Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is causing a deadly and pandemic disease called coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). While SARS-CoV-2-triggered hyperinflammatory tissue-damaging and immunothrombotic ...responses are thought to be major causes of respiratory failure and death, how they relate to lung immunopathological changes remains unclear. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) can contribute to inflammation-associated lung damage, thrombosis, and fibrosis. However, whether NETs infiltrate particular compartments in severe COVID-19 lungs remains to be clarified. Here we analyzed postmortem lung specimens from four patients who succumbed to COVID-19 and four patients who died from a COVID-19-unrelated cause. We report the presence of NETs in the lungs of each COVID-19 patient. NETs were found in the airway compartment and neutrophil-rich inflammatory areas of the interstitium, while NET-prone primed neutrophils were present in arteriolar microthrombi. Our results support the hypothesis that NETs may represent drivers of severe pulmonary complications of COVID-19 and suggest that NET-targeting approaches could be considered for the treatment of uncontrolled tissue-damaging and thrombotic responses in COVID-19.
Resident tissue macrophages (RTM) can fulfill various tasks during development, homeostasis, inflammation and repair. In the lung, non-alveolar RTM, called interstitial macrophages (IM), importantly ...contribute to tissue homeostasis but remain little characterized. Here we show, using single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), two phenotypically distinct subpopulations of long-lived monocyte-derived IM, i.e. CD206
and CD206
IM, as well as a discrete population of extravasating CD64
CD16.2
monocytes. CD206
IM are peribronchial self-maintaining RTM that constitutively produce high levels of chemokines and immunosuppressive cytokines. Conversely, CD206
IM preferentially populate the alveolar interstitium and exhibit features of antigen-presenting cells. In addition, our data support that CD64
CD16.2
monocytes arise from intravascular Ly-6C
patrolling monocytes that enter the tissue at steady-state to become putative precursors of CD206
IM. This study expands our knowledge about the complexity of lung IM and reveals an ontogenic pathway for one IM subset, an important step for elaborating future macrophage-targeted therapies.
Respiratory viral infections represent the most common cause of allergic asthma exacerbations. Amplification of the type-2 immune response is strongly implicated in asthma exacerbation, but how virus ...infection boosts type-2 responses is poorly understood. We report a significant correlation between the release of host double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) following rhinovirus infection and the exacerbation of type-2 allergic inflammation in humans. In a mouse model of allergic airway hypersensitivity, we show that rhinovirus infection triggers dsDNA release associated with the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), known as NETosis. We further demonstrate that inhibiting NETosis by blocking neutrophil elastase or by degrading NETs with DNase protects mice from type-2 immunopathology. Furthermore, the injection of mouse genomic DNA alone is sufficient to recapitulate many features of rhinovirus-induced type-2 immune responses and asthma pathology. Thus, NETosis and its associated extracellular dsDNA contribute to the pathogenesis and may represent potential therapeutic targets of rhinovirus-induced asthma exacerbations.
Living in a microbe-rich environment reduces the risk of developing asthma. Exposure of humans or mice to unmethylated CpG DNA (CpG) from bacteria reproduces these protective effects, suggesting a ...major contribution of CpG to microbe-induced asthma resistance. However, how CpG confers protection remains elusive. We found that exposure to CpG expanded regulatory lung interstitial macrophages (IMs) from monocytes infiltrating the lung or mobilized from the spleen. Trafficking of IM precursors to the lung was independent of CCR2, a chemokine receptor required for monocyte mobilization from the bone marrow. Using a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation, we found that adoptive transfer of IMs isolated from CpG-treated mice recapitulated the protective effects of CpG when administered before allergen sensitization or challenge. IM-mediated protection was dependent on IL-10, given that Il10−/− CpG-induced IMs lacked regulatory effects. Thus, the expansion of regulatory lung IMs upon exposure to CpG might underlie the reduced risk of asthma development associated with a microbe-rich environment.
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•Exposure to bacterial CpG DNA (CpG) expands regulatory lung interstitial macrophages (IMs)•Transfer of WT but not Il10−/− IMs protects from allergen-induced airway inflammation•CpG-induced IMs arise from local and splenic reservoir monocytes•Migration of regulatory IM precursors to the lung does not require CCR2
Exposure to unmethylated CpG DNA (CpG) from bacteria is associated with a reduced risk of developing asthma. Sabatel et al. find that CpG exposure leads to higher numbers of lung interstitial macrophages that prevent allergic inflammation through the production of the regulatory cytokine interleukin-10.
Asthma encompasses a spectrum of heterogenous immune-mediated respiratory disorders sharing a similar clinical pattern characterized by cough, wheeze and exercise intolerance. In horses, equine ...asthma can be subdivided into severe or moderate asthma according to clinical symptoms and the extent of airway neutrophilic inflammation. While severe asthmatic horses are characterized by an elevated neutrophilic inflammation of the lower airways, cough, dyspnea at rest and high mucus secretion, horses with moderate asthma show a milder neutrophilic inflammation, exhibit intolerance to exercise but no labored breathing at rest. Yet, the physiopathology of different phenotypes of equine asthma remains poorly understood and there is a need to elucidate the underlying mechanisms tailoring those phenotypes in order to improve clinical management and elaborate novel therapeutic strategies. In this study, we sought to quantify the presence of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) of moderate or severe asthmatic horses and healthy controls, and assessed whether NETs correlated with disease severity. To this end, we evaluated the amounts of NETs by measuring cell-free DNA and MPO-DNA complexes in BALF supernatants or by quantifying NETs release by BALF cells by confocal microscopy. We were able to unequivocally identify elevated NETs levels in BALF of severe asthmatic horses as compared to healthy controls or moderate asthmatic horses. Moreover, we provided evidence that BALF NETs release was a specific feature seen in severe equine asthma, as opposed to moderate asthma, and correlated with disease severity. Finally, we showed that NETs could act as a predictive factor for severe equine asthma. Our study thus uniquely identifies NETs in BALF of severe asthmatic horses using three distinct methods and supports the idea that moderate and severe equine asthma do not rely on strictly similar pathophysiological mechanisms. Our data also suggest that NETs represent a relevant biomarker, a putative driver and a potential therapeutic target in severe asthma disease.
