Scientific Resources

Priming of human NK cells with IL-2 is necessary to render them functionally competent upon NKG2D engagement. We examined the underlying mechanisms that control NKG2D responsiveness in NK cells and found that IL-2 upregulates expression of the amino acid transporters SLC1A5 and CD98. Using specific inhibitors to block SLC1A5 and CD98 function,we found that production of IFN-γ and degranulation by CD56bright and CD56dim NK cells following NKG2D stimulation were dependent on both transporters. IL-2 priming increased the activity of mTORC1,and inhibition of mTORC1 abrogated the ability of the IL-2-primed NK cells to produce IFN-γ in response to NKG2D-mediated stimulation. This study identifies a series of IL-2-induced cellular changes that regulates the NKG2D responsiveness in human NK cells. View Publication

The presence of persistent,latent HIV reservoirs in CD4+ T cells obstructs current efforts to cure infection. The so-called kick-and-kill paradigm proposes to purge these reservoirs by combining latency-reversing agents with immune effectors such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Support for this approach is largely based on success in latency models,which do not fully reflect the makeup of latent reservoirs in individuals on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). Recent studies have shown that CD8+ T cells have the potential to recognize defective proviruses,which comprise the vast majority of all infected cells,and that the proviral landscape can be shaped over time due to in vivo clonal expansion of infected CD4+ T cells. Here,we have shown that treating CD4+ T cells from ART-treated individuals with combinations of potent latency-reversing agents and autologous CD8+ T cells consistently reduced cell-associated HIV DNA,but failed to deplete replication-competent virus. These CD8+ T cells recognized and potently eliminated CD4+ T cells that were newly infected with autologous reservoir virus,ruling out a role for both immune escape and CD8+ T cell dysfunction. Thus,our results suggest that cells harboring replication-competent HIV possess an inherent resistance to CD8+ T cells that may need to be addressed to cure infection. View Publication

Transcriptionally activated monocytes are recruited to the heart after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). After AMI in mice and humans,the number of extracellular vesicles (EVs) increased acutely. In humans,EV number correlated closely with the extent of myocardial injury. We hypothesized that EVs mediate splenic monocyte mobilization and program transcription following AMI. Some plasma EVs bear endothelial cell (EC) integrins,and both proinflammatory stimulation of ECs and AMI significantly increased VCAM-1-positive EV release. Injected EC-EVs localized to the spleen and interacted with,and mobilized,splenic monocytes in otherwise naive,healthy animals. Analysis of human plasma EV-associated miRNA showed 12 markedly enriched miRNAs after AMI; functional enrichment analyses identified 1,869 putative mRNA targets,which regulate relevant cellular functions (e.g.,proliferation and cell movement). Furthermore,gene ontology termed positive chemotaxis as the most enriched pathway for the miRNA-mRNA targets. Among the identified EV miRNAs,EC-associated miRNA-126-3p and -5p were highly regulated after AMI. miRNA-126-3p and -5p regulate cell adhesion- and chemotaxis-associated genes,including the negative regulator of cell motility,plexin-B2. EC-EV exposure significantly downregulated plexin-B2 mRNA in monocytes and upregulated motility integrin ITGB2. These findings identify EVs as a possible novel signaling pathway by linking ischemic myocardium with monocyte mobilization and transcriptional activation following AMI. View Publication

Application of high-content immune profiling technologies has enormous potential to advance medicine. Whether these technologies reveal pertinent biology when implemented in interventional clinical trials is an important question. The beneficial effects of preoperative arginine-enriched dietary supplements (AES) are highly context specific,as they reduce infection rates in elective surgery,but possibly increase morbidity in critically ill patients. This study combined single-cell mass cytometry with the multiplex analysis of relevant plasma cytokines to comprehensively profile the immune-modifying effects of this much-debated intervention in patients undergoing surgery. An elastic net algorithm applied to the high-dimensional mass cytometry dataset identified a cross-validated model consisting of 20 interrelated immune features that separated patients assigned to AES from controls. The model revealed wide-ranging effects of AES on innate and adaptive immune compartments. Notably,AES increased STAT1 and STAT3 signaling responses in lymphoid cell subsets after surgery,consistent with enhanced adaptive mechanisms that may protect against postsurgical infection. Unexpectedly,AES also increased ERK and P38 MAPK signaling responses in monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells,which was paired with their pronounced expansion. These results provide novel mechanistic arguments as to why AES may exert context-specific beneficial or adverse effects in patients with critical illness. This study lays out an analytical framework to distill high-dimensional datasets gathered in an interventional clinical trial into a fairly simple model that converges with known biology and provides insight into novel and clinically relevant cellular mechanisms. View Publication

