技术资料

Immune activation may underlie the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),but the evidence is conflicting. We examined whether peripheral CD4+ T-cells from IBS patients demonstrated immune activation and changes in cytokine production. To gain mechanistic insight,we examined whether immune activation correlated with psychological stress and changing symptoms over time. IBS patients (n = 29) and healthy volunteers (HV; n = 29) completed symptom and psychological questionnaires. IBS patients had a significant increase in CD4+ T-cells expressing the gut homing marker integrin beta7 (p = 0.023) and lymphoid marker CD62L (p = 0.026) compared to HV. Furthermore,phytohaemagglutinin stimulated CD4+ T-cells from IBS-D patients demonstrated increased TNFalpha secretion when compared to HV (p = 0.044). Increased psychological scores in IBS did not correlate with TNFalpha production,while stress hormones inhibited cytokine secretion from CD4+ T-cells of HV in vitro. IBS symptoms,but not markers of immune activation,decreased over time. CD4+ T-cells from IBS-D patients exhibit immune activation,but this did not appear to correlate with psychological stress measurements or changing symptoms over time. This could suggest that immune activation is a surrogate of an initial trigger and/or ongoing parallel peripheral mechanisms. View Publication

Various preclinical models have been developed to clarify the pathophysiology of prostate cancer (PCa). Traditional PCa cell lines from clinical metastatic lesions,as exemplified by DU-145,PC-3,and LNCaP cells,are useful tools to define mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis and drug resistance. Cell line-based experiments,however,have limitations for preclinical studies because those cells are basically adapted to 2-dimensional monolayer culture conditions,in which the majority of primary PCa cells cannot survive. Recent tissue engineering enables generation of PCa patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) from both primary and metastatic lesions. Compared with fresh PCa tissue transplantation in athymic mice,co-injection of PCa tissues with extracellular matrix in highly immunodeficient mice has remarkably improved the success rate of PDX generation. PDX models have advantages to appropriately recapitulate the molecular diversity,cellular heterogeneity,and histology of original patient tumors. In contrast to PDX models,patient-derived organoid and spheroid PCa models in 3-dimensional culture are more feasible tools for in vitro studies for retaining the characteristics of patient tumors. In this article,we review PCa preclinical model cell lines and their sublines,PDXs,and patient-derived organoid and spheroid models. These PCa models will be applied to the development of new strategies for cancer precision medicine. View Publication

A large body of evidence suggests that B-cell lymphomas with enhanced Myc expression are associated with an aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis,which makes Myc a compelling therapeutic target. Phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B),a main hydrolyzer of cyclic AMP (cAMP) in B cells,was shown to be involved in cell survival and drug resistance in diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCL). However,the interrelationship between Myc and PDE4B remains unclear. Here,we first demonstrate the presence of the Myc-PDE4B feed-forward loop,in which Myc and PDE4B mutually reinforce the expression of each other. Next,the combined targeting of Myc and PDE4 synergistically prevented the proliferation and survival of B lymphoma cells in vitro and in a mouse xenograft model. We finally recapitulated this combinatorial effect in Emu-myc transgenic mice; co-inhibition of Myc and PDE4 suppressed lymphomagenesis and restored B cell development to the wild type level that was associated with marked reduction in Myc levels,unveiling the critical role of the Myc-PDE4B amplification loop in the regulation of Myc expression and the pathogenesis of B cell lymphoma. These findings suggest that the disruption of the Myc-PDE4B circuitry can be exploited in the treatment of B cell malignancies. View Publication

Serrated adenocarcinoma,an alternative pathway for colorectal cancer (CRC) development,accounts for 15{\%}-30{\%} of all CRCs and is aggressive and treatment resistant. We show that the expression of atypical protein kinase C zeta (PKCzeta) and PKClambda/iota was reduced in human serrated tumors. Simultaneous inactivation of the encoding genes in the mouse intestinal epithelium resulted in spontaneous serrated tumorigenesis that progressed to advanced cancer with a strongly reactive and immunosuppressive stroma. Whereas epithelial PKClambda/iota deficiency led to immunogenic cell death and the infiltration of CD8+ T cells,which repressed tumor initiation,PKCzeta loss impaired interferon and CD8+ T cell responses,which resulted in tumorigenesis. Combined treatment with a TGF-beta receptor inhibitor plus anti-PD-L1 checkpoint blockade showed synergistic curative activity. Analysis of human samples supported the relevance of these kinases in the immunosurveillance defects of human serrated CRC. These findings provide insight into avenues for the detection and treatment of this poor-prognosis subtype of CRC. View Publication