BackgroundHigh-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a multifunctional redox-sensitive protein involved in various intracellular (eg, chromatin remodeling, transcription, autophagy) and extracellular ...(inflammation, autoimmunity) processes. Regarding its role in cancer development/progression, paradoxical results exist in the literature and it is still unclear whether HMGB1 mainly acts as an oncogene or a tumor suppressor.MethodsHMGB1 expression was first assessed in tissue specimens (n=359) of invasive breast, lung and cervical cancer and the two distinct staining patterns detected (nuclear vs cytoplasmic) were correlated to the secretion profile of malignant cells, patient outcomes and the presence of infiltrating immune cells within tumor microenvironment. Using several orthotopic, syngeneic mouse models of basal-like breast (4T1, 67NR and EpRas) or non-small cell lung (TC-1) cancer, the efficacy of several HMGB1 inhibitors alone and in combination with immune checkpoint blockade antibodies (anti-PD-1/PD-L1) was then investigated. Isolated from retrieved tumors, 14 immune cell (sub)populations as well as the activation status of antigen-presenting cells were extensively analyzed in each condition. Finally, the redox state of HMGB1 in tumor-extruded fluids and the influence of different forms (oxidized, reduced or disulfide) on both dendritic cell (DC) and plasmacytoid DC (pDC) activation were determined.ResultsAssociated with an unfavorable prognosis in human patients, we clearly demonstrated that targeting extracellular HMGB1 elicits a profound remodeling of tumor immune microenvironment for efficient cancer therapy. Indeed, without affecting the global number of (CD45+) immune cells, drastic reductions of monocytic/granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and regulatory T lymphocytes, a higher M1/M2 ratio of macrophages as well as an increased activation of both DC and pDC were continually observed following HMGB1 inhibition. Moreover, blocking HMGB1 improved the efficacy of anti-PD-1 cancer monoimmunotherapy. We also reported that a significant fraction of HMGB1 encountered within cancer microenvironment (interstitial fluids) is oxidized and, in opposite to its reduced isoform, oxidized HMGB1 acts as a tolerogenic signal in a receptor for advanced glycation endproducts-dependent manner.ConclusionCollectively, we present evidence that extracellular HMGB1 blockade may complement first-generation cancer immunotherapies by remobilizing antitumor immune response.
Neutrophils are one of the first innate immune cells recruited to tissues during inflammation. An important function of neutrophils relies on their ability to release extracellular structures, known ...as Neutrophil Extracellular Traps or NETs, into their environment. Detecting such NETs in humans has often proven challenging for both biological fluids and tissues; however, this can be achieved by quantitating NET components (
, DNA or granule/histone proteins) or by directly visualizing them by microscopy, respectively. Direct visualization by confocal microscopy is preferably performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections stained with a fluorescent DNA dye and antibodies directed against myeloperoxidase (MPO) and citrullinated histone 3 (Cit-H3), two components of NETs, following paraffin removal, antigen retrieval, and permeabilization. NETs are defined as extracellular structures that stain double-positive for MPO and Cit-H3. Here, we propose a novel software-based objective method for NET volume quantitation in tissue sections based on the measurement of the volume of structures exhibiting co-localization of Cit-H3 and MPO outside the cell. Such a technique not only allows the unambiguous identification of NETs in tissue sections but also their quantitation and relationship with surrounding tissues. Graphic abstract: Graphical representation of the methodology used to stain and quantitate NETs in human lung tissue.
Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) contribute to the regulation of intestinal homeostasis and inflammation through their interactions with the environment and host immune responses. Yet our ...understanding of IEC-intrinsic regulatory pathways remains incomplete. Here, we identify the guanine nucleotide exchange factor RABGEF1 as a regulator of intestinal homeostasis and innate pathways dependent on IECs. Mice with IEC-specific Rabgef1 deletion (called Rabgef1
mice) developed a delayed spontaneous colitis associated with the local upregulation of IEC chemokine expression. In mouse models of colitis based on Interleukin-10 deficiency or dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) exposure, we found that IEC-intrinsic RABGEF1 deficiency exacerbated development of intestinal pathology and dysregulated IEC innate pathways and chemokine expression. Mechanistically, we showed that RABGEF1 deficiency in mouse IECs in vitro was associated with an impairment of early endocytic events, an increased activation of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent pathway, and increased chemokine secretion. Moreover, we provided evidence that the development of spontaneous colitis was dependent on microbiota-derived signals and intrinsic MYD88-dependent pathways in vivo. Our study identifies mouse RABGEF1 as an important regulator of intestinal inflammation, MYD88-dependent IEC-intrinsic signaling, and chemokine production. This suggests that RABGEF1-dependent pathways represent interesting therapeutic targets for inflammatory conditions in the gut.
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