Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Vaccine-Linked Chemotherapy Improves Cardiac Structure And Function In A Mouse Model Of Chronic Chagas Disease, Kathryn M Jones, Elise N Mangin, Corey L Reynolds, Liliana E Villanueva, Julio Vladimir Cruz, Leroy Versteeg, Brian Keegan, April Kendricks, Jeroen Pollet, Fabian Gusovsky, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J Hotez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Chagas disease, caused by chronic infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 6-7 million people worldwide. The major clinical manifestation of Chagas disease is chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC), which encompasses a spectrum of symptoms including arrhythmias, hypertrophy, dilated cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and sudden death. Current treatment is limited to two antiparasitic drugs, benznidazole (BNZ) and nifurtimox, but both have limited efficacy to halt the progression of CCC. We developed a vaccine-linked chemotherapy strategy using our vaccine consisting of recombinant Tc24-C4 protein and a TLR-4 agonist adjuvant in a stable squalene emulsion, in combination with low dose benznidazole treatment. …

Cc16 Drives Vla-2-Dependent Splunc1 Expression, Natalie Iannuzo, Holly Welfley, Nicholas C Li, Michael D L Johnson, Joselyn Rojas-Quintero, Francesca Polverino, Stefano Guerra, Xingnan Li, Darren A Cusanovich, Paul R Langlais, Julie G Ledford

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

RATIONALE: CC16 (Club Cell Secretory Protein) is a protein produced by club cells and other non-ciliated epithelial cells within the lungs. CC16 has been shown to protect against the development of obstructive lung diseases and attenuate pulmonary pathogen burden. Despite recent advances in understanding CC16 effects in circulation, the biological mechanisms of CC16 in pulmonary epithelial responses have not been elucidated.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine if CC16 deficiency impairs epithelial-driven host responses and identify novel receptors expressed within the pulmonary epithelium through which CC16 imparts activity.

METHODS: We utilized mass spectrometry and quantitative proteomics to investigate how CC16 deficiency …

Effect Of Acute And Repeated Noise Exposure On The Behaviour And Lipid Peroxidation In Brain Tissue Of Male And Female Mice, Gabriella Korsós, Kinga Fodor, Annamária Kiss, Anna Blázovics, Sándor György Fekete

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Despite the increasingly obvious sex differences, male animals are still predominantly used to study stress and related disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of repeated noise stress in female and male mice. In the experiment, 12 male and 12 and female SPF/VAF 6-week-old Crl:CD1(lcr) mice were used. After 5 days of acclimatization all animals were placed in the open-field for three consecutive days where each mouse spent 10 min daily without any noise treatment in order to get used to the circumstances of the test. On day 9 to record baseline behaviour the animals were …

Lymphatic Contractile Dysfunction In Mouse Models Of Cantú Syndrome With Katp Channel Gain-Of-Function, Michael J Davis, Jorge A Castorena-Gonzalez, Hae Jin Kim, Min Li, Maria Remedi, Colin G Nichols

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Cantú Syndrome (CS) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by gain-of-function (GoF) mutations in the Kir6.1 and SUR2 subunits of K

Elevated Liver Glycogenolysis Mediates Higher Blood Glucose During Acute Exercise In Barth Syndrome, George G. Schweitzer, Grace L. Ditzenberger, Curtis C. Hughey, Brian N. Finck, Michael R. Martino, Christina A. Pacak, Barry J. Byrne, William Todd Cade

2020-Current year OA Pubs

UNLABELLED: Barth syndrome (BTHS) is an X-linked recessive genetic disorder due to mutations in the Tafazzin (TAFAZZIN) gene that lead to cardiac and skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction. Previous studies in humans with BTHS demonstrate that the defects in muscle mitochondrial oxidative metabolism result in an enhanced reliance on anaerobic metabolism during exercise to meet energy demands of muscular work. During exercise, the liver normally increases glucose production via glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis to match the elevated rate of muscle glucose uptake and meet the ATP requirements of working muscle. However, the impact of Tafazzin deficiency on hepatic glucose production and the …

