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Chronic periodontitis (CP) is a microbial dysbiotic disease linked to increased risk of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). To address the underlying mechanisms,mouse and human cell infection models and human biopsy samples were employed. We show that the 'keystone' pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis,disrupts immune surveillance by generating myeloid-derived dendritic suppressor cells (MDDSCs) from monocytes. MDDSCs inhibit CTLs and induce FOXP3 + Tregs through an anti-apoptotic pathway. This pathway,involving pAKT1,pFOXO1,FOXP3,IDO1 and BIM,is activated in humans with CP and in mice orally infected with Mfa1 expressing P. gingivalis strains. Mechanistically,activation of this pathway,demonstrating FOXP3 as a direct FOXO1-target gene,was demonstrated by ChIP-assay in human CP gingiva. Expression of oncogenic but not tumor suppressor markers is consistent with tumor cell proliferation demonstrated in OSCC-P. gingivalis cocultures. Importantly,FimA + P. gingivalis strain MFI invades OSCCs,inducing inflammatory/angiogenic/oncogenic proteins stimulating OSCCs proliferation through CXCR4. Inhibition of CXCR4 abolished Pg-MFI-induced OSCCs proliferation and reduced expression of oncogenic proteins SDF-1/CXCR4,plus pAKT1-pFOXO1. Conclusively,P. gingivalis,through Mfa1 and FimA fimbriae,promotes immunosuppression and oncogenic cell proliferation,respectively,through a two-hit receptor-ligand process involving DC-SIGN+hi/CXCR4+hi,activating a pAKT+hipFOXO1+hiBIM-lowFOXP3+hi and IDO+hi- driven pathway,likely to impact the prognosis of oral cancers in patients with periodontitis. View Publication

CRISPR/Cas9 mediated gene editing of patient-derived hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) ex vivo followed by autologous transplantation of the edited HSPCs back to the patient can provide a potential cure for monogenic blood disorders such as $\beta$-hemoglobinopathies. One challenge for this strategy is efficient delivery of the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex,consisting of purified Cas9 protein and guide RNA,into HSPCs. Because $\beta$-hemoglobinopathies are most prevalent in developing countries,it is desirable to have a reliable,efficient,easy-to-use and cost effective delivery method. With this goal in mind,we developed TRansmembrane Internalization Assisted by Membrane Filtration (TRIAMF),a new method to quickly and effectively deliver RNPs into HSPCs by passing a RNP and cell mixture through a filter membrane. We achieved robust gene editing in HSPCs using TRIAMF and demonstrated that the multilineage colony forming capacities and the competence for engraftment in immunocompromised mice of HSPCs were preserved post TRIAMF treatment. TRIAMF is a custom designed system using inexpensive components and has the capacity to process HSPCs at clinical scale. View Publication

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus closely related to dengue virus that can cause severe disease in humans,including microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barr{\'{e}} syndrome in adults. Specific treatments and vaccines for Zika virus are not currently available. Here,we isolate and characterize four monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from an infected patient that target the non-structural protein NS1. We show that while these antibodies are non-neutralizing,NS1-specific mAbs can engage Fc$\gamma$R without inducing antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection in vitro. Moreover,we demonstrate that mAb AA12 has protective efficacy against lethal challenges of African and Asian lineage strains of Zika virus in Stat2-/- mice. Protection is Fc-dependent,as a mutated antibody unable to activate known Fc effector functions or complement is not protective in vivo. This study highlights the importance of the ZIKV NS1 protein as a potential vaccine antigen. View Publication

CD4+ T cells,especially T-helper (Th) cells (Th1,Th2 and Th17) and regulatory T cells (Treg) play pivotal role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS),a demyelinating autoimmune disease occurring in central nervous system (CNS). Astragaloside IV (ASI,CAS: 84687-43-4) is one of the saponins isolated from Astragalus membranceus,a traditional Chinese medicine with immunomodulatory effect. So far,whether ASI has curative effect on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE),an animal model of MS,and how it affects the subsets of CD4+ T cells,as well as the underlying mechanism have not been clearly elucidated. In the present study,ASI was found to ameliorate the progression and hamper the recurrence of EAE effectively in the treatment regimens. It significantly reduced the demyelination and inflammatory infiltration of CNS in EAE mice by suppressing the percentage of Th1 and Th17 cells,which was closely associated with the inhibition of JAK/STAT and NF-$\kappa$B signaling pathways. ASI also increased the percentage of Treg cells in spleen and CNS,which was accompanied by elevated Foxp3. However,in vitro experiments disclosed that ASI could regulate the differentiation of Th17 and Treg cells but not Th1 cells. In addition,it induced the apoptosis of MOG-stimulated CD4+ T cells probably through modulating STAT3/Bcl-2/Bax signaling pathways. Together,our findings suggested that ASI can modulate the differentiation of autoreactive CD4+ T cells and is a potential prodrug or drug for the treatment of MS and other similar autoimmune diseases. View Publication

Preventing the immune escape of tumor cells by blocking inhibitory checkpoints,such as the interaction between programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor,is a powerful anticancer approach. However,many patients do not respond to checkpoint blockade. Tumor PD-L1 expression is a potential efficacy biomarker,but the complex mechanisms underlying its regulation are not completely understood. Here,we show that the eukaryotic translation initiation complex,eIF4F,which binds the 5' cap of mRNAs,regulates the surface expression of interferon-$\gamma$-induced PD-L1 on cancer cells by regulating translation of the mRNA encoding the signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) transcription factor. eIF4F complex formation correlates with response to immunotherapy in human melanoma. Pharmacological inhibition of eIF4A,the RNA helicase component of eIF4F,elicits powerful antitumor immune-mediated effects via PD-L1 downregulation. Thus,eIF4A inhibitors,in development as anticancer drugs,may also act as cancer immunotherapies. View Publication

