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Feser CJ, Williams JM, Lammers DT, Bingham JR, Eckert MJ, Tolar J, Osborn MJ. Engineering Human Cells Expressing CRISPR/Cas9-Synergistic Activation Mediators for Recombinant Protein Production. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:8468. [PMID: 37239814 PMCID: PMC10218281 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24108468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Recombinant engineering for protein production commonly employs plasmid-based gene templates for introduction and expression of genes in a candidate cell system in vitro. Challenges to this approach include identifying cell types that can facilitate proper post-translational modifications and difficulty expressing large multimeric proteins. We hypothesized that integration of the CRISPR/Cas9-synergistic activator mediator (SAM) system into the human genome would be a powerful tool capable of robust gene expression and protein production. SAMs are comprised of a "dead" Cas9 (dCas9) linked to transcriptional activators viral particle 64 (VP64), nuclear factor-kappa-B p65 subunit (p65), and heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) and are programmable to single or multiple gene targets. We integrated the components of the SAM system into human HEK293, HKB11, SK-HEP1, and HEP-g2 cells using coagulation factor X (FX) and fibrinogen (FBN) as proof of concept. We observed upregulation of mRNA in each cell type with concomitant protein expression. Our findings demonstrate the capability of human cells stably expressing SAM for user-defined singleplex and multiplex gene targeting and highlight their broad potential utility for recombinant engineering as well as transcriptional modulation across networks for basic, translational, and clinical modeling and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colby J. Feser
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, MMC 366 Mayo, 8366A, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; (C.J.F.); (J.T.)
| | - James M. Williams
- Department of General Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, 9040 Jackson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98431, USA; (J.M.W.); (D.T.L.); (J.R.B.); (M.J.E.)
| | - Daniel T. Lammers
- Department of General Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, 9040 Jackson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98431, USA; (J.M.W.); (D.T.L.); (J.R.B.); (M.J.E.)
| | - Jason R. Bingham
- Department of General Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, 9040 Jackson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98431, USA; (J.M.W.); (D.T.L.); (J.R.B.); (M.J.E.)
| | - Matthew J. Eckert
- Department of General Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, 9040 Jackson Ave, Tacoma, WA 98431, USA; (J.M.W.); (D.T.L.); (J.R.B.); (M.J.E.)
- Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, 160 Dental Circle, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jakub Tolar
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, MMC 366 Mayo, 8366A, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; (C.J.F.); (J.T.)
| | - Mark J. Osborn
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, MMC 366 Mayo, 8366A, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; (C.J.F.); (J.T.)
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2
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Thangavelu G, Andrejeva G, Bolivar-Wagers S, Jin S, Zaiken MC, Loschi M, Aguilar EG, Furlan SN, Brown CC, Lee YC, Hyman CM, Feser CJ, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Hippen KL, MacDonald KP, Murphy WJ, Maillard I, Hill GR, Munn DH, Zeiser R, Kean LS, Rathmell JC, Chi H, Noelle RJ, Blazar BR. Retinoic acid signaling acts as a rheostat to balance Treg function. Cell Mol Immunol 2022; 19:820-833. [PMID: 35581350 PMCID: PMC9243059 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-022-00869-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) promote immune homeostasis by maintaining self-tolerance and regulating inflammatory responses. Under certain inflammatory conditions, Tregs can lose their lineage stability and function. Previous studies have reported that ex vivo exposure to retinoic acid (RA) enhances Treg function and stability. However, it is unknown how RA receptor signaling in Tregs influences these processes in vivo. Herein, we employed mouse models in which RA signaling is silenced by the expression of the dominant negative receptor (DN) RARα in all T cells. Despite the fact that DNRARα conventional T cells are hypofunctional, Tregs had increased CD25 expression, STAT5 pathway activation, mTORC1 signaling and supersuppressor function. Furthermore, DNRARα Tregs had increased inhibitory molecule expression, amino acid transporter expression, and metabolic fitness and decreased antiapoptotic proteins. Supersuppressor function was observed when wild-type mice were treated with a pharmacologic pan-RAR antagonist. Unexpectedly, Treg-specific expression of DNRARα resulted in distinct phenotypes, such that a single allele of DNRARα in Tregs heightened their suppressive function, and biallelic expression led to loss of suppression and autoimmunity. The loss of Treg function was not cell intrinsic, as Tregs that developed in a noninflammatory milieu in chimeric mice reconstituted with DNRARα and wild-type bone marrow maintained the enhanced suppressive capacity. Fate mapping suggested that maintaining Treg stability in an inflammatory milieu requires RA signaling. Our findings indicate that RA signaling acts as a rheostat to balance Treg function in inflammatory and noninflammatory conditions in a dose-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Govindarajan Thangavelu
