Long runs of homozygosity (ROH) arise when identical haplotypes are inherited from each parent and thus a long tract of genotypes is homozygous. Cousin marriage or inbreeding gives rise to such ...autozygosity; however, genome-wide data reveal that ROH are universally common in human genomes even among outbred individuals. The number and length of ROH reflect individual demographic history, while the homozygosity burden can be used to investigate the genetic architecture of complex disease. We discuss how to identify ROH in genome-wide microarray and sequence data, their distribution in human populations and their application to the understanding of inbreeding depression and disease risk.
Ageing phenotypes, such as years lived in good health (healthspan), total years lived (lifespan), and survival until an exceptional old age (longevity), are of interest to us all but require ...exceptionally large sample sizes to study genetically. Here we combine existing genome-wide association summary statistics for healthspan, parental lifespan, and longevity in a multivariate framework, increasing statistical power, and identify 10 genomic loci which influence all three phenotypes, of which five (near FOXO3, SLC4A7, LINC02513, ZW10, and FGD6) have not been reported previously at genome-wide significance. The majority of these 10 loci are associated with cardiovascular disease and some affect the expression of genes known to change their activity with age. In total, we implicate 78 genes, and find these to be enriched for ageing pathways previously highlighted in model organisms, such as the response to DNA damage, apoptosis, and homeostasis. Finally, we identify a pathway worthy of further study: haem metabolism.
Obesity is a major cancer risk factor, but how differences in systemic metabolism change the tumor microenvironment (TME) and impact anti-tumor immunity is not understood. Here, we demonstrate that ...high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity impairs CD8+ T cell function in the murine TME, accelerating tumor growth. We generate a single-cell resolution atlas of cellular metabolism in the TME, detailing how it changes with diet-induced obesity. We find that tumor and CD8+ T cells display distinct metabolic adaptations to obesity. Tumor cells increase fat uptake with HFD, whereas tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells do not. These differential adaptations lead to altered fatty acid partitioning in HFD tumors, impairing CD8+ T cell infiltration and function. Blocking metabolic reprogramming by tumor cells in obese mice improves anti-tumor immunity. Analysis of human cancers reveals similar transcriptional changes in CD8+ T cell markers, suggesting interventions that exploit metabolism to improve cancer immunotherapy.
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•Defined a metabolic single-cell atlas of the tumor immune landscape with obesity•Obesity induces a metabolic tug of war between tumor and T cells for lipids•Tumor cells induce fat metabolism and change their microenvironment during obesity•Blocking metabolic adaptations to obesity in cancers restores anti-tumor immunity
High-fat diet compromises anti-tumor immunity by interfering with metabolism in the tumor microenvironment.
Recent advances highlight a pivotal role for cellular metabolism in programming immune responses. Here, we demonstrate that cell-autonomous generation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD
) via ...the kynurenine pathway (KP) regulates macrophage immune function in aging and inflammation. Isotope tracer studies revealed that macrophage NAD
derives substantially from KP metabolism of tryptophan. Genetic or pharmacological blockade of de novo NAD
synthesis depleted NAD
, suppressed mitochondrial NAD
-dependent signaling and respiration, and impaired phagocytosis and resolution of inflammation. Innate immune challenge triggered upstream KP activation but paradoxically suppressed cell-autonomous NAD
synthesis by limiting the conversion of downstream quinolinate to NAD
, a profile recapitulated in aging macrophages. Increasing de novo NAD
generation in immune-challenged or aged macrophages restored oxidative phosphorylation and homeostatic immune responses. Thus, KP-derived NAD
operates as a metabolic switch to specify macrophage effector responses. Breakdown of de novo NAD
synthesis may underlie declining NAD
levels and rising innate immune dysfunction in aging and age-associated diseases.
Under proteotoxic stress, some cells survive whereas others die. The mechanisms governing this heterogeneity in cell fate remain unknown. Here we report that condensation and phase transition of ...heat-shock factor 1 (HSF1), a transcriptional regulator of chaperones
, is integral to cell-fate decisions underlying survival or death. During stress, HSF1 drives chaperone expression but also accumulates separately in nuclear stress bodies called foci
. Foci formation has been regarded as a marker of cells actively upregulating chaperones
. Using multiplexed tissue imaging, we observed HSF1 foci in human tumours. Paradoxically, their presence inversely correlated with chaperone expression. By live-cell microscopy and single-cell analysis, we found that foci dissolution rather than formation promoted HSF1 activity and cell survival. During prolonged stress, the biophysical properties of HSF1 foci changed; small, fluid condensates enlarged into indissoluble gel-like arrangements with immobilized HSF1. Chaperone gene induction was reduced in such cells, which were prone to apoptosis. Quantitative analysis suggests that survival under stress results from competition between concurrent but opposing mechanisms. Foci may serve as sensors that tune cytoprotective responses, balancing rapid transient responses and irreversible outcomes.
Ageing is characterized by the development of persistent pro-inflammatory responses that contribute to atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, cancer and frailty
. The ageing brain is also vulnerable to ...inflammation, as demonstrated by the high prevalence of age-associated cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease
. Systemically, circulating pro-inflammatory factors can promote cognitive decline
, and in the brain, microglia lose the ability to clear misfolded proteins that are associated with neurodegeneration
. However, the underlying mechanisms that initiate and sustain maladaptive inflammation with ageing are not well defined. Here we show that in ageing mice myeloid cell bioenergetics are suppressed in response to increased signalling by the lipid messenger prostaglandin E
(PGE
), a major modulator of inflammation
. In ageing macrophages and microglia, PGE
signalling through its EP2 receptor promotes the sequestration of glucose into glycogen, reducing glucose flux and mitochondrial respiration. This energy-deficient state, which drives maladaptive pro-inflammatory responses, is further augmented by a dependence of aged myeloid cells on glucose as a principal fuel source. In aged mice, inhibition of myeloid EP2 signalling rejuvenates cellular bioenergetics, systemic and brain inflammatory states, hippocampal synaptic plasticity and spatial memory. Moreover, blockade of peripheral myeloid EP2 signalling is sufficient to restore cognition in aged mice. Our study suggests that cognitive ageing is not a static or irrevocable condition but can be reversed by reprogramming myeloid glucose metabolism to restore youthful immune functions.
