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C-Type lectin receptor 5A (CLEC5A) is a spleen tyrosine kinase- (Syk-) coupled pattern recognition receptor expressed on myeloid cells and involved in the innate immune response to viral and bacterial infections. Activation of the CLEC5A receptor with pathogen-derived antigens leads to a secretion of proinflammatory mediators such as TNF-$\alpha$ and IL-6 that may provoke a systemic cytokine storm,and CLEC5A gene polymorphisms are associated with the severity of DV infection. In addition,the CLEC5A receptor was mentioned in the context of noninfectious disorders like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or arthritis. Altogether,CLEC5A may be considered as an innate immune checkpoint capable to amplify proinflammatory signals,and this way contributes to infection or to aseptic inflammation. In this study,we determined CLEC5A receptor expression on different macrophage subsets (in vitro and ex vivo) and the functional consequences of its activation in aseptic conditions. The CLEC5A surface expression appeared the highest on proinflammatory M1 macrophages while intermediate on tumor-associated phenotypes (M2c or TAM). In contrast,the CLEC5A expression on ex vivo-derived alveolar macrophages from healthy donors or macrophages from ovarian cancer patients was hardly detectable. Targeting CLEC5A on noninflammatory macrophages with an agonistic $\alpha$-CLEC5A antibody triggered a release of proinflammatory cytokines,resembling a response to dengue virus,and led to phenotypic changes in myeloid cells that may suggest their reprogramming towards a proinflammatory phenotype,e.g.,upregulation of CD80 and downregulation of CD163. Interestingly,the CLEC5A agonist upregulated immune-regulatory molecules like CD206,PD-L1,and cytokines like IL-10,macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22),and thymus and activation chemokine (TARC/CCL17) which are associated with an anti-inflammatory or a protumorigenic macrophage phenotype. In the absence of concomitant pathogenic or endogenous danger signals,the CLEC5A receptor activation did not amplify an autologous T cell response,which may represent a protective innate mechanism to avoid an undesirable autoimmune adaptive response. View Publication

As a potential source of myofibroblasts,pericytes may play a role in human peritoneal fibrosis. The culture of primary vascular pericytes in animals has previously been reported,most of which are derived from cerebral and retinal microvasculature. Here,in the field of peritoneal dialysis,we describe a method to isolate and characterize mouse peritoneal microvascular pericytes. The mesenteric tissues of five mice were collected and digested by type II collagenase and type I DNase. After cell attachment,the culture fluid was replaced with pericyte-conditioned medium. Pericytes with high purity (99.0%) could be isolated by enzymatic disaggregation combined with conditional culture and magnetic activated cell sorting. The primary cells were triangular or polygonal with protrusions,and confluent cell culture could be established in 3??days. The primary pericytes were positive for platelet-derived growth factor receptor-$\beta$,$\alpha$-smooth muscle actin,neuron-glial antigen 2,and CD13. Moreover,they promoted formation of endothelial tubes,and pericyte-myofibroblast transition occurred after treatment with transforming growth factor-$\beta$1. In summary,we describe here a reproducible isolation protocol for primary peritoneal pericytes,which may be a powerful tool for in??vitro peritoneal fibrosis studies. View Publication

Immunosuppressive factors in the tumor microenvironment (TME) impair T cell function and limit the antitumor immune response. T cell surface receptors and surface proteins that influence interactions and function in the TME are proven targets for cancer immunotherapy. However,how the entire surface proteome remodels in primary human T cells in response to specific suppressive factors in the TME remains to be broadly and systematically characterized. Here,using a reductionist cell culture approach with primary human T cells and stable isotopic labeling with amino acids in cell culture-based quantitative cell surface capture glycoproteomics,we examined how two immunosuppressive TME factors,regulatory T cells (Tregs) and hypoxia,globally affect the activated CD8+ surface proteome (surfaceome). Surprisingly,coculturing primary CD8+ T cells with Tregs only modestly affected the CD8+ surfaceome but did partially reverse activation-induced surfaceomic changes. In contrast,hypoxia drastically altered the CD8+ surfaceome in a manner consistent with both metabolic reprogramming and induction of an immunosuppressed state. The CD4+ T cell surfaceome similarly responded to hypoxia,revealing a common hypoxia-induced surface receptor program. Our surfaceomics findings suggest that hypoxic environments create a challenge for T cell activation. These studies provide global insight into how Tregs and hypoxia remodel the T cell surfaceome and we believe represent a valuable resource to inform future therapeutic efforts to enhance T cell function. View Publication

