Genetic Phenomena Commons^™

Smarca4 Is A Haploinsufficient B Cell Lymphoma Tumor Suppressor That Fine-Tunes Centrocyte Cell Fate Decisions, Qing Deng, Priya Lakra, Panhong Gou, Haopeng Yang, Cem Meydan, Matthew Teater, Christopher Chin, Wenchao Zhang, Tommy Dinh, Usama Hussein, Xubin Li, Estela Rojas, Weiguang Liu, Patrick K Reville, Atish Kizhakeyil, Darko Barisic, Sydney Parsons, Ashley Wilson, Jared Henderson, Brooks Scull, Channabasavaiah Gurumurthy, Francisco Vega, Amy Chadburn, Branko Cuglievan, Nader Kim El-Mallawany, Carl Allen, Christopher Mason, Ari Melnick, Michael R Green

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

SMARCA4 encodes one of two mutually exclusive ATPase subunits in the BRG/BRM associated factor (BAF) complex that is recruited by transcription factors (TFs) to drive chromatin accessibility and transcriptional activation. SMARCA4 is among the most recurrently mutated genes in human cancer, including ∼30% of germinal center (GC)-derived Burkitt lymphomas. In mice, GC-specific Smarca4 haploinsufficiency cooperated with MYC over-expression to drive lymphomagenesis. Furthermore, monoallelic Smarca4 deletion drove GC hyperplasia with centroblast polarization via significantly increased rates of centrocyte recycling to the dark zone. Mechanistically, Smarca4 loss reduced the activity of TFs that are activated in centrocytes to drive GC-exit, including SPI1 …

Signaling Mechanisms Underlying Activity-Dependent Integration Of Adult-Born Neurons In The Mouse Olfactory Bulb, Suyang Bao, Juan M Romero, Benjamin D W Belfort, Benjamin R Arenkiel

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Adult neurogenesis has fascinated the field of neuroscience for decades given the prospects of harnessing mechanisms that facilitate the rewiring and/or replacement of adult brain tissue. The subgranular zone of the hippocampus and the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle are the two main areas in the brain that exhibit ongoing neurogenesis. Of these, adult-born neurons within the olfactory bulb have proven to be a powerful model for studying circuit plasticity, providing a broad and accessible avenue into neuron development, migration, and continued circuit integration within adult brain tissue. This review focuses on some of the recognized molecular and signaling …

Fear Antiviral Response Pathway Is Independent Of Interferons And Countered By Poxvirus Proteins, Emily A Rex, Dahee Seo, Sruthi Chappidi, Chelsea Pinkham, Sabrynna Brito Oliveira, Aaron Embry, David Heisler, Yang Liu, Moiz Munir, Karolin Luger, Neal M Alto, Flávio Guimarães Da Fonseca, Robert Orchard, Dustin C Hancks, Don B Gammon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The human facilitates chromatin transcription (FACT) complex is a chromatin remodeller composed of human suppressor of Ty 16 homologue (hSpt16) and structure-specific recognition protein-1 subunits that regulates cellular gene expression. Whether FACT regulates host responses to infection remained unclear. We identify a FACT-mediated, interferon-independent, antiviral pathway that restricts poxvirus replication. Cell culture and bioinformatics approaches suggest that early viral gene expression triggers nuclear accumulation of SUMOylated hSpt16 subunits required for the expression of E26 transformation-specific sequence-1 (ETS-1)-a transcription factor that activates virus restriction programs. However, biochemical studies show that poxvirus-encoded A51R proteins block ETS-1 expression by outcompeting structure-specific recognition protein-1 …

Loss-Of-Function Mutation In Prmt9 Causes Abnormal Synapse Development By Dysregulation Of Rna Alternative Splicing, Lei Shen, Xiaokuang Ma, Yuanyuan Wang, Zhihao Wang, Yi Zhang, Hoang Quoc Hai Pham, Xiaoqun Tao, Yuehua Cui, Jing Wei, Dimitri Lin, Tharindumala Abeywanada, Swanand Hardikar, Levon Halabelian, Noah Smith, Taiping Chen, Dalia Barsyte-Lovejoy, Shenfeng Qiu, Yi Xing, Yanzhong Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Protein arginine methyltransferase 9 (PRMT9) is a recently identified member of the PRMT family, yet its biological function remains largely unknown. Here, by characterizing an intellectual disability associated PRMT9 mutation (G189R) and establishing a Prmt9 conditional knockout (cKO) mouse model, we uncover an important function of PRMT9 in neuronal development. The G189R mutation abolishes PRMT9 methyltransferase activity and reduces its protein stability. Knockout of Prmt9 in hippocampal neurons causes alternative splicing of ~1900 genes, which likely accounts for the aberrant synapse development and impaired learning and memory in the Prmt9 cKO mice. Mechanistically, we discover a methylation-sensitive protein-RNA interaction between …

