nichole R. Klatt, Lauren A. Canary, Xiaoyong Sun, Carol L. Vinton, Nicholas T. Funderburg, David R. Morcock, Mariam Quiñones, Clayton B. Deming, Molly Perkins, Daria J. Hazuda, Michael D. Miller, Michael M. Lederman, Julie A. Segre, Jeffrey D. Lifson, Elias K. Haddad, Jacob D. Estes, Jason M. Brenchley
Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) are thought to maintain homeostasis and contribute to long-term repair in adult white matter; however, their roles in the acute phase after brain injury remain unclear. Mice that were subjected to prolonged cerebral hypoperfusion stress developed white matter demyelination over time. Prior to demyelination, we detected increased MMP9 expression, blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage, and neutrophil infiltration in damaged white matter. Notably, at this early stage, OPCs made up the majority of MMP9-expressing cells. The standard MMP inhibitor GM6001 reduced the early BBB leakage and neutrophil infiltration, indicating that OPC-derived MMP9 induced early BBB disruption after white matter injury. Cell-culture experiments confirmed that OPCs secreted MMP9 under pathological conditions, and conditioned medium prepared from the stressed OPCs weakened endothelial barrier tightness in vitro. Our study reveals that OPCs can rapidly respond to white matter injury and produce MMP9 that disrupts the BBB, indicating that OPCs may mediate injury in white matter under disease conditions.
Ji Hae Seo, Nobukazu Miyamoto, Kazuhide Hayakawa, Loc-Duyen D. Pham, Takakuni Maki, Cenk Ayata, Kyu-Won Kim, Eng H. Lo, Ken Arai
Long-lived memory T cells are able to persist in the host in the absence of antigen; however, the mechanism by which they are maintained is not well understood. Recently, a subset of human T cells, stem cell memory T cells (TSCM cells), was shown to be self-renewing and multipotent, thereby providing a potential reservoir for T cell memory throughout life. However, their in vivo dynamics and homeostasis still remain to be defined due to the lack of suitable animal models. We identified T cells with a TSCM phenotype and stem cell–like properties in nonhuman primates. These cells were the least-differentiated memory subset, were functionally distinct from conventional memory cells, and served as precursors of central memory. Antigen-specific TSCM cells preferentially localized to LNs and were virtually absent from mucosal surfaces. They were generated in the acute phase of viral infection, preferentially survived in comparison with all other memory cells following elimination of antigen, and stably persisted for the long term. Thus, one mechanism for maintenance of long-term T cell memory derives from the unique homeostatic properties of TSCM cells. Vaccination strategies designed to elicit durable cellular immunity should target the generation of TSCM cells.
Enrico Lugli, Maria H. Dominguez, Luca Gattinoni, Pratip K. Chattopadhyay, Diane L. Bolton, Kaimei Song, Nichole R. Klatt, Jason M. Brenchley, Monica Vaccari, Emma Gostick, David A. Price, Thomas A. Waldmann, Nicholas P. Restifo, Genoveffa Franchini, Mario Roederer
Children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are predisposed to juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), an aggressive myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) that is refractory to conventional chemotherapy. Conditional inactivation of the Nf1 tumor suppressor in hematopoietic cells of mice causes a progressive MPN that accurately models JMML and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). We characterized the effects of Nf1 loss on immature hematopoietic populations and investigated treatment with the MEK inhibitor PD0325901 (hereafter called 901). Somatic Nf1 inactivation resulted in a marked expansion of immature and lineage-committed myelo-erythroid progenitors and ineffective erythropoiesis. Treatment with 901 induced a durable drop in leukocyte counts, enhanced erythropoietic function, and markedly reduced spleen sizes in mice with MPN. MEK inhibition also restored a normal pattern of erythroid differentiation and greatly reduced extramedullary hematopoiesis. Remarkably, genetic analysis revealed the persistence of Nf1-deficient hematopoietic cells, indicating that MEK inhibition modulates the proliferation and differentiation of Nf1 mutant cells in vivo rather than eliminating them. These data provide a rationale for performing clinical trials of MEK inhibitors in patients with JMML and CMML.
Tiffany Chang, Kimberly Krisman, Emily Harding Theobald, Jin Xu, Jon Akutagawa, Jennifer O. Lauchle, Scott Kogan, Benjamin S. Braun, Kevin Shannon
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) predisposes individuals to the development of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), a fatal myeloproliferative disease (MPD). In genetically engineered murine models, nullizygosity of Nf1, a tumor suppressor gene that encodes a Ras-GTPase–activating protein, results in hyperactivity of Raf/Mek/Erk in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Activated Erk1/2 phosphorylate kinases and transcription factors with myriad mitogenic roles in diverse cell types. However, genetic studies examining Erk1/2’s differential and/or combined control of normal and Nf1-deficient myelopoiesis are lacking. Moreover, prior studies relying on chemical Mek/Erk inhibitors have reached conflicting conclusions in normal and Nf1-deficient mice. Here, we show that while single Erk1 or Erk2 disruption did not grossly compromise myelopoiesis, dual Erk1/2 disruption rapidly ablated granulocyte and monocyte production in vivo, diminished progenitor cell number, and prevented HSPC proliferation in vitro. Genetic disruption of Erk1/2 in the context of Nf1 nullizygosity (Mx1Cre+Nf1flox/floxErk1–/–Erk2flox/flox) fully protects against the development of MPD. Collectively, we identified a fundamental requirement for Erk1/2 signaling in normal and Nf1-deficient hematopoiesis, elucidating a critical hematopoietic function for Erk1/2 while genetically validating highly selective Mek/Erk inhibitors in a leukemia that is otherwise resistant to traditional therapy.
Karl Staser, Su-Jung Park, Steven D. Rhodes, Yi Zeng, Yong Zheng He, Matthew A. Shew, Jeffrey R. Gehlhausen, Donna Cerabona, Keshav Menon, Shi Chen, Zejin Sun, Jin Yuan, David A. Ingram, Grzegorz Nalepa, Feng-Chun Yang, D. Wade Clapp
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