Intrasynovial flexor tendon lacerations of the hand are clinically problematic,typically requiring operative repair and extensive rehabilitation. The small-molecule connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) mimics,oxotremorine M (Oxo-M) and 4-PPBP maleate (4-PPBP),have been shown to improve tendon healing in small animal models by stimulating the expansion and differentiation of perivascular CD146+ cells. To enhance intrasynovial flexor tendon healing,small-molecule CTGF mimics were delivered to repaired canine flexor tendons via porous sutures. In vitro studies demonstrated that Oxo-M and 4-PPBP retained their bioactivity and could be released from porous sutures in a sustained manner. However,in vivo delivery of the CTGF mimics did not improve intrasynovial tendon healing. Histologic analyses and expression of tenogenic,extracellular matrix,inflammation,and remodeling genes showed similar outcomes in treated and untreated repairs across two time points. Although in vitro experiments revealed that CTGF mimics stimulated robust responses in extrasynovial tendon cells,there was no response in intrasynovial tendon cells,explaining the lack of in vivo effects. The results of the current study indicate that therapeutic strategies for tendon repair must carefully consider the environment and cellular makeup of the particular tendon for improving the healing response. View Publication

PURPOSE Chronic inflammation contributes to tumor initiation,progression,and immune escape. Neutrophils are the major component of inflammatory response and participate in the tumorigenesis process. However,compared to other immune cells in the tumor microenvironment of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC),neutrophils,especially the tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs),have not yet been comprehensively explored. The mechanism for regulating the crosstalk between TANs and tumor cells still remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS The distribution profiles and phenotypic features of neutrophils and other inflammatory immune cell populations from a large LSCC patient cohort were systemically analyzed. Co-culturing of peripheral blood associated neutrophils (PANs) and TANs with PBMCs was performed,and the immunosuppression effect on T-cells was examined. RESULTS LSCC microenvironment is highly inflammatory with remarkable TANs infiltration,which is often associated with unfavorable prognosis and advanced clinical stage. We find that TANs in LSCC display morphologically immature and lower apoptosis,exhibit distinctively immunosuppressive phenotype of high PD-L1,and suppress CD8+ T lymphocytes proliferation and activation. We subsequently discover that PD-L1+TANs induced by LSCC-derived GM-CSF potently impair CD8+ T-cells proliferation and cytokines production function,which are partially blocked by a PD-L1-neutralizing antibody. Clinical data further support GM-CSF as an unfavorable prognostic biomarker and reveal a potential association with inflammatory immune cell infiltration,in particular neutrophils. CONCLUSION Tumor-infiltrating PD-L1+ neutrophils induced by LSCC-derived GM-CSF suppress T cell proliferation and activation in the inflammatory microenvironment of LSCC and predict unfavorable prognosis. These TANs cripple antitumor T cell immunity and promote tumor progression. Our findings provide a basis for targeting PD-L1+TANs or GM-CSF as a new immunotherapeutic strategy for LSCC. View Publication

Pre-leukemic clones carrying DNMT3A mutations have a selective advantage and an inherent chemoresistance,however the basis for this phenotype has not been fully elucidated. Mutations affecting the gene TP53 occur in pre-leukemic hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (preL-HSPC) and lead to chemoresistance. Many of these mutations cause a conformational change and some of them were shown to enhance self-renewal capacity of preL-HSPC. Intriguingly,a misfolded P53 was described in AML blasts that do not harbor mutations in TP53,emphasizing the dynamic equilibrium between wild-type (WT) and pseudo-mutant" conformations of P53. By combining single cell analyses and P53 conformation-specific monoclonal antibodies we studied preL-HSPC from primary human DNMT3A-mutated AML samples. We found that while leukemic blasts express mainly the WT conformation in preL-HSPC the pseudo-mutant conformation is the dominant. HSPC from non-leukemic samples expressed both conformations to a similar extent. In a mouse model we found a small subset of HSPC with a dominant pseudo-mutant P53. This subpopulation was significantly larger among DNMT3AR882H-mutated HSPC suggesting that while a pre-leukemic mutation can predispose for P53 misfolding additional factors are involved as well. Treatment with a short peptide that can shift the dynamic equilibrium favoring the WT conformation of P53 specifically eliminated preL-HSPC that had dysfunctional canonical P53 pathway activity as reflected by single cell RNA sequencing. Our observations shed light upon a possible targetable P53 dysfunction in human preL-HSPC carrying DNMT3A mutations. This opens new avenues for leukemia prevention." View Publication

