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Effective humoral immunity requires class switch recombination (CSR) catalyzed by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). In response to T cell-dependent (TD) Ags,CSR can be induced by CD40 signaling in B cells. TNFR-associated factors 2 and 3 (TRAF2/TRAF3) function as adaptors of the CD40 signaling pathway. B cell-intrinsic TRAF2 or TRAF3 (B-TRAF2 or B-TRAF3) knockout mice were previously reported to have indistinguishable phenotypes in gene expression,B cell survival and development,and enlarged peripheral lymphoid organs. However,it remains unknown whether deficiency of B-TRAF2 or B-TRAF3 differentially affects TD humoral immune responses and CD40-induced CSR. In this article,we show that B-TRAF2 is essential for optimal isotype switching induced by in vivo TD Ag immunization or by engaging CD40 in vitro. Our data clarify the controversial role of B-TRAF3 and confirm its dispensability in CD40-induced CSR. Mechanistically,CD40-induced AID expression was markedly impaired by B-TRAF2,but not B-TRAF3,deficiency. Moreover,B-TRAF2 deficiency causes defective activation of the NF-$\kappa$B1 complex in a CD40-autonomous manner,and restoring CD40-induced NF-$\kappa$B1 activation in TRAF2-deficient B cells rescues AID expression and CSR. We conclude that TRAF2 is essential but TRAF3 is dispensable for TD humoral immunity and CD40-induced CSR. Our studies provide significant biological bases for optimizing treatment of B cell-associated immune disorders by targeting CD40 signaling. View Publication

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 2 (Ido2) is a recently identified catalytic enzyme in the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway that is expressed primarily in monocytes and dendritic cells. To elucidate the biological role of Ido2 in immune function,we introduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin shock to Ido2 knockout (Ido2 KO) mice,which led to higher mortality than that in the wild type (WT) mice. LPS-treated Ido2 KO mice had increased production of inflammatory cytokines (including interleukin-6; IL-6) in serum and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (stat3) phosphorylation in the spleen. Moreover,the peritoneal macrophages of LPS-treated Ido2 KO mice produced more cytokines than did the WT mice. By contrast,the overexpression of Ido2 in the murine macrophage cell line (RAW) suppressed cytokine production and decreased stat3 expression. Finally,RAW cells overexpressing Ido2 did not alter nuclear factor $\kappa$B (NF-$\kappa$B) or stat1 expression,but IL-6 and stat3 expression decreased relative to the control cell line. These results reveal that Ido2 modulates IL-6/stat3 signalling and is induced by LPS,providing novel options for the treatment of immune disorders. View Publication

Despite showing success in treating melanoma and haematological malignancies,adoptive cell therapy (ACT) has generated only limited effects in solid tumors. This is,in part,due to a lack of specific antigen targets,poor trafficking/infiltration and immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. In this study,we combined ACT with oncolytic virus vaccines (OVV) to drive expansion and tumor infiltration of transferred antigen-specific T cells,and demonstrated that the combination is highly potent for the eradication of established solid tumors. Consistent with other successful immunotherapies,this approach elicited severe autoimmune consequence when the antigen targeted was a self-protein. However,modulation of IFN$\alpha$/$\beta$ signaling,either by functional blockade or rational choice of an OVV backbone,ameliorated autoimmune side effects without compromising antitumor efficacy. Our study uncovers a pathogenic role for IFN$\alpha$/$\beta$ in facilitating autoimmune toxicity during cancer immunotherapy and offers a safe and powerful combinatorial regimen with immediate translational applications. View Publication

The costimulation of immune cells using first-generation anti-4-1BB monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has demonstrated anti-tumor activity in human trials. Further clinical development,however,is restricted by significant off-tumor toxicities associated with Fc$\gamma$R interactions. Here,we have designed an Fc-free tumor-targeted 4-1BB-agonistic trimerbody,1D8N/CEGa1,consisting of three anti-4-1BB single-chain variable fragments and three anti-EGFR single-domain antibodies positioned in an extended hexagonal conformation around the collagen XVIII homotrimerization domain. The1D8N/CEGa1 trimerbody demonstrated high-avidity binding to 4-1BB and EGFR and a potent in vitro costimulatory capacity in the presence of EGFR. The trimerbody rapidly accumulates in EGFR-positive tumors and exhibits anti-tumor activity similar to IgG-based 4-1BB-agonistic mAbs. Importantly,treatment with 1D8N/CEGa1 does not induce systemic inflammatory cytokine production or hepatotoxicity associated with IgG-based 4-1BB agonists. These results implicate Fc$\gamma$R interactions in the 4-1BB-agonist-associated immune abnormalities,and promote the use of the non-canonical antibody presented in this work for safe and effective costimulatory strategies in cancer immunotherapy. View Publication

