Post-transcriptional regulatory feedback encodes JAK-STAT signal memory of interferon stimulation

Immune cells fine tune their responses to infection and inflammatory cues. Here, using live-cell confocal microscopy and mathematical modelling, we investigate interferon-induced JAK-STAT signalling in innate immune macrophages. We demonstrate that transient exposure to IFN-γ stimulation induces a long-term desensitisation of STAT1 signalling and gene expression responses, revealing a dose- and time-dependent regulatory feedback that controls JAK-STAT responses upon re-exposure to stimulus. We show that IFN-α/β1 elicit different level of desensitisation from IFN-γ, where cells refractory to IFN-α/β1 are sensitive to IFN-γ, but not vice versa. We experimentally demonstrate that the underlying feedback mechanism involves regulation of STAT1 phosphorylation but is independent of new mRNA synthesis and cognate receptor expression. A new feedback model of the protein tyrosine phosphatase activity recapitulates experimental data and demonstrates JAK-STAT network’s ability to decode relative changes of dose, timing, and type of temporal interferon stimulation. These findings reveal that STAT desensitisation renders cells with signalling memory of type I and II interferon stimulation, which in the future may improve administration of interferon therapy.

The Essential Role Played by B Cells in Supporting Protective Immunity Against Trichuris muris Infection Is by Controlling the Th1/Th2 Balance in the Mesenteric Lymph Nodes and Depends on Host Genetic Background

How B cells contribute to protective immunity against parasitic nematodes remains unclear, with their importance as accessory cells underexplored. In this study, anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (α-CD20 mAb)-mediated depletion of B cells from C57BL/6 mice revealed an important role for B cells in supporting Th2 immune responses and thus expulsion of Trichuris muris (T. muris). C57BL/6 mice normally mount mixed Th1/Th2 immune responses to T. muris and expel the parasite by the third week post infection. However, B cell-depleted C57BL/6 had significantly reduced Th2-type cytokines post infection and failed to expel the parasite. IFN-γ production in the MLN of C57BL/6 mice receiving α-CD20 mAb treatment was not affected, collectively resulting in an overall change in Th1/Th2 balance in favor of Th1. Further, the expression of IFN-γ and IFN-γ-induced genes at the effector site, the gut, was significantly increased in the absence of B cells. Interestingly, and in complete contrast, BALB/c mice, which mount strongly polarized Th2 immune responses, rather than mixed Th1/Th2 immune responses, were still able to expel T. muris in the absence of B cells. We thus hypothesized that the B cell plays a critical role in enabling strong Th2 responses in the context of mixed Th1/Th2 settings, with the role becoming redundant in highly Th2 polarized environments. In support of this, neutralization of IFN-γ in B cell depleted C57BL/6 restored resistance against T. muris infection. Thus, our data suggest an important role of B cells in supporting Th2-type immune responses in mixed IFN-γ-rich Th1/Th2 settings.

Purine metabolism controls innate lymphoid cell function and protects against intestinal injury

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a condition of chronic inflammatory intestinal disorder with increasing prevalence but limited effective therapies. The purine metabolic pathway is involved in various inflammatory processes including IBD. However, the mechanisms through which purine metabolism modulates IBD remain to be established. Here, we found that mucosal expression of genes involved in the purine metabolic pathway is altered in patients with active ulcerative colitis (UC), which is associated with elevated gene expression signatures of the group 3 innate lymphoid cell (ILC3)-interleukin (IL)-22 pathway. In mice, blockade of ectonucleotidases (NTPDases), critical enzymes for purine metabolism by hydrolysis of extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (eATP) into adenosine, exacerbates dextran-sulfate sodium-induced intestinal injury. This exacerbation of colitis is associated with reduction of colonic IL-22-producing ILC3s, which afford essential protection against intestinal inflammation, and is rescued by exogenous IL-22. Mechanistically, activation of ILC3s for IL-22 production is reciprocally mediated by eATP and adenosine. These findings reveal that the NTPDase-mediated balance between eATP and adenosine regulates ILC3 cell function to provide protection against intestinal injury and suggest potential therapeutic strategies for treating IBD by targeting the purine-ILC3 axis.

Myeloid cell recruitment versus local proliferation differentiates susceptibility from resistance to filarial infection

Both T_H2-dependent helminth killing and suppression of the T_H2 effector response have been attributed to macrophages (MΦ) activated by IL-4 (M(IL-4)). To investigate how M(IL-4) contribute to diverse infection outcomes, the MΦ compartment of susceptible BALB/c mice and more resistant C57BL/6 mice was profiled during infection of the pleural cavity with the filarial nematode, Litomosoides sigmodontis. C57BL/6 mice exhibited a profoundly expanded resident MΦ (resMΦ) population, which was gradually replenished from the bone marrow in an age-dependent manner. Infection status did not alter the bone-marrow derived contribution to the resMΦ population, confirming local proliferation as the driver of resMΦ expansion. Significantly less resMΦ expansion was observed in the susceptible BALB/c strain, which instead exhibited an influx of monocytes that assumed an immunosuppressive PD-L2⁺ phenotype. Inhibition of monocyte recruitment enhanced nematode killing. Thus, the balance of monocytic vs. resident M(IL-4) numbers varies between inbred mouse strains and impacts infection outcome.

