The plasma membrane tetraspan molecule MS4A4A is selectively expressed by macrophage-lineage cells, but its function is unknown. Here we report that MS4A4A was restricted to murine and human ...mononuclear phagocytes and was induced during monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation in the presence of interleukin 4 or dexamethasone. Human MS4A4A was co-expressed with M2/M2-like molecules in subsets of normal tissue-resident macrophages, infiltrating macrophages from inflamed synovium and tumor-associated macrophages. MS4A4A interacted and colocalized with the β-glucan receptor dectin-1 in lipid rafts. In response to dectin-1 ligands, Ms4a4a-deficient macrophages showed defective signaling and defective production of effector molecules. In experimental models of tumor progression and metastasis, Ms4a4a deficiency in macrophages had no impact on primary tumor growth, but was essential for dectin-1-mediated activation of macrophages and natural killer (NK) cell-mediated metastasis control. Thus, MS4A4A is a tetraspan molecule selectively expressed in macrophages during differentiation and polarization, essential for dectin-1-dependent activation of NK cell-mediated resistance to metastasis.
Abstract Atherosclerosis and associated cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of mortality in developed countries and the World Health Organization has estimated that by 2020 these disorders ...will be the main sanitary and socio-economic problem world-wide due in part to the progressive aging of our societies. Atherosclerosis is a complex chronic inflammatory process triggered and perpetuated by cardiovascular risk factors which cause endothelial dysfunction and leukocyte infiltration within the subendothelial space in the artery wall. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms that govern the recruitment of circulating monocytes into the incipient atherosclerotic lesion and their differentiation into macrophages. Moreover, we discuss current knowledge on macrophage polarization, a phenomenon of increasing interest given recent work suggesting that different stages in the progression of atherosclerosis are associated with the presence of distinct macrophage subtypes. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate macrophage polarization and the precise role of distinct macrophage subsets should provide a basis for novel treatment strategies to limit the progression of atherosclerosis.
CXCR1 and CXCR2 chemokine receptors and their ligands (CXCL1/2/3/7/8) play an important role in tumor progression. Tested to date CXCR1/2 antagonists and chemokine-targeted antibodies were reported ...to affect malignant cells in vitro and in animal models. Yet, redundancy of chemotactic signals and toxicity hinder further clinical development of these approaches. In this pre-clinical study we investigated the capacity of a novel small molecule dual CXCR1/2 inhibitor, Ladarixin (LDX), to attenuate progression of experimental human melanomas. Our data showed that LDX-mediated inhibition of CXCR1/2 abrogated motility and induced apoptosis in cultured cutaneous and uveal melanoma cells and xenografts independently of the molecular defects associated with the malignant phenotype. These effects were mediated by the inhibition of AKT and NF-kB signaling pathways. Moreover, systemic treatment of melanoma-bearing mice with LDX also polarized intratumoral macrophages to M1 phenotype, abrogated intratumoral de novo angiogenesis and inhibited melanoma self-renewal. Collectively, these studies outlined the pre-requisites of the successful CXCR1/2 inhibition on malignant cells and demonstrated multifactorial effects of Ladarixin on cutaneous and uveal melanomas, suggesting therapeutic utility of LDX in treatment of various melanoma types.
Iron metabolism in inflammation has been mostly characterized in macrophages exposed to pathogens or inflammatory conditions, mimicked by the combined action of LPS and IFN-γ (M1 polarization). ...However, macrophages can undergo an alternative type of activation stimulated by Th2 cytokines, and acquire a role in cell growth and tissue repair control (M2 polarization). We characterized the expression of genes related to iron homeostasis in fully differentiated unpolarized (M0), M1 and M2 human macrophages. The molecular signature of the M1 macrophages showed changes in gene expression (ferroportin repression and H ferritin induction) that favour iron sequestration in the reticuloendothelial system, a hallmark of inflammatory disorders, whereas the M2 macrophages had an expression profile (ferroportin upregulation and the downregulation of H ferritin and heme oxygenase) that enhanced iron release. The conditioned media from M2 macrophages promoted cell proliferation more efficiently than those of M1 cells and the effect was blunted by iron chelation. The role of ferroportin-mediated iron release was demonstrated by the absence of differences from the media of macrophages of a patient with loss of function ferroportin mutation. The distinct regulation of iron homeostasis in M2 macrophages provides insights into their role under pathophysiological conditions.