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Gabriela Andrejeva
- Center for Immunobiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Sara Bolivar-Wagers
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Sujeong Jin
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Michael C Zaiken
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Michael Loschi
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ethan G Aguilar
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Scott N Furlan
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Chrysothemis C Brown
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Immunology Program, and Ludwig Center, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yu-Chi Lee
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, USA
| | - Cameron McDonald Hyman
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Colby J Feser
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | | | - Keli L Hippen
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Kelli P MacDonald
- Department of Immunology, Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) Berghofer Medical Research Institute and School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - William J Murphy
- Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Ivan Maillard
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - David H Munn
- Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Robert Zeiser
- Department of Haematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg University Medical Centre, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Leslie S Kean
- Boston Children's Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Rathmell
- Center for Immunobiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Hongbo Chi
- Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Randolph J Noelle
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, USA
| | - Bruce R Blazar
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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3
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Feser CJ, Lees CJ, Lammers DT, Riddle MJ, Bingham JR, Eckert MJ, Tolar J, Osborn MJ. Engineering CRISPR/Cas9 for Multiplexed Recombinant Coagulation Factor Production. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23095090. [PMID: 35563479 PMCID: PMC9100926 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23095090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Current hemostatic agents are obtained from pooled plasma from multiple donors requiring costly pathogen screening and processing. Recombinant DNA-based production represents an engineering solution that could improve supply, uniformity, and safety. Current approaches are typically for single gene candidate peptides and often employ non-human cells. We devised an approach where multiple gene products could be produced from a single population of cells. We identified gene specific Synergistic Activation Mediators (SAM) from the CRISPR/Cas9 system for targeted overexpression of coagulation factors II, VII, IX, X, and fibrinogen. The components of the CRISPR-SAM system were expressed in Human Embryonic Kidney Cells (HEK293), and single (singleplex) or multi-gene (multiplex) upregulation was assessed by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and protein expression by ELISA analysis. Factor II, VII, IX, and X singleplex and multiplex activation resulted in 120–4700-fold and 60–680-fold increases in gene expression, respectively. Fibrinogen sub-unit gene activation resulted in a 1700–92,000-fold increases and 80–5500-fold increases in singleplex or multiplex approaches, respectively. ELISA analysis showed a concomitant upregulation of candidate gene products. Our findings demonstrate the capability of CRISPR/Cas9 SAMs for single or multi-agent production in human cells and represent an engineering advance that augments current recombinant peptide production techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colby J. Feser
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, MMC 366 Mayo, 8366A, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; (C.J.F.); (C.J.L.); (M.J.R.); (J.T.)
| | - Christopher J. Lees
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, MMC 366 Mayo, 8366A, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; (C.J.F.); (C.J.L.); (M.J.R.); (J.T.)
| | - Daniel T. Lammers
- Department of General Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, 9040 Jackson Ave., Tacoma, WA 98431, USA; (D.T.L.); (J.R.B.); (M.J.E.)
| | - Megan J. Riddle
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, MMC 366 Mayo, 8366A, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; (C.J.F.); (C.J.L.); (M.J.R.); (J.T.)
| | - Jason R. Bingham
- Department of General Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, 9040 Jackson Ave., Tacoma, WA 98431, USA; (D.T.L.); (J.R.B.); (M.J.E.)
| | - Matthew J. Eckert
- Department of General Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, 9040 Jackson Ave., Tacoma, WA 98431, USA; (D.T.L.); (J.R.B.); (M.J.E.)
- Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, 160 Dental Circle, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jakub Tolar
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, MMC 366 Mayo, 8366A, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; (C.J.F.); (C.J.L.); (M.J.R.); (J.T.)
| | - Mark J. Osborn
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, MMC 366 Mayo, 8366A, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; (C.J.F.); (C.J.L.); (M.J.R.); (J.T.)
