bims-nimamd Biomed News
on Neuroimmunity and neuroinflammation in ageing and metabolic disease
Issue of 2022‒06‒19
forty papers selected by
Fawaz Alzaïd
Sorbonne Université
  1. CXCL4 synergizes with TLR8 for TBK1-IRF5 activation, epigenomic remodeling and inflammatory response in human monocytes.
  2. Unmixing for ultra-high-plex fluorescence imaging.
  3. Sex-specific multi-level 3D genome dynamics in the mouse brain.
  4. CD38 reduces mitochondrial fitness and cytotoxic T cell response against viral infection in lupus patients by suppressing mitophagy.
  5. Calreticulin mutant myeloproliferative neoplasms induce MHC-I skewing, which can be overcome by an optimized peptide cancer vaccine.
  6. Triiodothyronine (T3) promotes brown fat hyperplasia via thyroid hormone receptor α mediated adipocyte progenitor cell proliferation.
  7. Caspase-7 activates ASM to repair gasdermin and perforin pores.
  8. Brain-wide reconstruction of inhibitory circuits after traumatic brain injury.
  9. An exercise-inducible metabolite that suppresses feeding and obesity.
  10. A long-acting interleukin-7, rhIL-7-hyFc, enhances CAR T cell expansion, persistence, and anti-tumor activity.
  11. Ribosome profiling reveals multiple roles of SecA in cotranslational protein export.
  12. Structural basis of nucleosome retention during transcription elongation.
  13. Clinical genomic profiling in the management of patients with soft tissue and bone sarcoma.
  14. Granzyme K+ CD8 T cells form a core population in inflamed human tissue.
  15. Multiomic analysis reveals cell-type-specific molecular determinants of COVID-19 severity.
  16. Light-sheet photonic force optical coherence elastography for high-throughput quantitative 3D micromechanical imaging.
  17. The embryonic zebrafish brain is seeded by a lymphatic-dependent population of mrc1+ microglia precursors.
  18. Morphological pseudotime ordering and fate mapping reveal diversification of cerebellar inhibitory interneurons.
  19. Epigenomic and transcriptomic analyses define core cell types, genes and targetable mechanisms for kidney disease.
  20. Remodeling of gene regulatory networks underlying thermogenic stimuli-induced adipose beiging.
  21. Lifelong multilineage contribution by embryonic-born blood progenitors.
  22. Radioresistant cells initiate lymphocyte-dependent lung inflammation and IFNγ-dependent mortality in STING gain-of-function mice.
  23. Bone marrow hematopoiesis drives multiple sclerosis progression.
  24. Influenza A virus undergoes compartmentalized replication in vivo dominated by stochastic bottlenecks.
  25. Transient early life growth hormone exposure permanently alters brain, muscle, liver, macrophage, and adipocyte status in long-lived Ames dwarf mice.
  26. Functional divergence of the two Elongator subcomplexes during neurodevelopment.
  27. Disrupting the DREAM complex enables proliferation of adult human pancreatic beta cells.
  28. Screening for CD19-specific chimaeric antigen receptors with enhanced signalling via a barcoded library of intracellular domains.
  29. Ursodeoxycholic acid reduces antitumor immunosuppression by inducing CHIP-mediated TGF-β degradation.
  30. Nuclear speckle integrity and function require TAO2 kinase.
  31. Characterization of naked mole-rat hematopoiesis reveals unique stem and progenitor cell patterns and neotenic traits.
  32. Thymic epithelial cells co-opt lineage-defining transcription factors to eliminate autoreactive T cells.
  33. Systematically quantifying morphological features reveals constraints on organoid phenotypes.
  34. SpyChIP identifies cell type-specific transcription factor occupancy from complex tissues.
  35. The 3D architecture of the pepper genome and its relationship to function and evolution.
  36. Deciphering the immunopeptidome in vivo reveals new tumour antigens.
  37. Deficiency in endocannabinoid synthase DAGLB contributes to early onset Parkinsonism and murine nigral dopaminergic neuron dysfunction.
  38. Genetic tracing reveals transcription factor Foxp3-dependent and Foxp3-independent functionality of peripherally induced Treg cells.
  39. Diverse partial reprogramming strategies restore youthful gene expression and transiently suppress cell identity.
  40. Tet2 coordinates with Foxo1 and Runx1 to balance T follicular helper cell and T helper 1 cell differentiation.
  1. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 14. 13(1): 3426
    CXCL4 synergizes with TLR8 for TBK1-IRF5 activation, epigenomic remodeling and inflammatory response in human monocytes.
    Chao Yang, Mahesh Bachu, Yong Du, Caroline Brauner, Ruoxi Yuan, Marie Dominique Ah Kioon, Giancarlo Chesi, Franck J Barrat, Lionel B Ivashkiv.
      Regulation of endosomal Toll-like receptor (TLR) responses by the chemokine CXCL4 is implicated in inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, with CXCL4 proposed to potentiate TLR responses by binding to nucleic acid TLR ligands and facilitating their endosomal delivery. Here we report that in human monocytes/macrophages, CXCL4 initiates signaling cascades and downstream epigenomic reprogramming that change the profile of the TLR8 response by selectively amplifying inflammatory gene transcription and interleukin (IL)-1β production, while partially attenuating the interferon response. Mechanistically, costimulation by CXCL4 and TLR8 synergistically activates TBK1 and IKKε, repurposes these kinases towards an inflammatory response via coupling with IRF5, and activates the NLRP3 inflammasome. CXCL4 signaling, in a cooperative and synergistic manner with TLR8, induces chromatin remodeling and activates de novo enhancers associated with inflammatory genes. Our findings thus identify new regulatory mechanisms of TLR responses relevant for cytokine storm, and suggest targeting the TBK1-IKKε-IRF5 axis may be beneficial in inflammatory diseases.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31132-7
  2. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 16. 13(1): 3473
    Unmixing for ultra-high-plex fluorescence imaging.
    Archibald Enninful, Alev Baysoy, Rong Fan.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31110-z
  3. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 15. 13(1): 3438
    Sex-specific multi-level 3D genome dynamics in the mouse brain.
    Devin Rocks, Mamta Shukla, Laila Ouldibbat, Silvia C Finnemann, Achyuth Kalluchi, M Jordan Rowley, Marija Kundakovic.
      The female mammalian brain exhibits sex hormone-driven plasticity during the reproductive period. Recent evidence implicates chromatin dynamics in gene regulation underlying this plasticity. However, whether ovarian hormones impact higher-order chromatin organization in post-mitotic neurons in vivo is unknown. Here, we mapped the 3D genome of ventral hippocampal neurons across the oestrous cycle and by sex in mice. In females, we find cycle-driven dynamism in 3D chromatin organization, including in oestrogen response elements-enriched X chromosome compartments, autosomal CTCF loops, and enhancer-promoter interactions. With rising oestrogen levels, the female 3D genome becomes more similar to the male 3D genome. Cyclical enhancer-promoter interactions are partially associated with gene expression and enriched for brain disorder-relevant genes and pathways. Our study reveals unique 3D genome dynamics in the female brain relevant to female-specific gene regulation, neuroplasticity, and disease risk.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30961-w
  4. Sci Adv. 2022 Jun 17. 8(24): eabo4271
    CD38 reduces mitochondrial fitness and cytotoxic T cell response against viral infection in lupus patients by suppressing mitophagy.
    Ping-Min Chen, Eri Katsuyama, Abhigyan Satyam, Hao Li, Jose Rubio, Sungwook Jung, Sylvia Andrzejewski, J David Becherer, Maria G Tsokos, Reza Abdi, George C Tsokos.
      Infection is one of the major causes of mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We previously found that CD38, an ectoenzyme that regulates the production of NAD+, is up-regulated in CD8+ T cells of SLE patients and correlates with the risk of infection. Here, we report that CD38 reduces CD8+ T cell function by negatively affecting mitochondrial fitness through the inhibition of multiple steps of mitophagy, a process that is critical for mitochondria quality control. Using a murine lupus model, we found that administration of a CD38 inhibitor in a CD8+ T cell-targeted manner reinvigorated their effector function, reversed the defects in autophagy and mitochondria, and improved viral clearance. We conclude that CD38 represents a target to mitigate infection rates in people with SLE.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo4271
  5. Sci Transl Med. 2022 Jun 15. 14(649): eaba4380
    Calreticulin mutant myeloproliferative neoplasms induce MHC-I skewing, which can be overcome by an optimized peptide cancer vaccine.
