技术资料

Heartland virus (HRTV),a phlebovirus first isolated from two Missouri farmers in 2009,has been proposed to be transmitted to humans by the bite of infected Amblyomma americanum ticks. It is closely related to severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) from China,another previously unrecognized phlebovirus that has subsequently been associated with hundreds of cases of severe disease in humans. To expand diagnostic capacity to detect HRTV infections,20 hybridoma clones secreting anti-HRTV murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were developed using splenocytes from HRTV-inoculated AG129 alpha/beta and gamma interferon receptor-deficient mice. Nine of these MAbs were characterized herein for inclusion in future HRTV diagnostic assay development. All of the MAbs developed were found to be non-neutralizing and reactive to linear epitopes on HRTV nucleocapsid protein. MAb 2AF11 was found to be cross-reactive with SFTSV. View Publication

In cancer microenvironment,aberrant glycosylation events of ECM proteins and cell surface receptors occur. We developed a protocol to generate 3D bioprinted models of colorectal cancer (CRC) crosslinking hyaluronic acid and gelatin functionalized with three signalling glycans characterized in CRC,3'-Sialylgalactose,6'-Sialylgalactose and 2'-Fucosylgalactose. The crosslinking,performed exploiting azide functionalized gelatin and hyaluronic acid and 4arm-PEG-dibenzocyclooctyne,resulted in biocompatible hydrogels that were 3D bioprinted with commercial CRC cells HT-29 and patient derived CRC tumoroids. The glycosylated hydrogels showed good 3D printability,biocompatibility and stability over the time. SEM and synchrotron radiation SAXS/WAXS analysis revealed the influence of glycosylation in the construct morphology,whereas MALDI-MS imaging showed that protein profiles of tumoroid cells vary with glycosylation,indicating that sialylation and fucosylation of ECM proteins induce diverse alterations to the proteome of the tumoroid and surrounding cells. View Publication

Human intestinal organoids (HIOs) derived from pluripotent stem cells provide a valuable model for investigating human intestinal organogenesis and physiology,but they lack the immune components required to fully recapitulate the complexity of human intestinal biology and diseases. To address this issue and to begin to decipher human intestinal-immune crosstalk during development,we generated HIOs containing immune cells by transplanting HIOs under the kidney capsule of mice with a humanized immune system. We found that human immune cells temporally migrate to the mucosa and form cellular aggregates that resemble human intestinal lymphoid follicles. Moreover,after microbial exposure,epithelial microfold cells are increased in number,leading to immune cell activation determined by the secretion of IgA antibodies in the HIO lumen. This in vivo HIO system with human immune cells provides a framework for future studies on infection- or allergen-driven intestinal diseases. View Publication

Abs have been shown to be protective in passive immunotherapy of tuberculous infection using mouse experimental models. In this study,we report on the properties of a novel human IgA1,constructed using a single-chain variable fragment clone (2E9),selected from an Ab phage library. The purified Ab monomer revealed high binding affinities for the mycobacterial ?-crystallin Ag and for the human Fc?RI (CD89) IgA receptor. Intranasal inoculations with 2E9IgA1 and recombinant mouse IFN-? significantly inhibited pulmonary H37Rv infection in mice transgenic for human CD89 but not in CD89-negative littermate controls,suggesting that binding to CD89 was necessary for the IgA-imparted passive protection. 2E9IgA1 added to human whole-blood or monocyte cultures inhibited luciferase-tagged H37Rv infection although not for all tested blood donors. Inhibition by 2E9IgA1 was synergistic with human rIFN-? in cultures of purified human monocytes but not in whole-blood cultures. The demonstration of the mandatory role of Fc?RI (CD89) for human IgA-mediated protection is important for understanding of the mechanisms involved and also for translation of this approach toward development of passive immunotherapy of tuberculosis. View Publication

Appropriate culture methods for the interrogation of primary leukemic samples were hitherto lacking and current assays for compound screening are not adapted for large-scale investigation of synergistic combinations. In this study,we report a novel approach that efficiently distills synthetic lethal interactions between small molecules active on primary human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) specimens. In single-dose experiments and under culture conditions preserving leukemia stem cell activity,our strategy considerably reduces the number of tests needed for the identification of promising compound combinations. Initially conducted with a selected library of 5000 small molecules and 20 primary AML specimens,it reveals 5 broad classes of sensitized therapeutic target pathways along with their synergistic patient-specific fingerprints. This novel method opens new avenues for the development of AML personalized therapeutics and may be generalized to other tumor types,for which in vitro cancer stem cell cultures have been developed. View Publication