Early Elevations Of Ras Protein Level And Activity Are Critical For The Development Of Pdac In The Context Of Inflammation, Jianjia Ma, Fanghua Gong, Eunice Kim, James Xianxing Du, Cindy Leung, Qingchun Song, Craig D Logsdon, Yongde Luo, Xiaokun Li, Weiqin Lu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The KRASG12D mutation was believed to be locked in a GTP-bound form, rendering it fully active. However, recent studies have indicated that the presence of mutant KRAS alone is insufficient; it requires additional activation through inflammatory stimuli to effectively drive the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). It remains unclear to what extent RAS activation occurs during the development of PDAC in the context of inflammation. Here, in a mouse model with the concurrent expression of KrasG12D/+ and inflammation mediator IKK2 in pancreatic acinar cells, we showed that, compared to KRASG12D alone, the cooperative interaction between KRASG12D and IKK2 rapidly …

Lymphocyte-Activation Gene 3 Facilitates Pathological Tau Neuron-To-Neuron Transmission, Chan Chen, Ramhari Kumbhar, Hu Wang, Xiuli Yang, Kundlik Gadhave, Cyrus Rastegar, Yasuyoshi Kimura, Adam Behensky, Sumasri Kotha, Grace Kuo, Sruthi Katakam, Deok Jeong, Liang Wang, Anthony Wang, Rong Chen, Shu Zhang, Lingtao Jin, Creg J Workman, Dario A A Vignali, Olga Pletinkova, Hongpeng Jia, Weiyi Peng, David W Nauen, Philip C Wong, Javier Redding-Ochoa, Juan C Troncoso, Mingyao Ying, Valina L Dawson, Ted M Dawson, Xiaobo Mao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The spread of prion-like protein aggregates is a common driver of pathogenesis in various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related Tauopathies. Tau pathologies exhibit a clear progressive spreading pattern that correlates with disease severity. Clinical observation combined with complementary experimental studies has shown that Tau preformed fibrils (PFF) are prion-like seeds that propagate pathology by entering cells and templating misfolding and aggregation of endogenous Tau. While several cell surface receptors of Tau are known, they are not specific to the fibrillar form of Tau. Moreover, the underlying cellular mechanisms of Tau PFF spreading remain poorly understood. Here, it …

Chromatin Remodeling In Patient-Derived Colorectal Cancer Models, Kun Xiang, Ergang Wang, John Mantyh, Gabrielle Rupprecht, Marcos Negrete, Golshid Sanati, Carolyn Hsu, Peggy Randon, Anders Dohlman, Kai Kretzschmar, Shree Bose, Nicholas Giroux, Shengli Ding, Lihua Wang, Jorge Prado Balcazar, Qiang Huang, Pasupathi Sundaramoorthy, Rui Xi, Shannon Jones Mccall, Zhaohui Wang, Chongming Jiang, Yubin Kang, Scott Kopetz, Gregory E Crawford, Steven M Lipkin, Xiao-Fan Wang, Hans Clevers, David Hsu, Xiling Shen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patient-Derived Organoids (PDO) and Xenografts (PDX) are the current gold standards for patient-derived models of cancer (PDMC). Nevertheless, how patient tumor cells evolve in these models and the impact on drug response remains unclear. Herein, the transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility landscapes of matched colorectal cancer (CRC) PDO, PDX, PDO-derived PDX (PDOX), and original patient tumors (PT) are compared. Two major remodeling axes are discovered. The first axis delineates PDMC from PT, and the second axis distinguishes PDX and PDO. PDOX are more similar to PDX than PDO, indicating the growth environment is a driving force for chromatin adaptation. Transcription factors …

