The promised land of human immunology Su, Laura F; Han, Arnold; McGuire, Helen M ...
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology,
2013, Volume:
78
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Advances in technology and data analysis have made it possible to take a new look at human immunology. These advances run the gamut from systems biology approaches, which are likely in the vanguard ...of how we can start "to put the pieces together" of immune function, to a deeper understanding of specific diseases and vaccines and the immune repertoire. In our own experience, we have also found that asking simple questions about human immunity has often given us very surprising answers, causing a rethink of established dogma. Thus, we have developed a new perspective on the nature of the αβ TCR repertoire and also the likely role of T-cell repertoire (TCR) cross-reactivity in generating T memory independent of specific antigen interactions. These findings show that human immunology is not just a necessary step for "translating" basic immunology to treat diseases or develop better vaccines, but is also an important complement to the inbred mouse model.
Bam32 is an adaptor protein recruited to the plasma membrane upon B cell receptor (BCR) cross-linking in a phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) dependent manner, however, its physiologic function is ...unclear. To determine its physiologic function, Bam32-deficient mice were generated by gene targeting. Bam32−/− B cells develop normally but have impaired T-independent antibody responses in vivo, and diminished responses to BCR crosslinking in vitro. Biochemical analysis revealed that Bam32 acts in a novel pathway leading from the BCR to MAPK/ERK Kinases (MEK1/2), MAPK/ERK Kinase Kinase-1 (MEKK1), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), but not p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38). This pathway appears to be initiated by hematopoetic progenitor kinase-1 (HPK1), which interacts directly with Bam32, and differs from all previously characterized BCR signaling pathways in that it is required for normal BCR-mediated proliferation, but not for B cell survival.
The CD28 cell surface receptor provides an important costimulatory signal for T cells necessary for their response to Ag. Early events in CD28 signaling include recruitment and activation of ...phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) and activation of the protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs), LCK and EMT. Recruitment and activation of PI3-kinase is known to be dependent upon phosphorylation of tyrosine 173 of the CD28 cytoplasmic tail contained within a YMNM motif. By contrast, little is known of which residues of the CD28 tail, including tyrosines, are required for the activation of PTKs. To address this we studied the ability of truncation mutants and tyrosine to phenylalanine substitution mutants of the CD28 cytoplasmic tail to activate LCK and EMT in Jurkat T leukemia cells. Our results indicate that 1) activation of EMT is partially dependent upon tyrosine 173 of the CD28 tail, although it does not require PI3-kinase activation; 2) activation of LCK is independent of CD28 cytoplasmic tail tyrosine residues; and 3) elements sufficient for the activation of both kinases are contained within the first half of the tail. In addition we studied the CD28 tail as a substrate for both PTKs in in vitro kinase assays. We demonstrate that EMT can phosphorylate all four tyrosines of the CD28 tail, in contrast to LCK, which phosphorylates only tyrosine 173. Together with evidence that in vivo, tyrosines other than tyrosine 173 become phosphorylated following CD28 stimulation, this finding suggests that, like LCK, one function of EMT during CD28 signaling is phosphorylation of the receptor.
Ligation of the CD2 cell surface glycoprotein expressed on T lymphocytes and NK cells induces protein tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of the Src kinases, LCK and FYN. We show here that in ...Jurkat T leukemia cells and in peripheral blood T cells, CD2 stimulation also leads to tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of the Tec family kinase, EMT/ITK/TSK. Activation of EMT by CD2 was induced by mitogenic pairs of CD2 mAb, certain single CD2 mAb followed by secondary antibody cross-linking, and CD58-bearing sheep red blood cells. With the use of different Jurkat cell mutants it was demonstrated that CD2-mediated activation of EMT required expression of LCK, but not require surface expression of the CD3 zeta chain. Receptor-mediated activation of LCK does not in itself lead to activation of this Tec kinase since induction of LCK by ligation of CD4 or CD5 did not result in activation of EMT. The activation of EMT during CD2 signaling suggests an important role for this kinase in CD2 co-stimulation of T cell responses.
Ligation of the CD2 cell surface glycoprotein expressed on T lymphocytes and NK cells induces protein tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of the Src kinases, LCK and FYN. We show here that in ...Jurkat T leukemia cells and in peripheral blood T cells, CD2 stimulation also leads to tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of the Tec family kinase, EMThTKITSK. Activation of EMT by CD2 was induced by mitogenic pairs of CD2 mAb, certain single CD2 mAb followed by secondary antibody cross-linking, and CD58-bearing sheep red blood cells. With the use of different Jurkat cell mutants it was demonstrated that CD2-mediated activation of EMT required expression of LCK, but did not require surface expression of the CD3 ζ chain. Receptor-mediated activation of LCK does not in itself lead to activation of this Tec kinase since induction of LCK by ligation of CD4 or CD5 did not result in activation of EMT. The activation of EMT during CD2 signaling suggests an important role for this kinase in CD2 co-stimulation of T cell responses.
Recent advances in base editing have created an exciting opportunity to precisely correct disease-causing mutations. However, the large size of base editors and their inherited off-target activities ...pose challenges for in vivo base editing. Moreover, the requirement of a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) nearby the mutation site further limits the targeting feasibility. Here we modify the NG-targeting adenine base editor (iABE-NGA) to overcome these challenges and demonstrate the high efficiency to precisely edit a Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) mutation in adult mice. Systemic delivery of AAV9-iABE-NGA results in dystrophin restoration and functional improvement. At 10 months after AAV9-iABE-NGA treatment, a near complete rescue of dystrophin is measured in mdx
mouse hearts with up to 15% rescue in skeletal muscle fibers. The off-target activities remains low and no obvious toxicity is detected. This study highlights the promise of permanent base editing using iABE-NGA for the treatment of monogenic diseases.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) causes considerable global morbidity and mortality, and its mechanisms of disease progression are poorly understood. Recent observational studies have reported ...associations between lung dysbiosis, mortality, and altered host defense gene expression, supporting a role for lung microbiota in IPF. However, the causal significance of altered lung microbiota in disease progression is undetermined.
To examine the effect of microbiota on local alveolar inflammation and disease progression using both animal models and human subjects with IPF.
For human studies, we characterized lung microbiota in BAL fluid from 68 patients with IPF. For animal modeling, we used a murine model of pulmonary fibrosis in conventional and germ-free mice. Lung bacteria were characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing with novel techniques optimized for low-biomass sample load. Microbiota were correlated with alveolar inflammation, measures of pulmonary fibrosis, and disease progression.
Disruption of the lung microbiome predicts disease progression, correlates with local host inflammation, and participates in disease progression. In patients with IPF, lung bacterial burden predicts fibrosis progression, and microbiota diversity and composition correlate with increased alveolar profibrotic cytokines. In murine models of fibrosis, lung dysbiosis precedes peak lung injury and is persistent. In germ-free animals, the absence of a microbiome protects against mortality.
Our results demonstrate that lung microbiota contribute to the progression of IPF. We provide biological plausibility for the hypothesis that lung dysbiosis promotes alveolar inflammation and aberrant repair. Manipulation of lung microbiota may represent a novel target for the treatment of IPF.
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