技术资料

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies targeting B cell-restricted antigens CD19,CD20,or CD22 can produce potent clinical responses for some B cell malignancies,but relapse remains common. Camelid single-domain antibodies (sdAbs or nanobodies) are smaller,simpler,and easier to recombine than single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) used in most CARs,but fewer sdAb-CARs have been reported. Thus,we sought to identify a therapeutically active sdAb-CAR targeting human CD22. Immunization of an adult Llama glama with CD22 protein,sdAb-cDNA library construction,and phage panning yielded >20 sdAbs with diverse epitope and binding properties. Expressing CD22-sdAb-CAR in Jurkat cells drove varying CD22-specific reactivity not correlated with antibody affinity. Changing CD28- to CD8-transmembrane design increased CAR persistence and expression in vitro . CD22-sdAb-CAR candidates showed similar CD22-dependent CAR-T expansion in vitro,although only membrane-proximal epitope targeting CD22-sdAb-CARs activated direct cytolytic killing and extended survival in a lymphoma xenograft model. Based on enhanced survival in blinded xenograft studies,a lead CD22sdCAR-T was selected,achieving comparable complete responses to a benchmark short linker m971-scFv CAR-T in high-dose experiments. Finally,immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry confirm tissue and cellular-level specificity of the lead CD22-sdAb. This presents a complete report on preclinical development of a novel CD22sdCAR therapeutic. View Publication

Tumor cells have the ability to invade and form small clusters that protrude into adjacent tissues,a phenomenon that is frequently observed at the periphery of a tumor as it expands into healthy tissues. The presence of these clusters is linked to poor prognosis and has proven challenging to treat using conventional therapies. We previously reported that p60AmotL2 expression is localized to invasive colon and breast cancer cells. In vitro,p60AmotL2 promotes epithelial cell invasion by negatively impacting E-cadherin/AmotL2-related mechanotransduction. Using epithelial cells transfected with inducible p60AmotL2,we employed a phenotypic drug screening approach to find compounds that specifically target invasive cells. The phenotypic screen was performed by treating cells for 72 h with a library of compounds with known antitumor activities in a dose-dependent manner. After assessing cell viability using CellTiter-Glo,drug sensitivity scores for each compound were calculated. Candidate hit compounds with a higher drug sensitivity score for p60AmotL2-expressing cells were then validated on lung and colon cell models,both in 2D and in 3D,and on colon cancer patient-derived organoids. Nascent RNA sequencing was performed after BET inhibition to analyse BET-dependent pathways in p60AmotL2-expressing cells. We identified 60 compounds that selectively targeted p60AmotL2-expressing cells. Intriguingly,these compounds were classified into two major categories: Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) inhibitors and Bromodomain and Extra-Terminal motif (BET) inhibitors. The latter consistently demonstrated antitumor activity in human cancer cell models,as well as in organoids derived from colon cancer patients. BET inhibition led to a shift towards the upregulation of pro-apoptotic pathways specifically in p60AmotL2-expressing cells. BET inhibitors specifically target p60AmotL2-expressing invasive cancer cells,likely by exploiting differences in chromatin accessibility,leading to cell death. Additionally,our findings support the use of this phenotypic strategy to discover novel compounds that can exploit vulnerabilities and specifically target invasive cancer cells. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13046-024-03031-w. View Publication

Alcohol consumption increases the risk of breast cancer and promotes cancer progression. Alcohol exposure could affect both processes of the mammary carcinogenesis,namely,the cell transformation and onset of tumorigenesis as well as cancer aggressiveness including metastasis and drug resistance/recurrence. However,the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying alcohol tumor promotion remain unclear. There are four members of the mammalian p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family,namely,p38α,p38β,p38γ and p38δ. We have previously demonstrated alcohol exposure selectively activated p38γ MAPK in breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo . Pirfenidone (PFD),an antifibrotic compound approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,is also a pharmacological inhibitor of p38γ MAPK. This study aimed to determine whether PFD is useful to inhibit alcohol-induced promotion of breast cancer. Female adolescent (5 weeks) MMTV-Wnt1 mice were exposed to alcohol with a liquid diet containing 6.7% ethanol. Some mice received intraperitoneal (IP) injection of PFD (100 mg/kg) every other day. After that,the effects of alcohol and PFD on mammary tumorigenesis and metastasis were examined. Alcohol promoted the progression of mammary tumors in adolescent MMTV-Wnt1 mice. Treatment of PFD blocked tumor growth and alcohol-promoted metastasis. It also significantly inhibited alcohol-induced tumorsphere formation and cancer stem cell (CSC) population. PFD inhibited mammary tumor growth and alcohol-promoted metastasis. Since PFD is an FDA-approved drug,the current findings may be helpful to re-purpose its application in treating aggressive breast cancer and alcohol-promoted mammary tumor progression. View Publication

