Blood myeloid cells are known to be dysregulated in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2. It is unknown whether the innate myeloid response differs with disease severity and ...whether markers of innate immunity discriminate high-risk patients. Thus, we performed high-dimensional flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing of COVID-19 patient peripheral blood cells and detected disappearance of non-classical CD14LowCD16High monocytes, accumulation of HLA-DRLow classical monocytes (Human Leukocyte Antigen - DR isotype), and release of massive amounts of calprotectin (S100A8/S100A9) in severe cases. Immature CD10LowCD101−CXCR4+/− neutrophils with an immunosuppressive profile accumulated in the blood and lungs, suggesting emergency myelopoiesis. Finally, we show that calprotectin plasma level and a routine flow cytometry assay detecting decreased frequencies of non-classical monocytes could discriminate patients who develop a severe form of COVID-19, suggesting a predictive value that deserves prospective evaluation.
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•Patients with severe COVID-19 accumulate HLA-DRLow monocytes and immature neutrophils in blood/lungs•Calprotectin level positively correlates with neutrophil count and disease severity•Loss of non-classical monocytes could identify high risk of severe COVID-19
An analysis of patients with severe COVID-19 reveals immature neutrophil and non-classical monocyte pools, with levels of the protein calprotectin linked to disease severity.
Immunotherapy is widely used to treat a large variety of malignancies and has revolutionized the therapeutic approach to cancer. Major efforts are ongoing to identify biomarkers that predict response ...to immunotherapy as well as new strategies to improve ICI efficacy and clinical outcomes. Studies have shown that the gut microbiome determines the extent to which ICIs may invigorate the anticancer immune response. Here, the authors review recent studies that have described the effects of the gut microbiota on the efficacy of CTLA-4 and PD-1 inhibitors and outline potential future clinical directions of these findings.
The cancer-immune dialogue subject to immuno-oncological intervention is profoundly influenced by microenvironmental factors. Indeed, the mucosal microbiota-and more specifically, the intestinal ...ecosystem-influences the tone of anticancer immune responses and the clinical benefit of immunotherapy. Antibiotics blunt the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), and fecal microbial transplantation may restore responsiveness of ICI-resistant melanoma. Here, we review the yin and yang of intestinal bacteria at the crossroads between the intestinal barrier, metabolism, and local or systemic immune responses during anticancer therapies. We discuss diagnostic tools to identify gut dysbiosis and the future prospects of microbiota-based therapeutic interventions. SIGNIFICANCE: Given the recent proof of concept of the potential efficacy of fecal microbial transplantation in patients with melanoma primarily resistant to PD-1 blockade, it is timely to discuss how and why antibiotics compromise the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, describe the balance between beneficial and harmful microbial species in play during therapies, and introduce the potential for microbiota-centered interventions for the future of immuno-oncology.
Mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) encompass dendritic cells, monocytes, and macrophages (MoMac), which exhibit antimicrobial, homeostatic, and immunoregulatory functions. We integrated 178,651 MNPs from ...13 tissues across 41 datasets to generate a MNP single-cell RNA compendium (MNP-VERSE), a publicly available tool to map MNPs and define conserved gene signatures of MNP populations. Next, we generated a MoMac-focused compendium that revealed an array of specialized cell subsets widely distributed across multiple tissues. Specific pathological forms were expanded in cancer and inflammation. All neoplastic tissues contained conserved tumor-associated macrophage populations. In particular, we focused on IL4I1+CD274(PD-L1)+IDO1+ macrophages, which accumulated in the tumor periphery in a T cell-dependent manner via interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and CD40/CD40L-induced maturation from IFN-primed monocytes. IL4I1_Macs exhibited immunosuppressive characteristics through tryptophan degradation and promoted the entry of regulatory T cell into tumors. This integrated analysis provides a robust online-available platform for uniform annotation and dissection of specific macrophage functions in healthy and pathological states.
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•Cross-tissue integration of scRNA from monocytes and macrophages in health and disease•Conserved gene signatures of mononuclear phagocyte populations in human tissues•IL4I1+PD-L1+IDO1+ and TREM2+ TAM subsets accumulate in human tumors•IL4I1+PD-L1+IDO1+ TAM in the tumor periphery exhibit immunosuppressive characteristics
Mulder et al. integrate 178,651 human mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) from 13 tissues across 41 datasets to generate a MNP single-cell RNA compendium (MNP-VERSE) that enables the definition of conserved gene signatures of MNP populations. This integrated approach provides a robust, online-available platform (https://gustaveroussy.github.io/FG-Lab/) for uniform annotation and dissection of specific macrophage functions in healthy and pathological states.
