Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are characterized by myofibroblast proliferation and an inflammatory cell infiltrate. Little is known about the molecular pathways that precipitate IMT formation. Here, we report the identification of somatic mutations in
JingWei Lu, Terra-Dawn Plank, Fang Su, XiuJuan Shi, Chen Liu, Yuan Ji, ShuaiJun Li, Andrew Huynh, Chao Shi, Bo Zhu, Guang Yang, YanMing Wu, Miles F. Wilkinson, YanJun Lu
Transplantation is the only cure for end-stage organ failure, but without immunosuppression, T cells rapidly reject allografts. While genetic disparities between donor and recipient are major determinants of the kinetics of transplant rejection, little is known about the contribution of environmental factors. Because colonized organs have worse transplant outcome than sterile organs, we tested the influence of host and donor microbiota on skin transplant rejection. Compared with untreated conventional mice, pretreatment of donors and recipients with broad-spectrum antibiotics (Abx) or use of germ-free (GF) donors and recipients resulted in prolonged survival of minor antigen–mismatched skin grafts. Increased graft survival correlated with reduced type I IFN signaling in antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and decreased priming of alloreactive T cells. Colonization of GF mice with fecal material from untreated conventional mice, but not from Abx-pretreated mice, enhanced the ability of APCs to prime alloreactive T cells and accelerated graft rejection, suggesting that alloimmunity is modulated by the composition of microbiota rather than the quantity of bacteria. Abx pretreatment of conventional mice also delayed rejection of major antigen–mismatched skin and MHC class II–mismatched cardiac allografts. This study demonstrates that Abx pretreatment prolongs graft survival, suggesting that targeting microbial constituents is a potential therapeutic strategy for enhancing graft acceptance.
Yuk Man Lei, Luqiu Chen, Ying Wang, Andrew T. Stefka, Luciana L. Molinero, Betty Theriault, Keston Aquino-Michaels, Ayelet S. Sivan, Cathryn R. Nagler, Thomas F. Gajewski, Anita S. Chong, Caroline Bartman, Maria-Luisa Alegre
Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive subtype of lung cancer with limited treatment options. CD47 is a cell-surface molecule that promotes immune evasion by engaging signal-regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα), which serves as an inhibitory receptor on macrophages. Here, we found that CD47 is highly expressed on the surface of human SCLC cells; therefore, we investigated CD47-blocking immunotherapies as a potential approach for SCLC treatment. Disruption of the interaction of CD47 with SIRPα using anti-CD47 antibodies induced macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of human SCLC patient cells in culture. In a murine model, administration of CD47-blocking antibodies or targeted inactivation of the
Kipp Weiskopf, Nadine S. Jahchan, Peter J. Schnorr, Sandra Cristea, Aaron M. Ring, Roy L. Maute, Anne K. Volkmer, Jens-Peter Volkmer, Jie Liu, Jing Shan Lim, Dian Yang, Garrett Seitz, Thuyen Nguyen, Di Wu, Kevin Jude, Heather Guerston, Amira Barkal, Francesca Trapani, Julie George, John T. Poirier, Eric E. Gardner, Linde A. Miles, Elisa de Stanchina, Shane M. Lofgren, Hannes Vogel, Monte M. Winslow, Caroline Dive, Roman K. Thomas, Charles M. Rudin, Matt van de Rijn, Ravindra Majeti, K. Christopher Garcia, Irving L. Weissman, Julien Sage
Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy in which patients develop profound sensitivity to vasopressors, such as angiotensin II, and is associated with substantial morbidity for the mother and fetus. Enhanced vasoconstrictor sensitivity and elevations in soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFLT1), a circulating antiangiogenic protein, precede clinical signs and symptoms of preeclampsia. Here, we report that overexpression of
Suzanne D. Burke, Zsuzsanna K. Zsengellér, Eliyahu V. Khankin, Agnes S. Lo, Augustine Rajakumar, Jennifer J. DuPont, Amy McCurley, Mary E. Moss, Dongsheng Zhang, Christopher D. Clark, Alice Wang, Ellen W. Seely, Peter M. Kang, Isaac E. Stillman, Iris Z. Jaffe, S. Ananth Karumanchi
