技术资料

Background/Objectives: The SARS-CoV-2’s high mutations and replication rates contribute to its high infectivity and resistance to current vaccinations and treatments. The primary cause of resistance to most current treatments aligns within the coding regions for the spike S protein of SARS-CoV-2 that has mutated. As a potential novel immunotherapy,we generated a novel fusion protein composed of a soluble ACE2 (sACE2) linked to llama-derived anti-CD16 that targets different variants of spike proteins and enhances natural killer cells to target infected cells. Methods: Here,we generated a novel sACE2-AntiCD16VHH fusion protein using a Gly4Ser linker,synthesized and cloned into the pLVX-EF1alpha-IRES-Puro vector,and further expressed in ExpiCHO-S cells and purified using Ni+NTA chromatography. Results: The fusion protein significantly blocked SARS-CoV-2 alpha,beta,delta,gamma,and omicron S-proteins binding and activating angiotensin-converting enzyme receptor-2 (ACE2) on ACE2-expressing RAW-Blue macrophage cells and the secretion of several key inflammatory cytokines,G-CSF,MIP-1A,and MCP-1,implicated in the cytokine release storm (CRS). The sACE2-Anti-CD16VHH fusion protein also bridged NK cells to ACE2-expressing human lung carcinoma A549 cells and significantly activated NK-dependent cytotoxicity. Conclusions: The findings show that a VHH directed against CD16 could be an excellent candidate to be linked to soluble ACE2 to generate a bi-specific molecule (sACE2-AntiCD16VHH) suitable for bridging effector cells and infected target cells to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 variant spike proteins binding to the ACE2 receptor in the RAW-Blue cell line and pro-inflammatory cytokines and to activate natural killer cell cytotoxicity. View Publication

Immune evasion by cancer cells involves reshaping the tumor microenvironment (TME) via communication with non-malignant cells. However,resistance-promoting interactions during treatment remain lesser known. Here we examine the composition,communication,and phenotypes of tumor-associated cells in serial biopsies from stage II and III high-risk estrogen receptor positive (ER+ ) breast cancers of patients receiving endocrine therapy (letrozole) as single agent or in combination with ribociclib,a CDK4/6-targeting cell cycle inhibitor. Single-cell RNA sequencing analyses on longitudinally collected samples show that in tumors overcoming the growth suppressive effects of ribociclib,first cancer cells upregulate cytokines and growth factors that stimulate immune-suppressive myeloid differentiation,resulting in reduced myeloid cell- CD8 + T-cell crosstalk via IL-15/18 signaling. Subsequently,tumors growing during treatment show diminished T-cell activation and recruitment. In vitro,ribociclib does not only inhibit cancer cell growth but also T cell proliferation and activation upon co-culturing. Exogenous IL-15 improves CDK4/6 inhibitor efficacy by augmenting T-cell proliferation and cancer cell killing by T cells. In summary,response to ribociclib in stage II and III high-risk ER +  breast cancer depends on the composition,activation phenotypes and communication network of immune cells. The CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib holds promise in cancer therapy but how cell cycle inhibitory drugs affect the anti-tumor immune response remains a question. Here authors show that poor response of early-stage estrogen receptor positive breast cancers to ribociclib is caused by changes in the immune cell composition and cancer-cell-immune-cell communication in the tumors rather than intrinsic cancer cell resistance to cell cycle inhibition. View Publication

The levels of transcription factor Ets1 are high in resting B and T cells,but are downregulated by signaling through antigen receptors and Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Loss of Ets1 in mice leads to excessive immune cell activation and development of an autoimmune syndrome and reduced Ets1 expression has been observed in human PBMCs in the context of autoimmune diseases. In B cells,Ets1 serves to prevent premature activation and differentiation to antibody-secreting cells. Given these important roles for Ets1 in the immune response,stringent control of Ets1 gene expression levels is required for homeostasis. However,the genetic regulatory elements that control expression of the Ets1 gene remain relatively unknown. Here we identify a topologically-associating domain (TAD) in the chromatin of B cells that includes the mouse Ets1 gene locus and describe an interaction hub that extends over 100 kb upstream and into the gene body. Additionally,we compile epigenetic datasets to find several putative regulatory elements within the interaction hub by identifying regions of high DNA accessibility and enrichment of active enhancer histone marks. Using reporter constructs,we determine that DNA sequences within this interaction hub are sufficient to direct reporter gene expression in lymphoid tissues of transgenic mice. Further analysis indicates that the reporter construct drives faithful expression of the reporter gene in mouse B cells,but variegated expression in T cells,suggesting the existence of T cell regulatory elements outside this region. To investigate how the downregulation of Ets1 transcription is associated with alterations in the epigenetic landscape of stimulated B cells,we performed ATAC-seq in resting and BCR-stimulated primary B cells and identified four regions within and upstream of the Ets1 locus that undergo changes in chromatin accessibility that correlate to Ets1 gene expression. Interestingly,functional analysis of several putative Ets1 regulatory elements using luciferase constructs suggested a high level of functional redundancy. Taken together our studies reveal a complex network of regulatory elements and transcription factors that coordinate the B cell-specific expression of Ets1. View Publication