    Mathieu Gigoux, Morten O Holmström, Roberta Zappasodi, Joseph J Park, Stephane Pourpe, Cansu Cimen Bozkus, Levi M B Mangarin, David Redmond, Svena Verma, Sara Schad, Mariam M George, Divya Venkatesh, Arnab Ghosh, David Hoyos, Zaki Molvi, Baransel Kamaz, Anna E Marneth, William Duke, Matthew J Leventhal, Max Jan, Vincent T Ho, Gabriela S Hobbs, Trine Alma Knudsen, Vibe Skov, Lasse Kjær, Thomas Stauffer Larsen, Dennis Lund Hansen, R Coleman Lindsley, Hans Hasselbalch, Jacob H Grauslund, Thomas L Lisle, Özcan Met, Patrick Wilkinson, Benjamin Greenbaum, Manuel A Sepulveda, Timothy Chan, Raajit Rampal, Mads H Andersen, Omar Abdel-Wahab, Nina Bhardwaj, Jedd D Wolchok, Ann Mullally, Taha Merghoub.
      The majority of JAK2V617F-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) have disease-initiating frameshift mutations in calreticulin (CALR), resulting in a common carboxyl-terminal mutant fragment (CALRMUT), representing an attractive source of neoantigens for cancer vaccines. However, studies have shown that CALRMUT-specific T cells are rare in patients with CALRMUT MPN for unknown reasons. We examined class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) allele frequencies in patients with CALRMUT MPN from two independent cohorts. We observed that MHC-I alleles that present CALRMUT neoepitopes with high affinity are underrepresented in patients with CALRMUT MPN. We speculated that this was due to an increased chance of immune-mediated tumor rejection by individuals expressing one of these MHC-I alleles such that the disease never clinically manifested. As a consequence of this MHC-I allele restriction, we reasoned that patients with CALRMUT MPN would not efficiently respond to a CALRMUT fragment cancer vaccine but would when immunized with a modified CALRMUT heteroclitic peptide vaccine approach. We found that heteroclitic CALRMUT peptides specifically designed for the MHC-I alleles of patients with CALRMUT MPN efficiently elicited a CALRMUT cross-reactive CD8+ T cell response in human peripheral blood samples but not to the matched weakly immunogenic CALRMUT native peptides. We corroborated this effect in vivo in mice and observed that C57BL/6J mice can mount a CD8+ T cell response to the CALRMUT fragment upon immunization with a CALRMUT heteroclitic, but not native, peptide. Together, our data emphasize the therapeutic potential of heteroclitic peptide-based cancer vaccines in patients with CALRMUT MPN.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aba4380
  6. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 13. 13(1): 3394
    Triiodothyronine (T3) promotes brown fat hyperplasia via thyroid hormone receptor α mediated adipocyte progenitor cell proliferation.
    Shengnan Liu, Siyi Shen, Ying Yan, Chao Sun, Zhiqiang Lu, Hua Feng, Yiruo Ma, Zhili Tang, Jing Yu, Yuting Wu, Balázs Gereben, Petra Mohácsik, Csaba Fekete, Xiaoyun Feng, Feixiang Yuan, Feifan Guo, Cheng Hu, Mengle Shao, Xin Gao, Lin Zhao, Yuying Li, Jingjing Jiang, Hao Ying.
      The thyroid hormone (TH)-controlled recruitment process of brown adipose tissue (BAT) is not fully understood. Here, we show that long-term treatment of T3, the active form of TH, increases the recruitment of thermogenic capacity in interscapular BAT of male mice through hyperplasia by promoting the TH receptor α-mediated adipocyte progenitor cell proliferation. Our single-cell analysis reveals the heterogeneous nature and hierarchical trajectory within adipocyte progenitor cells of interscapular BAT. Further analyses suggest that T3 facilitates cell state transition from a more stem-like state towards a more committed adipogenic state and promotes cell cycle progression towards a mitotic state in adipocyte progenitor cells, through mechanisms involving the action of Myc on glycolysis. Our findings elucidate the mechanisms underlying the TH action in adipocyte progenitors residing in BAT and provide a framework for better understanding of the TH effects on hyperplastic growth and adaptive thermogenesis in BAT depot at a single-cell level.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31154-1
  7. Nature. 2022 Jun 15.
    Caspase-7 activates ASM to repair gasdermin and perforin pores.
    Kengo Nozaki, Vivien I Maltez, Manira Rayamajhi, Alan L Tubbs, Joseph E Mitchell, Carolyn A Lacey, Carissa K Harvest, Lupeng Li, William T Nash, Heather N Larson, Benjamin D McGlaughon, Nathaniel J Moorman, Michael G Brown, Jason K Whitmire, Edward A Miao.
      Among the caspases that cause regulated cell death, a unique function for caspase-7 has remained elusive. Caspase-3 performs apoptosis, whereas caspase-7 is typically considered an inefficient back-up. Caspase-1 activates gasdermin D pores to lyse the cell; however, caspase-1 also activates caspase-7 for unknown reasons1. Caspases can also trigger cell-type-specific death responses; for example, caspase-1 causes the extrusion of intestinal epithelial cell (IECs) in response to infection with Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium)2,3. Here we show in both organoids and mice that caspase-7-deficient IECs do not complete extrusion. Mechanistically, caspase-7 counteracts gasdermin D pores and preserves cell integrity by cleaving and activating acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), which thereby generates copious amounts of ceramide to enable enhanced membrane repair. This provides time to complete the process of IEC extrusion. In parallel, we also show that caspase-7 and ASM cleavage are required to clear Chromobacterium violaceum and Listeria monocytogenes after perforin-pore-mediated attack by natural killer cells or cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which normally causes apoptosis in infected hepatocytes. Therefore, caspase-7 is not a conventional executioner but instead is a death facilitator that delays pore-driven lysis so that more-specialized processes, such as extrusion or apoptosis, can be completed before cell death. Cells must put their affairs in order before they die.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04825-8
  8. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 14. 13(1): 3417
    Brain-wide reconstruction of inhibitory circuits after traumatic brain injury.
    Jan C Frankowski, Alexa Tierno, Shreya Pavani, Quincy Cao, David C Lyon, Robert F Hunt.
      Despite the fundamental importance of understanding the brain's wiring diagram, our knowledge of how neuronal connectivity is rewired by traumatic brain injury remains remarkably incomplete. Here we use cellular resolution whole-brain imaging to generate brain-wide maps of the input to inhibitory neurons in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury. We find that somatostatin interneurons are converted into hyperconnected hubs in multiple brain regions, with rich local network connections but diminished long-range inputs, even at areas not directly damaged. The loss of long-range input does not correlate with cell loss in distant brain regions. Interneurons transplanted into the injury site receive orthotopic local and long-range input, suggesting the machinery for establishing distant connections remains intact even after a severe injury. Our results uncover a potential strategy to sustain and optimize inhibition after traumatic brain injury that involves spatial reorganization of the direct inputs to inhibitory neurons across the brain.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31072-2
  9. Nature. 2022 Jun 15.
    An exercise-inducible metabolite that suppresses feeding and obesity.
    Veronica L Li, Yang He, Kévin Contrepois, Hailan Liu, Joon T Kim, Amanda L Wiggenhorn, Julia T Tanzo, Alan Sheng-Hwa Tung, Xuchao Lyu, Peter-James H Zushin, Robert S Jansen, Basil Michael, Kang Yong Loh, Andrew C Yang, Christian S Carl, Christian T Voldstedlund, Wei Wei, Stephanie M Terrell, Benjamin C Moeller, Rick M Arthur, Gareth A Wallis, Koen van de Wetering, Andreas Stahl, Bente Kiens, Erik A Richter, Steven M Banik, Michael P Snyder, Yong Xu, Jonathan Z Long.