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) that have impaired differentiation can transform into leukemic blasts. However,the mechanism that controls differentiation remains elusive. Here,we show that the genetic elimination of Proteinase 3 (PRTN3) in mice led to spontaneous myeloid differentiation. Mechanistically,our findings indicate that PRTN3 interacts with the N-terminal of STAT3,serving as a negative regulator of STAT3-dependent myeloid differentiation. Specifically,PRTN3 promotes STAT3 ubiquitination and degradation,while simultaneously reducing STAT3 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation during G-CSF-stimulated myeloid differentiation. Strikingly,pharmacological inhibition of STAT3 (Stattic) partially counteracted the effects of PRTN3 deficiency on myeloid differentiation. Moreover,the deficiency of PRTN3 in primary AML blasts promotes the differentiation of those cells into functional neutrophils capable of chemotaxis and phagocytosis,ultimately resulting in improved overall survival rates for recipients. These findings indicate PRTN3 exerts an inhibitory effect on STAT3-dependent myeloid differentiation and could be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Subject terms: Signal transduction,Haematological diseases View Publication

Outer radial glia (oRG) emerge as cortical progenitor cells that support the development of an enlarged outer subventricular zone (oSVZ) and the expansion of the neocortex. The in vitro generation of oRG is essential to investigate the underlying mechanisms of human neocortical development and expansion. By activating the STAT3 signaling pathway using leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF),which is not expressed in guided cortical organoids,we define a cortical organoid differentiation method from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) that recapitulates the expansion of a progenitor pool into the oSVZ. The oSVZ comprises progenitor cells expressing specific oRG markers such as GFAP,LIFR,and HOPX,closely matching human fetal oRG. Finally,incorporating neural crest-derived LIF-producing cortical pericytes into cortical organoids recapitulates the effects of LIF treatment. These data indicate that increasing the cellular complexity of the organoid microenvironment promotes the emergence of oRG and supports a platform to study oRG in hPSC-derived brain organoids routinely. View Publication

The in vitro oxygen microenvironment profoundly affects the capacity of cell cultures to model physiological and pathophysiological states. Cell culture is often considered to be hyperoxic,but pericellular oxygen levels,which are affected by oxygen diffusivity and consumption,are rarely reported. Here,we provide evidence that several cell types in culture actually experience local hypoxia,with important implications for cell metabolism and function. We focused initially on adipocytes,as adipose tissue hypoxia is frequently observed in obesity and precedes diminished adipocyte function. Under standard conditions,cultured adipocytes are highly glycolytic and exhibit a transcriptional profile indicative of physiological hypoxia. Increasing pericellular oxygen diverted glucose flux toward mitochondria,lowered HIF1α activity,and resulted in widespread transcriptional rewiring. Functionally,adipocytes increased adipokine secretion and sensitivity to insulin and lipolytic stimuli,recapitulating a healthier adipocyte model. The functional benefits of increasing pericellular oxygen were also observed in macrophages,hPSC-derived hepatocytes and cardiac organoids. Our findings demonstrate that oxygen is limiting in many terminally-differentiated cell types,and that considering pericellular oxygen improves the quality,reproducibility and translatability of culture models. View Publication

Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia (iMGL) represent an excellent tool in studying microglial function in health and disease. Yet,since differentiation and survival of iMGL are highly reliant on colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) signaling,it is difficult to use iMGL to study microglial dysfunction associated with pathogenic defects in CSF1R. Serial modifications to an existing iMGL protocol were made,including but not limited to changes in growth factor combination to drive microglial differentiation,until successful derivation of microglia-like cells from an adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP) patient carrying a c.2350G > A (p.V784M) CSF1R variant. Using healthy control lines,the quality of the new iMGL protocol was validated through cell yield assessment,measurement of microglia marker expression,transcriptomic comparison to primary microglia,and evaluation of inflammatory and phagocytic activities. Similarly,molecular and functional characterization of the ALSP patient-derived iMGL was carried out in comparison to healthy control iMGL. The newly devised protocol allowed the generation of iMGL with enhanced transcriptomic similarity to cultured primary human microglia and with higher scavenging and inflammatory competence at ~ threefold greater yield compared to the original protocol. Using this protocol,decreased CSF1R autophosphorylation and cell surface expression was observed in iMGL derived from the ALSP patient compared to those derived from healthy controls. Additionally,ALSP patient-derived iMGL presented a migratory defect accompanying a temporal reduction in purinergic receptor P2Y12 ( P2RY12 ) expression,a heightened capacity to internalize myelin,as well as heightened inflammatory response to Pam 3 CSK 4 . Poor P2RY12 expression was confirmed to be a consequence of CSF1R haploinsufficiency,as this feature was also observed following CSF1R knockdown or inhibition in mature control iMGL,and in CSF1R WT/KO and CSF1R WT/E633K iMGL compared to their respective isogenic controls. We optimized a pre-existing iMGL protocol,generating a powerful tool to study microglial involvement in human neurological diseases. Using the optimized protocol,we have generated for the first time iMGL from an ALSP patient carrying a pathogenic CSF1R variant,with preliminary characterization pointing toward functional alterations in migratory,phagocytic and inflammatory activities. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13024-024-00723-x. View Publication

Anti-CD117 monoclonal antibody (mAb) agents have emerged as exciting alternative conditioning strategies to traditional genotoxic irradiation or chemotherapy for both allogeneic and autologous gene-modified hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Furthermore,these agents are concurrently being explored in the treatment of mast cell disorders. Despite promising results in animal models and more recently in patients,the short- and long-term effects of these treatments have not been fully explored. We conducted rigorous assessments to evaluate the effects of an antagonistic anti-mCD117 mAb,ACK2,on hematopoiesis in wild-type and Fanconi anemia (FA) mice. Importantly,we found no evidence of short-term DNA damage in either setting following this treatment,suggesting that ACK2 does not induce immediate genotoxicity,providing crucial insights into its safety profile. Surprisingly,FA mice exhibited an increase in colony formation after ACK2 treatment,indicating a potential targeting of hematopoietic stem cells and expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Moreover,the long-term phenotypic and functional changes in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells did not differ significantly between the ACK2-treated and control groups,in either setting,suggesting that ACK2 does not adversely affect hematopoietic capacity. These findings underscore the safety of these agents when utilized as a short-course treatment in the context of conditioning,as they did not induce significant DNA damage in hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells. However,single-cell RNA sequencing,used to compare gene expression between untreated and treated mice,revealed that the ACK2 mAb,via c-Kit downregulation,effectively modulated the MAPK pathway with Fos downregulation in wild-type and FA mice. Importantly,this modulation was achieved without causing prolonged disruptions. These findings validate the safety of anti-CD117 mAb treatment and also enhance our understanding of its intricate mode of action at the molecular level. View Publication