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an adult-onset degeneration of motor neurons that is commonly caused by mutations in the gene encoding superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). Both patients and Tg mice expressing mutant human SOD1 (hSOD1) develop aggregates of unknown importance. In Tg mice, 2 different strains of hSOD1 aggregates (denoted A and B) can arise; however, the role of these aggregates in disease pathogenesis has not been fully characterized. Here, minute amounts of strain A and B hSOD1 aggregate seeds that were prepared by centrifugation through a density cushion were inoculated into lumbar spinal cords of 100-day-old mice carrying a human
Elaheh Ekhtiari Bidhendi, Johan Bergh, Per Zetterström, Peter M. Andersen, Stefan L. Marklund, Thomas Brännström
Brian A. Kidd, Gabriel Hoffman, Noah Zimmerman, Li Li, Joseph W. Morgan, Patricia K. Glowe, Gregory J. Botwin, Samir Parekh, Nikolina Babic, Matthew W. Doust, Gregory B. Stock, Eric E. Schadt, Joel T. Dudley
Analogous behavioral assays are needed across animal models and human patients to improve translational research. Here, we examined the extent to which performance in the Morris water maze — the most frequently used behavioral assay of spatial learning and memory in rodents — translates to humans. We designed a virtual version of the assay for human subjects that includes the visible-target training, hidden-target learning, and probe trials that are typically administered in the mouse version. We compared transgenic mice that express human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP) and patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease (MCI-AD) to evaluate the sensitivity of performance measures in detecting deficits. Patients performed normally during visible-target training, while hAPP mice showed procedural learning deficits. In hidden-target learning and probe trials, hAPP mice and MCI-AD patients showed similar deficits in learning and remembering the target location. In addition, we have provided recommendations for selecting performance measures and sample sizes to make these assays sensitive to learning and memory deficits in humans with MCI-AD and in mouse models. Together, our results demonstrate that with careful study design and analysis, the Morris maze is a sensitive assay for detecting AD-relevant impairments across species.
Katherine L. Possin, Pascal E. Sanchez, Clifford Anderson-Bergman, Roland Fernandez, Geoffrey A. Kerchner, Erica T. Johnson, Allyson Davis, Iris Lo, Nicholas T. Bott, Thomas Kiely, Michelle C. Fenesy, Bruce L. Miller, Joel H. Kramer, Steven Finkbeiner
In vivo protection by antimicrobial neutralizing Abs can require the contribution of effector functions mediated by Fc-Fcγ receptor (Fc-FcγR) interactions for optimal efficacy. In influenza, broadly neutralizing anti-hemagglutinin (anti-HA) stalk mAbs require Fc-FcγR interactions to mediate in vivo protection, but strain-specific anti-HA head mAbs do not. Whether this rule applies only to anti-stalk Abs or is applicable to any broadly neutralizing Ab (bNAb) against influenza is unknown. Here, we characterized the contribution of Fc-FcγR interactions during in vivo protection for a panel of 13 anti-HA mAbs, including bNAbs and non-neutralizing Abs, against both the stalk and head domains. All classes of broadly binding anti-HA mAbs required Fc-FcγR interactions to provide protection in vivo, including those mAbs that bind the HA head and those that do not neutralize virus in vitro. Further, a broadly neutralizing anti-neuraminidase (anti-NA) mAb also required FcγRs to provide protection in vivo, but a strain-specific anti-NA mAb did not. Thus, these findings suggest that the breadth of reactivity of anti-influenza Abs, regardless of their epitope, necessitates interactions with FcγRs on effector cell populations to mediate in vivo protection. These findings will guide the design of antiviral Ab therapeutics and inform vaccine design to elicit Abs with optimal binding properties and effector functions.
David J. DiLillo, Peter Palese, Patrick C. Wilson, Jeffrey V. Ravetch
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