      Exercise confers protection against obesity, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases1-5. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate the metabolic benefits of physical activity remain unclear6. Here we show that exercise stimulates the production of N-lactoyl-phenylalanine (Lac-Phe), a blood-borne signalling metabolite that suppresses feeding and obesity. The biosynthesis of Lac-Phe from lactate and phenylalanine occurs in CNDP2+ cells, including macrophages, monocytes and other immune and epithelial cells localized to diverse organs. In diet-induced obese mice, pharmacological-mediated increases in Lac-Phe reduces food intake without affecting movement or energy expenditure. Chronic administration of Lac-Phe decreases adiposity and body weight and improves glucose homeostasis. Conversely, genetic ablation of Lac-Phe biosynthesis in mice increases food intake and obesity following exercise training. Last, large activity-inducible increases in circulating Lac-Phe are also observed in humans and racehorses, establishing this metabolite as a molecular effector associated with physical activity across multiple activity modalities and mammalian species. These data define a conserved exercise-inducible metabolite that controls food intake and influences systemic energy balance.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04828-5
  10. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 13. 13(1): 3296
    A long-acting interleukin-7, rhIL-7-hyFc, enhances CAR T cell expansion, persistence, and anti-tumor activity.
    Miriam Y Kim, Reyka Jayasinghe, Jessica M Devenport, Julie K Ritchey, Michael P Rettig, Julie O'Neal, Karl W Staser, Krista M Kennerly, Alun J Carter, Feng Gao, Byung Ha Lee, Matthew L Cooper, John F DiPersio.
      Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is routinely used to treat patients with refractory hematologic malignancies. However, a significant proportion of patients experience suboptimal CAR T cell cytotoxicity and persistence that can permit tumor cell escape and disease relapse. Here we show that a prototype pro-lymphoid growth factor is able to enhance CAR T cell efficacy. We demonstrate that a long-acting form of recombinant human interleukin-7 (IL-7) fused with hybrid Fc (rhIL-7-hyFc) promotes proliferation, persistence and cytotoxicity of human CAR T cells in xenogeneic mouse models, and murine CAR T cells in syngeneic mouse models, resulting in long-term tumor-free survival. Thus, rhIL-7-hyFc represents a tunable clinic-ready adjuvant for improving suboptimal CAR T cell activity.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30860-0
  11. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 13. 13(1): 3393
    Ribosome profiling reveals multiple roles of SecA in cotranslational protein export.
    Zikun Zhu, Shuai Wang, Shu-Ou Shan.
      SecA, an ATPase known to posttranslationally translocate secretory proteins across the bacterial plasma membrane, also binds ribosomes, but the role of SecA's ribosome interaction has been unclear. Here, we used a combination of ribosome profiling methods to investigate the cotranslational actions of SecA. Our data reveal the widespread accumulation of large periplasmic loops of inner membrane proteins in the cytoplasm during their cotranslational translocation, which are specifically recognized and resolved by SecA in coordination with the proton motive force (PMF). Furthermore, SecA associates with 25% of secretory proteins with highly hydrophobic signal sequences at an early stage of translation and mediates their cotranslational transport. In contrast, the chaperone trigger factor (TF) delays SecA engagement on secretory proteins with weakly hydrophobic signal sequences, thus enforcing a posttranslational mode of their translocation. Our results elucidate the principles of SecA-driven cotranslational protein translocation and reveal a hierarchical network of protein export pathways in bacteria.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31061-5
  12. Science. 2022 Jun 17. 376(6599): 1313-1316
    Structural basis of nucleosome retention during transcription elongation.
    Martin Filipovski, Jelly H M Soffers, Seychelle M Vos, Lucas Farnung.
      In eukaryotes, RNA polymerase (Pol) II transcribes chromatin and must move past nucleosomes, often resulting in nucleosome displacement. How Pol II unwraps the DNA from nucleosomes to allow transcription and how DNA rewraps to retain nucleosomes has been unclear. Here, we report the 3.0-angstrom cryo-electron microscopy structure of a mammalian Pol II-DSIF-SPT6-PAF1c-TFIIS-nucleosome complex stalled 54 base pairs within the nucleosome. The structure provides a mechanistic basis for nucleosome retention during transcription elongation where upstream DNA emerging from the Pol II cleft has rewrapped the proximal side of the nucleosome. The structure uncovers a direct role for Pol II and transcription elongation factors in nucleosome retention and explains how nucleosomes are retained to prevent the disruption of chromatin structure across actively transcribed genes.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo3851
  13. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 15. 13(1): 3406
    Clinical genomic profiling in the management of patients with soft tissue and bone sarcoma.
    Mrinal M Gounder, Narasimhan P Agaram, Sally E Trabucco, Victoria Robinson, Richard A Ferraro, Sherri Z Millis, Anita Krishnan, Jessica Lee, Steven Attia, Wassim Abida, Alexander Drilon, Ping Chi, Sandra P D' Angelo, Mark A Dickson, Mary Lou Keohan, Ciara M Kelly, Mark Agulnik, Sant P Chawla, Edwin Choy, Rashmi Chugh, Christian F Meyer, Parvathi A Myer, Jessica L Moore, Ross A Okimoto, Raphael E Pollock, Vinod Ravi, Arun S Singh, Neeta Somaiah, Andrew J Wagner, John H Healey, Garrett M Frampton, Jeffrey M Venstrom, Jeffrey S Ross, Marc Ladanyi, Samuel Singer, Murray F Brennan, Gary K Schwartz, Alexander J Lazar, David M Thomas, Robert G Maki, William D Tap, Siraj M Ali, Dexter X Jin.
      There are more than 70 distinct sarcomas, and this diversity complicates the development of precision-based therapeutics for these cancers. Prospective comprehensive genomic profiling could overcome this challenge by providing insight into sarcomas' molecular drivers. Through targeted panel sequencing of 7494 sarcomas representing 44 histologies, we identify highly recurrent and type-specific alterations that aid in diagnosis and treatment decisions. Sequencing could lead to refinement or reassignment of 10.5% of diagnoses. Nearly one-third of patients (31.7%) harbor potentially actionable alterations, including a significant proportion (2.6%) with kinase gene rearrangements; 3.9% have a tumor mutational burden ≥10 mut/Mb. We describe low frequencies of microsatellite instability (<0.3%) and a high degree of genome-wide loss of heterozygosity (15%) across sarcomas, which are not readily explained by homologous recombination deficiency (observed in 2.5% of cases). In a clinically annotated subset of 118 patients, we validate actionable genetic events as therapeutic targets. Collectively, our findings reveal the genetic landscape of human sarcomas, which may inform future development of therapeutics and improve clinical outcomes for patients with these rare cancers.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30496-0
  14. Sci Transl Med. 2022 Jun 15. 14(649): eabo0686
    Granzyme K+ CD8 T cells form a core population in inflamed human tissue.
    Accelerating Medicines Partnership RA/SLE Network
      T cell-derived pro-inflammatory cytokines are a major driver of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. Although these cytokines have traditionally been attributed to CD4 T cells, we have found that CD8 T cells are notably abundant in synovium and make more interferon (IFN)-γ and nearly as much tumor necrosis factor (TNF) as their CD4 T cell counterparts. Furthermore, using unbiased high-dimensional single-cell RNA-seq and flow cytometric data, we found that the vast majority of synovial tissue and synovial fluid CD8 T cells belong to an effector CD8 T cell population characterized by high expression of granzyme K (GzmK) and low expression of granzyme B (GzmB) and perforin. Functional experiments demonstrate that these GzmK+ GzmB+ CD8 T cells are major cytokine producers with low cytotoxic potential. Using T cell receptor repertoire data, we found that CD8 GzmK+ GzmB+ T cells are clonally expanded in synovial tissues and maintain their granzyme expression and overall cell state in blood, suggesting that they are enriched in tissue but also circulate. Using GzmK and GzmB signatures, we found that GzmK-expressing CD8 T cells were also the major CD8 T cell population in the gut, kidney, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, suggesting that they form a core population of tissue-associated T cells across diseases and human tissues. We term this population tissue-enriched expressing GzmK or TteK CD8 cells. Armed to produce cytokines in response to both antigen-dependent and antigen-independent stimuli, CD8 TteK cells have the potential to drive inflammation.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abo0686
  15. Cell Syst. 2022 Jun 03. pii: S2405-4712(22)00228-9. [Epub ahead of print]
    Multiomic analysis reveals cell-type-specific molecular determinants of COVID-19 severity.