Targeted Aso-Mediated Atp1a2 Knockdown In Astrocytes Reduces Sod1 Aggregation And Accelerates Disease Onset In Mutant Sod1 Mice, Abhirami K. Iyer, Kathleen M. Schoch, Anthony Verbeck, Grant Galasso, Hao Chen, Sarah Smith, Anna Oldenborg, Timothy M. Miller, Celeste M. Karch, Azad Bonni

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Astrocyte-specific ion pump α2-Na+/K+-ATPase plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, we test the effect of Atp1a2 mRNA-specific antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to induce α2-Na+/K+-ATPase knockdown in the widely used ALS animal model, SOD1*G93A mice. Two ASOs led to efficient Atp1a2 knockdown and significantly reduced SOD1 aggregation in vivo. Although Atp1a2 ASO-treated mice displayed no off-target or systemic toxicity, the ASO-treated mice exhibited an accelerated disease onset and shorter lifespan than control mice. Transcriptomics studies reveal downregulation of genes involved in oxidative response, metabolic pathways, trans-synaptic signaling, and upregulation of genes involved in glutamate receptor …

Enhancing The Therapeutic Activity Of Hyperimmune Igg Against Chikungunya Virus Using Fcγriiia Affinity Chromatography, Julie M Fox, Vicky Roy, Bronwyn M Gunn, Glen R Bolton, Daved H Fremont, Galit Alter, Michael S Diamond, Austin W Boesch

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito transmitted alphavirus of global concern. Neutralizing antibodies and antibody Fc-effector functions have been shown to reduce CHIKV disease and infection in animals. However, the ability to improve the therapeutic activity of CHIKV-specific polyclonal IgG by enhancing Fc-effector functions through modulation of IgG subclass and glycoforms remains unknown. Here, we evaluated the protective efficacy of CHIKV-immune IgG enriched for binding to Fc-gamma receptor IIIa (FcγRIIIa) to select for IgG with enhanced Fc effector functions.

METHODS: Total IgG was isolated from CHIKV-immune convalescent donors with and without additional purification by FcγRIIIa affinity chromatography. The …

Therapeutic Activity Of Lipoxin A4 In Tio2-Induced Arthritis In Mice: Nf-Κb And Nrf2 In Synovial Fluid Leukocytes And Neuronal Trpv1 Mechanisms, Telma Saraiva-Santos, Tiago H Zaninelli, Felipe A Pinho-Ribeiro, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Lipoxin A4 (LXA

METHODS: Mice were stimulated with TiO

RESULTS: LXA

CONCLUSION: LXA

Sox9 Governs Gastric Mucous Neck Cell Identity And Is Required For Injury-Induced Metaplasia, Spencer G Willet, Nattapon Thanintorn, Helen Mcneill, Sung-Ho Huh, David M Ornitz, Won Jae Huh, Stella G Hoft, Richard J Dipaolo, Jason C Mills

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Acute and chronic gastric injury induces alterations in differentiation within the corpus of the stomach called pyloric metaplasia. Pyloric metaplasia is characterized by the death of parietal cells and reprogramming of mitotically quiescent zymogenic chief cells into proliferative, mucin-rich spasmolytic polypeptide-expressing metaplasia (SPEM) cells. Overall, pyloric metaplastic units show increased proliferation and specific expansion of mucous lineages, both by proliferation of normal mucous neck cells and recruitment of SPEM cells. Here, we identify Sox9 as a potential gene of interest in the regulation of mucous neck and SPEM cell identity in the stomach.

METHODS: We used immunostaining …

The Role Of Vaccination Route With An Adenovirus-Vectored Vaccine In Protection, Viral Control, And Transmission In The Sars-Cov-2/K18-Hace2 Mouse Infection Model, Alexandria Dickson, Elizabeth Geerling, E Taylor Stone, Mariah Hassert, Tara L Steffen, Taneesh Makkena, Madeleine Smither, Katherine E Schwetye, Jianfeng Zhang, Bertrand Georges, M Scot Roberts, John J Suschak, Amelia K Pinto, James D Brien

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination is the most effective mechanism to prevent severe COVID-19. However, breakthrough infections and subsequent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 remain a significant problem. Intranasal vaccination has the potential to be more effective in preventing disease and limiting transmission between individuals as it induces potent responses at mucosal sites.