Large-scale cancer genetic/genomic studies demonstrated that papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) is featured with a frequent shallow deletion of the upstream tumor suppressors of the Hippo/YAP signaling pathway,suggesting that this signaling pathway may play a role in pRCC development. Here we develop a transgenic mouse model with a renal epithelial cell-specific hyperactivation of YAP1 and find that hyperactivation of YAP1 can induce dedifferentiation and transformation of renal tubular epithelial cells leading to the development of pRCC. We analyze at the single-cell resolution the cellular landscape alterations during cancer initiation and progression. Our data indicate that the hyperactivated YAP1,via manipulating multiple signaling pathways,induces epithelial cell transformation,MDSC (Myeloid-derived suppressor cells) accumulation,and pRCC development. Interestingly,we find that depletion of MDSC blocks YAP1-induced kidney overgrowth and tumorigenesis. Inhibiting YAP1 activity with MGH-CP1,a recently developed TEAD inhibitor,impedes MDSC accumulation and suppresses tumor development. Our results identify the disrupted Hippo/YAP signaling as a major contributor to pRCC and suggest that targeting the disrupted Hippo pathway represents a plausible strategy to prevent and treat pRCC. Deletion of upstream tumor suppressors of the Hippo/YAP pathway is frequent in papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC). Here,the authors employ a transgenic mouse model,single-cell transcriptomics and public genomic datasets to show that targeting hyperactivated YAP1 prevents neoplastic renal epithelial cell immune evasion and impairs the development of pRCC. View Publication

Objective: Hypoxia–glycolysis–lactylation (HGL) may play a crucial role in neonatal sepsis (NS). This study aims to identify HGL marker genes in NS and explore immune microenvironment among NS subtypes. Materials and Methods: The gene expression dataset GSE69686,comprising 64 NS cases and 85 controls,was selected for analysis. Based on the screened HGL-related marker genes,diagnostic prediction models were constructed using nine machine learning algorithms,and molecular subtypes of NS were identified through consensus clustering. Subsequently,the heterogeneity of biological functions and immune cell infiltration among the different subtypes was analyzed. Finally,the marker genes and lactylation were validated using the GSE25504 dataset,clinical samples,and mouse neutrophil,respectively. Results: MERTK,HK3,PGK1,and STAT3 were identified and validated as marker genes,and the diagnostic prediction model for NS constructed using the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm exhibited optimal predictive performance. Based on gene expression patterns,two distinct NS subtypes were identified. Functional enrichment analysis highlighted significant immune-related pathways,while immune infiltration analysis revealed differences in neutrophil proportions between the subtypes. Furthermore,the expression levels of marker genes were positively correlated with neutrophil infiltration. Importantly,the experimental validation results were consistent with the findings from the bioinformatics analysis. Conclusion: This study identified the distinct NS subtypes and their associated marker genes. These findings will contribute to elucidating the disease's heterogeneity and establishing appropriate personalized therapeutic approaches. View Publication

