IFN-γ-stimulated MHC class I (MHC-I) antigen presentation underlies the core of antitumor immunity. However, sustained IFN-γ signaling also enhances the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) checkpoint ...pathway to dampen antitumor immunity. It remains unclear how these opposing effects of IFN-γ are regulated. Here, we report that loss of the histone dimethyltransferase WHSC1 impaired the antitumor effect of IFN-γ signaling by transcriptional downregulation of the MHC-I machinery without affecting PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Whsc1 loss promoted tumorigenesis via a non-cell-autonomous mechanism in an Apcmin/+ mouse model, CRC organoids, and xenografts. Mechanistically, we found that the IFN-γ/STAT1 signaling axis stimulated WHSC1 expression and, in turn, that WHSC1 directly interacted with NLRC5 to promote MHC-I gene expression, but not that of PD-L1. Concordantly, silencing Whsc1 diminished MHC-I levels, impaired antitumor immunity, and blunted the effect of immune checkpoint blockade. Patient cohort analysis revealed that WHSC1 expression positively correlated with enhanced MHC-I expression, tumor-infiltrating T cells, and favorable disease outcomes. Together, our findings establish a tumor-suppressive function of WHSC1 that relays IFN-γ signaling to promote antigen presentation on CRC cells and provide a rationale for boosting WHSC1 activity in immunotherapy.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by uncontrolled secretion of autoantibodies by plasma cells. Although the functional importance of plasma cells and autoantibodies in SLE has been ...well established, the underlying molecular mechanisms of controlling autoantibody production remain poorly understood. Here we show that Peli1 has a B cell-intrinsic function to protect against lupus-like autoimmunity in mice. Peli1 deficiency in B cells induces autoantibody production via noncanonical NF-κB signaling. Mechanically, Peli1 functions as an E3 ligase to associate with NF-κB inducing kinase (NIK) and mediates NIK Lys48 ubiquitination and degradation. Overexpression of Peli1 inhibits noncanonical NF-κB activation and alleviates lupus-like disease. In humans, PELI1 levels negatively correlate with disease severity in SLE patients. Our findings establish Peli1 as a negative regulator of the noncanonical NF-κB pathway in the context of restraining the pathogenesis of lupus-like disease.
Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a common autoimmune thyroid disease. In recent years, increasing evidence has proven that the incidence of HT is associated with the excessive iodine intake of the ...body. In the present study, we measured the status of pyroptosis in thyroid tissues from patients with HT and the effects of excessive iodine on the pyroptosis in thyroid follicular cells (TFCs), in an attempt to illuminate the effects of iodine excess on the development of HT disease. Our results showed that increased pyroptosis occurred in the thyroid tissues of HT patients and that an increase in pyroptosis activity in TFCs was primed by excessive iodine
. This process was mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. In addition, excessive iodine caused NLRP3 inflammasome activation in TFCs, which promoted TFC pyroptosis. Moreover, the release of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) was closely linked to pyroptosis activation. Taken together, our results suggested that excessive iodine contributed to aberrant activation of pyroptosis in TFCs, which could be a pivotal predisposing factor for HT development.
T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are crucial for regulating autoimmune inflammation and protective immunity against viral infection. However, the molecular mechanism controlling Tfh cell ...differentiation is poorly understood. Here, through two mixed bone marrow chimeric experiments, we identified Peli1, a T cell-enriched E3 ubiquitin ligase, as an intrinsic regulator that inhibits Tfh cell differentiation. Peli1 deficiency significantly promoted c-Rel-mediated inducible T-cell costimulator (ICOS) expression, and PELI1 mRNA expression was negatively associated with ICOS expression on human CD4
T cells. Mechanistically, increased ICOS expression on Peli1-KO CD4
T cells enhanced the activation of PI3K-AKT signaling and thus suppressed the expression of Klf2, a transcription factor that inhibits Tfh differentiation. Therefore, reconstitution of Klf2 abolished the differences in Tfh differentiation and germinal center reaction between WT and Peli1-KO cells. As a consequence, Peli1-deficient CD4
T cells promoted lupus-like autoimmunity but protected against H1N1 influenza virus infection in mouse models. Collectively, our findings established Peli1 as a critical negative regulator of Tfh differentiation and indicated that targeting Peli1 may have beneficial therapeutic effects in Tfh-related autoimmunity or infectious diseases.
Development of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), involves the inflammatory action of Th1 and Th17 cells, but the underlying ...signaling mechanism is incompletely understood. We show that the kinase TPL2 is a crucial mediator of EAE and is required for the pathological action of Th17 cells. TPL2 serves as a master kinase mediating the activation of multiple downstream pathways stimulated by the Th17 signature cytokine IL-17. TPL2 acts by linking the IL-17 receptor signal to the activation of TAK1, which involves a dynamic mechanism of TPL2-TAK1 interaction and TPL2-mediated phosphorylation and catalytic activation of TAK1. These results suggest that TPL2 mediates TAK1 axis of IL-17 signaling, thereby promoting autoimmune neuroinflammation.
