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BACKGROUND Asthma is a heterogenous disease characterized by chronic inflammation and airway remodeling. An increase in the severity of airway remodeling is associated with a more severe form of asthma. There is increasing interest in the epithelial to mesenchymal transition process and mechanisms involved in the differentiation and repair of the airway epithelium,especially as they apply to severe asthma. Growing evidence suggests that Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) could contribute to airway remodeling and fibrosis in asthma. Severe asthmatic patients with remodeled airways have a neutrophil driven inflammation. Neutrophils are an important source of TGF-$\beta$1,which plays a role in recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells,extracellular matrix (ECM) production and fibrosis development,and is a potent inducer of EMT. OBJECTIVE As there is little data examining the contribution of neutrophils and/or their mediators to the induction of EMT in airway epithelial cells,the objective of this study was to better understand the potential role of neutrophils in severe asthma in regards to EMT. METHODS We used an in vitro system to investigate the neutrophil-epithelial cell interaction. We obtained peripheral blood neutrophils from severe asthmatic patients and control subjects and examined for their ability to induce EMT in primary airway epithelial cells. RESULTS Our data indicate that neutrophils from severe asthmatic patients induce changes in morphology and EMT marker expression in bronchial epithelial cells consistent with the EMT process when co-cultured. TGF-$\beta$1 levels in the culture medium of severe asthmatic patients were increased compared to that from co-cultures of non-asthmatic neutrophils and epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE As an inducer of EMT and an important source of TGF-$\beta$1,neutrophils may play a significant role in the development of airway remodeling and fibrosis in severe asthmatic airways. View Publication

Re-activation and clonal expansion of tumor-specific antigen (TSA)-reactive T cells are critical to the success of checkpoint blockade and adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL)-based therapies. There are no reliable markers to specifically identify the repertoire of TSA-reactive T cells due to their heterogeneous composition. We introduce FucoID as a general platform to detect endogenous antigen-specific T cells for studying their biology. Through this interaction-dependent labeling approach,intratumoral TSA-reactive CD4+,CD8+ T cells,and TSA-suppressive CD4+ T cells can be detected and separated from bystander T cells based on their cell-surface enzymatic fucosyl-biotinylation. Compared to bystander TILs,TSA-reactive TILs possess a distinct T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire and unique gene features. Although exhibiting a dysfunctional phenotype,TSA-reactive CD8+ TILs possess substantial capabilities of proliferation and tumor-specific killing. Featuring genetic manipulation-free procedures and a quick turnover cycle,FucoID should have the potential of accelerating the pace of personalized cancer treatment. View Publication

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is characterised by a heterogeneous clinical course. Such heterogeneity is associated with a number of markers,including TP53 gene inactivation. While TP53 gene alterations determine resistance to chemotherapy,it is not clear whether they can influence early disease progression. To clarify this issue,TP53 mutations and deletions of the corresponding locus [del(17p)] were evaluated in 469 cases from the O-CLL1 observational study that recruited a cohort of clinically and molecularly characterised Binet stage A patients. Twenty-four cases harboured somatic TP53 mutations [accompanied by del(17p) in 9 cases],2 patients had del(17p) only,and 5 patients had TP53 germ-line variants. While del(17p) with or without TP53 mutations was capable of significantly predicting the time to first treatment,a reliable measure of disease progression,TP53 mutations were not. This was true for cases with high or low variant allele frequency. The lack of predictive ability was independent of the functional features of the mutant P53 protein in terms of transactivation and dominant negative potential. TP53 mutations alone were more frequent in patients with mutated IGHV genes,whereas del(17p) was associated with the presence of adverse prognostic factors,including CD38 positivity,unmutated-IGHV gene status,and NOTCH1 mutations. View Publication