The adaptive immune response involves T cell differentiation and migration to sites of inflammation. T cell trafficking is initiated by rolling on inflamed endothelium. Tethers and slings,discovered in neutrophils,facilitate cell rolling at high shear stress. Here,we demonstrate that the ability to form tethers and slings during rolling is highly inducible in T helper 1 (Th1),Th17,and regulatory T (Treg) cells but less in Th2 cells. In vivo,endogenous Treg cells rolled stably in cremaster venules at physiological shear stress. Quantitative dynamic footprinting nanoscopy of Th1,Th17,and Treg cells uncovered the formation of multiple tethers per cell. Human Th1 cells also showed tethers and slings. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed the induction of cell migration and cytoskeletal genes in sling-forming cells. We conclude that differentiated CD4 T cells stabilize rolling by inducible tether and sling formation. These phenotypic changes approximate the adhesion phenotype of neutrophils and support CD4 T cell access to sites of inflammation. View Publication

Efficient gene transfer into human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is an important goal in the study of the hematopoietic system as well as for gene therapy of hematopoietic disorders. A lentiviral vector based on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was able to transduce human CD34+ cells capable of stable,long-term reconstitution of nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice. High-efficiency transduction occurred in the absence of cytokine stimulation and resulted in transgene expression in multiple lineages of human hematopoietic cells for up to 22 weeks after transplantation. View Publication

Biologic TNFα inhibitors are a mainstay treatment option for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) refractory to other treatment options. However,many patients either do not respond or relapse after initially responding to these agents. This study was carried out to identify biomarkers that can distinguish responder from non-responder patients before the initiation of treatment. The level of cytokines in plasma and those produced by ex vivo T cells,B cells and monocytes in 97 RA patients treated with biologic TNFα inhibitors was measured before treatment and after 1 and 3 months of treatment by multiplex analyses. The frequency of T cell subsets and intracellular cytokines were determined by flow cytometry. The results reveal that pre-treatment,T cells from patients who went on to respond to treatment with biologic anti-TNFα agents produced significantly more GM-CSF than non-responder patients. Furthermore,immune cells from responder patients produced higher levels of IL-1β,TNFα and IL-6. Cytokine profiling in the blood of patients confirmed the association between high levels of GM-CSF and responsiveness to biologic anti-TNFα agents. Thus,high blood levels of GM-CSF pre-treatment had a positive predictive value of 87.5% (61.6 to 98.5% at 95% CI) in treated RA patients. The study also shows that cells from most anti-TNFα responder patients in the current cohort produced higher levels of GM-CSF and TNFα pre-treatment than non-responder patients. Findings from the current study and our previous observations that non-responsiveness to anti-TNFα is associated with high IL-17 levels suggest that the disease in responder and non-responder RA patients is likely to be driven/sustained by different inflammatory pathways. The use of biomarker signatures of distinct pro-inflammatory pathways could lead to evidence-based prescription of the most appropriate biological therapies for different RA patients. View Publication

Activin A belongs to the superfamily of transforming growth factor beta (TGF$\beta$) and is a critical regulatory cytokine in breast cancer and inflammation. However,the role of activin A in migration of breast cancer cells and immune cells was not well characterized. Here,a microfluidic device was used to examine the effect of activin A on the migration of human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 cells and human blood neutrophils as well as their migratory interaction. We found that activin A promoted the basal migration but impaired epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced migration of breast cancer cells. By contrast,activin A reduced neutrophil chemotaxis and transendothelial migration to N-Formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP). Finally,activin A promoted neutrophil chemotaxis to the supernatant from breast cancer cell culture. Collectively,our study revealed the different roles of activin A in regulating the migration of breast cancer cells and neutrophils and their migratory interaction. These findings suggested the potential of activin A as a therapeutic target for inflammation and breast cancers. View Publication

