Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by severe neuronal loss; however, the mechanisms by which neurons die remain elusive. Necroptosis, a programmed form of necrosis, is executed by the mixed ...lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL) protein, which is triggered by receptor-interactive protein kinases (RIPK) 1 and 3. We found that necroptosis was activated in postmortem human AD brains, positively correlated with Braak stage, and inversely correlated with brain weight and cognitive scores. In addition, we found that the set of genes regulated by RIPK1 overlapped significantly with multiple independent AD transcriptomic signatures, indicating that RIPK1 activity could explain a substantial portion of transcriptomic changes in AD. Furthermore, we observed that lowering necroptosis activation reduced cell loss in a mouse model of AD. We anticipate that our findings will spur a new area of research in the AD field focused on developing new therapeutic strategies aimed at blocking its activation.
Malignant cells drive the generation of a desmoplastic and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Cancer-associated stromal cells (CASC) are a heterogeneous population that provides both negative ...and positive signals for tumor cell growth and metastasis. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a marker of a major subset of CASCs in virtually all carcinomas. Clinically, FAP expression serves as an independent negative prognostic factor for multiple types of human malignancies. Prior studies established that depletion of FAP(+) cells inhibits tumor growth by augmenting antitumor immunity. However, the potential for immune-independent effects on tumor growth have not been defined. Herein, we demonstrate that FAP(+) CASCs are required for maintenance of the provisional tumor stroma because depletion of these cells, by adoptive transfer of FAP-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, reduced extracellular matrix proteins and glycosaminoglycans. Adoptive transfer of FAP-CAR T cells also decreased tumor vascular density and restrained growth of desmoplastic human lung cancer xenografts and syngeneic murine pancreatic cancers in an immune-independent fashion. Adoptive transfer of FAP-CAR T cells also restrained autochthonous pancreatic cancer growth. These data distinguish the function of FAP(+) CASCs from other CASC subsets and provide support for further development of FAP(+) stromal cell-targeted therapies for the treatment of solid tumors.
Severe asthma is associated with the production of interleukin 17A (IL-17A). The exact role of IL-17A in severe asthma and the factors that drive its production are unknown. Here we demonstrate that ...IL-17A mediated severe airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in susceptible strains of mice by enhancing IL-13-driven responses. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that IL-17A and AHR were regulated by allergen-driven production of anaphylatoxins, as mouse strains deficient in complement factor 5 (C5) or the complement receptor C5aR mounted robust IL-17A responses, whereas mice deficient in C3aR had fewer IL-17-producing helper T cells (T(H)17 cells) and less AHR after allergen challenge. The opposing effects of C3a and C5a were mediated through their reciprocal regulation of IL-23 production. These data demonstrate a critical role for complement-mediated regulation of the IL-23-T(H)17 axis in severe asthma.
The influence of mouse strain, immune competence and age on the pathogenesis of a field strain of minute virus of mice (MVMm) was examined in BALB/c, C3H, C57BL/6 and SCID mice experimentally ...infected as neonates, weanlings and adults. Sera, bodily excretions and tissues were harvested at 7, 14, 28 and 56 days after inoculation and evaluated by serology, quantitative PCR and histopathology. Seroconversion to recombinant viral capsid protein 2 was consistently observed in all immunocompetent strains of mice, regardless of the age at which they were inoculated, while seroconversion to the viral nonstructural protein 1 was only consistently detected in neonate inoculates. Viral DNA was detected by quantitative PCR in multiple tissues of immunocompetent mice at each time point after inoculation, with the highest levels being observed in neonate inoculates at 7 days after inoculation. In contrast, viral DNA levels in tissues and bodily excretions increased consistently over time in immunodeficient SCID mice, regardless of the age at which they were inoculated, with mortality being observed in neonatal inoculates between 28 and 56 days after inoculation. Overall, productive infection was observed more frequently in immunocompetent mice inoculated as neonates as compared to those inoculated as weanlings or adults, and immunodeficient SCID mice developed persistent, progressive infection, with mortality being observed in mice inoculated as neonates. Importantly, the clinical syndrome observed in experimentally infected SCID neonatal mice recapitulates the clinical presentation reported for the naturally infected immunodeficient NOD µ-chain knockout mice from which MVMm was initially isolated.