    Sai Zhang, Johnathan Cooper-Knock, Annika K Weimer, Minyi Shi, Lina Kozhaya, Derya Unutmaz, Calum Harvey, Thomas H Julian, Simone Furini, Elisa Frullanti, Francesca Fava, Alessandra Renieri, Peng Gao, Xiaotao Shen, Ilia Sarah Timpanaro, Kevin P Kenna, J Kenneth Baillie, Mark M Davis, Philip S Tsao, Michael P Snyder.
      The determinants of severe COVID-19 in healthy adults are poorly understood, which limits the opportunity for early intervention. We present a multiomic analysis using machine learning to characterize the genomic basis of COVID-19 severity. We use single-cell multiome profiling of human lungs to link genetic signals to cell-type-specific functions. We discover >1,000 risk genes across 19 cell types, which account for 77% of the SNP-based heritability for severe disease. Genetic risk is particularly focused within natural killer (NK) cells and T cells, placing the dysfunction of these cells upstream of severe disease. Mendelian randomization and single-cell profiling of human NK cells support the role of NK cells and further localize genetic risk to CD56bright NK cells, which are key cytokine producers during the innate immune response. Rare variant analysis confirms the enrichment of severe-disease-associated genetic variation within NK-cell risk genes. Our study provides insights into the pathogenesis of severe COVID-19 with potential therapeutic targets.
    Keywords:  COVID-19; GWAS; Mendelian randomization; NK cell; gene discovery; genome-wide association study; machine learning; network analysis; rare variant analysis; single-cell multiomic profiling
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2022.05.007
  16. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 16. 13(1): 3465
    Light-sheet photonic force optical coherence elastography for high-throughput quantitative 3D micromechanical imaging.
    Yuechuan Lin, Nichaluk Leartprapun, Justin C Luo, Steven G Adie.
      Quantitative characterisation of micro-scale mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and dynamic cell-ECM interactions can significantly enhance fundamental discoveries and their translational potential in the rapidly growing field of mechanobiology. However, quantitative 3D imaging of ECM mechanics with cellular-scale resolution and dynamic monitoring of cell-mediated changes to pericellular viscoelasticity remain a challenge for existing mechanical characterisation methods. Here, we present light-sheet photonic force optical coherence elastography (LS-pfOCE) to address this need by leveraging a light-sheet for parallelised, non-invasive, and localised mechanical loading. We demonstrate the capabilities of LS-pfOCE by imaging the micromechanical heterogeneity of fibrous collagen matrices and perform live-cell imaging of cell-mediated ECM micromechanical dynamics. By providing access to 4D spatiotemporal variations in the micromechanical properties of 3D biopolymer constructs and engineered cellular systems, LS-pfOCE has the potential to drive new discoveries in mechanobiology and contribute to the development of novel biomechanics-based clinical diagnostics and therapies.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30995-0
  17. Nat Neurosci. 2022 Jun 16.
    The embryonic zebrafish brain is seeded by a lymphatic-dependent population of mrc1+ microglia precursors.
    Lauren A Green, Michael R O'Dea, Camden A Hoover, Dana F DeSantis, Cody J Smith.
      Microglia are the resident macrophages of the CNS that serve critical roles in brain construction. Although human brains contain microglia by 4 weeks gestation, an understanding of the earliest microglia that seed the brain during its development remains unresolved. Using time-lapse imaging in zebrafish, we discovered a mrc1a+ microglia precursor population that seeds the brain before traditionally described microglia. These early microglia precursors are dependent on lymphatic vasculature that surrounds the brain and are independent of pu1+ yolk sac-derived microglia. Single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets reveal Mrc1+ microglia in the embryonic brains of mice and humans. We then show in zebrafish that these early mrc1a+ microglia precursors preferentially expand during pathophysiological states in development. Taken together, our results identify a critical role of lymphatics in the microglia precursors that seed the early embryonic brain.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-022-01091-9
  18. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 14. 13(1): 3433
    Morphological pseudotime ordering and fate mapping reveal diversification of cerebellar inhibitory interneurons.
    Wendy Xueyi Wang, Julie L Lefebvre.
      Understanding how diverse neurons are assembled into circuits requires a framework for describing cell types and their developmental trajectories. Here we combine genetic fate-mapping, pseudotemporal profiling of morphogenesis, and dual morphology and RNA labeling to resolve the diversification of mouse cerebellar inhibitory interneurons. Molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) derive from a common progenitor population but comprise diverse dendritic-, somatic-, and axon initial segment-targeting interneurons. Using quantitative morphology from 79 mature MLIs, we identify two discrete morphological types and presence of extensive within-class heterogeneity. Pseudotime trajectory inference using 732 developmental morphologies indicate the emergence of distinct MLI types during migration, before reaching their final positions. By comparing MLI identities from morphological and transcriptomic signatures, we demonstrate the dissociation between these modalities and that subtype divergence can be resolved from axonal morphogenesis prior to marker gene expression. Our study illustrates the utility of applying single-cell methods to quantify morphology for defining neuronal diversification.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30977-2
  19. Nat Genet. 2022 Jun 16.
    Epigenomic and transcriptomic analyses define core cell types, genes and targetable mechanisms for kidney disease.
    Hongbo Liu, Tomohito Doke, Dong Guo, Xin Sheng, Ziyuan Ma, Joseph Park, Ha My T Vy, Girish N Nadkarni, Amin Abedini, Zhen Miao, Matthew Palmer, Benjamin F Voight, Hongzhe Li, Christopher D Brown, Marylyn D Ritchie, Yan Shu, Katalin Susztak.
      More than 800 million people suffer from kidney disease, yet the mechanism of kidney dysfunction is poorly understood. In the present study, we define the genetic association with kidney function in 1.5 million individuals and identify 878 (126 new) loci. We map the genotype effect on the methylome in 443 kidneys, transcriptome in 686 samples and single-cell open chromatin in 57,229 kidney cells. Heritability analysis reveals that methylation variation explains a larger fraction of heritability than gene expression. We present a multi-stage prioritization strategy and prioritize target genes for 87% of kidney function loci. We highlight key roles of proximal tubules and metabolism in kidney function regulation. Furthermore, the causal role of SLC47A1 in kidney disease is defined in mice with genetic loss of Slc47a1 and in human individuals carrying loss-of-function variants. Our findings emphasize the key role of bulk and single-cell epigenomic information in translating genome-wide association studies into identifying causal genes, cellular origins and mechanisms of complex traits.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01097-w
  20. Commun Biol. 2022 Jun 14. 5(1): 584
    Remodeling of gene regulatory networks underlying thermogenic stimuli-induced adipose beiging.
    Seoyeon Lee, Abigail M Benvie, Hui Gyu Park, Roman Spektor, Blaine Harlan, J Thomas Brenna, Daniel C Berry, Paul D Soloway.
      Beige adipocytes are induced by cold temperatures or β3-adrenergic receptor (Adrb3) agonists. They create heat through glucose and fatty acid (FA) oxidation, conferring metabolic benefits. The distinct and shared mechanisms by which these treatments induce beiging are unknown. Here, we perform single-nucleus assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (snATAC-seq) on adipose tissue from mice exposed to cold or an Adrb3 agonist to identify cellular and chromatin accessibility dynamics during beiging. Both stimuli induce chromatin remodeling that influence vascularization and inflammation in adipose. Beige adipocytes from cold-exposed mice have increased accessibility at genes regulating glycolytic processes, whereas Adrb3 activation increases cAMP responses. While both thermogenic stimuli increase accessibility at genes regulating thermogenesis, lipogenesis, and beige adipocyte development, the kinetics and magnitudes of the changes are distinct for the stimuli. Accessibility changes at lipogenic genes are linked to functional changes in lipid composition of adipose. Both stimuli tend to decrease the proportion of palmitic acids, a saturated FA in adipose. However, Adrb3 activation increases the proportion of monounsaturated FAs, whereas cold increases the proportion of polyunsaturated FAs. These findings reveal common and distinct mechanisms of cold and Adrb3 induced beige adipocyte biogenesis, and identify unique functional consequences of manipulating these pathways in vivo.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03531-5
  21. Nature. 2022 Jun 15.
    Lifelong multilineage contribution by embryonic-born blood progenitors.