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) originate as circulating monocytes,and are recruited to gliomas,where they facilitate tumor growth and migration. Understanding the interaction between TAM and cancer cells may identify therapeutic targets for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is a cytokine-induced adhesion molecule expressed on the surface of cancer cells,which is involved in interactions with immune cells. Analysis of the glioma patient database and tissue immunohistochemistry showed that VCAM-1 expression correlated with the clinico-pathological grade of gliomas. Here,we found that VCAM-1 expression correlated positively with monocyte adhesion to GBM,and knockdown of VCAM-1 abolished the enhancement of monocyte adhesion. Importantly,upregulation of VCAM-1 is dependent on epidermal-growth-factor-receptor (EGFR) expression,and inhibition of EGFR effectively reduced VCAM-1 expression and monocyte adhesion activity. Moreover,GBM possessing higher EGFR levels (U251 cells) had higher VCAM-1 levels compared to GBMs with lower levels of EGFR (GL261 cells). Using two- and three-dimensional cultures,we found that monocyte adhesion to GBM occurs via integrin α4β1,which promotes tumor growth and invasion activity. Increased proliferation and tumor necrosis factor-α and IFN-γ levels were also observed in the adherent monocytes. Using a genetic modification approach,we demonstrated that VCAM-1 expression and monocyte adhesion were regulated by the miR-181 family,and lower levels of miR-181b correlated with high-grade glioma patients. Our results also demonstrated that miR-181b/protein phosphatase 2A-modulated SP-1 de-phosphorylation,which mediated the EGFR-dependent VCAM-1 expression and monocyte adhesion to GBM. We also found that the EGFR-dependent VCAM-1 expression is mediated by the p38/STAT3 signaling pathway. Our study suggested that VCAM-1 is a critical modulator of EGFR-dependent interaction of monocytes with GBM,which raises the possibility of developing effective and improved therapies for GBM.Oncogene advance online publication,1 May 2017; doi:10.1038/onc.2017.129. View Publication

The high risk of neonatal death from sepsis is thought to result from impaired responses by innate immune cells; however,the clinical observation of hyperinflammatory courses of neonatal sepsis contradicts this concept. Using transcriptomic,epigenetic and immunological approaches,we demonstrated that high amounts of the perinatal alarmins S100A8 and S100A9 specifically altered MyD88-dependent proinflammatory gene programs. S100 programming prevented hyperinflammatory responses without impairing pathogen defense. TRIF-adaptor-dependent regulatory genes remained unaffected by perinatal S100 programming and responded strongly to lipopolysaccharide,but were barely expressed. Steady-state expression of TRIF-dependent genes increased only gradually during the first year of life in human neonates,shifting immune regulation toward the adult phenotype. Disruption of this critical sequence of transient alarmin programming and subsequent reprogramming of regulatory pathways increased the risk of hyperinflammation and sepsis. Collectively these data suggest that neonates are characterized by a selective,transient microbial unresponsiveness that prevents harmful hyperinflammation in the delicate neonate while allowing for sufficient immunological protection. View Publication

Recent work investigating exercise induced changes in immunocompetence suggests that some of the ambiguity in the literature is resultant from different cell isolation protocols and mitogen selection. To understand this effect,we compared post-exercise measures of T cell activation and proliferation using two different stimulation methods (costimulation through CD28 or stimulation with phytohaemagglutinin [PHA]). Further,we investigated whether exercise induced changes are maintained when T cell isolation from whole blood is delayed overnight in either a room temperature or chilled (4°C) environment. As expected,an increased proliferation response was observed post-exercise in T cells isolated from whole blood of previously trained individuals immediately after blood collection. Also,cells stimulated with PHA after resting overnight in whole blood were not adversely impacted by the storage conditions. In contrast,allowing cells to rest overnight in whole blood prior to stimulation through CD28,lessened the proliferation observed by cells following exercise rendering both the room temperature and chilled samples closer to the results seen in the control condition. Changes in early markers of activation (CD25),followed a similar pattern,with activation in PHA stimulated cells remaining fairly robust after overnight storage; whereas cell activation following stimulation through CD3+CD28 was disproportionately decreased by the influence of overnight storage. These findings indicate that decisions regarding cell stimulation methods need to be paired with the timeline for T cell isolation from whole blood. These considerations will be especially important for field based studies of immunocompetence where there is a delay in getting whole blood samples to a lab for processing as well as clinical applications where a failure to isolate T cells in a timely manner may result in loss of the response of interest. View Publication

OBJECTIVE Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) and poor outcome. However,the specific role that vitamin D plays in MS still remains unknown. In order to identify potential mechanisms underlying vitamin D effects in MS,we profiled epigenetic changes in vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene to identify genomic regulatory elements relevant to MS pathogenesis. METHODS Human T cells derived from whole blood by negative selection were isolated in a set of 23 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients and 12 controls matched by age and gender. DNA methylation levels were assessed by bisulfite cloning sequencing in two regulatory elements of VDR. mRNA levels were measured by RT-qPCR to assess changes in VDR expression between patients and controls. RESULTS An alternative VDR promoter placed at exon 1c showed increased DNA methylation levels in RRMS patients (median 30.08%,interquartile range 19.2%) compared to controls (18.75%,9.5%),p-valuetextless0.05. Moreover,a 6.5-fold increase in VDR mRNA levels was found in RRMS patients compared to controls (p-valuetextless0.001). CONCLUSIONS An alternative promoter of the VDR gene shows altered DNA methylation levels in patients with multiple sclerosis,and it is associated with VDR mRNA upregulation. This locus may represent a candidate regulatory element in the genome relevant to MS pathogenesis. View Publication