In response to microenvironmental signals, macrophages undergo different activation, including the “classic” proinflammatory phenotype (also called M1), the “alternative” activation induced by the ...IL-4/IL-13 trigger, and the related but distinct heterogeneous M2 polarization associated with the anti-inflammatory profile. The latter is induced by several stimuli, including IL-10 and TGF-β. Macrophage-polarized activation has profound effects on immune and inflammatory responses and in tumor biology, but information on the underlying molecular pathways is scarce. In the present study, we report that alternative polarization of macrophages requires the transcription factor c-MYC. In macrophages, IL-4 and different stimuli sustaining M2-like polarization induce c-MYC expression and its translocation to the nucleus. c-MYC controls the induction of a subset (45%) of genes associated with alternative activation. ChIP assays indicate that c-MYC directly regulates some genes associated with alternative activation, including SCARB1, ALOX15, and MRC1, whereas others, including CD209, are indirectly regulated by c-MYC. c-MYC up-regulates the IL-4 signaling mediators signal transducer and activator of transcription-6 and peroxisome proliferator–activated receptorγ, is also expressed in tumor-associated macrophages, and its inhibition blocks the expression of protumoral genes including VEGF, MMP9, HIF-1α, and TGF-β. We conclude that c-MYC is a key player in alternative macrophage activation, and is therefore a potential therapeutic target in pathologies related to these cells, including tumors.
In breast cancer it has been proposed that the presence of cancer stem cells may drive tumor initiation, progression and recurrences. IL-8, up-regulated in breast cancer, and associated with poor ...prognosis, increases CSC self-renewal in cell line models. It signals via two cell surface receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2. Recently, the IL-8/CXCR1 axis was proposed as an attractive pathway for the design of specific therapies against breast cancer stem cells. Reparixin, a powerful CXCR1 inhibitor, was effective in reducing in vivo the tumour-initiating population in several NOD/SCID mice breast cancer models, showing that the selective targeting of CXCR1 and the combination of reparixin and docetaxel resulted in a concomitant reduction of the bulk tumour mass and CSC population. The available data indicate that IL-8, expressed by tumour cells and induced by chemotherapeutic treatment, is a key regulator of the survival and self-renewal of the population of CXCR1-expressing CSC. Consequently, this investigation on the mechanism of action of the reparixin/paclitaxel combination, was based on the observation that reparixin treatment contained the formation of metastases in several experimental models. However, specific data on the formation of breast cancer brain metastases, which carry remarkable morbidity and mortality to a substantial proportion of advanced breast cancer patients, have not been generated. The obtained data indicate a beneficial use of the drug combination reparixin and paclitaxel to counteract brain tumour metastasis due to CSC, probably due to the combined effects of the two drugs, the pro-apoptotic action of paclitaxel and the cytostatic and anti-migratory effects of reparixin.
The axon guidance cues semaphorins (Semas) and their receptors plexins have been shown to regulate both physiological and pathological angiogenesis. Sema4A plays an important role in the immune ...system by inducing T cell activation, but to date, the role of Sema4A in regulating the function of macrophages during the angiogenic and inflammatory processes remains unclear. In this study, we show that macrophage activation by TLR ligands LPS and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid induced a time-dependent increase of Sema4A and its receptors PlexinB2 and PlexinD1. Moreover, in a thioglycollate-induced peritonitis mouse model, Sema4A was detected in circulating Ly6C(high) inflammatory monocytes and peritoneal macrophages. Acting via PlexinD1, exogenous Sema4A strongly increased macrophage migration. Of note, Sema4A-activated PlexinD1 enhanced the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A, but not of inflammatory chemokines. Sema4A-stimulated macrophages were able to activate vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 and the PI3K/serine/threonine kinase Akt pathway in endothelial cells and to sustain their migration and in vivo angiogenesis. Remarkably, in an in vivo cardiac ischemia/reperfusion mouse model, Sema4A was highly expressed in macrophages recruited at the injured area. We conclude that Sema4A activates a specialized and restricted genetic program in macrophages able to sustain angiogenesis and participates in their recruitment and activation in inflammatory injuries.
Neutrophils are expanded and abundant in cancer-bearing hosts. Under the influence of CXCR1 and CXCR2 chemokine receptor agonists and other chemotactic factors produced by tumors, neutrophils, and ...granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) from cancer patients extrude their neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). In our hands, CXCR1 and CXCR2 agonists proved to be the major mediators of cancer-promoted NETosis. NETs wrap and coat tumor cells and shield them from cytotoxicity, as mediated by CD8+ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, by obstructing contact between immune cells and the surrounding target cells. Tumor cells protected from cytotoxicity by NETs underlie successful cancer metastases in mice and the immunotherapeutic synergy of protein arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) inhibitors, which curtail NETosis with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Intravital microscopy provides evidence of neutrophil NETs interfering cytolytic cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and NK cell contacts with tumor cells.
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•Tumor-secreted CXCR1 and CXCR2 ligands induce extrusion of NETs•NETs protect tumor cells from CTL and NK cytotoxicity in 3D cultures•Inhibition of NETosis sensitizes tumors to PD-1+CTLA-4 dual checkpoint blockade•NETs impair contact of immune cytotoxic cells with tumor cells in living mice
Extrusion of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) constitutes an adhesive mechanism employed by polymorphonuclear leukocytes in microbial defense and plays a role in cancer metastasis. Teijeira et al. show that intratumoral NETs protect malignant cells against cytotoxic attacks of the immune system, such as those elicited by checkpoint-based immunotherapy.
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