The etiopathology of Parkinson’s disease has been associated with mitochondrial defects at genetic,laboratory,epidemiological,and clinical levels. These converging lines of evidence suggest that mitochondrial defects are systemic and causative factors in the pathophysiology of PD,rather than being mere correlates. Understanding mitochondrial biology in PD at a granular level is therefore crucial from both basic science and translational perspectives. In a recent study,we investigated mitochondrial alterations in fibroblasts obtained from PD patients assessing mitochondrial function in relation to clinical measures. Our findings demonstrated that the magnitude of mitochondrial alterations parallels disease severity. In this study,we extend these investigations to blood cells and dopamine neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells reprogrammed from PD patients. To overcome the inherent metabolic heterogeneity of blood cells,we focused our analyses on metabolically homogeneous,accessible,and expandable erythroblasts. Our results confirm the presence of mitochondrial anomalies in erythroblasts and induced dopamine neurons. Consistent with our previous findings in fibroblasts,we observed that mitochondrial alterations are reversible,as evidenced by enhanced mitochondrial respiration when PD erythroblasts were cultured in a galactose medium that restricts glycolysis. This observation indicates that suppression of mitochondrial respiration may constitute a protective,adaptive response in PD pathogenesis. Notably,this effect was not observed in induced dopamine neurons,suggesting their distinct bioenergetic behavior. In summary,we provide additional evidence for the involvement of mitochondria in the disease process by demonstrating mitochondrial abnormalities in additional cell types relevant to PD. These findings contribute to our understanding of PD pathophysiology and may have implications for the development of novel biomarkers and therapeutic strategies. Subject terms: Energy metabolism,Parkinson's disease View Publication

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide,leading to increased interest in utilizing immunotherapy strategies for better cancer treatments. In the past decade,CD103 + T cells have been associated with better clinical prognosis in patients with cancer. However,the specific immune mechanisms contributing toward CD103-mediated protective immunity remain unclear. Here,we show an unexpected and transient CD61 expression,which is paired with CD103 at the synaptic microclusters of T cells. CD61 colocalization with the T cell antigen receptor further modulates downstream T cell antigen receptor signaling,improving antitumor cytotoxicity and promoting physiological control of tumor growth. Clinically,the presence of CD61 + tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes is associated with improved clinical outcomes,mediated through enhanced effector functions and phenotype with limited evidence of cellular exhaustion. In conclusion,this study identified an unconventional and transient CD61 expression and pairing with CD103 on human immune cells,which potentiates a new target for immune-based cellular therapies. Subject terms: T cells,Tumour immunology,Lymphocyte activation View Publication

Cisplatin resistance poses a major challenge in the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Deeper investigations into the mechanisms underlying this drug resistance is of great importance. Here,we used cellular assays and clinical immunohistochemistry to examine molecular pathways involved in both innate and acquired cisplatin resistance. We demonstrated that the p62-mTORC1 signaling complex plays a pivotal role,and is driven by the EGFR signaling network,specifically through the PI3K-Akt axis and the transcription factor C/EBP-β. Elevated p -mTOR expression was associated with cancer relapse and poor prognosis among oral cancer patients. Additionally,we illustrated that mTOR inhibitors enhance the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin,by employing cancer stem cell characteristics. Our work unveils fundamental mechanisms for cisplatin resistance,thereby presenting therapeutic implications for OSCC. View Publication

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent cancers in men and is associated with high mortality and disability rates. β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB),a ketone body,has received increasing attention for its role in cancer. However,its role in PCa remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the mechanism and feasibility of BHB as a treatment alternative for PCa. Colony formation assay,flow cytometry,western blot assay,and transwell assays were performed to determine the effect of BHB on the proliferation and metastasis of PCa cells. Tumor sphere formation and aldehyde dehydrogenase assays were used to identify the impact of BHB or indoleacetamide-N-methyltransferase (INMT) on the stemness of PCa cells. N6-methyladenosine (m6A)–meRIP real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and dual luciferase assays were conducted to confirm INMT upregulation via the METTL3–m6A pathway. Co-IP assay was used to detect the epigenetic modification of INMT by BHB-mediated β-hydroxybutyrylation (kbhb) and screen enzymes that regulate INMT kbhb. Mouse xenograft experiments demonstrated the antitumor effects of BHB in vivo. BHB can inhibit the proliferation,migration,and invasion of PCa cells by suppressing their stemness. Mechanistically,INMT,whose expression is upregulated by the METTL3–m6A pathway,was demonstrated to be an oncogenic gene that promotes the stem-like characteristics of PCa cells. BHB can suppress the malignant phenotypes of PCa by kbhb of INMT,which in turn inhibits INMT expression. Our findings indicate a role of BHB in PCa metabolic therapy,thereby suggesting an epigenetic therapeutic strategy to target INMT in aggressive PCa. Not applicable. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-024-03277-6. View Publication