Receptor type protein tyrosine phosphatase-sigma (PTPsigma) is primarily expressed by adult neurons and regulates neural regeneration. We recently discovered that PTPsigma is also expressed by hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Here,we describe small molecule inhibitors of PTPsigma that promote HSC regeneration in vivo. Systemic administration of the PTPsigma inhibitor,DJ001,or its analog,to irradiated mice promotes HSC regeneration,accelerates hematologic recovery,and improves survival. Similarly,DJ001 administration accelerates hematologic recovery in mice treated with 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy. DJ001 displays high specificity for PTPsigma and antagonizes PTPsigma via unique non-competitive,allosteric binding. Mechanistically,DJ001 suppresses radiation-induced HSC apoptosis via activation of the RhoGTPase,RAC1,and induction of BCL-XL. Furthermore,treatment of irradiated human HSCs with DJ001 promotes the regeneration of human HSCs capable of multilineage in vivo repopulation. These studies demonstrate the therapeutic potential of selective,small-molecule PTPsigma inhibitors for human hematopoietic regeneration. View Publication

Both anti-tumoral and pro-tumoral effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in preclinical treatment of ovarian cancer have been controversially demonstrated. In this study,we profiled the phenotypes of mouse compact bone-derived MSCs (CB-MSCs) and bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) and found that CB-MSCs expressed lower CD90 compared to BM-MSCs. We examined gene expression of immune regulating cytokines of CB-MSCs in 2D and 3D culture and under stimulation with TLR4 agonist LPS or immune activator VIC-008. Our data showed that when CB-MSCs were cultured in simulated in vivo 3D condition,CD90 expression was further decreased. Moreover,gene expressions of immune activating cytokines IL-12,IL-21,IFNgamma and a pro-inflammatory cytokine CXCL10 in CB-MSCs were increased in 3D culture whereas gene expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and CCL5 were downregulated. Stimulation of CB-MSCs by LPS or VIC-008 presented similar profile of the cytokine gene expressions to that in 3D culture which might benefit the anti-tumor efficacy of CD90low MSCs. The anti-tumor effects of CD90low CB-MSCs alone or in combination with VIC-008 were evaluated in a syngeneic orthotopic mouse model of ovarian cancer. Treatment that combines CB-MSCs and VIC-008 significantly decreased tumor growth and prolonged mouse survival. This was associated with the increase of activated anti-tumoral CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and the decrease of Treg cells in the tumor microenvironment. Taken together,our study demonstrates the synergistic anti-tumoral efficacy by application of CB-MSCs combined with immune activator VIC-008 and provides new insight into CD90low MSCs as a new anti-tumor arsenal. View Publication

Background and Aims Epithelial expression of the insulin receptor in the colon has previously been reported to correlate with extent of colonic inflammation. However,the impact of insulin signalling in the intestinal mucosa is still unknown. Here,we investigated the effects of inactivating the epithelial insulin receptor in the intestinal tract,in an experimental model of inflammation-induced colorectal cancer. Methods The mice were generated by utilizing the intestinal- and epithelial-specific villin promoter and the Cre-Lox technology. All mice included in the cohorts were generated by crossing [vil-Cre-INSR+/-] × [INSRfl/fl] to obtain [vil-Cre-INSR-/-],and their floxed littermates [INSRfl/fl] served as the control group. For the intervention study,phosphate-buffered saline with or without insulin was instilled rectally in anaesthetized wild-type mice with chemically induced colitis. Results We found higher endoscopic colitis scores together with potentiated colonic tumorigenesis in the knockout mice. Furthermore,we showed that topically administered insulin in inflamed colons of wild-type mice reduced inflammation-induced weight loss and improved remission in a dose-dependent manner. Mice receiving rectal insulin enemas exhibited lower colitis endoscopic scores and reduced cyclooxygenase 2 mRNA expression,and developed significantly fewer and smaller tumours compared with the control group receiving phosphate-buffered saline only. Conclusions Rectal insulin therapy could potentially be a novel treatment,targeting the epithelial layer to enhance mucosal healing in ulcerated areas. Our findings open up new possibilities for combination treatments to synergize with the existing anti-inflammatory therapies. View Publication