Final Report Of The Phase Ii Next/Cns-Gct-4 Trial: Gempox Followed By Marrow-Ablative Chemotherapy For Recurrent Intracranial Germ Cell Tumors, Margaret Shatara, Megan Blue, Joseph Stanek, Yin A Liu, Daniel M Prevedello, Pierre Giglio, Vinay K Puduvalli, Sharon L Gardner, Jeffrey C Allen, Kenneth K Wong, Marvin D Nelson, Floyd H Gilles, Roberta H Adams, Jasmine Pauly, Katrina O'Halloran, Ashley S Margol, Girish Dhall, Jonathan L Finlay

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Patients with relapsed intracranial germinoma can achieve durable remission with standard chemotherapy regimens and/or reirradiation; however, innovative therapies are required for patients with relapsed and/or refractory intracranial nongerminomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCTs) due to their poor prognosis. Improved outcomes have been reported using reinduction chemotherapy to achieve minimal residual disease, followed by marrow-ablative chemotherapy (HDCx) with autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell rescue (AuHPCR). We conducted a phase II trial evaluating the response and toxicity of a 3-drug combination developed for recurrent intracranial germ cell tumors consisting of gemcitabine, paclitaxel, and oxaliplatin (GemPOx).

Methods: A total of 9 patients with confirmed …

The Role Of Epigenetic Mechanisms In The Long-Term Effects Of Early-Life Adversity And Mother-Infant Relationship On Physiology And Behavior Of Offspring In Laboratory Rats And Mice, Olga V Burenkova, Elena L Grigorenko

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Maternal care during the early postnatal period of altricial mammals is a key factor in the survival and adaptation of offspring to environmental conditions. Natural variations in maternal care and experimental manipulations with maternal-child relationships modeling early-life adversity (ELA) in laboratory rats and mice have a strong long-term influence on the physiology and behavior of offspring in rats and mice. This literature review is devoted to the latest research on the role of epigenetic mechanisms in these effects of ELA and mother-infant relationship, with a focus on the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. An important part of …

Tmem106b Coding Variant Is Protective And Deletion Detrimental In A Mouse Model Of Tauopathy, George A Edwards, Caleb A Wood, Yang He, Quynh Nguyen, Peter J Kim, Ruben Gomez-Gutierrez, Kyung-Won Park, Yong Xu, Cody Zurhellen, Ismael Al-Ramahi, Joanna L Jankowsky

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

TMEM106B is a risk modifier of multiple neurological conditions, where a single coding variant and multiple non-coding SNPs influence the balance between susceptibility and resilience. Two key questions that emerge from past work are whether the lone T185S coding variant contributes to protection, and if the presence of TMEM106B is helpful or harmful in the context of disease. Here, we address both questions while expanding the scope of TMEM106B study from TDP-43 to models of tauopathy. We generated knockout mice with constitutive deletion of TMEM106B, alongside knock-in mice encoding the T186S knock-in mutation (equivalent to the human T185S variant), and …

A Comparative Analysis Of Tonebp Conditional Knockout Mouse Models Reveals Inter-Dependency Between Compartments Of The Intervertebral Disc, Greig Couasnay, Haley Garcia, Florent Elefteriou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Interactions between notochord and sclerotome are required for normal embryonic spine patterning, but whether the postnatal derivatives of these tissues also require interactions for postnatal intervertebral disc (IVD) growth and maintenance is less established. We report here the comparative analysis of four conditional knockout mice deficient for TonEBP, a transcription factor known to allow cells to adapt to changes in extracellular osmotic pressure, in specific compartments of the IVD. We show that TonEBP deletion in nucleus pulposus (NP) cells does not affect their survival or aggrecan expression, but promoted cell proliferation in the NP and in adjacent vertebral growth plates …

Label-Aware Distance Mitigates Temporal And Spatial Variability For Clustering And Visualization Of Single-Cell Gene Expression Data, Shaoheng Liang, Jinzhuang Dou, Ramiz Iqbal, Ken Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clustering and visualization are essential parts of single-cell gene expression data analysis. The Euclidean distance used in most distance-based methods is not optimal. The batch effect, i.e., the variability among samples gathered from different times, tissues, and patients, introduces large between-group distance and obscures the true identities of cells. To solve this problem, we introduce Label-Aware Distance (LAD), a metric using temporal/spatial locality of the batch effect to control for such factors. We validate LAD on simulated data as well as apply it to a mouse retina development dataset and a lung dataset. We also found the utility of our …