- Correspondence:
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4
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Thangavelu G, Andrejeva G, Loschi M, Aguilar EG, Lee YC, Furlan SN, McDonald-Hyman C, Zaiken MC, Feser CJ, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Kean LS, Rathmell JC, Chi H, Noelle RJ, Blazar BR. Divergent roles of retinoic acid signaling in T regulatory cell function. The Journal of Immunology 2020. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.204.supp.228.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) modulate immune responses to maintain immune homeostasis. Retinoic acid (RA) signaling promotes Treg generation and stability. Paradoxically, we observed that dominant negative RA receptor α expressed only in donor T cells (DNRARαfl/flCD4Cre) dampened inflammation and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), while increasing Tregs. We found that diminishing RA signaling significantly enhanced their in vitro suppressive capacity. In vivo the adoptive transfer of DNRARαfl/flCD4Cre Tregs at the time of transplant was significantly (p<0.01) more effective than wild type (WT) controls in ameliorating GVHD. Mechanistically, enhanced suppression was associated with elevated expression of suppressive (CTLA-4, GITR, CD39) and fitness (CD25, pSTAT5) markers. To evaluate the intrinsic requirement of RA signaling in Tregs, we generated transgenic mice with conditional DNRARα expression in Tregs (DNRARαfl/fl x Foxp3YFPCre). Surprisingly, the extent of ablation of RA signaling resulted in divergent phenotypes. Heterozygous ablation (DNRARαfl/wt) was permissive of enhanced Treg suppression. In striking contrast and unexpectedly, homozygous ablation (DNRARαfl/fl) impaired Treg suppressive function and caused multi-organ (lung, liver) autoimmunity in >90% of females and males by 3 months of age. Poor suppression is not cell intrinsic as DNRARαfl/fl Tregs isolated from mixed bone marrow chimeras of congenic WT and DNRARαfl/fl x Foxp3YFP Cre had enhanced function. Our studies indicate that RA signaling in Tregs can be targeted to prevent autoimmunity by enhancing Treg suppression or alternatively, promote antitumor responses by reducing Treg function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gabriela Andrejeva
- 2Center for Immunobiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | | | | | - Yu-Chi Lee
- 3Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
| | - Scott N Furlan
- 4Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA
| | | | | | | | | | - Leslie S Kean
- 5Boston Children’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Rathmell
- 2Center for Immunobiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Hongbo Chi
- 6Department of Immunology, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis
| | - Randolph J Noelle
- 3Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
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5
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Saha A, Taylor PA, Lees CJ, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Osborn MJ, Feser CJ, Thangavelu G, Melchinger W, Refaeli Y, Hill GR, Munn DH, Murphy WJ, Serody JS, Maillard I, Kreymborg K, van den Brink M, Dong C, Huang S, Zang X, Allison JP, Zeiser R, Blazar BR. Donor and host B7-H4 expression negatively regulates acute graft-versus-host disease lethality. JCI Insight 2019; 4:127716. [PMID: 31578305 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.127716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
B7-H4 is a negative regulatory B7 family member. We investigated the role of host and donor B7-H4 in regulating acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Allogeneic donor T cells infused into B7-H4-/- versus WT recipients markedly accelerated GVHD-induced lethality. Chimera studies pointed toward B7-H4 expression on host hematopoietic cells as more critical than parenchymal cells in controlling GVHD. Rapid mortality in B7-H4-/- recipients was associated with increased donor T cell expansion, gut T cell homing and loss of intestinal epithelial integrity, increased T effector function (proliferation, proinflammatory cytokines, cytolytic molecules), and reduced apoptosis. Higher metabolic demands of rapidly proliferating donor T cells in B7-H4-/- versus WT recipients required multiple metabolic pathways, increased extracellular acidification rates (ECARs) and oxygen consumption rates (OCRs), and increased expression of fuel substrate transporters. During GVHD, B7-H4 expression was upregulated on allogeneic WT donor T cells. B7-H4-/- donor T cells given to WT recipients increased GVHD mortality and had function and biological properties similar to WT T cells from allogeneic B7-H4-/- recipients. Graft-versus-leukemia responses were intact regardless as to whether B7-H4-/- mice were used as hosts or donors. Taken together, these data provide new insights into the negative regulatory processes that control GVHD and provide support for developing therapeutic strategies directed toward the B7-H4 pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asim Saha
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Patricia A Taylor
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Christopher J Lees
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Mark J Osborn
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Colby J Feser
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Govindarajan Thangavelu
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Wolfgang Melchinger
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Stem-Cell Transplantation, Freiburg University Medical Center, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Yosef Refaeli
- Department of Dermatology, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA
| | - Geoffrey R Hill
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - David H Munn