Mutations in nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2) cause Blau syndrome,an inflammatory disorder characterized by uveitis. The antimicrobial functions of Nod2 are well-established,yet the cellular mechanisms by which dysregulated Nod2 causes uveitis remain unknown. Here,we report a non-conventional,T cell-intrinsic function for Nod2 in suppression of Th17 immunity and experimental uveitis. Reconstitution of lymphopenic hosts with Nod2-/- CD4+ T cells or retina-specific autoreactive CD4+ T cells lacking Nod2 reveals a T cell-autonomous,Rip2-independent mechanism for Nod2 in uveitis. In naive animals,Nod2 operates downstream of TCR ligation to suppress activation of memory CD4+ T cells that associate with an autoreactive-like profile involving IL-17 and Ccr7. Interestingly,CD4+ T cells from two Blau syndrome patients show elevated IL-17 and increased CCR7. Our data define Nod2 as a T cell-intrinsic rheostat of Th17 immunity,and open new avenues for T cell-based therapies for Nod2-associated disorders such as Blau syndrome. View Publication

Small molecules that promote the metabolic activity of the pyruvate kinase isoform PKM2,such as TEPP-46 and DASA-58,limit tumorigenesis and inflammation. To understand how these compounds alter T cell function,we assessed their therapeutic activity in a mouse model of T cell-mediated autoimmunity that mimics multiple sclerosis (MS). TH17 cells are believed to orchestrate MS pathology,in part,through the production of two proinflammatory cytokines: interleukin-17 (IL-17) and GM-CSF. We found that both TEPP-46 and DASA-58 suppressed the development of IL-17-producing TH17 cells but increased the generation of those producing GM-CSF. This switch redirected disease pathology from the spinal cord to the brain. In addition,we found that activation of PKM2 interfered with TGF-$\beta$1 signaling,which is necessary for the development of TH17 and regulatory T cells. Collectively,our data clarify the therapeutic potential of PKM2 activators in MS-like disease and how these agents alter T cell function. View Publication

Type III interferon (interferon lambda [IFN-$\lambda$]) is known to be a potential immune modulator,but the mechanisms behind its immune-modulatory functions and its impact on plasmablast differentiation in humans remain unknown. Human B cells and their subtypes directly respond to IFN-$\lambda$. Using B cell transcriptome profiling,we investigate the immune-modulatory role of IFN-$\lambda$ in B cells. We find that IFN-$\lambda$-induced gene expression in B cells is steady,prolonged,and importantly,cell type specific. Furthermore,IFN-$\lambda$ enhances the mTORC1 (mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1) pathway in B cells activated by the B cell receptor (BCR/anti-IgM). Engagement of mTORC1 by BCR and IFN-$\lambda$ induces cell-cycle progress in B cells. Subsequently,IFN-$\lambda$ boosts the differentiation of naive B cells into plasmablasts upon activation,and the cells gain effector functions such as cytokine release (IL-6 and IL-10) and antibody production. Our study shows how IFN-$\lambda$ systematically boosts the differentiation of naive B cells into plasmablasts by enhancing the mTORC1 pathway and cell-cycle progression in activated B cells. View Publication

Immunotherapy is innovating clinical cancer management. Nevertheless,only a small fraction of patient's benefit from current immunotherapies. To improve clinical management of cancer immunotherapy,it is critical to develop strategies for response monitoring and prediction. In this study,we describe inducible T-cell costimulator (ICOS) as a conserved mediator of immune response across multiple therapy strategies. ICOS expression was evaluated by flow cytometry,89Zr-DFO-ICOS mAb PET/CT imaging was performed on Lewis lung cancer models treated with different immunotherapy strategies,and the change in tumor volume was used as a read-out for therapeutic response. ImmunoPET imaging of ICOS enabled sensitive and specific detection of activated T cells and early benchmarking of immune response. A STING (stimulator of interferon genes) agonist was identified as a promising therapeutic approach in this manner. The STING agonist generated significantly stronger immune responses as measured by ICOS ImmunoPET and delayed tumor growth compared with programmed death-1 checkpoint blockade. More importantly,ICOS ImmunoPET enabled early and robust prediction of therapeutic response across multiple treatment regimens. These data show that ICOS is an indicator of T-cell-mediated immune response and suggests ICOS ImmunoPET as a promising strategy for monitoring,comparing,and predicting immunotherapy success in cancer. SIGNIFICANCE: ICOS ImmunoPET is a promising strategy to noninvasively predict and monitor immunotherapy response.See related commentary by Choyke,p. 2975. View Publication