METHODS: Utilizing a replication-deficient adenovirus serotype 5-vectored vaccine expressing the SARS-CoV-2 RBD (AdCOVID) in homozygous and heterozygous transgenic K18-hACE2, we investigated the impact of the route of administration on vaccine immunogenicity, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and survival.

RESULTS: Mice vaccinated with AdCOVID via the intramuscular or intranasal route and subsequently challenged with SARS-CoV-2 showed …

Baricitinib With Cyclosporine Eliminates Acute Graft Rejection In Fully Mismatched Skin And Heart Transplant Models, Ramzi Abboud, Sena Kim, Karl Staser, Reyka G Jayasinghe, Sora Lim, Parmeshwar Amatya, C Corbin Frye, Benjamin Kopecky, Julie Ritchey, Feng Gao, Kory Lavine, Daniel Kreisel, John F Dipersio, Jaebok Choi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Solid organ transplant represents a potentially lifesaving procedure for patients suffering from end-stage heart, lung, liver, and kidney failure. However, rejection remains a significant source of morbidity and immunosuppressive medications have significant toxicities. Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors are effective immunosuppressants in autoimmune diseases and graft versus host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Here we examine the role of JAK inhibition in preclinical fully major histocompatibility mismatched skin and heart allograft models. Baricitinib combined with cyclosporine A (CsA) preserved fully major histocompatibility mismatched skin grafts for the entirety of a 111-day experimental period. In baricitinib plus CsA treated mice, circulating …

Vancomycin-Induced Gut Microbial Dysbiosis Alters Enteric Neuron-Macrophage Interactions During A Critical Period Of Postnatal Development, Ellen Merrick Schill, Elisabeth L Joyce, Alexandria N Floyd, Sreeram Udayan, Brigida Rusconi, Shreya Gaddipati, Bibiana E Barrios, Vini John, Mitchell E Kaye, Devesha H Kulkarni, Jocelyn T Pauta, Keely G Mcdonald, Rodney D Newberry

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Vancomycin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic widely used in cases of suspected sepsis in premature neonates. While appropriate and potentially lifesaving in this setting, early-life antibiotic exposure alters the developing microbiome and is associated with an increased risk of deadly complications, including late-onset sepsis (LOS) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Recent studies show that neonatal vancomycin treatment disrupts postnatal enteric nervous system (ENS) development in mouse pups, which is in part dependent upon neuroimmune interactions. This suggests that early-life antibiotic exposure could disrupt these interactions in the neonatal gut. Notably, a subset of tissue-resident intestinal macrophages, muscularis macrophages, has been identified as …

Loss Of Ubiquitin-Specific Peptidase 18 Destabilizes 14-3-3Ζ Protein And Represses Lung Cancer Metastasis, Zibo Chen, Lin Zheng, Yulong Chen, Xiuxia Liu, Masanori Kawakami, Lisa Maria Mustachio, Jason Roszik, Katherine V Ferry-Galow, Ralph E Parchment, Xin Liu, Thorkell Andresson, Gerard Duncan, Jonathan M Kurie, Jaime Rodriguez-Canales, Xi Liu, Ethan Dmitrovsky

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancer metastasis is a major cause of cancer-related mortality. Strategies to reduce metastases are needed especially in lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer mortality. We previously reported increased ubiquitin-specific peptidase 18 (USP18) expression in lung and other cancers. Engineered reduction of USP18 expression repressed lung cancer growth and promoted apoptosis. This deubiquitinase (DUB) stabilized targeted proteins by removing the complex interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15). This study explores if the loss of USP18 reduced lung cancer metastasis. USP18 knock-down in lung cancer cells was independently achieved using small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). USP18 knock-down reduced …