Grb2 Stabilizes Rad51 At Reversed Replication Forks Suppressing Genomic Instability And Innate Immunity Against Cancer, Zu Ye, Shengfeng Xu, Yin Shi, Xueqian Cheng, Yuan Zhang, Sunetra Roy, Sarita Namjoshi, Michael A Longo, Todd M Link, Katharina Schlacher, Guang Peng, Dihua Yu, Bin Wang, John A Tainer, Zamal Ahmed

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (GRB2) is a cytoplasmic adapter for tyrosine kinase signaling and a nuclear adapter for homology-directed-DNA repair. Here we find nuclear GRB2 protects DNA at stalled replication forks from MRE11-mediated degradation in the BRCA2 replication fork protection axis. Mechanistically, GRB2 binds and inhibits RAD51 ATPase activity to stabilize RAD51 on stalled replication forks. In GRB2-depleted cells, PARP inhibitor (PARPi) treatment releases DNA fragments from stalled forks into the cytoplasm that activate the cGAS-STING pathway to trigger pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Moreover in a syngeneic mouse metastatic ovarian cancer model, GRB2 depletion in the context of PARPi treatment …

Inhibition Of Mer Proto-Oncogene Tyrosine Kinase By An Antisense Oligonucleotide Enhances Treatment Efficacy Of Immunoradiotherapy, Yun Hu, Alexey Revenko, Hampartsoum Barsoumian, Genevieve Bertolet, Natalie Wall Fowlkes, Hadi Maazi, Morgan Maureen Green, Kewen He, Duygu Sezen, Tiffany A Voss, Claudia S Kettlun Leyton, Fatemeh Masrorpour, Zahid Rafiq, Nahum Puebla-Osorio, Carola Leuschner, Robert Macleod, Maria Angelica Cortez, James W Welsh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy (immunoradiotherapy) has been increasingly used for treating a wide range of cancers. However, some tumors are resistant to immunoradiotherapy. We have previously shown that MER proto-oncogene tyrosine kinase (MerTK) expressed on macrophages mediates resistance to immunoradiotherapy. We therefore sought to develop therapeutics that can mitigate the negative impact of MerTK. We designed and developed a MerTK specific antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and characterized its effects on eliciting an anti-tumor immune response in mice.

Methods: 344SQR cells were injected into the right legs on day 0 and the left legs on day 4 of 8-12 …

Eef1a2 Promotes Pten-Gsk3Β-Scf Complex-Dependent Degradation Of Aurora Kinase A And Is Inactivated In Breast Cancer, Warapen Treekitkarnmongkol, Luisa M Solis, Deivendran Sankaran, Mihai Gagea, Pankaj K Singh, Ragini Mistry, Tristian Nguyen, Kazuharu Kai, Jiajun Liu, Kaori Sasai, Yoshimi Jitsumori, Jianwen Liu, Norio Nagao, Fabio Stossi, Michael A Mancini, Ignacio I Wistuba, Alastair M Thompson, Jonathan M Lee, Juan Cadiñanos, Kwong-Kwok Wong, Catherine M Abbott, Aysegul A Sahin, Suyu Liu, Hiroshi Katayama, Subrata Sen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The translation elongation factor eEF1A promotes protein synthesis. Its methylation by METTL13 increases its activity, supporting tumor growth. However, in some cancers, a high abundance of eEF1A isoforms is associated with a good prognosis. Here, we found that eEF1A2 exhibited oncogenic or tumor-suppressor functions depending on its interaction with METTL13 or the phosphatase PTEN, respectively. METTL13 and PTEN competed for interaction with eEF1A2 in the same structural domain. PTEN-bound eEF1A2 promoted the ubiquitination and degradation of the mitosis-promoting Aurora kinase A in the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. eEF1A2 bridged the interactions between the SKP1-CUL1-FBXW7 (SCF) ubiquitin …

The Identification Of A Distinct Astrocyte Subtype That Diminishes In Alzheimer's Disease, Haichao Wei, Joseph Withrow, Jyotirmoy Rakshit, Faiz Ul Amin, Joshua Nahm, Francesca E Mowry, Zhengmei Mao, Meenakshi B Bhattacharjee, Jay-Jiguang Zhu, Yongjie Yang, Jia Qian Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of two hallmark pathologies: the accumulation of Amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau proteins in the brain. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that astrocytes, a type of glial cell in the brain, play crucial roles in clearing Aβ and binding to tau proteins. However, due to the heterogeneity of astrocytes, the specific roles of different astrocyte subpopulations in response to Aβ and tau remain unclear. To enhance the understanding of astrocyte subpopulations in AD, we investigated astrocyte lineage cells based on single-nuclei transcriptomic data obtained from both human and mouse …