Cysteine is required for maintaining cellular redox homeostasis in both normal and transformed cells. Deprivation of cysteine induces the iron-dependent form of cell death known as ferroptosis; ...however, the metabolic consequences of cysteine starvation beyond impairment of glutathione synthesis are poorly characterized. Here, we find that cystine starvation of non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines induces an unexpected accumulation of γ-glutamyl-peptides, which are produced due to a non-canonical activity of glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC). This activity is enriched in cell lines with high levels of NRF2, a key transcriptional regulator of GCLC, but is also inducible in healthy murine tissues following cysteine limitation. γ-glutamyl-peptide synthesis limits the accumulation of glutamate, thereby protecting against ferroptosis. These results indicate that GCLC has a glutathione-independent, non-canonical role in the protection against ferroptosis by maintaining glutamate homeostasis under cystine starvation.
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•Cystine starvation induces γ-glutamyl-peptide accumulation in NSCLC cells•GCLC catalyzes γ-glutamyl-peptide synthesis via a GSH-independent mechanism•NRF2 protects against ferroptosis via γ-glutamyl-peptide synthesis•γ-glutamyl-peptide synthesis prevents ferroptosis by reducing glutamate stress
GCLC catalyzes the first step in glutathione synthesis via the ligation of cysteine with glutamate. Kang et al. demonstrate that under cysteine-limiting conditions, GCLC instead ligates glutamate with alternative amino acids, thereby scavenging glutamate to protect against ferroptosis.
Exciting progress in the field of cancer immunotherapy has renewed the urgency of the need for basic studies of immunoregulation in both adaptive cell lineages and innate cell lineages. Here we found ...a central role for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I in controlling the phagocytic function of macrophages. Our results demonstrated that expression of the common MHC class I component β
-microglobulin (β2M) by cancer cells directly protected them from phagocytosis. We further showed that this protection was mediated by the inhibitory receptor LILRB1, whose expression was upregulated on the surface of macrophages, including tumor-associated macrophages. Disruption of either MHC class I or LILRB1 potentiated phagocytosis of tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo, which defines the MHC class I-LILRB1 signaling axis as an important regulator of the effector function of innate immune cells, a potential biomarker for therapeutic response to agents directed against the signal-regulatory protein CD47 and a potential target of anti-cancer immunotherapy.
Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) accumulation is a hallmark of atherosclerosis and vascular injury. However, fundamental aspects of proliferation and the phenotypic changes within individual VSMCs, ...which underlie vascular disease, remain unresolved. In particular, it is not known whether all VSMCs proliferate and display plasticity or whether individual cells can switch to multiple phenotypes.
To assess whether proliferation and plasticity in disease is a general characteristic of VSMCs or a feature of a subset of cells.
Using multicolor lineage labeling, we demonstrate that VSMCs in injury-induced neointimal lesions and in atherosclerotic plaques are oligoclonal, derived from few expanding cells. Lineage tracing also revealed that the progeny of individual VSMCs contributes to both alpha smooth muscle actin (aSma)-positive fibrous cap and Mac3-expressing macrophage-like plaque core cells. Costaining for phenotypic markers further identified a double-positive aSma+ Mac3+ cell population, which is specific to VSMC-derived plaque cells. In contrast, VSMC-derived cells generating the neointima after vascular injury generally retained the expression of VSMC markers and the upregulation of Mac3 was less pronounced. Monochromatic regions in atherosclerotic plaques and injury-induced neointima did not contain VSMC-derived cells expressing a different fluorescent reporter protein, suggesting that proliferation-independent VSMC migration does not make a major contribution to VSMC accumulation in vascular disease.