T cells have been reported to play critical roles in preventing of microsporidia dissemination. However,there roles and functions of each subset remain unclear. Here in the study,we performed a thorough analysis of murine splenic T-cell response analysis via single-cell RNA sequencing during microsporidia E. cuniculi infection. We demonstrated that Type I T helper (Th1) cells,T follicular helper (Tfh) cells,effector CD8 + T cells and proliferating CD8 + T cells were activated and expanded after infection. Activated Th1 cells and Tfh cells presented significantly upregulated gene expression of Ifng and Il21,respectively. A subcluster of Th1 cells with high Csf1 expression was detected after infection. Subsets of activated CD8 + T cells were markedly enriched with high expression of cytotoxic-function related genes such as Gzma and Gzmb,whereas some active CD8 T cells were enriched with proliferation-function related genes Mki67 and Stmn1. Other subsets of T cells including NK T cells,Myb+ T cells,γδ T cells and Cxcr6+ T cells,were also analyzed in this study yet no expansion was observed. In summary,our findings provide in-depth and comprehensive insights into T-cell responses during microsporidia infection,which will be valuable for further investigations. This study provides a comprehensive landscape of mouse T cells responses during microsporidia infection at a single-cell resolution reporting that Th1,Tfh,effector and proliferating CD8 + T cell subsets were activated and expanded upon infection. View Publication

AbstractObjectivesWe performed multiparameter phenotyping of peripheral B cells in anti-Jo-1 antibody positive idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) to delineate disease-associated immunological profiles and the influence of B cells on disease activity.MethodsPurified B cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 16 patients with anti-Jo-1 antibody positive IIM (7 with untreated active IIM,4 with active and treated IIM and 5 with inactive IIM) were analysed by multiparameter spectral flow cytometry. Dimensionality reduction and clustering analysis were applied to pre-gated CD19+B cells. Serum levels of 21 cytokines and anti-Jo-1 IgG autoantibodies were determined. All patients with IIM in this study were positive for anti-Jo-1 antibody.ResultsAnti-Jo-1 antibody levels correlated positively to disease activity. Flow cytometry demonstrated B-cell dysregulation with significantly lower CD73 expression on naïve,switched memory and double negative B cells in patients with active IIM. Clustering analysis further revealed expansions of CD73− IgM+naïve B cells and CD73− CD95+ switched memory B cells in active IIM. In unswitched memory B cells,CD73+CD21+ cells were decreased in active IIM. Patients with active IIM had significantly higher serum levels of B-cell activating factor,inducible protein-10,interleukin-6 and sCD40L which correlated with changes in B-cell populations.ConclusionsSince CD73 has an immunoregulatory function by modulating the ATP/adenosine pathway,which is also targeted by methotrexate,the low CD73 B-cell expression in anti-Jo-1 antibody-positive IIM may lead to B-cell hyperactivation. These novel findings further highlight B cells as central in the pathogenesis of IIM and important therapeutic targets. View Publication

Most cancer patients diagnosed with late-stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma are treated with chemoradiotherapy,which can lead to toxicity. One potential alternative is tumor-limited conversion of a prodrug into its cytotoxic form. We reason this could be achieved by transient and tumor-specific expression of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP),an Escherichia coli enzyme that converts fludarabine into 2-fluoroadenine,a potent cytotoxic drug. To efficiently express bacterial PNP in tumors,we evaluate 44 chemically distinct lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) using species-agnostic DNA barcoding in tumor-bearing mice. Our lead LNP,designated LNP intratumoral (LNPIT),delivers mRNA that leads to PNP expression in vivo. Additionally,in tumor cells transfected with LNPIT,we observe upregulated pathways related to RNA and protein metabolism,providing insight into the tumor cell response to LNPs in vivo. When mice are treated with LNPIT-PNP,then subsequently given fludarabine phosphate,we observe anti-tumor responses. These data are consistent with an approach in which LNP-mRNA expression of a bacterial enzyme activates a prodrug in solid tumors. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) delivering mRNA after intratumoral administration could be a promising cancer treatment strategy. Here this group reports the intratumoral delivery of mRNA with LNPs inducing the expression of purine nucleoside phosphorylase and inhibiting the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in vivo. View Publication