Targeted Inhibition Of Scfskp2 Confers Anti-Tumor Activities Resulting In A Survival Benefit In Osteosarcoma, Jichuan Wang, Alexander Ferrena, Ranxin Zhang, Swapnil Singh, Valentina Viscarret, Waleed Al-Harden, Osama Aldahamsheh, Hasibagan Borjihan, Amit Singla, Simon Yaguare, Janet Tingling, Xiaolin Zi, Yungtai Lo, Richard Gorlick, Edward L Schwartz, Hongling Zhao, Rui Yang, David S Geller, Deyou Zheng, Bang H Hoang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Osteosarcoma(OS) is a highly aggressive bone cancer for which treatment has remained essentially unchanged for decades. Although OS is characterized by extensive genomic heterogeneity and instability, RB1 and TP53 have been shown to be the most commonly inactivated tumor suppressors in OS. We previously generated a mouse model with a double knockout (DKO) of Rb1 and Trp53 within cells of the osteoblastic lineage, which largely recapitulates human OS with nearly complete penetrance. SKP2 is a repression target of pRb and serves as a substrate recruiting subunit of the SCFSKP2 complex. In addition, SKP2 plays a central role in regulating the …

Preclinical Efficacy Of Targeting Epigenetic Mechanisms In Aml With 3q26 Lesions And Evi1 Overexpression, Christine E Birdwell, Warren Fiskus, Tapan M Kadia, Christopher P Mill, Koji Sasaki, Naval Daver, Courtney D Dinardo, Naveen Pemmaraju, Gautam Borthakur, John A Davis, Kaberi Das, Sunil Sharma, Stephen Horrigan, Xinjia Ruan, Xiaoping Su, Joseph D Khoury, Hagop Kantarjian, Kapil N Bhalla

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

AML with chromosomal alterations involving 3q26 overexpresses the transcription factor (TF) EVI1, associated with therapy refractoriness and inferior overall survival in AML. Consistent with a CRISPR screen highlighting BRD4 dependency, treatment with BET inhibitor (BETi) repressed EVI1, LEF1, c-Myc, c-Myb, CDK4/6, and MCL1, and induced apoptosis of AML cells with 3q26 lesions. Tegavivint (TV, BC-2059), known to disrupt the binding of nuclear β-catenin and TCF7L2/LEF1 with TBL1, also inhibited co-localization of EVI1 with TBL1 and dose-dependently induced apoptosis in AML cell lines and patient-derived (PD) AML cells with 3q26.2 lesions. TV treatment repressed EVI1, attenuated enhancer activity at ERG, TCF7L2, …

The Fatigue-Inducing Effects Of Cancer And Its Therapy Are Characterized By Decreased Physical Activity In The Absence Of Any Motivational Deficit, Thien T Phan, Kiersten S Scott, Brandon Chelette, A Phillip West, Robert Dantzer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although cancer and its therapy are well known to be associated with fatigue, the exact nature of cancer-related fatigue remains ill-defined. We previously reported that fatigue-like behavior induced independently by tumor growth and by the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin is characterized by reduced voluntary wheel running and an intact motivation to expand effort for food rewards. The present set of experiments was initiated to characterize the functional consequences of fatigue induced by chemoradiotherapy in tumor-bearing mice and relate them to changes in the expression of genes coding for inflammation, mitochondria dynamics and metabolism. Two syngeneic murine models of cancer were selected …

The Card8 Inflammasome Dictates Hiv/Siv Pathogenesis And Disease Progression, Qiankun Wang, Kolin M Clark, Ritudhwaj Tiwari, Nagarajan Raju, Gregory K Tharp, Jeffrey Rogers, R Alan Harris, Muthuswamy Raveendran, Steven E Bosinger, Tricia H Burdo, Guido Silvestri, Liang Shan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