Human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) can release exosomes; however,their specific functions remain elusive. In this study,we verified that exosomes derived from osteogenically differentiated ADSCs can promote osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs. Furthermore,in order to investigate the importance of exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) in osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs,we used microarray assays to analyze the expression profiles of exosomal miRNAs derived from undifferentiated as well as osteogenically differentiated ADSCs; 201 miRNAs were upregulated and 33 miRNAs were downregulated between the two types of exosomes. Additionally,bioinformatic analyses,which included gene ontology analyses,pathway analysis,and miRNA-mRNA-network investigations,were performed. The results of these analyses revealed that the differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs participate in multiple biological processes,such as gene expression,synthesis of biomolecules,cell development,differentiation,and signal transduction,among others. Moreover,we found that these differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs connect osteogenic differentiation to processes such as axon guidance,MAPK signaling,and Wnt signaling. To the best of our knowledge,this is the first study to identify and characterize exosomal miRNAs derived from osteogenically differentiated ADSCs. This study confirms that alterations in the expression of exosomal miRNAs can promote osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs,which also provides the foundation for further research on the regulatory functions of exosomal miRNAs in the context of ADSC osteogenesis. View Publication

Subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with cardiovascular diseases,yet the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Herein,in a common population (n = 1,103),TSH level was found to be independently correlated with both carotid plaque prevalence and intima-media thickness. Consistently,TSH receptor ablation in ApoE-/- mice attenuated atherogenesis,accompanied by decreased vascular inflammation and macrophage burden in atherosclerotic plaques. These results were also observed in myeloid-specific Tshr-deficient ApoE-/- mice,which indicated macrophages to be a critical target of the proinflammatory and atherogenic effects of TSH. In vitro experiments further revealed that TSH activated MAPKs (ERK1/2,p38alpha,and JNK) and IkappaB/p65 pathways in macrophages and increased inflammatory cytokine production and their recruitment of monocytes. Thus,the present study has elucidated the new mechanisms by which TSH,as an independent risk factor of atherosclerosis,aggravates vascular inflammation and contributes to atherogenesis. View Publication

Dysregulation of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway is associated with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and its mouse model,Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE). Suppressors Of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS) negatively regulate the JAK/STAT pathway. We previously reported a severe,brain-targeted,atypical form of EAE in mice lacking Socs3 in myeloid cells (Socs3DeltaLysM),which is associated with cerebellar neutrophil infiltration. There is emerging evidence that neutrophils are detrimental in the pathology of MS/EAE,however,their exact function is unclear. Here we demonstrate that neutrophils from the cerebellum of Socs3DeltaLysM mice show a hyper-activated phenotype with excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the peak of EAE. Neutralization of ROS in vivo delayed the onset and reduced severity of atypical EAE. Mechanistically,Socs3-deficient neutrophils exhibit enhanced STAT3 activation,a hyper-activated phenotype in response to G-CSF,and upon G-CSF priming,increased ROS production. Neutralization of G-CSF in vivo significantly reduced the incidence and severity of the atypical EAE phenotype. Overall,our work elucidates that hypersensitivity of G-CSF/STAT3 signaling in Socs3DeltaLysM mice leads to atypical EAE by enhanced neutrophil activation and increased oxidative stress,which may explain the detrimental role of G-CSF in MS patients. View Publication

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) causes chronic inflammation of joints. The cytokines TNFalpha and IFNgamma are central players in RA,however their source has not been fully elucidated. Natural Killer (NK) cells are best known for their role in elimination of viral-infected and transformed cells,and they secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines. NK cells are present in the synovial fluids (SFs) of RA patients and are considered to be important in bone destruction. However,the phenotype and function of NK cells in the SFs of patients with erosive deformative RA (DRA) versus non-deformative RA (NDRA) is poorly characterized. Here we characterize the NK cell populations present in the blood and SFs of DRA and NDRA patients. We demonstrate that a distinct population of activated synovial fluid NK (sfNK) cells constitutes a large proportion of immune cells found in the SFs of DRA patients. We discovered that although sfNK cells in both DRA and NDRA patients have similar phenotypes,they function differently. The DRA sfNK secrete more TNFalpha and IFNgamma upon exposure to IL-2 and IL-15. Consequently,we suggest that sfNK cells may be a marker for more severely destructive RA disease. View Publication