    Sachin H Patel, Constantina Christodoulou, Caleb Weinreb, Qi Yu, Edroaldo Lummertz da Rocha, Brian J Pepe-Mooney, Sarah Bowling, Li Li, Fernando G Osorio, George Q Daley, Fernando D Camargo.
      Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) arise in the embryo from the arterial endothelium through a process known as the endothelial-to-haematopoietic transition (EHT)1-4. This process generates hundreds of blood progenitors, of which a fraction go on to become definitive HSCs. It is generally thought that most adult blood is derived from those HSCs, but to what extent other progenitors contribute to adult haematopoiesis is not known. Here we use in situ barcoding and classical fate mapping to assess the developmental and clonal origins of adult blood in mice. Our analysis uncovers an early wave of progenitor specification-independent of traditional HSCs-that begins soon after EHT. These embryonic multipotent progenitors (eMPPs) predominantly drive haematopoiesis in the young adult, have a decreasing yet lifelong contribution over time and are the predominant source of lymphoid output. Putative eMPPs are specified within intra-arterial haematopoietic clusters and represent one fate of the earliest haematopoietic progenitors. Altogether, our results reveal functional heterogeneity during the definitive wave that leads to distinct sources of adult blood.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04804-z
  22. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Jun 21. 119(25): e2202327119
    Radioresistant cells initiate lymphocyte-dependent lung inflammation and IFNγ-dependent mortality in STING gain-of-function mice.
    Kevin MingJie Gao, Mona Motwani, Thomas Tedder, Ann Marshak-Rothstein, Katherine A Fitzgerald.
      Pediatric patients with constitutively active mutations in the cytosolic double-stranded-DNA-sensing adaptor STING develop an autoinflammatory syndrome known as STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI). SAVI patients have elevated interferon-stimulated gene expression and suffer from interstitial lung disease (ILD) with lymphocyte predominate bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT). Mice harboring SAVI mutations (STING V154M [VM]) that recapitulate human disease also develop lymphocyte-rich BALT. Ablation of either T or B lymphocytes prolongs the survival of SAVI mice, but lung immune aggregates persist, indicating that T cells and B cells can independently be recruited as BALT. VM T cells produced IFNγ, and IFNγR deficiency prolonged the survival of SAVI mice; however, T-cell-dependent recruitment of infiltrating myeloid cells to the lung was IFNγ independent. Lethally irradiated VM recipients fully reconstituted with wild type bone-marrow-derived cells still developed ILD, pointing to a critical role for VM-expressing radioresistant parenchymal and/or stromal cells in the recruitment and activation of pathogenic lymphocytes. We identified lung endothelial cells as radioresistant cells that express STING. Transcriptional analysis of VM endothelial cells revealed up-regulation of chemokines, proinflammatory cytokines, and genes associated with antigen presentation. Together, our data show that VM-expressing radioresistant cells play a key role in the initiation of lung disease in VM mice and provide insights for the treatment of SAVI patients, with implications for ILD associated with other connective tissue disorders.
    Keywords:  SAVI; STING; endothelial cells; interferon gamma; interstitial lung disease
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2202327119
  23. Cell. 2022 Jun 09. pii: S0092-8674(22)00651-1. [Epub ahead of print]
    Bone marrow hematopoiesis drives multiple sclerosis progression.
    Kaibin Shi, Handong Li, Ting Chang, Wenyan He, Ying Kong, Caiyun Qi, Ran Li, Huachen Huang, Zhibao Zhu, Pei Zheng, Zhe Ruan, Jie Zhou, Fu-Dong Shi, Qiang Liu.
      Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) rapidly sense immune activation, yet their potential interplay with autoreactive T cells in MS is unknown. Here, we report that bone marrow HSPCs are skewed toward myeloid lineage concomitant with the clonal expansion of T cells in MS patients. Lineage tracing in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a mouse model of MS, reveals remarkable bone marrow myelopoiesis with an augmented output of neutrophils and Ly6Chigh monocytes that invade the CNS. We found that myelin-reactive T cells preferentially migrate into the bone marrow compartment in a CXCR4-dependent manner. This aberrant bone marrow myelopoiesis involves the CCL5-CCR5 axis and augments CNS inflammation and demyelination. Our study suggests that targeting the bone marrow niche presents an avenue to treat MS and other autoimmune disorders.
    Keywords:  autoreactive T cells; bone marrow; multiple sclerosis; myelopoiesis; neuroinflammation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.05.020
  24. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 14. 13(1): 3416
    Influenza A virus undergoes compartmentalized replication in vivo dominated by stochastic bottlenecks.
    Katherine A Amato, Luis A Haddock, Katarina M Braun, Victoria Meliopoulos, Brandi Livingston, Rebekah Honce, Grace A Schaack, Emma Boehm, Christina A Higgins, Gabrielle L Barry, Katia Koelle, Stacey Schultz-Cherry, Thomas C Friedrich, Andrew Mehle.
      Transmission of influenza A viruses (IAV) between hosts is subject to numerous physical and biological barriers that impose genetic bottlenecks, constraining viral diversity and adaptation. The bottlenecks within hosts and their potential impacts on evolutionary pathways taken during infection are poorly understood. To address this, we created highly diverse IAV libraries bearing molecular barcodes on two gene segments, enabling high-resolution tracking and quantification of unique virus lineages within hosts. Here we show that IAV infection in lungs is characterized by multiple within-host bottlenecks that result in "islands" of infection in lung lobes, each with genetically distinct populations. We perform site-specific inoculation of barcoded IAV in the upper respiratory tract of ferrets and track viral diversity as infection spreads to the trachea and lungs. We detect extensive compartmentalization of discrete populations within lung lobes. Bottleneck events and localized replication stochastically sample individual viruses from the upper respiratory tract or the trachea that become the dominant genotype in a particular lobe. These populations are shaped strongly by founder effects, with limited evidence for positive selection. The segregated sites of replication highlight the jackpot-style events that contribute to within-host influenza virus evolution and may account for low rates of intrahost adaptation.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31147-0
  25. FASEB J. 2022 Jul;36(7): e22394
    Transient early life growth hormone exposure permanently alters brain, muscle, liver, macrophage, and adipocyte status in long-lived Ames dwarf mice.
    Xinna Li, Madaline McPherson, Mary Hager, Yimin Fang, Andrzej Bartke, Richard A Miller.
      The exceptional longevity of Ames dwarf (DF) mice can be abrogated by a brief course of growth hormone (GH) injections started at 2 weeks of age. This transient GH exposure also prevents the increase in cellular stress resistance and decline in hypothalamic inflammation characteristic of DF mice. Here, we show that transient early-life GH treatment leads to permanent alteration of pertinent changes in adipocytes, fat-associated macrophages, liver, muscle, and brain that are seen in DF mice. Ames DF mice, like Snell dwarf and GHRKO mice, show elevation of glycosylphosphatidylinositol specific phospholipase D1 in liver, neurogenesis in brain as indicated by BDNF and DCX proteins, muscle production of fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (a precursor of irisin), uncoupling protein 1 as an index of thermogenic capacity in brown and white fat, and increase in fat-associated anti-inflammatory macrophages. In each case, transient exposure to GH early in life reverts the DF mice to the levels of each protein seen in littermate control animals, in animals evaluated at 15-18 months of age. Thus, many of the traits seen in long-lived mutant mice, pertinent to age-related changes in inflammation, neurogenesis, and metabolic control, are permanently set by early-life GH levels.
    Keywords:  Ames dwarf (DF) mice; fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5); glycosylphosphatidylinositol specific phospholipase D1 (GPLD1); growth hormone; uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202200143R
  26. EMBO Mol Med. 2022 Jun 13. e15608
    Functional divergence of the two Elongator subcomplexes during neurodevelopment.