- Department of Pediatrics, Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, Georgia, USA
| | - William J Murphy
- Department of Dermatology, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Jonathan S Serody
- Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Ivan Maillard
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Katharina Kreymborg
- Department of Immunology and Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
| | - Marcel van den Brink
- Department of Immunology and Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
| | - Chen Dong
- Institute for Immunology and School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Shuyu Huang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Xingxing Zang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - James P Allison
- Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Robert Zeiser
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Stem-Cell Transplantation, Freiburg University Medical Center, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bruce R Blazar
- Masonic Cancer Center and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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6
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Saha A, Taylor PA, Lees CJ, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Osborn MJ, Feser CJ, Thangavelu G, Melchinger W, Refaeli Y, Hill GR, Munn DH, Serody JS, Maillard I, Kreymborg K, van den Brink M, Dong C, Huang S, Zang X, Allison JP, Zeiser R, Blazar BR. B7-H4 expression in donor T cells and host cells negatively regulates acute graftversus- host disease lethality. The Journal of Immunology 2019. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.202.supp.69.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
The B7 family members are critical in positive and negative regulation of immune responses by engaging various lymphocyte receptors. B7-H4 is a member of the B7 family that can negatively regulate T cell function. We investigated the role of host and donor B7-H4 in regulating acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Allogeneic donor T cells infused into B7-H4−/− versus wild type (WT) recipients markedly accelerated GVHD-induced lethality in a C57BL/6 to BALB/c GVHD model. Chimera studies pointed toward B7-H4 expression on host hematopoietic cells as more critical than parenchymal cells in controlling GVHD. B7-H4−/− recipients had rapid mortality associated with increased donor T cell expansion, gut T cell homing and loss of intestinal epithelial integrity, increased Teffector function (proliferation, pro-inflammatory cytokines, cytolytic molecules) and reduced apoptosis. Higher metabolic demands of rapidly proliferating donor T cells in B7-H4−/− versus WT recipients required multiple metabolic pathways, increased extra-cellular acidification rates and oxygen consumption rates, and increased expression of fuel substrate transporters. Interestingly, during GVHD, B7-H4 expression was upregulated on allogeneic WT donor T cells. Consistent with these data, donor B7-H4−/− T cells given to WT recipients increased GVHD mortality and functioned similarly to WT T cells from allogeneic B7-H4−/− recipients. Graft-versus-leukemia responses were intact regardless as to whether B7-H4−/− mice were used as hosts or donors. Taken together, these data provide new insights into the negative regulatory processes that control GVHD and provide support for developing therapeutic strategies directed toward the B7-H4 pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Yosef Refaeli
- 3University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Aurora, Co
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - James P Allison
- 11Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
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7
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Thangavelu G, Lee YC, Loschi M, Schaechter KM, Feser CJ, Koehn BH, Nowak EC, Zeiser R, Serody JS, Murphy WJ, Munn DH, Chambon P, Noelle RJ, Blazar BR. Dendritic Cell Expression of Retinal Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-2 Controls Graft-versus-Host Disease Lethality. J Immunol 2019; 202:2795-2805. [PMID: 30885956 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1800899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have underscored the critical role of retinoic acid (RA) in the development of lineage-committed CD4 and CD8 T cells in vivo. We have shown that under acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) inflammatory conditions, RA is upregulated in the intestine and is proinflammatory, as GVHD lethality was attenuated when donor allogeneic T cells selectively expressed a dominant negative RA receptor α that blunted RA signaling. RA can function in an autocrine and paracrine fashion, and as such, the host cell lineage responsible for the production of RA metabolism and the specific RA-metabolizing enzymes that potentiate GVHD severity are unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that enhancing RA degradation in the host and to a lesser extent donor hematopoietic cells by overexpressing the RA-catabolizing enzyme CYP26A1 reduced GVHD. RA production is facilitated by retinaldehyde isoform-2 (RALDH2) preferentially expressed in dendritic cells (DCs). Conditionally deleted RA-synthesizing enzyme RALDH2 in host or to a lesser extent donor DCs reduced GVHD lethality. Improved survival in recipients with RALDH2-deleted DCs was associated with increased T cell death, impaired T effector function, increased regulatory T cell frequency, and augmented coinhibitory molecule expression on donor CD4+ T cells. In contrast, retinaldehydrogenase isoform-1 (RALDH1) is dominantly expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. Unexpectedly, conditional host intestinal epithelial cells RALDH1 deletion failed to reduce GVHD. These data demonstrate the critical role of both donor and especially host RALDH2+ DCs in driving murine GVHD and suggest RALDH2 inhibition or CYP26A1 induction as novel therapeutic strategies to prevent GVHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Govindarajan Thangavelu