Circulating proteins have important functions in inflammation and a broad range of diseases. To identify genetic influences on inflammation-related proteins, we conducted a genome-wide protein ...quantitative trait locus (pQTL) study of 91 plasma proteins measured using the Olink Target platform in 14,824 participants. We identified 180 pQTLs (59 cis, 121 trans). Integration of pQTL data with eQTL and disease genome-wide association studies provided insight into pathogenesis, implicating lymphotoxin-α in multiple sclerosis. Using Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess causality in disease etiology, we identified both shared and distinct effects of specific proteins across immune-mediated diseases, including directionally discordant effects of CD40 on risk of rheumatoid arthritis versus multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease. MR implicated CXCL5 in the etiology of ulcerative colitis (UC) and we show elevated gut CXCL5 transcript expression in patients with UC. These results identify targets of existing drugs and provide a powerful resource to facilitate future drug target prioritization.
Male pattern baldness (MPB) or androgenetic alopecia is one of the most common conditions affecting men, reaching a prevalence of ~50% by the age of 50; however, the known genes explain little of the ...heritability. Here, we present the results of a genome-wide association study including more than 70,000 men, identifying 71 independently replicated loci, of which 30 are novel. These loci explain 38% of the risk, suggesting that MPB is less genetically complex than other complex traits. We show that many of these loci contain genes that are relevant to the pathology and highlight pathways and functions underlying baldness. Finally, despite only showing genome-wide genetic correlation with height, pathway-specific genetic correlations are significant for traits including lifespan and cancer. Our study not only greatly increases the number of MPB loci, illuminating the genetic architecture, but also provides a new approach to disentangling the shared biological pathways underlying complex diseases.
Gastrointestinal mucosal injury (mucositis), commonly affecting the oral cavity, is a clinically significant yet incompletely understood complication of cancer chemotherapy. Although antineoplastic ...cytotoxicity constitutes the primary injury trigger, the interaction of oral microbial commensals with mucosal tissues could modify the response. It is not clear, however, whether chemotherapy and its associated treatments affect oral microbial communities disrupting the homeostatic balance between resident microorganisms and the adjacent mucosa and if such alterations are associated with mucositis. To gain knowledge on the pathophysiology of oral mucositis, 49 subjects receiving 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or doxorubicin-based chemotherapy were evaluated longitudinally during one cycle, assessing clinical outcomes, bacterial and fungal oral microbiome changes, and epithelial transcriptome responses. As a control for microbiome stability, 30 non-cancer subjects were longitudinally assessed. Through complementary in vitro assays, we also evaluated the antibacterial potential of 5-FU on oral microorganisms and the interaction of commensals with oral epithelial tissues.
Oral mucositis severity was associated with 5-FU, increased salivary flow, and higher oral granulocyte counts. The oral bacteriome was disrupted during chemotherapy and while antibiotic and acid inhibitor intake contributed to these changes, bacteriome disruptions were also correlated with antineoplastics and independently and strongly associated with oral mucositis severity. Mucositis-associated bacteriome shifts included depletion of common health-associated commensals from the genera Streptococcus, Actinomyces, Gemella, Granulicatella, and Veillonella and enrichment of Gram-negative bacteria such as Fusobacterium nucleatum and Prevotella oris. Shifts could not be explained by a direct antibacterial effect of 5-FU, but rather resembled the inflammation-associated dysbiotic shifts seen in other oral conditions. Epithelial transcriptional responses during chemotherapy included upregulation of genes involved in innate immunity and apoptosis. Using a multilayer epithelial construct, we show mucositis-associated dysbiotic shifts may contribute to aggravate mucosal damage since the mucositis-depleted Streptococcus salivarius was tolerated as a commensal, while the mucositis-enriched F. nucleatum displayed pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic capacity.
Altogether, our work reveals that chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis is associated with bacterial dysbiosis and demonstrates the potential for dysbiotic shifts to aggravate antineoplastic-induced epithelial injury. These findings suggest that control of oral bacterial dysbiosis could represent a novel preventive approach to ameliorate oral mucositis.
Classically activated (M1) macrophages are known to play a role in the development of chronic inflammation associated with impaired wound healing in type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, the mechanism ...responsible for the dominant proinflammatory (M1) macrophage phenotype in T2D wounds is unknown. Since epigenetic enzymes can direct macrophage phenotypes, we assessed the role of histone methylation in bone marrow (BM) stem/progenitor cells in the programming of macrophages toward a proinflammatory phenotype. We have found that a repressive histone methylation mark, H3K27me3, is decreased at the promoter of the IL-12 gene in BM progenitors and this epigenetic signature is passed down to wound macrophages in a murine model of glucose intolerance (diet-induced obese). These epigenetically "preprogrammed" macrophages result in poised macrophages in peripheral tissue and negatively impact wound repair. We found that in diabetic conditions the H3K27 demethylase Jmjd3 drives IL-12 production in macrophages and that IL-12 production can be modulated by inhibiting Jmjd3. Using human T2D tissue and murine models, we have identified a previously unrecognized mechanism by which macrophages are programmed toward a proinflammatory phenotype, establishing a pattern of unrestrained inflammation associated with nonhealing wounds. Hence, histone demethylase inhibitor-based therapy may represent a novel treatment option for diabetic wounds.
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