    Monika Gaik, Marija Kojic, Megan R Stegeman, Tülay Öncü-Öner, Anna Kościelniak, Alun Jones, Ahmed Mohamed, Pak Yan Stefanie Chau, Sazia Sharmin, Andrzej Chramiec-Głąbik, Paulina Indyka, Michał Rawski, Anna Biela, Dominika Dobosz, Amanda Millar, Vann Chau, Aycan Ünalp, Michael Piper, Mark C Bellingham, Evan E Eichler, Deborah A Nickerson, Handan Güleryüz, Nour El Hana Abbassi, Konrad Jazgar, Melissa J Davis, Saadet Mercimek-Andrews, Sultan Cingöz, Brandon J Wainwright, Sebastian Glatt.
      The highly conserved Elongator complex is a translational regulator that plays a critical role in neurodevelopment, neurological diseases, and brain tumors. Numerous clinically relevant variants have been reported in the catalytic Elp123 subcomplex, while no missense mutations in the accessory subcomplex Elp456 have been described. Here, we identify ELP4 and ELP6 variants in patients with developmental delay, epilepsy, intellectual disability, and motor dysfunction. We determine the structures of human and murine Elp456 subcomplexes and locate the mutated residues. We show that patient-derived mutations in Elp456 affect the tRNA modification activity of Elongator in vitro as well as in human and murine cells. Modeling the pathogenic variants in mice recapitulates the clinical features of the patients and reveals neuropathology that differs from the one caused by previously characterized Elp123 mutations. Our study demonstrates a direct correlation between Elp4 and Elp6 mutations, reduced Elongator activity, and neurological defects. Foremost, our data indicate previously unrecognized differences of the Elp123 and Elp456 subcomplexes for individual tRNA species, in different cell types and in different key steps during the neurodevelopment of higher organisms.
    Keywords:  Elongator complex; Elp4; Elp6; neurodevelopment; tRNA modification
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202115608
  27. J Clin Invest. 2022 Jun 14. pii: e157086. [Epub ahead of print]
    Disrupting the DREAM complex enables proliferation of adult human pancreatic beta cells.
    Peng Wang, Esra Karakose, Carmen Argmann, Huan Wang, Metodi Balev, Rachel I Brody, Hembly G Rivas, Xinyue Liu, Olivia Wood, Hongtao Liu, Lauryn Choleva, Dan Hasson, Emily Bernstein, Joao A Paulo, Donald K Scott, Luca Lambertini, James A DeCaprio, Andrew F Stewart.
      Resistance to regeneration of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells is a fundamental challenge for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Recently, small molecule inhibitors of the kinase DYRK1A have proven effective in inducing adult human beta cells to proliferate, but their detailed mechanism of action is incompletely understood. We interrogated our human insulinoma and beta cell transcriptomic databases seeking to understand why beta cells in insulinomas proliferate, while normal beta cells do not. This search suggested the DREAM complex as a central regulator of quiescence in human beta cells. DREAM complex consists of a module of transcriptionally repressive proteins that assemble in response to DYRK1A kinase activity, thereby inducing and maintaining cellular quiescence. In the absence of DYRK1A, DREAM subunits reassemble into the pro-proliferative MMB complex. Here we demonstrate that small molecule DYRK1A inhibitors induce human beta cells to replicate by converting the repressive DREAM complex to its pro-proliferative MMB conformation.
    Keywords:  Beta cells; Diabetes; Endocrinology
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI157086
  28. Nat Biomed Eng. 2022 Jun 16.
    Screening for CD19-specific chimaeric antigen receptors with enhanced signalling via a barcoded library of intracellular domains.
    Khloe S Gordon, Taeyoon Kyung, Caleb R Perez, Patrick V Holec, Azucena Ramos, Angela Q Zhang, Yash Agarwal, Yunpeng Liu, Catherine E Koch, Alina Starchenko, Brian A Joughin, Douglas A Lauffenburger, Darrell J Irvine, Michael T Hemann, Michael E Birnbaum.
      The immunostimulatory intracellular domains (ICDs) of chimaeric antigen receptors (CARs) are essential for converting antigen recognition into antitumoural function. Although there are many possible combinations of ICDs, almost all current CARs rely on combinations of CD3𝛇, CD28 and 4-1BB. Here we show that a barcoded library of 700,000 unique CD19-specific CARs with diverse ICDs cloned into lentiviral vectors and transduced into Jurkat T cells can be screened at high throughput via cell sorting and next-generation sequencing to optimize CAR signalling for antitumoural functions. By using this screening approach, we identified CARs with new ICD combinations that, compared with clinically available CARs, endowed human primary T cells with comparable tumour control in mice and with improved proliferation, persistence, exhaustion and cytotoxicity after tumour rechallenge in vitro. The screening strategy can be adapted to other disease models, cell types and selection conditions, and could be used to improve adoptive cell therapies and to expand their utility to new disease indications.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-022-00896-0
  29. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 14. 13(1): 3419
    Ursodeoxycholic acid reduces antitumor immunosuppression by inducing CHIP-mediated TGF-β degradation.
    Yingying Shen, Chaojie Lu, Zhengbo Song, Chenxiao Qiao, Jiaoli Wang, Jinbiao Chen, Chengyan Zhang, Xianchang Zeng, Zeyu Ma, Tao Chen, Xu Li, Aifu Lin, Jufeng Guo, Jianli Wang, Zhijian Cai.
      TGF-β is essential for inducing systemic tumor immunosuppression; thus, blocking TGF-β can greatly enhance antitumor immunity. However, there are still no effective TGF-β inhibitors in clinical use. Here, we show that the clinically approved compound ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), by degrading TGF-β, enhances antitumor immunity through restraining Treg cell differentiation and activation in tumor-bearing mice. Furthermore, UDCA synergizes with anti-PD-1 to enhance antitumor immunity and tumor-specific immune memory in tumor-bearing mice. UDCA phosphorylates TGF-β at T282 site via TGR5-cAMP-PKA axis, causing increased binding of TGF-β to carboxyl terminus of Hsc70-interacting protein (CHIP). Then, CHIP ubiquitinates TGF-β at the K315 site, initiating p62-dependent autophagic sorting and subsequent degradation of TGF-β. Notably, results of retrospective analysis shows that combination therapy with anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 and UDCA has better efficacy in tumor patients than anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 alone. Thus, our results show a mechanism for TGF-β regulation and implicate UDCA as a potential TGF-β inhibitor to enhance antitumor immunity.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31141-6
  30. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Jun 21. 119(25): e2206046119
    Nuclear speckle integrity and function require TAO2 kinase.
    Shengyan Gao, Matthew Esparza, Ishmael Dehghan, Vasilisa Aksenova, Ke Zhang, Kimberly Batten, Max B Ferretti, Bridget E Begg, Tolga Cagatay, Jerry W Shay, Adolfo García-Sastre, Elizabeth J Goldsmith, Zhijian J Chen, Mary Dasso, Kristen W Lynch, Melanie H Cobb, Beatriz M A Fontoura.
      Nuclear speckles are non-membrane-bound organelles known as storage sites for messenger RNA (mRNA) processing and splicing factors. More recently, nuclear speckles have also been implicated in splicing and export of a subset of mRNAs, including the influenza virus M mRNA that encodes proteins required for viral entry, trafficking, and budding. However, little is known about how nuclear speckles are assembled or regulated. Here, we uncovered a role for the cellular protein kinase TAO2 as a constituent of nuclear speckles and as a factor required for the integrity of these nuclear bodies and for their functions in pre-mRNA splicing and trafficking. We found that a nuclear pool of TAO2 is localized at nuclear speckles and interacts with nuclear speckle factors involved in RNA splicing and nuclear export, including SRSF1 and Aly/Ref. Depletion of TAO2 or inhibition of its kinase activity disrupts nuclear speckle structure, decreasing the levels of several proteins involved in nuclear speckle assembly and splicing, including SC35 and SON. Consequently, splicing and nuclear export of influenza virus M mRNA were severely compromised and caused a disruption in the virus life cycle. In fact, low levels of TAO2 led to a decrease in viral protein levels and inhibited viral replication. Additionally, depletion or inhibition of TAO2 resulted in abnormal expression of a subset of mRNAs with key roles in viral replication and immunity. Together, these findings uncovered a function of TAO2 in nuclear speckle formation and function and revealed host requirements and vulnerabilities for influenza infection.