T cell engagers represent a novel promising class of cancer-immunotherapies redirecting T cells to tumor cells and have some promising outcomes in the clinic. These molecules can be associated with a mode-of-action related risk of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in patients. CRS is characterized by the rapid release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-$\alpha$,IFN-$\gamma$,IL-6 and IL-1$\beta$ and immune cell activation eliciting clinical symptoms of fever,hypoxia and hypotension. In this work,we investigated the biological mechanisms triggering and amplifying cytokine release after treatment with T cell bispecific antibodies (TCBs) employing an in vitro co-culture assay of human PBMCs or total leukocytes (PBMCs + neutrophils) and corresponding target antigen-expressing cells with four different TCBs. We identified T cells as the triggers of the TCB-mediated cytokine cascade and monocytes and neutrophils as downstream amplifier cells. Furthermore,we assessed the chronology of events by neutralization of T-cell derived cytokines. For the first time,we demonstrate the contribution of neutrophils to TCB-mediated cytokine release and confirm these findings by single-cell RNA sequencing of human whole blood incubated with a B-cell depleting TCB. This work could contribute to the construction of mechanistic models of cytokine release and definition of more specific molecular and cellular biomarkers of CRS in the context of treatment with T-cell engagers. In addition,it provides insight for the elaboration of prophylactic mitigation strategies that can reduce the occurrence of CRS and increase the therapeutic index of TCBs. View Publication

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH),although rare,is a life-threatening complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Little is known about the pathophysiology of DAH in humans,although increasingly neutrophils,NETosis and inflammatory monocytes have been shown to play an important role in the pristane-induced model of SLE which develops lung hemorrhage and recapitulates many of the pathologic features of human DAH. Using this experimental model,we asked whether endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress played a role in driving the pathology of pulmonary hemorrhage and what role infiltrating neutrophils had in this process. Analysis of lung tissue from pristane-treated mice showed genes associated with ER stress and NETosis were increased in a time-dependent manner and reflected the timing of CD11b+Ly6G+ neutrophil accumulation in the lung. Using precision cut lung slices from untreated mice we observed that neutrophils isolated from the peritoneal cavity of pristane-treated mice could directly induce the expression of genes associated with ER stress,namely Chop and Bip. Mice which had myeloid-specific deletion of PAD4 were generated and treated with pristane to assess the involvement of PAD4 and PAD4-dependent NET formation in pristane-induced lung inflammation. Specific deletion of PAD4 in myeloid cells resulted in decreased expression of ER stress genes in the pristane model,with accompanying reduction in IFN-driven genes and pathology. Lastly,coculture experiments of human neutrophils and human lung epithelial cell line (BEAS-2b) showed neutrophils from SLE patients induced significantly more ER stress and interferon-stimulated genes in epithelial cells compared to healthy control neutrophils. These results support a pathogenic role of neutrophils and NETs in lung injury during pristane-induced DAH through the induction of ER stress response and suggest that overactivation of neutrophils in SLE and NETosis may underlie development of DAH. View Publication

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Hypoxia is one of the central players in shaping the immune context of the tumor microenvironment (TME). However,the complex interplay between immune cell infiltrates within the hypoxic TME of HCC remains to be elucidated. APPROACH AND RESULTS We analyzed the immune landscapes of hypoxia-low and hypoxia-high tumor regions using cytometry by time of light,immunohistochemistry,and transcriptomic analyses. The mechanisms of immunosuppression in immune subsets of interest were further explored using in vitro hypoxia assays. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and a number of immunosuppressive myeloid subsets,including M2 macrophages and human leukocyte antigen-DR isotype (HLA-DRlo ) type 2 conventional dendritic cell (cDC2),were found to be significantly enriched in hypoxia-high tumor regions. On the other hand,the abundance of active granzyme Bhi PD-1lo CD8+ T cells in hypoxia-low tumor regions implied a relatively active immune landscape compared with hypoxia-high regions. The up-regulation of cancer-associated genes in the tumor tissues and immunosuppressive genes in the tumor-infiltrating leukocytes supported a highly pro-tumorigenic network in hypoxic HCC. Chemokine genes such as CCL20 (C-C motif chemokine ligand 20) and CXCL5 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 5) were associated with recruitment of both Tregs and HLA-DRlo cDC2 to hypoxia-high microenvironments. The interaction between Tregs and cDC2 under a hypoxic TME resulted in a loss of antigen-presenting HLA-DR on cDC2. CONCLUSIONS We uncovered the unique immunosuppressive landscapes and identified key immune subsets enriched in hypoxic HCC. In particular,we identified a potential Treg-mediated immunosuppression through interaction with a cDC2 subset in HCC that could be exploited for immunotherapies. View Publication