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Yu-Chi Lee
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, NH 03756
| | - Michael Loschi
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - K Melanie Schaechter
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Colby J Feser
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Brent H Koehn
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Elizabeth C Nowak
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, NH 03756
| | - Robert Zeiser
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Center, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jonathan S Serody
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 79106
| | - William J Murphy
- Department of Dermatology, Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA 95817
| | - David H Munn
- Department of Pediatrics, Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, GA 30912; and
| | - Pierre Chambon
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS UMR7104, INSERM U964, 67404 Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Randolph J Noelle
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, NH 03756
| | - Bruce R Blazar
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455;
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8
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McDonald-Hyman C, Muller JT, Loschi M, Thangavelu G, Saha A, Kumari S, Reichenbach DK, Smith MJ, Zhang G, Koehn BH, Lin J, Mitchell JS, Fife BT, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Feser CJ, Kirchmeier AK, Osborn MJ, Hippen KL, Kelekar A, Serody JS, Turka LA, Munn DH, Chi H, Neubert TA, Dustin ML, Blazar BR. The vimentin intermediate filament network restrains regulatory T cell suppression of graft-versus-host disease. J Clin Invest 2018; 128:4604-4621. [PMID: 30106752 DOI: 10.1172/jci95713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are critical for maintaining immune homeostasis. However, current Treg immunotherapies do not optimally treat inflammatory diseases in patients. Understanding the cellular processes that control Treg function may allow for the augmentation of therapeutic efficacy. In contrast to activated conventional T cells, in which protein kinase C-θ (PKC-θ) localizes to the contact point between T cells and antigen-presenting cells, in human and mouse Tregs, PKC-θ localizes to the opposite end of the cell in the distal pole complex (DPC). Here, using a phosphoproteomic screen, we identified the intermediate filament vimentin as a PKC-θ phospho target and show that vimentin forms a DPC superstructure on which PKC-θ accumulates. Treatment of mouse Tregs with either a clinically relevant PKC-θ inhibitor or vimentin siRNA disrupted vimentin and enhanced Treg metabolic and suppressive activity. Moreover, vimentin-disrupted mouse Tregs were significantly better than controls at suppressing alloreactive T cell priming in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and GVHD lethality, using a complete MHC-mismatch mouse model of acute GVHD (C57BL/6 donor into BALB/c host). Interestingly, vimentin disruption augmented the suppressor function of PKC-θ-deficient mouse Tregs. This suggests that enhanced Treg activity after PKC-θ inhibition is secondary to effects on vimentin, not just PKC-θ kinase activity inhibition. Our data demonstrate that vimentin is a key metabolic and functional controller of Treg activity and provide proof of principle that disruption of vimentin is a feasible, translationally relevant method to enhance Treg potency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron McDonald-Hyman
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - James T Muller
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and Department of Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michael Loschi
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Govindarajan Thangavelu
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Asim Saha
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Sudha Kumari
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and Department of Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Dawn K Reichenbach
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Michelle J Smith
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Guoan Zhang
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and Department of Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Brent H Koehn
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Jiqiang Lin
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and Department of Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jason S Mitchell
- The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Brian T Fife
- The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Colby J Feser
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Andrew Kemal Kirchmeier
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Mark J Osborn
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Keli L Hippen
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Ameeta Kelekar
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Jonathan S Serody
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Laurence A Turka
- Center for Transplantation Sciences, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - David H Munn
- Department of Pediatrics, Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, Georgia, USA
| | - Hongbo Chi
- Department of Immunology, Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Thomas A Neubert
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and Department of Cell Biology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michael L Dustin
- Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Bruce R Blazar
- Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,The Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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9
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Osborn MJ, Lees CJ, McElroy AN, Merkel SC, Eide CR, Mathews W, Feser CJ, Tschann M, McElmury RT, Webber BR, Kim CJ, Blazar BR, Tolar J. CRISPR/Cas9-Based Cellular Engineering for Targeted Gene Overexpression. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:E946. [PMID: 29565806 PMCID: PMC5979553 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19040946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Revised: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 03/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene and cellular therapies hold tremendous promise as agents for treating genetic disorders. However, the effective delivery of genes, particularly large ones, and expression at therapeutic levels can be challenging in cells of clinical relevance. To address this engineering hurdle, we sought to employ the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system to insert powerful regulatory elements upstream of an endogenous gene. We achieved robust activation of the COL7A1 gene in primary human umbilical cord blood CD34⁺ hematopoietic stem cells and peripheral blood T-cells. CD34⁺ cells retained their colony forming potential and, in a second engineering step, we disrupted the T-cell receptor complex in T-cells. These cellular populations are of high translational impact due to their engraftment potential, broad circulatory properties, and favorable immune profile that supports delivery to multiple recipients. This study demonstrates the feasibility of targeted knock in of a ubiquitous chromatin opening element, promoter, and marker gene that doubles as a suicide gene for precision gene activation. This system merges the specificity of gene editing with the high level, sustained gene expression achieved with gene therapy vectors. We predict that this design concept will be highly transferrable to most genes in multiple model systems representing a facile cellular engineering platform for promoting gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark J Osborn
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Center for Genome Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Asan-Minnesota Institute for Innovating Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Christopher J Lees
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Amber N McElroy
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Sarah C Merkel
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Cindy R Eide
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Wendy Mathews
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Colby J Feser
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Madison Tschann
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Ron T McElmury
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Beau R Webber
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Chong Jai Kim
- Asan-Minnesota Institute for Innovating Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 138-736, Korea.
| | - Bruce R Blazar
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Center for Genome Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Jakub Tolar
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Center for Genome Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- Asan-Minnesota Institute for Innovating Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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10
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Reichenbach DK, Matta BM, Zhang X, Koehn B, Mathews L, Smith MJ, Feser CJ, Zeiser R, Turnquist HR, Blazar BR. IL-33 mediated expansion of host ST2+ Treg prior to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation decreases macrophage and effector T cell activation reducing acute GVHD. The Journal of Immunology 2016. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.196.supp.140.33] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the leading complication and cause of mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Recently, we reported that IL-33 released from tissue damaged during allo-HCT conditioning mediates pro-inflammatory responses by Teffector cells resulting in greater acute GVHD lethality and clinical symptoms in mice. However, IL-33 is a pleiotropic cytokine that mediates both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses. We hypothesized that the beneficial effects mediated by IL-33 could be harnessed if IL-33 was present prior to inflammatory mediators released during conditioning. Here, we demonstrate that exogenous IL-33 given peri allo-HCT (days −10 to 4) to recipients of MHC-disparate allo-HCT asserts its immunoregulatory properties reduced GVHD lethality and clinical symptoms compared to non-treated controls. IL-33 treatment peri allo-HCT resulted in the expansion of recipient Treg and suppressive myeloid cells that persisted post irradiation. Host Treg depletion in C57Bl/6 FoxP3-DTR mice by diphtheria toxin given concurrently with peri allo-HCT IL-33 treatment accelerated GVHD symptoms and lethality compared to peri allo-HCT IL-33 treatment alone, demonstrating that host Treg were necessary for GVHD protection. Transfer of Treg deficient in ST2, the IL-33 receptor, afforded less GVHD protection than wild-type Treg. ST2+ Treg controlled macrophage activation and prevented accumulation of Teffector cells in GVHD target tissue. Thus, we demonstrate that peri allo-HCT IL-33 expanded and activated host Treg have potential as a therapeutic modality to prevent and treat GVHD.
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