While CD4+ T-cell depletion is key to disease progression in people living with HIV and SIV-infected macaques, the mechanisms underlying this depletion remain incompletely understood, with most cell death involving uninfected cells. In contrast, SIV infection of “natural” hosts such as sooty mangabeys do not cause CD4+ depletion and AIDS despite high-level viremia. Here, we report that the CARD8 inflammasome is activated immediately after HIV entry by the viral protease encapsulated in incoming virions. Sensing of HIV protease activity by CARD8 leads to rapid pyroptosis of quiescent cells without productive infection, while T-cell activation abolishes CARD8 function and increases permissiveness …

Comparative Genomics Incorporating Translocation Renal Cell Carcinoma Mouse Model Reveals Molecular Mechanisms Of Tumorigenesis, Gopinath Prakasam, Akhilesh Mishra, Alana Christie, Jeffrey Miyata, Deyssy Carrillo, Vanina T Tcheuyap, Hui Ye, Quyen N Do, Yunguan Wang, Oscar Reig Torras, Ramesh Butti, Hua Zhong, Jeffrey Gagan, Kevin B Jones, Thomas J Carroll, Zora Modrusan, Steffen Durinck, Mai-Carmen Requena-Komuro, Noelle S Williams, Ivan Pedrosa, Tao Wang, Dinesh Rakheja, Payal Kapur, James Brugarolas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC) most commonly involves an ASPSCR1-TFE3 fusion, but molecular mechanisms remain elusive and animal models are lacking. Here, we show that human ASPSCR1-TFE3 driven by Pax8-Cre (a credentialed clear cell RCC driver) disrupted nephrogenesis and glomerular development, causing neonatal death, while the clear cell RCC failed driver, Sglt2-Cre, induced aggressive tRCC (as well as alveolar soft part sarcoma) with complete penetrance and short latency. However, in both contexts, ASPSCR1-TFE3 led to characteristic morphological cellular changes, loss of epithelial markers, and an epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Electron microscopy of tRCC tumors showed lysosome expansion, and functional studies revealed simultaneous …

Sting Licensing Of Type I Dendritic Cells Potentiates Antitumor Immunity, Jian Wang, Suxin Li, Maggie Wang, Xu Wang, Shuqing Chen, Zhichen Sun, Xiubao Ren, Gang Huang, Baran D Sumer, Nan Yan, Yang-Xin Fu, Jinming Gao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is an immune adaptor protein that senses cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) in response to self or microbial cytosolic DNA as a danger signal. STING is ubiquitously expressed in diverse cell populations including cancer cells with distinct cellular functions such as activation of type I interferons, autophagy induction, or triggering apoptosis. It is not well understood whether and which subsets of immune cells, stromal cells, or cancer cells are particularly important for STING-mediated antitumor immunity. Here using a polymeric STING-activating nanoparticle (PolySTING) with a “shock-and-lock” dual activation mechanism, we show type 1 conventional dendritic cell (cDC1) is …

Multifaceted Roles For Stat3 In Gammaherpesvirus Latency Revealed Through In Vivo B Cell Knockout Models, Chad H Hogan, Shana M Owens, Glennys V Reynoso, Yifei Liao, Thomas J Meyer, Monika A Zelazowska, Bin Liu, Xiaofan Li, Anna K Grosskopf, Camille Khairallah, Varvara Kirillov, Nancy C Reich, Brian S Sheridan, Kevin M Mcbride, Benjamin E Gewurz, Heather D Hickman, J Craig Forrest, Laurie T Krug

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancers associated with the oncogenic gammaherpesviruses, Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus, are notable for their constitutive activation of the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). To better understand the role of STAT3 during gammaherpesvirus latency and the B cell response to infection, we used the model pathogen murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68). Genetic deletion of STAT3 in B cells of CD19cre/+Stat3f/f mice reduced peak MHV68 latency approximately sevenfold. However, infected CD19cre/+Stat3f/f mice exhibited disordered germinal centers and heightened virus-specific CD8 T cell responses compared to wild-type (WT) littermates. To circumvent the systemic immune alterations observed in …

Probiotic Limosilactobacillus Reuteri Dsm 17938 Changes Foxp3 Deficiency-Induced Dyslipidemia And Chronic Hepatitis In Mice, Erini Nessim Kostandy, Ji Ho Suh, Xiangjun Tian, Beanna Okeugo, Erin Rubin, Sara Shirai, Meng Luo, Christopher M Taylor, Kang Ho Kim, J Marc Rhoads, Yuying Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 produces anti-inflammatory effects in scurfy (SF) mice, a model characterized by immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, and X-linked inheritance (called IPEX syndrome in humans), caused by regulatory T cell (Treg) deficiency and is due to a Foxp3 gene mutation. Considering the pivotal role of lipids in autoimmune inflammatory processes, we investigated alterations in the relative abundance of lipid profiles in SF mice (± treatment with DSM 17938) compared to normal WT mice. We also examined the correlation between plasma lipids and gut microbiota and circulating inflammatory markers. We noted a significant upregulation of plasma lipids …