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important clinical indicators for prognosis and treatment efficacy. However,CTC investigation is hampered by their low number,making the establishment of permanent CTC lines very challenging. We derived and characterized nine CTC lines using blood samples from a patient with metastatic colorectal cancer collected before and after chemotherapy and targeted therapy,and during cancer progression. These cell lines displayed an intermediate epithelial/mesenchymal phenotype,stem-cell like characteristics,angiogenesis potential,an osteomimetic signature and the capacity to escape from the immune system. Moreover,they showed changes in mRNA and protein expression (e.g.,DEFA6,ABCB1 and GAL),whereas analysis of chromosomal copy number aberrations revealed no significant variation over time. These data indicate that although CTC lines derived from sequential blood samples during therapy have common traits,treatment-resistant CTC clones with distinct phenotypic characteristics are selected over time. View Publication

Recognition of nucleic acids by endosomal Toll-like receptors (TLR) is essential to combat pathogens,but requires strict control to limit inflammatory responses. The mechanisms governing this tight regulation are unclear. We found that single-stranded oligonucleotides (ssON) inhibit endocytic pathways used by cargo destined for TLR3/4/7 signaling endosomes. Both ssDNA and ssRNA conferred the endocytic inhibition,it was concentration dependent,and required a certain ssON length. The ssON-mediated inhibition modulated signaling downstream of TLRs that localized within the affected endosomal pathway. We further show that injection of ssON dampens dsRNA-mediated inflammatory responses in the skin of non-human primates. These studies reveal a regulatory role for extracellular ssON in the endocytic uptake of TLR ligands and provide a mechanistic explanation of their immunomodulation. The identified ssON-mediated interference of endocytosis (SOMIE) is a regulatory process that temporarily dampens TLR3/4/7 signaling,thereby averting excessive immune responses. View Publication

CRISPR pools are being widely employed to identify gene functions. However,current technology,which utilizes DNA as barcodes,permits limited phenotyping and bulk-cell resolution. To enable novel screening capabilities,we developed a barcoding system operating at the protein level. We synthesized modules encoding triplet combinations of linear epitopes to generate {\textgreater}100 unique protein barcodes (Pro-Codes). Pro-Code-expressing vectors were introduced into cells and analyzed by CyTOF mass cytometry. Using just 14 antibodies,we detected 364 Pro-Code populations; establishing the largest set of protein-based reporters. By pairing each Pro-Code with a different CRISPR,we simultaneously analyzed multiple phenotypic markers,including phospho-signaling,on dozens of knockouts. Pro-Code/CRISPR screens found two interferon-stimulated genes,the immunoproteasome component Psmb8 and a chaperone Rtp4,are important for antigen-dependent immune editing of cancer cells and identified Socs1 as a negative regulator of Pd-l1. The Pro-Code technology enables simultaneous high-dimensional protein-level phenotyping of 100s of genes with single-cell resolution. View Publication

Functional CD8+ T cells in human tumors play a clear role in clinical prognosis and response to immunotherapeutic interventions. PD-1 expression in T cells involved in chronic infections and tumors such as melanoma often correlates with a state of T-cell exhaustion. Here we interrogate CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from human breast and melanoma tumors to explore their functional state. Despite expression of exhaustion hallmarks,such as PD-1 expression,human breast tumor CD8+ TILs retain robust capacity for production of effector cytokines and degranulation capacity. In contrast,melanoma CD8+ TILs display dramatic reduction of cytokine production and degranulation capacity. We show that CD8+ TILs from human breast tumors can potently kill cancer cells via bi-specific antibodies. Our data demonstrate that CD8+ TILs in human breast tumors retain polyfunctionality,despite PD-1 expression,and suggest that they may be harnessed for effective immunotherapies. View Publication

Human mucosal tissues and skin contain two distinct types of dendritic cell (DC) subsets,epidermal Langerhans cells (LCs) and dermal DCs,which can be distinguished by the expression of C-type lectin receptors,Langerin and DC-SIGN,respectively. Although peripheral blood monocytes differentiate into these distinct subsets,monocyte-derived LCs (moLCs) induced by coculture with GM-CSF,IL-4,and TGF-$\beta$1 coexpress both Langerin and DC-SIGN,suggesting that the environmental cues remain unclear. In this study,we show that LC differentiation is TGF-$\beta$1 dependent and that cofactors such as IL-4 and TNF-$\alpha$ promote TGF-$\beta$1-dependent LC differentiation into Langerin+DC-SIGN- moLCs but continuous exposure to IL-4 blocks differentiation. Steroids such as dexamethasone greatly enhanced TNF-$\alpha$-induced moLC differentiation and blocked DC-SIGN expression. Consistent with primary LCs,dexamethasone-treated moLCs express CD1a,whereas monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs) express CD1b,CD1c,and CD1d. moDCs but not moLCs produced inflammatory cytokines after stimulation with CD1b and CD1d ligands mycolic acid and $\alpha$-galactosylceramide,respectively. Strikingly,CD1a triggering with squalene on moLCs but not moDCs induced strong IL-22-producing CD4+ helper T cell responses. As IL-22 is an important cytokine in the maintenance of skin homeostasis,these data suggest that CD1a on LCs is involved in maintaining the immune barrier in the skin. View Publication