The prognosis for adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia remains unfavorable,especially in the context of relapsed and refractory disease. Exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying disease progression holds significant promise for improving clinical outcomes. In this investigation,utilizing single-cell transcriptome sequencing technology,we discerned a correlation between Ubiquitin-like containing PHD and RING finger domain 1 (UHRF1) and the progression of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Our findings reveal a significant upregulation of UHRF1 in cases of relapsed and refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia,thereby serving as a prognostic indicator for poor outcomes. Both deletion of UHRF1 or overexpression of its downstream target secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (SFRP5) resulted in the inhibition of leukemia cell proliferation,promoting cellular apoptosis and induction of cell cycle arrest. Our results showed that UHRF1 employs methylation modifications to repress the expression of SFRP5,consequently inducing the WNT5A-P38 MAPK-HK2 signaling axis,resulting in the augmentation of lactate,the critical metabolic product of aerobic glycolysis. Furthermore,we identified UM164 as a targeted inhibitor of UHRF1 that substantially inhibits P38 protein phosphorylation,downregulates HK2 expression,and reduces lactate production. UM164 also demonstrated antileukemic activity both in vitro and in vivo. In summary,our investigation revealed the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming in relapsed and refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and provides potential targeted therapeutic strategies to improve its inadequate prognosis. View Publication

Metabolite nutrients within the tumor microenvironment shape both tumor progression and immune cell functionality. It remains elusive how the metabolic interaction between T cells and tumor cells results in different anti-cancer immunotherapeutic responses. Here,we use untargeted metabolomics to investigate the metabolic heterogeneity in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Our analysis reveals enhanced S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) metabolism in microsatellite stable (MSS) CRC,a subtype known for its resistance to immunotherapy. Functional studies reveal that SAM and SAH enhance the initial activation and effector functions of CD8+ T cells. Instead,cancer cells outcompete CD8+ T cells for SAM and SAH availability to impair T cell survival. In vivo,SAM supplementation promotes T cell proliferation and reduces exhaustion of the tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells,thus suppressing tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice. This study uncovers the metabolic crosstalk between T cells and tumor cells,which drives the development of tumors resistant to immunotherapy.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40170-025-00394-2. View Publication

SummaryStudying the cis-regulatory elements (CREs) of genes in Th17 cells during autoimmune disease progression,such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE),is often limited by the availability of gene-edited mice. Here,we present a protocol for CRISPR-mediated deletion of a CRE in murine Th17 cells for in vivo assessment of effector function in EAE. We describe steps for dual U6gRNA construction,preparation of retroviruses,viral delivery,and Th17 differentiation. We then detail procedures for in vivo functionality analysis.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol,please refer to Zhong et al.1,2 Graphical abstract Highlights•Steps for designing and cloning dual U6gRNA cassettes to delete a specific CRE•Instructions for optimized retrovirus production and transduction into CD4+ T cells•Guidance on Th17 differentiation and confirmation of CRE deletion in cultured T cells•Procedures for adoptive transfer of CRISPR-edited Th17 cells to assess in vivo function Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics. Studying the cis-regulatory elements (CREs) of genes in Th17 cells during autoimmune disease progression,such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE),is often limited by the availability of gene-edited mice. Here,we present a protocol for CRISPR-mediated deletion of a CRE in murine Th17 cells for in vivo assessment of effector function in EAE. We describe steps for dual U6gRNA construction,preparation of retroviruses,viral delivery,and Th17 differentiation. We then detail procedures for in vivo functionality analysis. View Publication

BackgroundMonocytes have been confirmed to increase in persistently food-allergic children. A phenomenon of innate immune memory,called trained immunity,has also been observed in monocytes from allergic children. However,the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood.MethodsWe enrolled a cohort of HDM-allergic children alongside age-matched healthy controls and established an HDM-sensitized allergic mouse model. Flow cytometric analyses were conducted to quantify monocyte frequencies in clinical cohorts and experimental animals. We performed integrated transcriptomic profiling via RNA-seq combined with chromatin occupancy analysis using CUT&Tag technology in parallel human and murine samples to elucidate the molecular mechanisms.ResultsIn our study,we demonstrated a reduced H3K27me3 methylation level accompanied by an increased proportion and a proinflammatory transcriptional memory in monocytes from house dust mite (HDM)-allergic human subjects. The same transcriptional and epigenetic phenotype was also confirmed in HDM-sensitized mice. Finally,the administration of GSK-J4,which upregulates H3K27me3 level in murine monocytes,attenuated the inflammatory response in vitro and in vivo.ConclusionsOur study confirms that H3K27me3 methylation modulates the trained immunity in monocytes and regulates HDM-allergic diseases through an inflammatory-dependent mechanism. View Publication