We demonstrate that extensive proliferation of a low proportion of highly plastic VSMCs results in the observed VSMC accumulation after injury and in atherosclerotic plaques. Therapeutic targeting of these hyperproliferating VSMCs might effectively reduce vascular disease without affecting vascular integrity.
We report that tumor cells without mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) show delayed tumor growth, and that tumor formation is associated with acquisition of mtDNA from host cells. This leads to partial ...recovery of mitochondrial function in cells derived from primary tumors grown from cells without mtDNA and a shorter lag in tumor growth. Cell lines from circulating tumor cells showed further recovery of mitochondrial respiration and an intermediate lag to tumor growth, while cells from lung metastases exhibited full restoration of respiratory function and no lag in tumor growth. Stepwise assembly of mitochondrial respiratory (super)complexes was correlated with acquisition of respiratory function. Our findings indicate horizontal transfer of mtDNA from host cells in the tumor microenvironment to tumor cells with compromised respiratory function to re-establish respiration and tumor-initiating efficacy. These results suggest pathophysiological processes for overcoming mtDNA damage and support the notion of high plasticity of malignant cells.
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•Tumor cells lacking mtDNA form tumors only after acquiring host mtDNA•Tumor microenvironment instructs stepwise recovery of respiration•Recovery of mitochondrial function aligns with efficient tumor formation•Functional respirasome and complex II assembly occur in metastatic cells
Mitochondrial genome acquisition from cells in the tumor microenvironment restores tumorigenicity and respiration in cells lacking mtDNA. Cell lines derived from primary and circulating tumor cells and lung metastases that grew from these cells showed stepwise recovery of tumorigenicity and respiration that was associated with respirasome and complex II assembly.
Resetting tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) is a promising strategy to ameliorate the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and improve innate and adaptive antitumor immunity. Here we show that ...chloroquine (CQ), a proven anti-malarial drug, can function as an antitumor immune modulator that switches TAMs from M2 to tumor-killing M1 phenotype. Mechanistically, CQ increases macrophage lysosomal pH, causing Ca
release via the lysosomal Ca
channel mucolipin-1 (Mcoln1), which induces the activation of p38 and NF-κB, thus polarizing TAMs to M1 phenotype. In parallel, the released Ca
activates transcription factor EB (TFEB), which reprograms the metabolism of TAMs from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. As a result, CQ-reset macrophages ameliorate tumor immune microenvironment by decreasing immunosuppressive infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and Treg cells, thus enhancing antitumor T-cell immunity. These data illuminate a previously unrecognized antitumor mechanism of CQ, suggesting a potential new macrophage-based tumor immunotherapeutic modality.
The mechanisms that enable immune evasion at metastatic sites are poorly understood. We show that the Polycomb Repressor Complex 1 (PRC1) drives colonization of the bones and visceral organs in ...double-negative prostate cancer (DNPC). In vivo genetic screening identifies CCL2 as the top prometastatic gene induced by PRC1. CCL2 governs self-renewal and induces the recruitment of M2-like tumor-associated macrophages and regulatory T cells, thus coordinating metastasis initiation with immune suppression and neoangiogenesis. A catalytic inhibitor of PRC1 cooperates with immune checkpoint therapy to reverse these processes and suppress metastasis in genetically engineered mouse transplantation models of DNPC. These results reveal that PRC1 coordinates stemness with immune evasion and neoangiogenesis and point to the potential clinical utility of targeting PRC1 in DNPC.
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•PRC1 promotes metastatic outgrowth by inducing expression of CCL2•CCL2 promotes self-renewal by binding to CCR4 on prostate cancer cells•CCL2 recruits M2-like TAMs and Tregs, inducing immune suppression and angiogenesis•PRC1 inhibitor cooperates with checkpoint immunotherapy to suppress metastasis
Su et al. show that PRC1 drives metastasis of androgen receptor and neuroendocrine double-negative prostate cancers by regulating CCL2 expression. CCL2 governs self-renewal and recruitment of TAM and Treg. PRC1 inhibition combined with immune checkpoint blockade reverses these processes and suppresses metastasis.
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