Polycystin-1 Is A Crucial Regulator Of Bin1 Expression And T-Tubule Remodeling Associated With The Development Of Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Magda C Díaz-Vesga, Raúl Flores-Vergara, Jaime A Riquelme, Marcelo Llancaqueo, Gina Sánchez, Cecilia Vergara, Luis Michea, Paulina Donoso, Andrew F G Quest, Ivonne Olmedo, Zully Pedrozo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cardiomyopathy is commonly observed in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), even when they have normal renal function and arterial pressure. The role of cardiomyocyte polycystin-1 (PC1) in cardiovascular pathophysiology remains unknown. PC1 is a potential regulator of BIN1 that maintains T-tubule structure, and alterations in BIN1 expression induce cardiac pathologies. We used a cardiomyocyte-specific PC1-silenced (PC1-KO) mouse model to explore the relevance of cardiomyocyte PC1 in the development of heart failure (HF), considering reduced BIN1 expression induced T-tubule remodeling as a potential mechanism. PC1-KO mice exhibited an impairment of cardiac function, as measured by echocardiography, but no …

Diverse Monogenic Subforms Of Human Spermatogenic Failure, Liina Nagirnaja, Wu-Lin Charng, Christina A Gurnett, Kenan R Omurtag, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is the most severe form of male infertility and typically incurable. Defining the genetic basis of NOA has proven challenging, and the most advanced classification of NOA subforms is not based on genetics, but simple description of testis histology. In this study, we exome-sequenced over 1000 clinically diagnosed NOA cases and identified a plausible recessive Mendelian cause in 20%. We find further support for 21 genes in a 2-stage burden test with 2072 cases and 11,587 fertile controls. The disrupted genes are primarily on the autosomes, enriched for undescribed human "knockouts", and, for the most part, have …

Glutamine Produces Ammonium To Tune Lysosomal Ph And Regulate Lysosomal Function, Jian Xiong, Thi Thu Trang Luu, Kartik Venkatachalam, Guangwei Du, Michael X Zhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Glutamine is one of the most abundant amino acids in the cell. In mitochondria, glutaminases 1 and 2 (GLS1/2) hydrolyze glutamine to glutamate, which serves as the precursor of multiple metabolites. Here, we show that ammonium generated during GLS1/2-mediated glutaminolysis regulates lysosomal pH and in turn lysosomal degradation. In primary human skin fibroblasts BJ cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts, deprivation of total amino acids for 1 h increased lysosomal degradation capacity as shown by the increased turnover of lipidated microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3-II), several autophagic receptors, and endocytosed DQ-BSA. Removal of glutamine but not any other amino …

Deciphering The Role Of Rna Structure In Translation Efficiency., Jianan Lin, Yang Chen, Yuping Zhang, Haifan Lin, Zhengqing Ouyang

Faculty Research 2022

BACKGROUND: RNA secondary structure has broad impact on the fate of RNA metabolism. The reduced stability of secondary structures near the translation initiation site/start codon of the coding region promotes the efficiency of translation in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic species. However, the inaccuracy of in silico folding and the focus on the coding region limit our understanding of the global relationship between the whole mRNA structure and translation efficiency. Leveraging high-throughput RNA structure probing data in the transcriptome, we aim to systematically investigate the role of RNA structure in regulating translation efficiency.

RESULTS: Here, we analyze the influences of hundreds …

Control Of Sars-Cov-2 Infection By Mt1-Mmp-Mediated Shedding Of Ace2, Xuanming Guo, Jianli Cao, Jian-Piao Cai, Jiayan Wu, Jiangang Huang, Pallavi Asthana, Sheung Kin Ken Wong, Zi-Wei Ye, Susma Gurung, Yijing Zhang, Sheng Wang, Zening Wang, Xin Ge, Hiu Yee Kwan, Aiping Lyu, Kui Ming Chan, Nathalie Wong, Jiandong Huang, Zhongjun Zhou, Zhao-Xiang Bian, Shuofeng Yuan, Hoi Leong Xavier Wong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is an entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2. The full-length membrane form of ACE2 (memACE2) undergoes ectodomain shedding to generate a shed soluble form (solACE2) that mediates SARS-CoV-2 entry via receptor-mediated endocytosis. Currently, it is not known how the physiological regulation of ACE2 shedding contributes to the etiology of COVID-19 in vivo. The present study identifies Membrane-type 1 Matrix Metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) as a critical host protease for solACE2-mediated SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to increased activation of MT1-MMP that is colocalized with ACE2 in human lung …