Abstract Background The androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) is associated with resistance to hormonal therapy in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Due to limitations of the methods ...available for AR-V7 analysis, the identification of a reliable detection method may facilitate the use of this biomarker in clinical practice. Objective To confirm AR-V7 as a predictor of resistance to hormonal therapy and develop a new approach to assess AR-V7 by highly sensitive digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) in plasma-derived exosomal RNA. Design, setting, and participants Plasma samples were collected from 36 CRPC patients before they began second-line hormonal treatment. Exosomes were isolated and RNA extracted for analysis of AR-V7 by ddPCR. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis The absolute target gene concentration as copies per milliliter (copies/ml) was determined by ddPCR. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results and limitations A total of 26 patients received abiraterone and 10 enzalutamide; 39% of patients were found to be AR-V7 positive (AR-V7+ ). Median progression-free survival was significantly longer in AR-V7 negative (AR-V7− ) versus AR-V7+ patients (20 vs 3 mo; p < 0.001). Overall survival was significantly shorter in AR-V7+ participants at baseline compared with AR-V7− participants (8 mo vs not reached; p < 0.001). Conclusions This study demonstrates that plasma-derived exosomal RNA is a reliable source of AR-V7 that can be detected sensitively by ddPCR assay. We also showed that resistance to hormonal therapy may be predicted by AR-V7, making it a clinically relevant biomarker. Patient summary We report a first study on a method for androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) detection in RNA extracted from cancer cell vesicles released in blood. Results confirmed the role of AR-V7 as a predictive biomarker of resistance to hormonal therapy. Our assay showed that vesicles are a reliable source of AR-V7 RNA and that the method is fast, highly sensitive, and affordable.
Cancer immunotherapists have been searching for biomarkers predicting patient responses to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in neoplastic cells as well as in the immune system. Now, accumulating evidence ...indicates that the composition of the intestinal microflora has a major impact on patient prognosis. Here, we enumerate the bacterial species that are associated with favorable outcome of immunotherapy.
The circulating metabolome provides a snapshot of the physiological state of the organism responding to pathogenic challenges. Here we report alterations in the plasma metabolome reflecting the ...clinical presentation of COVID-19 patients with mild (ambulatory) diseases, moderate disease (radiologically confirmed pneumonitis, hospitalization and oxygen therapy), and critical disease (in intensive care). This analysis revealed major disease- and stage-associated shifts in the metabolome, meaning that at least 77 metabolites including amino acids, lipids, polyamines and sugars, as well as their derivatives, were altered in critical COVID-19 patient's plasma as compared to mild COVID-19 patients. Among a uniformly moderate cohort of patients who received tocilizumab, only 10 metabolites were different among individuals with a favorable evolution as compared to those who required transfer into the intensive care unit. The elevation of one single metabolite, anthranilic acid, had a poor prognostic value, correlating with the maintenance of high interleukin-10 and -18 levels. Given that products of the kynurenine pathway including anthranilic acid have immunosuppressive properties, we speculate on the therapeutic utility to inhibit the rate-limiting enzymes of this pathway including indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase.
Over the past 16 years, three coronaviruses (CoVs), severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV) in 2002, Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV) in 2012 and 2015, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2020, ...have been causing severe and fatal human epidemics. The unpredictability of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) poses a major burden on health care and economic systems across the world. This is caused by the paucity of in-depth knowledge of the risk factors for severe COVID-19, insufficient diagnostic tools for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, as well as the absence of specific and effective drug treatments. While protective humoral and cellular immune responses are usually mounted against these betacoronaviruses, immune responses to SARS-CoV2 sometimes derail towards inflammatory tissue damage, leading to rapid admissions to intensive care units. The lack of knowledge on mechanisms that tilt the balance between these two opposite outcomes poses major threats to many ongoing clinical trials dealing with immunostimulatory or immunoregulatory therapeutics. This review will discuss innate and cognate immune responses underlying protective or deleterious immune reactions against these pathogenic coronaviruses.
Limited experimental evidence bridges nutrition and cancer immunosurveillance. Here, we show that ketogenic diet (KD) - or its principal ketone body, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), most specifically in ...intermittent scheduling - induced T cell-dependent tumor growth retardation of aggressive tumor models. In conditions in which anti-PD-1 alone or in combination with anti-CTLA-4 failed to reduce tumor growth in mice receiving a standard diet, KD, or oral supplementation of 3HB reestablished therapeutic responses. Supplementation of KD with sucrose (which breaks ketogenesis, abolishing 3HB production) or with a pharmacological antagonist of the 3HB receptor GPR109A abolished the antitumor effects. Mechanistically, 3HB prevented the immune checkpoint blockade-linked upregulation of PD-L1 on myeloid cells, while favoring the expansion of CXCR3+ T cells. KD induced compositional changes of the gut microbiota, with distinct species such as Eisenbergiella massiliensis commonly emerging in mice and humans subjected to carbohydrate-low diet interventions and highly correlating with serum concentrations of 3HB. Altogether, these results demonstrate that KD induces a 3HB-mediated antineoplastic effect that relies on T cell-mediated cancer immunosurveillance.
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