Severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN), and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS)/drug-induced ...hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS) cause significant morbidity and mortality and impede new drug development. HLA class I associations with SJS/TEN and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms/drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome have aided preventive efforts and provided insights into immunopathogenesis. In SJS/TEN, HLA class I–restricted oligoclonal CD8+ T-cell responses occur at the tissue level. However, specific HLA risk allele(s) and antigens driving this response have not been identified for most drugs. HLA risk alleles also have incomplete positive and negative predictive values, making truly comprehensive screening currently challenging. Although, there have been key paradigm shifts in knowledge regarding drug hypersensitivity, there are still many open and unanswered questions about SCAR immunopathogenesis, as well as genetic and environmental risk. In addition to understanding the cellular and molecular basis of SCAR at the single-cell level, identification of the MHC-restricted drug-reactive self- or viral peptides driving the hypersensitivity reaction will also be critical to advancing premarketing strategies to predict risk at an individual and drug level. This will also enable identification of biologic markers for earlier diagnosis and accurate prognosis, as well as drug causality and targeted therapeutics.
The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is the most polymorphic in the human genome that has been associated with protection and predisposition to a broad array of infectious, autoimmune, and ...malignant diseases. More recently over the last two decades, HLA class I alleles have been strongly associated with T‐cell‐mediated drug hypersensitivity reactions. In the case of abacavir hypersensitivity and HLA‐B*57:01, the 100% negative predictive value and low number needed to test to prevent a single case has led to a durable and effective global preprescription screening strategy. However, HLA associations are still undefined for most drugs clinically associated with different delayed drug hypersensitivity phenotypes, and an HLA association relevant to one population is not generalizable across ethnicities. Furthermore, while a specific risk HLA allele is necessary for drug‐induced T‐cell activation, it is not sufficient. The low and incomplete positive predictive value has hindered efforts at clinical implementation for many drugs but has provided the impetus to understand the mechanisms of HLA class I restricted T‐cell‐mediated drug hypersensitivity reactions. Current research has focused on defining the contribution of additional elements of the adaptive immune response and other genetic and ecologic risk factors that contribute to drug hypersensitivity risk. In this review we focus on new insights into immunological, pharmacological, and genetic mechanisms underpinning HLA‐associated drug reactions and the implications for future translation into clinical care.
Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) remain associated with significant mortality. Delayed hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) that occur greater than 6 h following drug administration are T-cell mediated ...with many severe DHRs now associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) risk alleles, opening pathways for clinical prediction and prevention. However, incomplete negative predictive value (NPV), low positive predictive value (PPV), and a large number needed to test (NNT) to prevent one case have practically prevented large-scale and cost-effective screening implementation. Additional factors outside of HLA contributing to risk of severe T-cell-mediated DHRs include variation in drug metabolism, T-cell receptor (TCR) specificity, and, most recently, HLA-presented immunopeptidome-processing efficiencies via endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase (ERAP). Active research continues toward identification of other highly polymorphic factors likely to impose risk. These include those previously associated with T-cell-mediated HLA-associated infectious or auto-immune disease such as Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR), epistatically linked with HLA class I to regulate NK- and T-cell-mediated cytotoxic degranulation, and co-inhibitory signaling pathways for which therapeutic blockade in cancer immunotherapy is now associated with an increased incidence of DHRs. As such, the field now recognizes that susceptibility is not simply a static product of genetics but that individuals may experience dynamic risk, skewed toward immune activation through therapeutic interventions and epigenetic modifications driven by ecological exposures. This review provides an updated overview of current and proposed genetic factors thought to predispose risk for severe T-cell-mediated DHRs.
Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is a key sensor kinase in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway that transduces cellular responses to oxidants and electrophiles. ASK1 is regulated ...by a large, dynamic multiprotein signalosome complex, potentially including over 90 reported ASK1-interacting proteins. We employed both shotgun and targeted mass spectrometry assays to catalogue the ASK1 protein-protein interactions in HEK-293 cells treated with the prototypical lipid electrophile 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE). Using both epitope-tagged overexpression and endogenous expression cell systems, we verified most of the previously reported ASK1 protein-protein interactions and identified 14 proteins that exhibited dynamic shifts in association with ASK1 in response to HNE stress. We used precise stable isotope dilution assays to quantify protein stoichiometry in the ASK signalosome complex and identified ASK2 at a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio with ASK1 and 14–3-3 proteins (YWHAQ, YWHAB, YWHAH, and YWHAE) collectively at a 0.5:1 ratio with ASK1 as the main components. Several other proteins, including ASK3, PARK7, PRDX1, and USP9X were detected with stoichiometries of 0.1:1 or less. These data support an ASK signalosome comprising a multimeric core complex of ASK1, ASK2, and 14–3-3 proteins, which dynamically engages other binding partners needed to mediate diverse stress-response signaling events. This study further demonstrates the value of combining global and targeted MS approaches to interrogate multiprotein complex composition and dynamics.
Type B adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are iatrogenic immune-mediated syndromes with mechanistic etiologies that remain incompletely understood. Some of the most severe ADRs, including delayed drug ...hypersensitivity reactions, are T-cell mediated, restricted by specific human leukocyte antigen risk alleles and sometimes by public or oligoclonal T-cell receptors (TCRs), central to the immunopathogenesis of tissue-damaging response. However, the specific cellular signatures of effector, regulatory, and accessory immune populations that mediate disease, define reaction phenotype, and determine severity have not been defined. Recent development of single-cell platforms bringing together advances in genomics and immunology provides the tools to simultaneously examine the full transcriptome, TCRs, and surface protein markers of highly heterogeneous immune cell populations at the site of the pathological response at a single-cell level. However, the requirement for advanced bioinformatics expertise and computational hardware and software has often limited the ability of investigators with the understanding of diseases and biological models to exploit these new approaches. Here we describe the features and use of a state-of-the-art, fully integrated application for analysis and visualization of multiomic single-cell data called Visual Genomics Analysis Studio (VGAS). This unique user-friendly, Windows-based graphical user interface is specifically designed to enable investigators to interrogate their own data. While VGAS also includes tools for sequence alignment and identification of associations with host or organism genetic polymorphisms, in this review we focus on its application for analysis of single-cell TCR-RNA-Cellular Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitopes by Sequencing (CITE)-seq, enabling holistic cellular characterization by unbiased transcriptome and select surface proteome. Critically, VGAS does not require user-directed coding or access to high-performance computers, instead incorporating performance-optimized hidden code to provide application-based fast and intuitive tools for data analyses and production of high-resolution publication-ready graphics on standard specification laptops. Specifically, it allows analyses of comprehensive single-cell TCR sequencing (scTCR-seq) data, detailing (i) functional pairings of α-β heterodimer TCRs, (ii) one-click histograms to display entropy and gene rearrangements, and (iii) Circos and Sankey plots to visualize clonality and dominance. For unbiased single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analyses, users extract cell transcriptome signatures according to global structure via principal component analysis, t-distributed stochastic neighborhood embedding, or uniform manifold approximation and projection plots, with overlay of scTCR-seq enabling identification and selection of the immunodominant TCR-expressing populations. Further integration with similar sequence-based detection of surface protein markers using oligo-labeled antibodies (CITE-seq) provides comparative understanding of surface protein expression, with differential gene or protein analyses visualized using volcano plot or heatmap functions. These data can be compared to reference cell atlases or suitable controls to reveal discrete disease-specific subsets, from epithelial to tissue-resident memory T-cells, and activation status, from senescence through exhaustion, with more finite transcript expression displayed as violin and box plots. Importantly, guided tutorial videos are available, as are regular application updates based on the latest advances in bioinformatics and user feedback.
Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is a critical cellular stress sensor that senses diverse reactive chemotypes and integrates these chemical signals into a single biological pathway ...response. It is unknown whether ASK1 senses all stressors in the same way or if unique stress-specific mechanisms detect distinct chemotypes. In order to answer this question, we treated ASK1-expressing cells with two distinct stress activators, H2O2 and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), and monitored the phosphorylation state of ASK1. Phosphorylation is an important regulator for the activity of ASK1, and we hypothesized that these two chemically distinct molecules may produce differences in the phosphorylation state of ASK1. Shotgun mass spectrometry and manual validation identified 12 distinct ASK1 phosphosites. Targeted parallel reaction monitoring assays were used to track the phosphorylation dynamics of each confirmed site in response to treatment. Eleven phosphosites exhibited dynamic response to one or both treatments. Six of these sites were identified in both H2O2- and HNE-treated cells, and four of these exhibited a consistent response between the two molecules. The results confirm that different chemotypes produce distinct phosphorylation patterns in concert with activation of a common MAPK pathway.
C-terminus of HSC70-interacting protein (CHIP,
) is a ubiquitously expressed cytosolic E3-ubiquitin ligase. CHIP-deficient mice exhibit cardiovascular stress and motor dysfunction prior to premature ...death. This phenotype is more consistent with animal models in which master regulators of autophagy are affected rather than with the mild phenotype of classic E3-ubiquitin ligase mutants. The cellular and biochemical events that contribute to neurodegeneration and premature aging in CHIP KO models remain poorly understood. Electron and fluorescent microscopy demonstrates that CHIP deficiency is associated with greater numbers of mitochondria, but these organelles are swollen and misshapen. Acute bioenergetic stress triggers CHIP induction and re-localization to mitochondria where it plays a role in the removal of damaged organelles. This mitochondrial clearance is required for protection following low-level bioenergetic stress in neurons. CHIP expression overlaps with stabilization of the redox stress sensor PTEN-inducible kinase 1 (PINK1) and is associated with increased LC3-mediated mitophagy. Introducing human promoter-driven vectors with mutations in either the E3 ligase or TPR domains of CHIP in primary neurons derived from CHIP-null animals enhances CHIP accumulation at mitochondria. Exposure to autophagy inhibitors suggests the increase in mitochondrial CHIP is likely due to diminished clearance of these CHIP-tagged organelles. Proteomic analysis of WT and CHIP KO mouse brains (4 male, 4 female per genotype) reveals proteins essential for maintaining energetic, redox and mitochondrial homeostasis undergo significant genotype-dependent expression changes. Together these data support the use of CHIP deficient animals as a predictive model of age-related degeneration with selective neuronal proteotoxicity and mitochondrial failure.
Mitochondria are recognized as central determinants of neuronal function and survival. We demonstrate that C-terminus of HSC70-Interacting Protein (CHIP) is critical for neuronal responses to stress. CHIP upregulation and localization to mitochondria is required for mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy). Unlike other disease-associated E3 ligases such as Parkin and Mahogunin, CHIP controls homeostatic and stress-induced removal of mitochondria. While CHIP deletion results in greater numbers of mitochondria, these organelles have distorted inner membranes without clear cristae. Neuronal cultures derived from animals lacking CHIP are more vulnerable to acute injuries, and transient loss of CHIP renders neurons incapable of mounting a protective response following low-level stress. Together these data suggest that CHIP is an essential regulator of mitochondrial number, cell signaling and survival.