Proximity-Dependent Biotin Labeling In Testicular Germ Cells Identified Tesmin-Associated Proteins, Seiya Oura, Akinori Ninomiya, Fuminori Sugihara, Martin M Matzuk, Masahito Ikawa

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Characterization of protein-protein interactions (PPI) is a key to understanding the functions of proteins of interest. Recently developed proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID) has been actively investigated as an alternative PPI mapping method because of its usefulness in uncovering transient PPI. Here, as an example of proximity labeling proteomics application in the testis, we generated two transgenic mouse lines expressing two biotin ligases (BioID2 or TurboID) fused with TESMIN, which translocates from the cytosol to the nucleus during meiotic progression and is required for reproduction. The BioID2 transgene, albeit not the TurboID transgene, rescued fertility defects of the Tesmin KO male …

Trem2 Dependent And Independent Functions Of Microglia In Alzheimer's Disease, Jinchao Hou, Yun Chen, Gary Grajales-Reyes, Marco Colonna

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Microglia are central players in brain innate immunity and have been the subject of extensive research in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this review, we aim to summarize the genetic and functional discoveries that have advanced our understanding of microglia reactivity to AD pathology. Given the heightened AD risk posed by rare variants of the microglial triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2), we will focus on the studies addressing the impact of this receptor on microglia responses to amyloid plaques, tauopathy and demyelination pathologies in mouse and human. Finally, we will discuss the implications of recent discoveries on microglia …

Hif1a-Dependent Induction Of Alveolar Epithelial Pfkfb3 Dampens Acute Lung Injury, Christine U Vohwinkel, Nana Burns, Ethan Coit, Xiaoyi Yuan, Eszter K Vladar, Christina Sul, Eric P Schmidt, Peter Carmeliet, Kurt Stenmark, Eva S Nozik, Rubin M Tuder, Holger K Eltzschig

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe form of lung inflammation causing acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients. ALI pathogenesis is closely linked to uncontrolled alveolar inflammation. We hypothesize that specific enzymes of the glycolytic pathway could function as key regulators of alveolar inflammation. Therefore, we screened isolated alveolar epithelia from mice exposed to ALI induced by injurious ventilation to assess their metabolic responses. These studies pointed us toward a selective role for isoform 3 of the 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (PFKFB3). Pharmacologic inhibition or genetic deletion of Pfkfb3 in alveolar epithelia (Pfkfb3loxP/loxP SPC-ER-Cre+ mice) was associated with profound increases in ALI during …

Engineering Naturally Occurring Cd7- T Cells For The Immunotherapy Of Hematological Malignancies, Abdullah Freiwan, Jaquelyn T Zoine, Jeremy Chase Crawford, Abishek Vaidya, Stefan A Schattgen, Jacquelyn A Myers, Sagar L Patil, Mahsa Khanlari, Hiroto Inaba, Jeffery M Klco, Charles G Mullighan, Giedre Krenciute, Peter J Chockley, Swati Naik, Deanna M Langfitt, Maksim Mamonkin, Esther A Obeng, Paul G Thomas, Stephen Gottschalk, M Paulina Velasquez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy targeting T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) faces limitations such as antigen selection and limited T-cell persistence. CD7 is an attractive antigen for targeting T-ALL, but overlapping expression on healthy T cells leads to fratricide of CD7-CAR T cells, requiring additional genetic modification. We took advantage of naturally occurring CD7- T cells to generate CD7-CAR (CD7-CARCD7-) T cells. CD7-CARCD7- T cells exhibited a predominantly CD4+ memory phenotype and had significant antitumor activity upon chronic antigen exposure in vitro and in xenograft mouse models. Based on these encouraging results, we next explored the utility of CD7- …