This study aimed to determine the association between non-high-fat diet-induced obesity- (non-DIO-) associated gut microbiome dysbiosis with gut abnormalities like cellular turnover of intestinal cells,tight junctions,and mucin formation that can impact gut permeability. We used leptin-deficient (Lepob/ob) mice in comparison to C57BL/6J control mice,which are fed on identical diets,and performed comparative and correlative analyses of gut microbiome composition,gut permeability,intestinal structural changes,tight junction-mucin formation,cellular turnover,and stemness genes. We found that obesity impacted cellular turnover of the intestine with increased cell death and cell survival/proliferation gene expression with enhanced stemness,which are associated with increased intestinal permeability,changes in villi/crypt length,and decreased expression of tight junctions and mucus synthesis genes along with dysbiotic gut microbiome signature. Obesity-induced gut microbiome dysbiosis is also associated with abnormal intestinal organoid formation characterized with decreased budding and higher stemness. Results suggest that non-DIO-associated gut microbiome dysbiosis is associated with changes in the intestinal cell death versus cell proliferation homeostasis and functions to control tight junctions and mucous synthesis-regulating gut permeability. View Publication

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that participate in tissue repair and posses considerable immunomodulatory potential. MSCs have been shown to promote allograft survival,yet the mechanisms behind this phenomenon have not been fully defined. Here,we investigate the capacity of MSCs to suppress the allogeneic immune response by secreting the pleiotropic molecule hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Using an in vivo mouse model of corneal transplantation,we report that MSCs promote graft survival in an HGF-dependent manner. Moreover,our data indicate that topically administered recombinant HGF (1) suppresses antigen-presenting cell maturation in draining lymphoid tissue,(2) limits T-helper type-1 cell generation,(3) decreases inflammatory cell infiltration into grafted tissue,and (4) is itself sufficient to promote transplant survival. These findings have potential translational implications for the development of HGF-based therapeutics. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2019. View Publication

Antagonists of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) 3 receptor (5-HT3R) have anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities,but the detailed,underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We focused on anti-apoptotic activities via 5-HT3R signaling to clarify the underlying mechanisms. Mice were administered 5-fluorouracil (5-FU),which induced apoptosis in intestinal epithelial cells. Coadministration with 5-HT3R antagonists or agonists tended to decrease or increase the number of apoptotic cells,respectively. In serotonin 3A receptor (5-HT3AR) null (HTR3A-/-) mice,the number of apoptotic cells induced by 5-FU was decreased compared with that in wild-type (WT) mice. Bone marrow (BM) transplantation was performed to determine if BM-derived immune cells regulated 5-FU-induced apoptosis,but they were found to be unrelated to this process. Data from 5-HT3AR/enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter mice revealed that 50{\%} of enterochromaffin (EC) cells expressed 5-HT3AR,but the number of apoptotic cells induced by 5-FU in the intestinal crypt organoids of HTR3A-/- mice was not altered compared with WT mice. In contrast,plasma 5-HT concentrations in WT mice but not in HTR3A-/- mice administered 5-FU were increased significantly. In conclusion,5-HT3R signaling may enhance 5-HT release,possibly from EC cells intravascularly,or paracrine,resulting in increases in plasma 5-HT concentration,which in turn,enhances apoptotic activities induced by 5-FU.-Mikawa,S.,Kondo,M.,Kaji,N.,Mihara,T.,Yoshitake,R.,Nakagawa,T.,Takamoto,M.,Nishimura,R.,Shimada,S.,Ozaki,H.,Hori,M. Serotonin 3 receptor signaling regulates 5-fluorouracil-mediated apoptosis indirectly via TNF-alpha production by enhancing serotonin release from enterochromaffin cells. View Publication

The complex process of platelet formation originates with the hematopoietic stem cell,which differentiates through the myeloid lineage,matures,and releases proplatelets into the BM sinusoids. How formed platelets maintain a low basal activation state in the circulation remains unknown. We identify Lepr+ stromal cells lining the BM sinusoids as important contributors to sustaining low platelet activation. Ablation of murine Lepr+ cells led to a decreased number of platelets in the circulation with an increased activation state. We developed a potentially novel culture system for supporting platelet formation in vitro using a unique population of CD51+PDGFRalpha+ perivascular cells,derived from human umbilical cord tissue,which display numerous mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) properties. Megakaryocytes cocultured with MSCs had altered LAT and Rap1b gene expression,yielding platelets that are functional with low basal activation levels,a critical consideration for developing a transfusion product. Identification of a regulatory cell that maintains low baseline platelet activation during thrombopoiesis opens up new avenues for improving blood product production ex vivo. View Publication