    Keywords:  TAOK2; mRNA export; nuclear speckles; splicing
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206046119
  31. EMBO J. 2022 Jun 13. e109694
    Characterization of naked mole-rat hematopoiesis reveals unique stem and progenitor cell patterns and neotenic traits.
    Stephan Emmrich, Alexandre Trapp, Frances Tolibzoda Zakusilo, Maggie E Straight, Albert K Ying, Alexander Tyshkovskiy, Marco Mariotti, Spencer Gray, Zhihui Zhang, Michael G Drage, Masaki Takasugi, Jan-Henning Klusmann, Vadim N Gladyshev, Andrei Seluanov, Vera Gorbunova.
      Naked mole rats (NMRs) are the longest-lived rodents yet their stem cell characteristics remain enigmatic. Here, we comprehensively mapped the NMR hematopoietic landscape and identified unique features likely contributing to longevity. Adult NMRs form red blood cells in spleen and marrow, which comprise a myeloid bias toward granulopoiesis together with decreased B-lymphopoiesis. Remarkably, youthful blood and marrow single-cell transcriptomes and cell compositions are largely maintained until at least middle age. Similar to primates, the primitive stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) compartment is marked by CD34 and THY1. Stem cell polarity is seen for Tubulin but not CDC42, and is not lost until 12 years of age. HSPC respiration rates are as low as in purified human stem cells, in concert with a strong expression signature for fatty acid metabolism. The pool of quiescent stem cells is higher than in mice, and the cell cycle of hematopoietic cells is prolonged. By characterizing the NMR hematopoietic landscape, we identified resilience phenotypes such as an increased quiescent HSPC compartment, absence of age-related decline, and neotenic traits likely geared toward longevity.
    Keywords:  aging; hematopoiesis; naked mole-rat; neoteny; stem cells
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2021109694
  32. Cell. 2022 Jun 12. pii: S0092-8674(22)00649-3. [Epub ahead of print]
    Thymic epithelial cells co-opt lineage-defining transcription factors to eliminate autoreactive T cells.
    Daniel A Michelson, Koji Hase, Tsuneyasu Kaisho, Christophe Benoist, Diane Mathis.
      Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) ectopically express thousands of peripheral-tissue antigens (PTAs), which drive deletion or phenotypic diversion of self-reactive immature T cells during thymic differentiation. Failure of PTA expression causes multiorgan autoimmunity. By assaying chromatin accessibility in individual mTECs, we uncovered signatures of lineage-defining transcription factors (TFs) for skin, lung, liver, and intestinal cells-including Grhl, FoxA, FoxJ1, Hnf4, Sox8, and SpiB-in distinct mTEC subtypes. Transcriptomic and histologic analyses showed that these subtypes, which we collectively term mimetic cells, expressed PTAs in a biologically logical fashion, mirroring extra-thymic cell types while maintaining mTEC identity. Lineage-defining TFs bound to mimetic-cell open chromatin regions and were required for mimetic cell accumulation, whereas the tolerogenic factor Aire was partially and variably required. Expression of a model antigen in mimetic cells sufficed to induce cognate T cell tolerance. Thus, mTECs co-opt lineage-defining TFs to drive mimetic cell accumulation, PTA expression, and self-tolerance.
    Keywords:  Aire; T cell; Treg; autoimmunity; mTEC; microfold; mimetic cell; thymus; tolerance; transcription factor
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.05.018
  33. Cell Syst. 2022 Jun 08. pii: S2405-4712(22)00229-0. [Epub ahead of print]
    Systematically quantifying morphological features reveals constraints on organoid phenotypes.
    Lauren E Beck, Jasmine Lee, Christopher Coté, Margaret C Dunagin, Ilya Lukonin, Nikkita Salla, Marcello K Chang, Alex J Hughes, Joseph D Mornin, Zev J Gartner, Prisca Liberali, Arjun Raj.
      Organoids recapitulate complex 3D organ structures and represent a unique opportunity to probe the principles of self-organization. While we can alter an organoid's morphology by manipulating the culture conditions, the morphology of an organoid often resembles that of its original organ, suggesting that organoid morphologies are governed by a set of tissue-specific constraints. Here, we establish a framework to identify constraints on an organoid's morphological features by quantifying them from microscopy images of organoids exposed to a range of perturbations. We apply this framework to Madin-Darby canine kidney cysts and show that they obey a number of constraints taking the form of scaling relationships or caps on certain parameters. For example, we found that the number, but not size, of cells increases with increasing cyst size. We also find that these constraints vary with cyst age and can be altered by varying the culture conditions. We observed similar sets of constraints in intestinal organoids. This quantitative framework for identifying constraints on organoid morphologies may inform future efforts to engineer organoids.
    Keywords:  design principles; morphology; organoids
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2022.05.008
  34. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Jun 21. 119(25): e2122900119
    SpyChIP identifies cell type-specific transcription factor occupancy from complex tissues.
    Siqian Feng, Richard S Mann.
      Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is an important technique for characterizing protein-DNA binding in vivo. One drawback of ChIP-based techniques is the lack of cell type-specificity when profiling complex tissues. To overcome this limitation, we developed SpyChIP to identify cell type-specific transcription factor (TF) binding sites in native physiological contexts without tissue dissociation or nuclei sorting. SpyChIP takes advantage of a specific covalent isopeptide bond that rapidly forms between the 15-amino acid SpyTag and the 17-kDa protein SpyCatcher. In SpyChIP, the target TF is fused with SpyTag by genome engineering, and an epitope tagged SpyCatcher is expressed in cell populations of interest, where it covalently binds to SpyTag-TF. Cell type-specific ChIP is obtained by immunoprecipitating chromatin prepared from whole tissues using antibodies directed against the epitope-tagged SpyCatcher. Using SpyChIP, we identified the genome-wide binding profiles of the Hox protein Ultrabithorax (Ubx) in two distinct cell types of the Drosophila haltere imaginal disc. Our results revealed extensive region-specific Ubx-DNA binding events, highlighting the significance of cell type-specific ChIP and the limitations of whole-tissue ChIP approaches. Analysis of Ubx::SpyChIP results provided insights into the relationship between chromatin accessibility and Ubx-DNA binding, as well as different mechanisms Ubx employs to regulate its downstream cis-regulatory modules. In addition to SpyChIP, we suggest that SpyTag-SpyCatcher technology, as well as other protein pairs that form covalent isopeptide bonds, will facilitate many additional in vivo applications that were previously impractical.
    Keywords:  ChIP; Drosophila; SpyTag; Ubx; transcription factor
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2122900119
  35. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 16. 13(1): 3479
    The 3D architecture of the pepper genome and its relationship to function and evolution.
    Yi Liao, Juntao Wang, Zhangsheng Zhu, Yuanlong Liu, Jinfeng Chen, Yongfeng Zhou, Feng Liu, Jianjun Lei, Brandon S Gaut, Bihao Cao, J J Emerson, Changming Chen.
      The organization of chromatin into self-interacting domains is universal among eukaryotic genomes, though how and why they form varies considerably. Here we report a chromosome-scale reference genome assembly of pepper (Capsicum annuum) and explore its 3D organization through integrating high-resolution Hi-C maps with epigenomic, transcriptomic, and genetic variation data. Chromatin folding domains in pepper are as prominent as TADs in mammals but exhibit unique characteristics. They tend to coincide with heterochromatic regions enriched with retrotransposons and are frequently embedded in loops, which may correlate with transcription factories. Their boundaries are hotspots for chromosome rearrangements but are otherwise depleted for genetic variation. While chromatin conformation broadly affects transcription variance, it does not predict differential gene expression between tissues. Our results suggest that pepper genome organization is explained by a model of heterochromatin-driven folding promoted by transcription factories and that such spatial architecture is under structural and functional constraints.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31112-x
  36. Nature. 2022 Jun 15.
    Deciphering the immunopeptidome in vivo reveals new tumour antigens.