Impact Of Cd4 T Cells On Intratumoral Cd8 T-Cell Exhaustion And Responsiveness To Pd-1 Blockade Therapy In Mouse Brain Tumors, Saad M. Khan, Rupen Desai, Andrew Coxon, Alexandra Livingstone, Gavin P Dunn, Allegra Petti, Tanner M Johanns

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma is a fatal disease despite aggressive multimodal therapy. PD-1 blockade, a therapy that reinvigorates hypofunctional exhausted CD8 T cells (T

METHODS: Single-cell RNA sequencing was performed on flow sorted tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from female C57/BL6 mice implanted with each model, with and without PD-1 blockade therapy. CD8

RESULTS: The CD8 T-cell compartment of the models is composed of heterogenous CD8 T

CONCLUSIONS: Here, we describe that dysfunctional CD4 T cells are associated with terminal CD8 T-cell exhaustion, suggesting CD4 T cells impact PD-1 blockade efficacy by controlling the severity of exhaustion. Given that CD4 lymphopenia is frequently observed in …

Type Iv Pili Are A Critical Virulence Factor In Clinical Isolates Of Paenibacillus Thiaminolyticus, Christine Hehnly, Petra Erdmann Gilmore, R. Reid Townsend, David D. Limbrick, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Hydrocephalus, the leading indication for childhood neurosurgery worldwide, is particularly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. Hydrocephalus preceded by an infection, or postinfectious hydrocephalus, accounts for up to 60% of hydrocephalus in these areas. Since many children with hydrocephalus suffer poor long-term outcomes despite surgical intervention, prevention of hydrocephalus remains paramount. Our previous studies implicated a novel bacterial pathogen, Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus, as a causal agent of neonatal sepsis and postinfectious hydrocephalus in Uganda. Here, we report the isolation of three

Ccl4 Regulates Eosinophil Activation In Eosiccl4 Regulates Eosinophil Activation In Eosinophilic Airway Inflammationnophilic Airway Inflammation, Hanh Hong Chu, Yoshiki Kobayashi, Dan Van Bui, Yasutaka Yun, Linh Manh Nguyen, Akitoshi Mitani, Kensuke Suzuki, Mikiya Asako, Akira Kanda, Hiroshi Iwai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) is a refractory airway disease accompanied by eosinophilic inflammation, the mechanisms of which are unknown. We recently found that CCL4/MIP-1β-a specific ligand for CCR5 receptors-was implicated in eosinophil recruitment into the inflammatory site and was substantially released from activated eosinophils. Moreover, it was found in nasal polyps from patients with ECRS, primarily in epithelial cells. In the present study, the role of epithelial cell-derived CCL4 in eosinophil activation was investigated. First, CCL4 expression in nasal polyps from patients with ECRS as well as its role of CCL4 in eosinophilic airway inflammation were investigated in an in …

Multiplex Immunofluorescence-Guided Laser Capture Microdissection For Spatial Transcriptomics Of Metastatic Melanoma Tissues., Jan Martinek, Te-Chia Wu, Lili Sun, Jianan Lin, Kyung In Kim, Florentina Marches, Paul Robson, Joshy George, Karolina Palucka

Faculty Research 2022

We describe a pipeline for optimized and streamlined multiplexed immunofluorescence-guided laser capture microdissection allowing the harvest of individual cells based on their phenotype and tissue localization for transcriptomic analysis with next-generation RNA sequencing. Here, we analyze transcriptomes of CD3+ T cells, CD14+ monocytes/macrophages, and melanoma cells in non-dissociated metastatic melanoma tissue. While this protocol is described for melanoma tissues, we successfully applied it to human tonsil, skin, and breast cancer tissues as well as mouse lung tissues. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Martinek et al. (2022).