Soybeans are a rich source of isoflavones that have been linked with anti-inflammatory processes and various health benefits. However,specific mechanisms whereby soy bioactives impact immune cell subsets are unclear. Isoflavones,such as genistein and daidzein,are metabolized by microbes to bioactive metabolites as O-desmethylangolensin (O-DMA) and equol,whose presence has been linked to health benefits. We examined how soy isoflavones and metabolites impact natural killer (NK) cell signaling and function. We observe no impact of isoflavones on viability of healthy donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or NK cells,even at high (25 µM) concentrations. However,pre-treatment of PBMCs with physiologically-relevant concentrations of genistein (p = 0.0023) and equol (p = 0.006) decreases interleukin (IL)-12/IL-18-induced interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production versus controls. Detailed cellular analyses indicate genistein and equol decrease IL-12/IL-18-induced IFN-gamma production by human NK cell subsets,but do not consistently alter cytotoxicity. At the level of signal transduction,genistein decreases IL-12/IL-18-induced total phosphorylated tyrosine,and phosphorylation MAPK pathway components. Further,genistein limits IL-12/IL-18-mediated upregulation of IL-18Ralpha expression on NK cells (p = 0.0109). Finally,in vivo studies revealed that C57BL/6 mice fed a soy-enriched diet produce less plasma IFN-gamma following administration of IL-12/IL-18 versus control-fed animals (p {\textless} 0.0001). This study provides insight into how dietary soy modulates NK cell functions. View Publication

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) represent an easy,repeatable and representative access to information regarding solid tumors. However,their detection remains difficult because of their paucity,their short half-life,and the lack of reliable surface biomarkers. Flow cytometry (FC) is a fast,sensitive and affordable technique,ideal for rare cells detection. Adapted to CTCs detection (i.e. extremely rare cells),most FC-based techniques require a time-consuming pre-enrichment step,followed by a 2-hours staining procedure,impeding on the efficiency of CTCs detection. We overcame these caveats and reduced the procedure to less than one hour,with minimal manipulation. First,cells were simultaneously fixed,permeabilized,then stained. Second,using low-speed FC acquisition conditions and two discriminators (cell size and pan-cytokeratin expression),we suppressed the pre-enrichment step. Applied to blood from donors with or without known malignant diseases,this protocol ensures a high recovery of the cells of interest independently of their epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity and can predict which samples are derived from cancer donors. This proof-of-concept study lays the bases of a sensitive tool to detect CTCs from a small amount of blood upstream of in-depth analyses. View Publication

Microglia are highly plastic immune cells which exist in a continuum of activation states. By shaping the function of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs),the brain cells which differentiate to myelin-forming cells,microglia participate in both myelin injury and remyelination during multiple sclerosis. However,the mode(s) of action of microglia in supporting or inhibiting myelin repair is still largely unclear. Here,we analysed the effects of extracellular vesicles (EVs) produced in vitro by either pro-inflammatory or pro-regenerative microglia on OPCs at demyelinated lesions caused by lysolecithin injection in the mouse corpus callosum. Immunolabelling for myelin proteins and electron microscopy showed that EVs released by pro-inflammatory microglia blocked remyelination,whereas EVs produced by microglia co-cultured with immunosuppressive mesenchymal stem cells promoted OPC recruitment and myelin repair. The molecular mechanisms responsible for the harmful and beneficial EV actions were dissected in primary OPC cultures. By exposing OPCs,cultured either alone or with astrocytes,to inflammatory EVs,we observed a blockade of OPC maturation only in the presence of astrocytes,implicating these cells in remyelination failure. Biochemical fractionation revealed that astrocytes may be converted into harmful cells by the inflammatory EV cargo,as indicated by immunohistochemical and qPCR analyses,whereas surface lipid components of EVs promote OPC migration and/or differentiation,linking EV lipids to myelin repair. Although the mechanisms through which the lipid species enhance OPC maturation still remain to be fully defined,we provide the first demonstration that vesicular sphingosine 1 phosphate stimulates OPC migration,the first fundamental step in myelin repair. From this study,microglial EVs emerge as multimodal and multitarget signalling mediators able to influence both OPCs and astrocytes around myelin lesions,which may be exploited to develop novel approaches for myelin repair not only in multiple sclerosis,but also in neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases characterized by demyelination. View Publication

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is a common aging-associated condition with increased risk of hematologic malignancy. Knowledge of the mechanisms driving evolution from CH to overt malignancy has been hampered by a lack of in vivo models that orthogonally activate mutant alleles. Here,we develop independently regulatable mutations in DNA methyltransferase 3A (Dnmt3a) and nucleophosmin 1 (Npm1),observed in human CH and AML,respectively. We find Dnmt3a mutation expands hematopoietic stem and multipotent progenitor cells (HSC/MPPs),modeling CH. Induction of mutant Npm1 after development of Dnmt3a-mutant CH causes progression to myeloproliferative disorder (MPD),and more aggressive MPD is observed with longer latency between mutations. MPDs uniformly progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) following transplant,accompanied by a decrease in HSC/MPPs and an increase in myeloid-restricted progenitors,the latter of which propagate AML in tertiary recipient mice. At a molecular level,progression of CH to MPD is accompanied by selection for mutations activating Ras/Raf/MAPK signaling. Progression to AML is characterized by additional oncogenic signaling mutations (Ptpn11,Pik3r1,Flt3) and/or mutations in epigenetic regulators (Hdac1,Idh1,Arid1a). Together,our study demonstrates that Npm1 mutation drives evolution of Dnmt3a-mutant CH to AML and rate of disease progression is accelerated with longer latency of CH. View Publication