Aspscr1-Tfe3 Reprograms Transcription By Organizing Enhancer Loops Around Hexameric Vcp/P97, Amir Pozner, Li Li, Shiv Prakash Verma, Shuxin Wang, Jared J Barrott, Mary L Nelson, Jamie S E Yu, Gian Luca Negri, Shane Colborne, Christopher S Hughes, Ju-Fen Zhu, Sydney L Lambert, Lara S Carroll, Kyllie Smith-Fry, Michael G Stewart, Sarmishta Kannan, Bodrie Jensen, Cini M John, Saif Sikdar, Hongrui Liu, Ngoc Ha Dang, Jennifer Bourdage, Jinxiu Li, Jeffery M Vahrenkamp, Katelyn L Mortenson, John S Groundland, Rosanna Wustrack, Donna L Senger, Franz J Zemp, Douglas J Mahoney, Jason Gertz, Xiaoyang Zhang, Alexander J Lazar, Martin Hirst, Gregg B Morin, Torsten O Nielsen, Peter S Shen, Kevin B Jones

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The t(X,17) chromosomal translocation, generating the ASPSCR1::TFE3 fusion oncoprotein, is the singular genetic driver of alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) and some Xp11-rearranged renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), frustrating efforts to identify therapeutic targets for these rare cancers. Here, proteomic analysis identifies VCP/p97, an AAA+ ATPase with known segregase function, as strongly enriched in co-immunoprecipitated nuclear complexes with ASPSCR1::TFE3. We demonstrate that VCP is a likely obligate co-factor of ASPSCR1::TFE3, one of the only such fusion oncoprotein co-factors identified in cancer biology. Specifically, VCP co-distributes with ASPSCR1::TFE3 across chromatin in association with enhancers genome-wide. VCP presence, its hexameric assembly, and its …

Efficacy Of Novel Agents Against Cellular Models Of Familial Platelet Disorder With Myeloid Malignancy (Fpd-Mm), Christopher P Mill, Warren C Fiskus, Courtney D Dinardo, Patrick Reville, John A Davis, Christine E Birdwell, Kaberi Das, Hanxi Hou, Koichi Takahashi, Lauren Flores, Xinjia Ruan, Xiaoping Su, Sanam Loghavi, Joseph D Khoury, Kapil N Bhalla

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Germline, mono-allelic mutations in RUNX1 cause familial platelet disorder (RUNX1-FPD) that evolves into myeloid malignancy (FPD-MM): MDS or AML. FPD-MM commonly harbors co-mutations in the second RUNX1 allele and/or other epigenetic regulators. Here we utilized patient-derived (PD) FPD-MM cells and established the first FPD-MM AML cell line (GMR-AML1). GMR-AML1 cells exhibited active super-enhancers of MYB, MYC, BCL2 and CDK6, augmented expressions of c-Myc, c-Myb, EVI1 and PLK1 and surface markers of AML stem cells. In longitudinally studied bone marrow cells from a patient at FPD-MM vs RUNX1-FPD state, we confirmed increased chromatin accessibility and mRNA expressions of MYB, MECOM and …

Tumor-Specific Polycistronic Mirna Delivered By Engineered Exosomes For The Treatment Of Glioblastoma, Malcolm F Mcdonald, Anwar Hossain, Eric N Momin, Irtiza Hasan, Sanjay Singh, Satoshi Adachi, Joy Gumin, Daniel Ledbetter, Jing Yang, Lihong Long, Marc Daou, Sricharan Gopakumar, Lynette M Phillips, Brittany Parker Kerrigan, Frederick F Lang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) has poor prognosis due to ineffective agents and poor delivery methods. MicroRNAs (miRs) have been explored as novel therapeutics for GBM, but the optimal miRs and the ideal delivery strategy remain unresolved. In this study, we sought to identify the most effective pan-subtype anti-GBM miRs and to develop an improved delivery system for these miRs.