The HIV-1 trans-activator protein Tat binds the trans-activation response element (TAR) to facilitate recruitment of the super elongation complex (SEC) to enhance transcription of the integrated pro-viral genome. The Tat-TAR interaction is critical for viral replication and the emergence of the virus from the latent state,therefore,inhibiting this interaction has long been pursued to discover new anti-viral or latency reversal agents. However,discovering active compounds that directly target RNA with high affinity and selectivity remains a significant challenge; limiting pre-clinical development. Here,we report the rational design of a macrocyclic peptide mimic of the arginine rich motif of Tat,which binds to TAR with low pM affinity and 100-fold selectivity against closely homologous RNAs. Despite these unprecedented binding properties,the new ligand (JB181) only moderately inhibits Tat-dependent reactivation in cells and recruitment of positive transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb) to TAR. The NMR structure of the JB181-TAR complex revealed that the ligand induces a structure in the TAR loop that closely mimics the P-TEFb/Tat1:57/AFF4/TAR complex. These results strongly suggest that high-affinity ligands which bind the UCU bulge are not likely to inhibit recruitment of the SEC and suggest that targeting of the TAR loop will be an essential feature of effective Tat inhibitors. View Publication

T-cell responses in the lung are critical for protection against respiratory pathogens. TNFR superfamily members play important roles in providing survival signals to T cells during respiratory infections. However,whether these signals take place mainly during priming in the secondary lymphoid organs and/or in the peripheral tissues remains unknown. Here we show that under conditions of competition,GITR provides a T-cell intrinsic advantage to both CD4 and CD8 effector T cells in the lung tissue,as well as for the formation of CD4 and CD8 tissue-resident memory T cells during respiratory influenza infection in mice. In contrast,under non-competitive conditions,GITR has a preferential effect on CD8 over CD4 T cells. The nucleoprotein-specific CD8 T-cell response partially compensated for GITR deficiency by expansion of higher affinity T cells; whereas,the polymerase-specific response was less flexible and more GITR dependent. Following influenza infection,GITR is expressed on lung T cells and GITRL is preferentially expressed on lung monocyte-derived inflammatory antigen presenting cells. Accordingly,we show that GITR+/+ T cells in the lung parenchyma express more phosphorylated-ribosomal protein S6 than their GITR-/- counterparts. Thus,GITR signaling within the lung tissue critically regulates effector and tissue-resident memory T-cell accumulation. View Publication

The Plasmodium falciparum reticulocyte-binding protein homolog 5 (PfRH5) is the leading target for next-generation vaccines against the disease-causing blood-stage of malaria. However,little is known about how human antibodies confer functional immunity against this antigen. We isolated a panel of human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against PfRH5 from peripheral blood B cells from vaccinees in the first clinical trial of a PfRH5-based vaccine. We identified a subset of mAbs with neutralizing activity that bind to three distinct sites and another subset of mAbs that are non-functional,or even antagonistic to neutralizing antibodies. We also identify the epitope of a novel group of non-neutralizing antibodies that significantly reduce the speed of red blood cell invasion by the merozoite,thereby potentiating the effect of all neutralizing PfRH5 antibodies as well as synergizing with antibodies targeting other malaria invasion proteins. Our results provide a roadmap for structure-guided vaccine development to maximize antibody efficacy against blood-stage malaria. View Publication

To expand the breadth and extent of current multiple myeloma (MM)-specific immunotherapy,we have identified various antigens on CD138+ tumor cells from newly diagnosed MM patients (n = 616) and confirmed B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) as a key myeloma-associated antigen. The aim of this study is to target the BCMA,which promotes MM cell growth and survival,by generating BCMA-specific memory CD8+ CTL that mediate effective and long-lasting immunity against MM. Here we report the identification of novel engineered peptides specific to BCMA,BCMA72-80 (YLMFLLRKI),and BCMA54-62 (YILWTCLGL),which display improved affinity/stability to HLA-A2 compared to their native peptides and induce highly functional BCMA-specific CTL with increased activation (CD38,CD69) and co-stimulatory (CD40L,OX40,GITR) molecule expression. Importantly,the heteroclitic BCMA72-80 specific CTL demonstrated poly-functional Th1-specific immune activities [IFN-gamma/IL-2/TNF-alpha production,proliferation,cytotoxicity] against MM,which were correlated with expansion of Tetramer+ and memory CD8+ CTL. Additionally,heteroclitic BCMA72-80 specific CTL treated with anti-OX40 (immune agonist) or anti-LAG-3 (checkpoint inhibitor) display increased immune function,mainly by central memory CTL. These results provide the framework for clinical application of heteroclitic BCMA72-80 peptide,alone and in combination with anti-LAG3 and/or anti-OX40 therapy,in vaccination and/or adoptive immunotherapeutic strategies to generate long-lasting anti-tumor immunity in patients with MM or other BCMA expressing tumors. View Publication

Sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs) are a family of transcription factors that regulate lipid biosynthesis and adipogenesis by controlling the expression of several enzymes required for cholesterol,fatty acid,triacylglycerol and phospholipid synthesis. In vertebrates,SREBP activation is mainly controlled by a complex and well-characterized feedback mechanism mediated by cholesterol,a crucial bio-product of the SREBP-activated mevalonate pathway. In this work,we identified acto-myosin contractility and mechanical forces imposed by the extracellular matrix (ECM) as SREBP1 regulators. SREBP1 control by mechanical cues depends on geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate,another key bio-product of the mevalonate pathway,and impacts on stem cell fate in mouse and on fat storage in Drosophila. Mechanistically,we show that activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) by ECM stiffening and geranylgeranylated RhoA-dependent acto-myosin contraction inhibits SREBP1 activation. Our results unveil an unpredicted and evolutionary conserved role of SREBP1 in rewiring cell metabolism in response to mechanical cues. View Publication

Identifying targets present in the tumor microenvironment that contribute to immune evasion has become an important area of research. In this study,we identified EphB4-ephrin-B2 signaling as a regulator of both innate and adaptive components of the immune system. EphB4 belongs to receptor tyrosine kinase family that interacts with ephrin-B2 ligand at sites of cell-cell contact,resulting in bidirectional signaling. We found that EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibition alone or in combination with radiation (RT) reduced intratumoral regulatory T cells (Tregs) and increased activation of both CD8+ and CD4+Foxp3- T cells compared with the control group in an orthotopic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) model. We also compared the effect of EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibition combined with RT with combined anti-PDL1 and RT and observed similar tumor growth suppression,particularly at early time-points. A patient-derived xenograft model showed reduction of tumor-associated M2 macrophages and favored polarization towards an antitumoral M1 phenotype following EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibition with RT. In vitro,EphB4 signaling inhibition decreased Ki67-expressing Tregs and Treg activation compared with the control group. Overall,our study is the first to implicate the role of EphB4-ephrin-B2 in tumor immune response. Moreover,our findings suggest that EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibition combined with RT represents a potential alternative for patients with HNSCC and could be particularly beneficial for patients who are ineligible to receive or cannot tolerate anti-PDL1 therapy. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings present EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibition as an alternative to anti-PDL1 therapeutics that can be used in combination with radiation to induce an effective antitumor immune response in patients with HNSCC. View Publication

In life sciences,the material properties of suspended cells have attained significance close to that of fluorescent markers but with the advantage of label-free and unbiased sample characterization. Until recently,cell rheological measurements were either limited by acquisition throughput,excessive post processing,or low-throughput real-time analysis. Real-time deformability cytometry expanded the application of mechanical cell assays to fast on-the-fly phenotyping of large sample sizes,but has been restricted to single material parameters as the Young's modulus. Here,we introduce dynamic real-time deformability cytometry for comprehensive cell rheological measurements at up to 100 cells per second. Utilizing Fourier decomposition,our microfluidic method is able to disentangle cell response to complex hydrodynamic stress distributions and to determine viscoelastic parameters independent of cell shape. We demonstrate the application of our technology for peripheral blood cells in whole blood samples including the discrimination of B- and CD4+ T-lymphocytes by cell rheological properties. View Publication

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) eradication is prevented by the establishment on infection of cellular HIV-1 reservoirs that are not fully characterized,especially in genital mucosal tissues (the main HIV-1 entry portal on sexual transmission). Here,we show,using penile tissues from HIV-1-infected individuals under suppressive combination antiretroviral therapy,that urethral macrophages contain integrated HIV-1 DNA,RNA,proteins and intact virions in virus-containing compartment-like structures,whereas viral components remain undetectable in urethral T cells. Moreover,urethral cells specifically release replication-competent infectious HIV-1 following reactivation with the macrophage activator lipopolysaccharide,while the T-cell activator phytohaemagglutinin is ineffective. HIV-1 urethral reservoirs localize preferentially in a subset of polarized macrophages that highly expresses the interleukin-1 receptor,CD206 and interleukin-4 receptor,but not CD163. To our knowledge,these results are the first evidence that human urethral tissue macrophages constitute a principal HIV-1 reservoir. Such findings are determinant for therapeutic strategies aimed at HIV-1 eradication. View Publication