Novel biomarkers are required in gastric cancer (GC) treated by immunotherapy. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection induces an immune-active tumor microenvironment, while its association with ...immunotherapy response is still controversial. Genes underlying EBV infection may determine the response heterogeneity of EBV + GC. Thus, we screened hub genes associated with EBV infection to predict the response to immunotherapy in GC.
Prognostic hub genes associated with EBV infection were screened using multi-omic data of GC. EBV + GC cells were established and confirmed by EBV-encoded small RNA in situ hybridization (EBER-ISH). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of the hub genes was conducted in GC samples with EBER-ISH assay. Infiltrating immune cells were stained using immunofluorescence.
CHAF1A was identified as a hub gene in EBV + GC, and its expression was an independent predictor of overall survival (OS). EBV infection up-regulated CHAF1A expression which also predicted EBV infection well. CHAF1A expression also predicted microsatellite instability (MSI) and a high tumor mutation burden (TMB). The combined score (CS) of CHAF1A expression with MSI or TMB further improved prognostic stratification. CHAF1A IHC score positively correlated with the infiltration of NK cells and macrophages M1. CHAF1A expression alone could predict the immunotherapy response, but its CS with EBV infection, MSI, TMB, or PD-L1 expression showed better effects and improved response stratification based on current biomarkers.
CHAF1A could be a novel biomarker for immunotherapy of GC, with the potential to improve the efficacy of existing biomarkers.
Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is a clinical syndrome characterized by a sudden and severe impairment in liver function. However, the precise mechanism of immune dysregulation that is significant to ...FHF pathogenesis remains unclear. Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) has been implicated in inflammation as a regulator of immune cell function. In this study, we investigated the role of EZH2 in an animal model of human FHF induced by Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We demonstrated that EZH2 depletion in dendritic cells (DCs) and pharmacological inhibition of EZH2 using GSK126 both significantly ameliorated liver injury and improved the survival rates of mice with P. acnes plus LPS-induced FHF, which could be attributed to the decreased infiltration and activation of CD4
T cells in the liver, inhibition of T helper 1 cells and induction of regulatory T cells. The expression of EZH2 in DCs was increased after P. acnes administration, and EZH2 deficiency in DCs suppressed DC maturation and prevented DCs from efficiently stimulating CD4
T-cell proliferation. Further mechanistic analyses indicated that EZH2 deficiency directly increased the expression of the transcription factor RUNX1 and thereby suppressed the immune functions of DCs. The functional dependence of EZH2 on RUNX1 was further illustrated in DC-specific Ezh2-deficient mice. Taken together, our findings establish that EZH2 exhibits anti-inflammatory effects through inhibition of RUNX1 to regulate DC functions and that inhibition of EZH2 alleviates P. acnes plus LPS-induced FHF, probably by inhibiting DC-induced adaptive immune responses. These results highlight the effect of EZH2 on DCs, serving as a guide for the development of a promising immunotherapeutic strategy for FHF.
FKBP51 plays a relevant role in sustaining cancer cells, particularly melanoma. This cochaperone participates in several signaling pathways. FKBP51 forms a complex with Akt and PHLPP, which is ...reported to dephosphorylate Akt. Given the recent discovery of a spliced FKBP51 isoform, in this paper, we interrogate the canonical and spliced isoforms in regulation of Akt activation. We show that the TPR domain of FKBP51 mediates Akt ubiquitination at K63, which is an essential step for Akt activation. The spliced FKBP51, lacking such domain, cannot link K63-Ub residues to Akt. Unexpectedly, PHLPP silencing does not foster phosphorylation of Akt, and its overexpression even induces phosphorylation of Akt. PHLPP stabilizes levels of E3-ubiquitin ligase TRAF6 and supports K63-ubiquitination of Akt. The interactome profile of FKBP51 from melanoma cells highlights a relevant role for PHLPP in improving oncogenic hallmarks, particularly, cell proliferation.
Microglia are intrinsic immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS). The under controlled microglia activation plays important roles in inflammatory demyelination diseases, such as multiple ...sclerosis (MS). However, the means to modulate microglia activation as a therapeutic modality and the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here we show that administration of 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GRA), by using both preventive and therapeutic treatment protocols, significantly suppresses disease severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in C57BL/6 mice. The treatment effect of GRA on EAE is attributed to its regulatory effect on microglia. GRA-modulated microglia significantly decreased pro-inflammatory profile in the CNS through suppression of MAPK signal pathway. The ameliorated CNS pro-inflammatory profile prevented the recruitment of encephalitogenic T cells into the CNS, which alleviated inflammation-induced demyelination. In addition, GRA treatment promoted remyelination in the CNS of EAE mice. The induced remyelination can be mediated by the overcome of inflammation-induced blockade of brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in microglia, as well as enhancing oligodendrocyte precursor cell proliferation. Collectively, our results demonstrate that GRA-modulated microglia suppresses EAE through inhibiting microglia activation-mediated CNS inflammation, and promoting neuroprotective effect of microglia, which represents a potential therapeutic strategy for MS and maybe other neuroinflammatory diseases associated with microglia activation.
PDF