Methods: We conducted an unbiased screen of over 600 miRs against 7 glioma stem cell (GSC) lines representing all GBM subtypes to identify a set of pan-subtype-specific anti-GBM miRs and then used available TCGA GBM patient outcomes and miR expression data to …

Shape Anisotropy-Governed High-Performance Nanomagnetosol For In Vivo Magnetic Particle Imaging Of Lungs, Saumya Nigam, Jeotikanta Mohapatra, Ashley V Makela, Hanaan Hayat, Jessi Mercedes Rodriguez, Aixia Sun, Elizabeth Kenyon, Nathan A Redman, Dana Spence, George Jabin, Bin Gu, Mohamed Ashry, Lorenzo F Sempere, Arijit Mitra, Jinxing Li, Jiahui Chen, Guo-Wei Wei, Steven Bolin, Brett Etchebarne, J Ping Liu, Christopher H Contag, Ping Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has shown extensive lung manifestations in vulnerable individuals, putting lung imaging and monitoring at the forefront of early detection and treatment. Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is an imaging modality, which can bring excellent contrast, sensitivity, and signal-to-noise ratios to lung imaging for the development of new theranostic approaches for respiratory diseases. Advances in MPI tracers would offer additional improvements and increase the potential for clinical translation of MPI. Here, a high-performance nanotracer based on shape anisotropy of magnetic nanoparticles is developed and its use in MPI imaging …

Age-Associated Disparity In Phagocytic Clearance Affects The Efficacy Of Cancer Nanotherapeutics, Yifan Wang, Weiye Deng, Daeyong Lee, Long Yan, Yifei Lu, Shiyan Dong, Kristin Huntoon, Abin Antony, Xuefeng Li, Rui Ye, Yan Zhao, Feiyan Zhao, Benjamin R Schrank, Jonghoon Ha, Minjeong Kang, Mingming Yang, Ping Gong, Philip L Lorenzi, Lin Tan, Thomas D Gallup, Sarah K Tang, Zhaogang Yang, Jing Li, Nina N Sanford, Hongmei Wang, Betty Y S Kim, Wen Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nanomedicines have been approved to treat multiple human diseases. However, clinical adoption of nanoformulated agents is often hindered by concerns about hepatic uptake and clearance, a process that is not fully understood. Here we show that the antitumour efficacy of cancer nanomedicine exhibits an age-associated disparity. Tumour delivery and treatment outcomes are superior in old versus young mice, probably due to an age-related decline in the ability of hepatic phagocytes to take up and remove nanoparticles. Transcriptomic- and protein-level analysis at the single-cell and bulk levels reveals an age-associated decrease in the numbers of hepatic macrophages that express the scavenger …

Role Of Camk2d In Neurodevelopment And Associated Conditions, Pomme M F Rigter, Charlotte De Konink, Matthew J Dunn, Martina Proietti Onori, Jennifer B Humberson, Matthew Thomas, Caitlin Barnes, Carlos E Prada, K Nicole Weaver, Thomas D Ryan, Oana Caluseriu, Jennifer Conway, Emily Calamaro, Chin-To Fong, Wim Wuyts, Marije Meuwissen, Eva Hordijk, Carsten N Jonkers, Lucas Anderson, Berfin Yuseinova, Sarah Polonia, Diane Beysen, Zornitza Stark, Elena Savva, Cathryn Poulton, Fiona Mckenzie, Elizabeth Bhoj, Caleb P Bupp, Stéphane Bézieau, Sandra Mercier, Amy Blevins, Ingrid M Wentzensen, Fan Xia, Jill A Rosenfeld, Tzung-Chien Hsieh, Peter M Krawitz, Miriam Elbracht, Danielle C M Veenma, Howard Schulman, Margaret M Stratton, Sébastien Küry, Geeske M Van Woerden

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type 2 (CAMK2) family consists of four different isozymes, encoded by four different genes-CAMK2A, CAMK2B, CAMK2G, and CAMK2D-of which the first three have been associated recently with neurodevelopmental disorders. CAMK2D is one of the major CAMK2 proteins expressed in the heart and has been associated with cardiac anomalies. Although this CAMK2 isoform is also known to be one of the major CAMK2 subtypes expressed during early brain development, it has never been linked with neurodevelopmental disorders until now. Here we show that CAMK2D plays an important role in neurodevelopment not only in mice but also in …