Delayed drug hypersensitivities are CD8
T cell-mediated reactions associated with up to 50% mortality. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles are known to predispose disease and are specific to drug, ...reaction, and patient ethnicity. Pretreatment screening is recommended for a handful of the strongest associations to identify and prevent drug use in high-risk patients. However, an incomplete predictive value implicates other HLA-imposed risk factors, and low carriage of many identified HLA-risk alleles combined with the high cost of sequence-based typing has limited economic viability for similar recommendation of screening across drugs and health care systems. For mitigation, an expanding armory of low-cost polymerase chain reaction-based screens is being developed, and HLA-imposed risk factors are being discovered. These include (1) polymorphic variants of metabolic and endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase enzymes toward multiallelic screening with increased predictivity; (2) regulation by immune checkpoint inhibitors, enabling detolerized animal models of human disease; and (3) immunodominant T cell receptors (TCR) on clonally expanded CD8
T cells. For the latter, HLA risk-restricted TCR provides immunogenomic strategies and samples from a single patient to identify novel HLA-risk associations in underserved minority populations, tissue-relevant effector biomarkers toward earlier diagnosis and treatment, and HLA-TCR-presented immunogenic structures to aid future drug development.
E3 ligases are essential scaffold proteins, facilitating the transfer of ubiquitin from E2 enzymes to lysine residues of client proteins via isopeptide bonds. The specificity of substrate binding and ...the expression and localization of E3 ligases can, however, endow these proteins with unique features with variable effects on mitochondrial, metabolic and CNS function. By comparing and contrasting two E3 ligases, Parkin and C-terminus of HSC70-Interacting protein (CHIP) we seek to highlight the biophysical properties that may promote mitochondrial dysfunction, acute stress signaling and critical developmental periods to cease in response to mutations in these genes. Encoded by over 600 human genes, RING-finger proteins are the largest class of E3 ligases. Parkin contains three RING finger domains, with R1 and R2 separated by an in-between region (IBR) domain. Loss-of-function mutations in Parkin were identified in patients with early onset Parkinson's disease. CHIP is a member of the Ubox family of E3 ligases. It contains an N-terminal TPR domain and forms unique asymmetric homodimers. While CHIP can substitute for mutated Parkin and enhance survival, CHIP also has unique functions. The differences between these proteins are underscored by the observation that unlike Parkin-deficient animals, CHIP-null animals age prematurely and have significantly impaired motor function. These properties make these E3 ligases appealing targets for clinical intervention. In this work, we discuss how biophysical and metabolic properties of these E3 ligases have driven rapid progress in identifying roles for E3 ligases in development, proteostasis, mitochondrial biology, and cell health, as well as new data about how these proteins alter the CNS proteome.
•Parkin is a RING E3 ligase mutated in forms of early-onset Parkinson's disease.•Structure-function studies identify Parkin as a regulator of mitochondria.•Parkin shares client proteins with Ubox E3 ligase CHIP.•Recent studies reveal that CHIP is a key regulator of mitochondrial energetics.•Uncovering the functions of such E3 ligases can advance therapy for CNS diseases.
The isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) enzymes were initially identified as essential components of the Krebs cycle. IDH mutations were thought to be incompatible with cell survival. However, 90% of ...glioblastomas were recently shown to be associated with somatic mutations in these enzymes, indicating a possible role for IDH in promoting cellular survival in hypoxic environments. Our proteomic analysis of rats given 10 minutes of middle cerebral artery occlusion to induce transient ischemia demonstrates a significant decrease in IDH expression. We have recapitulated this decrease in an in vitro model using primary cortical neurons exposed to acute oxygen and glucose deprivation. Given the role of IDHs in energy metabolism and antioxidant production, we hypothesize that the IDHs may serve as first-line, rapid-response enzymes that regulate survival in environments of energetic or oxidative stress. In order to identify the specific events that regulate IDH enzymes, HT-22 neural cells were subjected to either a selective energetic challenge or a pure oxidative stress. In response to the non-lethal energetic challenge induced by substituting galactose for glucose, we observed increased IDH1, 2, and 3 expression and cessation of cellular proliferation. No change in expression of any IDH isoform was observed when neural cells were subjected to subtoxic oxidative stress via glutathione depletion. Taken together, these data imply that IDH expression rapidly responds to changes in energetic status, but not to oxidative stress. These data also suggest that IDH enzymes respond not only to allosteric modulation, but can also change patterns of expression in response to moderate stress in an effort to maximize ATP production and survival.