Understanding the molecular pathways driving the acute antiviral and inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is critical for developing treatments for severe COVID-19. Here,we find decreasing number of circulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) in COVID-19 patients early after symptom onset,correlating with disease severity. pDC depletion is transient and coincides with decreased expression of antiviral type I IFN? and of systemic inflammatory cytokines CXCL10 and IL-6. Using an in vitro stem cell-based human pDC model,we further demonstrate that pDCs,while not supporting SARS-CoV-2 replication,directly sense the virus and in response produce multiple antiviral (interferons: IFN? and IFN?1) and inflammatory (IL-6,IL-8,CXCL10) cytokines that protect epithelial cells from de novo SARS-CoV-2 infection. Via targeted deletion of virus-recognition innate immune pathways,we identify TLR7-MyD88 signaling as crucial for production of antiviral interferons (IFNs),whereas Toll-like receptor (TLR)2 is responsible for the inflammatory IL-6 response. We further show that SARS-CoV-2 engages the receptor neuropilin-1 on pDCs to selectively mitigate the antiviral interferon response,but not the IL-6 response,suggesting neuropilin-1 as potential therapeutic target for stimulation of TLR7-mediated antiviral protection. View Publication

Germinal centres (GC) are lymphoid structures in which B cells acquire affinity-enhancing somatic hypermutations (SHM),with surviving clones differentiating into memory B cells (MBCs) and long-lived bone marrow plasma cells1-5 (BMPCs). SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination induces a persistent GC response that lasts for at least six months in humans6-8. The fate of responding GC B cells as well as the functional consequences of such persistence remain unknown. Here,we detected SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-specific MBCs in 42 individuals who had received two doses of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 six month earlier. Spike-specific IgG-secreting BMPCs were detected in 9 out of 11 participants. Using a combined approach of sequencing the B cell receptors of responding blood plasmablasts and MBCs,lymph node GC B cells and plasma cells and BMPCs from eight individuals and expression of the corresponding monoclonal antibodies,we tracked the evolution of 1,540 spike-specific B cell clones. On average,early blood spike-specific plasmablasts exhibited the lowest SHM frequencies. By contrast,SHM frequencies of spike-specific GC B cells increased by 3.5-fold within six months after vaccination. Spike-specific MBCs and BMPCs accumulated high levels of SHM,which corresponded with enhanced anti-spike antibody avidity in blood and enhanced affinity as well as neutralization capacity of BMPC-derived monoclonal antibodies. We report how the notable persistence of the GC reaction induced by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in humans culminates in affinity-matured long-term antibody responses that potently neutralize the virus. View Publication

Rationale: T cell therapeutic strategy using CD19-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is a revolutionary,novel,and successful treatment for B-cell malignancies. However,the dependency on T-cell mediated cytotoxicity restricts CAR-T therapy as a patient-specific individualized therapy with severe side effects,such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Whether a non-T-cell based universal cellular therapy can substitute CAR-T therapy is largely unknown. Methods: Various artificial antigen-recognizing cells were prepared to determine whether non-T-cell-derived CD19-scFv bearing effector cells could cause target cell death. A universal strategy for CRS-free cellular therapeutics was proposed,utilizing artificial antigen-recognizing cells (AARC),which can be manufactured universally and routinely as off-the-shelf" mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) or other types of non-autologous cells expressing anergic CARs. Results: We demonstrated that T-lymphocytic and non-lymphocytic cells could cause CD19 internalization and subsequent depletion when armed with a CD19-recognizing moiety. This CD19 antigen depletion could efficiently induce T-cell independent apoptosis in target cancer cells whose survival depends on CD19 expression suggesting that CD19 antigen depletion constitutes a crucial tumor destroying mechanism for CD19-CAR-T especially for its long-term efficacy. Conclusion: Our results uncovered an unrecognized CAR-T cytotoxicity and antigen loss mechanism and provided new insights into a shift from unique patient-specific autologous therapeutics to universal and standardized allogeneic treatment." View Publication