In Vivo Characterization Of Glutamine Metabolism Identifies Therapeutic Targets In Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma, Akash K Kaushik, Amy Tarangelo, Lindsey K Boroughs, Mukundan Ragavan, Yuanyuan Zhang, Cheng-Yang Wu, Xiangyi Li, Kristen Ahumada, Jui-Chung Chiang, Vanina T Tcheuyap, Faeze Saatchi, Quyen N Do, Cissy Yong, Tracy Rosales, Christina Stevens, Aparna D Rao, Brandon Faubert, Panayotis Pachnis, Lauren G Zacharias, Hieu Vu, Feng Cai, Thomas P Mathews, Giannicola Genovese, Barbara S Slusher, Payal Kapur, Xiankai Sun, Matthew Merritt, James Brugarolas, Ralph J Deberardinis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Targeting metabolic vulnerabilities has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Here, we analyzed the metabolism of patient-derived xenografts (tumorgrafts) from diverse subtypes of RCC. Tumorgrafts from VHL-mutant clear cell RCC (ccRCC) retained metabolic features of human ccRCC and engaged in oxidative and reductive glutamine metabolism. Genetic silencing of isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 or isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 impaired reductive labeling of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates in vivo and suppressed growth of tumors generated from tumorgraft-derived cells. Glutaminase inhibition reduced the contribution of glutamine to the TCA cycle and resulted in modest suppression of tumorgraft growth. Infusions with …

Egfr Is A Master Switch Between Immunosuppressive And Immunoactive Tumor Microenvironment In Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Xiaoping Wang, Takashi Semba, Ganiraju C Manyam, Jing Wang, Shan Shao, Francois Bertucci, Pascal Finetti, Savitri Krishnamurthy, Lan Thi Hanh Phi, Troy Pearson, Steven J Van Laere, Jared K Burks, Evan N Cohen, James M Reuben, Fei Yang, Hu Min, Nicholas Navin, Van Ngu Trinh, Toshiaki Iwase, Harsh Batra, Yichao Shen, Xiang Zhang, Debu Tripathy, Naoto T Ueno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, is driven by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Current treatments for IBC have limited efficacy. In a clinical trial (NCT01036087), an anti-EGFR antibody combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy produced the highest pathological complete response rate ever reported in patients with IBC having triple-negative receptor status. We determined the molecular and immunological mechanisms behind this superior clinical outcome. Using novel humanized IBC mouse models, we discovered that EGFR-targeted therapy remodels the IBC TME by increasing cytotoxic T cells and reducing immunosuppressive regulatory T cells and M2 macrophages. These changes were due to …

Mouse Kidney Nuclear Isolation And Library Preparation For Single-Cell Combinatorial Indexing Rna Sequencing, Haikuo Li, Benjamin D. Humphreys

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Single-cell combinatorial indexing RNA sequencing (sci-RNA-seq3) enables high-throughput single-nucleus transcriptomic profiling of multiple samples in one experiment. Here, we describe an optimized protocol of mouse kidney nuclei isolation and sci-RNA-seq3 library preparation. The use of a dounce tissue homogenizer enables nuclei extraction with high yield. Fixed nuclei are processed for sci-RNA-seq3, and self-loaded transposome Tn5 is used for tagmentation in library generation. The step-by-step protocol allows researchers to generate scalable single-cell transcriptomic data with common laboratory supplies at low cost. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Li et al. (2022).

Evaluation Of Mtorc1 Signaling In Mouse Atherosclerotic Macrophages By Flow Cytometry And Immunofluorescence, Xiangyu Zhang, Jeremiah Stitham, Astrid Rodriguez-Velez, Se-Jin Jeong, Arick Park, Yu-Sheng Yeh, Divya Kapoor, Bettina Mittendorfer, Babak Razani

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Previous studies have demonstrated that a high-protein diet leads to increased atherosclerosis in mice, and that this adverse effect is caused by activation of macrophage mTORC1 signaling. Here, we provide a detailed protocol for the evaluation of diet-induced mTORC1 signaling in plaque macrophages in atherosclerosis-prone apolipoprotein E (ApoE) knockout (KO) mice. This protocol includes flow cytometry and immunofluorescence analysis of atherosclerotic macrophages that can be used to study the atherogenic potential of a variety of mTORC1 modulators. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zhang et al. (2020).