    Alex M Jaeger, Lauren E Stopfer, Ryuhjin Ahn, Emma A Sanders, Demi A Sandel, William A Freed-Pastor, William M Rideout, Santiago Naranjo, Tim Fessenden, Kim B Nguyen, Peter S Winter, Ryan E Kohn, Peter M K Westcott, Jason M Schenkel, Sean-Luc Shanahan, Alex K Shalek, Stefani Spranger, Forest M White, Tyler Jacks.
      Immunosurveillance of cancer requires the presentation of peptide antigens on major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules1-5. Current approaches to profiling of MHC-I-associated peptides, collectively known as the immunopeptidome, are limited to in vitro investigation or bulk tumour lysates, which limits our understanding of cancer-specific patterns of antigen presentation in vivo6. To overcome these limitations, we engineered an inducible affinity tag into the mouse MHC-I gene (H2-K1) and targeted this allele to the KrasLSL-G12D/+Trp53fl/fl mouse model (KP/KbStrep)7. This approach enabled us to precisely isolate MHC-I peptides from autochthonous pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and from lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) in vivo. In addition, we profiled the LUAD immunopeptidome from the alveolar type 2 cell of origin up to late-stage disease. Differential peptide presentation in LUAD was not predictable by mRNA expression or translation efficiency and is probably driven by post-translational mechanisms. Vaccination with peptides presented by LUAD in vivo induced CD8+ T cell responses in naive mice and tumour-bearing mice. Many peptides specific to LUAD, including immunogenic peptides, exhibited minimal expression of the cognate mRNA, which prompts the reconsideration of antigen prediction pipelines that triage peptides according to transcript abundance8. Beyond cancer, the KbStrep allele is compatible with other Cre-driver lines to explore antigen presentation in vivo in the pursuit of understanding basic immunology, infectious disease and autoimmunity.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04839-2
  37. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 17. 13(1): 3490
    Deficiency in endocannabinoid synthase DAGLB contributes to early onset Parkinsonism and murine nigral dopaminergic neuron dysfunction.
    Zhenhua Liu, Nannan Yang, Jie Dong, Wotu Tian, Lisa Chang, Jinghong Ma, Jifeng Guo, Jieqiong Tan, Ao Dong, Kaikai He, Jingheng Zhou, Resat Cinar, Junbing Wu, Armando G Salinas, Lixin Sun, Mantosh Kumar, Breanna T Sullivan, Braden B Oldham, Vanessa Pitz, Mary B Makarious, Jinhui Ding, Justin Kung, Chengsong Xie, Sarah L Hawes, Lupeng Wang, Tao Wang, Piu Chan, Zhuohua Zhang, Weidong Le, Shengdi Chen, David M Lovinger, Cornelis Blauwendraat, Andrew B Singleton, Guohong Cui, Yulong Li, Huaibin Cai, Beisha Tang.
      Endocannabinoid (eCB), 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG), the most abundant eCB in the brain, regulates diverse neural functions. Here we linked multiple homozygous loss-of-function mutations in 2-AG synthase diacylglycerol lipase β (DAGLB) to an early onset autosomal recessive Parkinsonism. DAGLB is the main 2-AG synthase in human and mouse substantia nigra (SN) dopaminergic neurons (DANs). In mice, the SN 2-AG levels were markedly correlated with motor performance during locomotor skill acquisition. Genetic knockdown of Daglb in nigral DANs substantially reduced SN 2-AG levels and impaired locomotor skill learning, particularly the across-session learning. Conversely, pharmacological inhibition of 2-AG degradation increased nigral 2-AG levels, DAN activity and dopamine release and rescued the locomotor skill learning deficits. Together, we demonstrate that DAGLB-deficiency contributes to the pathogenesis of Parkinsonism, reveal the importance of DAGLB-mediated 2-AG biosynthesis in nigral DANs in regulating neuronal activity and dopamine release, and suggest potential benefits of 2-AG augmentation in alleviating Parkinsonism.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31168-9
  38. Immunity. 2022 Jun 07. pii: S1074-7613(22)00230-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    Genetic tracing reveals transcription factor Foxp3-dependent and Foxp3-independent functionality of peripherally induced Treg cells.
    Joris van der Veeken, Clarissa Campbell, Yuri Pritykin, Michail Schizas, Jacob Verter, Wei Hu, Zhong-Min Wang, Fanny Matheis, Daniel Mucida, Louis-Marie Charbonnier, Talal A Chatila, Alexander Y Rudensky.
      Regulatory T (Treg) cells expressing the transcription factor Foxp3 are an essential suppressive T cell lineage of dual origin: Foxp3 induction in thymocytes and mature CD4+ T cells gives rise to thymic (tTreg) and peripheral (pTreg) Treg cells, respectively. While tTreg cells suppress autoimmunity, pTreg cells enforce tolerance to food and commensal microbiota. However, the role of Foxp3 in pTreg cells and the mechanisms supporting their differentiation remain poorly understood. Here, we used genetic tracing to identify microbiota-induced pTreg cells and found that many of their distinguishing features were Foxp3 independent. Lineage-committed, microbiota-dependent pTreg-like cells persisted in the colon in the absence of Foxp3. While Foxp3 was critical for the suppression of a Th17 cell program, colitis, and mastocytosis, pTreg cells suppressed colonic effector T cell expansion in a Foxp3-independent manner. Thus, Foxp3 and the tolerogenic signals that precede and promote its expression independently confer distinct facets of pTreg functionality.
    Keywords:  Foxp3; Treg; lineage tracing; microbiota; peripherally induced Treg
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2022.05.010
  39. Cell Syst. 2022 Jun 07. pii: S2405-4712(22)00223-X. [Epub ahead of print]
    Diverse partial reprogramming strategies restore youthful gene expression and transiently suppress cell identity.
    Antoine E Roux, Chunlian Zhang, Jonathan Paw, José Zavala-Solorio, Evangelia Malahias, Twaritha Vijay, Ganesh Kolumam, Cynthia Kenyon, Jacob C Kimmel.
      Partial pluripotent reprogramming can reverse features of aging in mammalian cells, but the impact on somatic identity and the necessity of individual reprogramming factors remain unknown. Here, we used single-cell genomics to map the identity trajectory induced by partial reprogramming in multiple murine cell types and dissected the influence of each factor by screening all Yamanaka Factor subsets with pooled single-cell screens. We found that partial reprogramming restored youthful expression in adipogenic and mesenchymal stem cells but also temporarily suppressed somatic identity programs. Our pooled screens revealed that many subsets of the Yamanaka Factors both restore youthful expression and suppress somatic identity, but these effects were not tightly entangled. We also found that a multipotent reprogramming strategy inspired by amphibian regeneration restored youthful expression in myogenic cells. Our results suggest that various sets of reprogramming factors can restore youthful expression with varying degrees of somatic identity suppression. A record of this paper's Transparent Peer Review process is included in the supplemental information.
    Keywords:  aging; cell identity; reprogramming; single-cell RNA-seq
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2022.05.002
  40. Sci Adv. 2022 Jun 17. 8(24): eabm4982
    Tet2 coordinates with Foxo1 and Runx1 to balance T follicular helper cell and T helper 1 cell differentiation.
    Andrew Baessler, Camille L Novis, Zuolian Shen, Jelena Perovanovic, Mark Wadsworth, Kendall A Thiede, Linda M Sircy, Malia Harrison-Chau, Nguyen X Nguyen, Katherine E Varley, Dean Tantin, J Scott Hale.
      In response to various types of infection, naïve CD4+ T cells differentiate into diverse helper T cell subsets; however, the epigenetic programs that regulate differentiation in response to viral infection remain poorly understood. Demethylation of CpG dinucleotides by Tet methylcytosine dioxygenases is a key component of epigenetic programing that promotes specific gene expression, cellular differentiation, and function. We report that following viral infection, Tet2-deficient CD4+ T cells preferentially differentiate into highly functional germinal center T follicular helper (TFH) cells that provide enhanced help for B cells. Using genome-wide DNA methylation and transcription factor binding analyses, we find that Tet2 coordinates with multiple transcription factors, including Foxo1 and Runx1, to mediate the demethylation and expression of target genes, including genes encoding repressors of TFH differentiation. Our findings establish Tet2 as an important regulator of TFH cell differentiation and reveal pathways that could be targeted to enhance immune responses against infectious disease.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm4982
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