The adult murine heart has a sparse, phagocytically active macrophage population that expands through monocyte recruitment and adopts an 'M2' phenotype in response to Th2 immunologic challenge

Tissue resident macrophages have vital homeostatic roles in many tissues but their roles are less well defined in the heart. The present study aimed to identify the density, polarisation status and distribution of macrophages in the healthy murine heart and to investigate their ability to respond to immune challenge. Histological analysis of hearts from CSF-1 receptor (csf1-GFP; MacGreen) and CX3CR1 (Cx3cr1(GFP/+)) reporter mice revealed a sparse population of GFP positive macrophages that were evenly distributed throughout the left and right ventricular free walls and septum. F4/80+CD11b+ cardiac macrophages, sorted from myocardial homogenates, were able to phagocytose fluorescent beads in vitro and expressed markers typical of both 'M1' (IL-1β, TNF and CCR2) and 'M2' activation (Ym1, Arg 1, RELMα and IL-10), suggesting no specific polarisation in healthy myocardium. Exposure to Th2 challenge by infection of mice with helminth parasites Schistosoma mansoni, or Heligmosomoides polygyrus, resulted in an increase in cardiac macrophage density, adoption of a stellate morphology and increased expression of Ym1, RELMα and CD206 (mannose receptor), indicative of 'M2' polarisation. This was dependent on recruitment of Ly6ChighCCR2+ monocytes and was accompanied by an increase in collagen content. In conclusion, in the healthy heart resident macrophages are relatively sparse and have a phagocytic role. Following Th2 challenge this population expands due to monocyte recruitment and adopts an 'M2' phenotype associated with increased tissue fibrosis.

Oncogenic properties of apoptotic tumor cells in aggressive B cell lymphoma

Background

Cells undergoing apoptosis are known to modulate their tissue microenvironments. By acting on phagocytes, notably macrophages, apoptotic cells inhibit immunological and inflammatory responses and promote trophic signaling pathways. Paradoxically, because of their potential to cause death of tumor cells and thereby militate against malignant disease progression, both apoptosis and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are often associated with poor prognosis in cancer. We hypothesized that, in progression of malignant disease, constitutive loss of a fraction of the tumor cell population through apoptosis could yield tumor-promoting effects.

Results

Here, we demonstrate that apoptotic tumor cells promote coordinated tumor growth, angiogenesis, and accumulation of TAMs in aggressive B cell lymphomas. Through unbiased “in situ transcriptomics” analysis—gene expression profiling of laser-captured TAMs to establish their activation signature in situ—we show that these cells are activated to signal via multiple tumor-promoting reparatory, trophic, angiogenic, tissue remodeling, and anti-inflammatory pathways. Our results also suggest that apoptotic lymphoma cells help drive this signature. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, upon induction of apoptosis, lymphoma cells not only activate expression of the tumor-promoting matrix metalloproteinases MMP2 and MMP12 in macrophages but also express and process these MMPs directly. Finally, using a model of malignant melanoma, we show that the oncogenic potential of apoptotic tumor cells extends beyond lymphoma.

Conclusions

In addition to its profound tumor-suppressive role, apoptosis can potentiate cancer progression. These results have important implications for understanding the fundamental biology of cell death, its roles in malignant disease, and the broader consequences of apoptosis-inducing anti-cancer therapy.

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Apoptotic lymphoma cells promote tumor growth, angiogenesis, and TAM accumulation

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Unbiased “in situ transcriptomics” analysis shows TAMs promote pro-tumor pathways

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Apoptotic tumor cells express and process matrix remodeling proteins

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The oncogenic potential of apoptotic tumor cells extends beyond lymphoma

IL-4 directly signals tissue-resident macrophages to proliferate beyond homeostatic levels controlled by CSF-1

Macrophages (MΦs) colonize tissues during inflammation in two distinct ways: recruitment of monocyte precursors and proliferation of resident cells. We recently revealed a major role for IL-4 in the proliferative expansion of resident MΦs during a Th2-biased tissue nematode infection. We now show that proliferation of MΦs during intestinal as well as tissue nematode infection is restricted to sites of IL-4 production and requires MΦ-intrinsic IL-4R signaling. However, both IL-4Rα-dependent and -independent mechanisms contributed to MΦ proliferation during nematode infections. IL-4R-independent proliferation was controlled by a rise in local CSF-1 levels, but IL-4Rα expression conferred a competitive advantage with higher and more sustained proliferation and increased accumulation of IL-4Rα(+) compared with IL-4Rα(-) cells. Mechanistically, this occurred by conversion of IL-4Rα(+) MΦs from a CSF-1-dependent to -independent program of proliferation. Thus, IL-4 increases the relative density of tissue MΦs by overcoming the constraints mediated by the availability of CSF-1. Finally, although both elevated CSF1R and IL-4Rα signaling triggered proliferation above homeostatic levels, only CSF-1 led to the recruitment of monocytes and neutrophils. Thus, the IL-4 pathway of proliferation may have developed as an alternative to CSF-1 to increase resident MΦ numbers without coincident monocyte recruitment.

Local macrophage proliferation, rather than recruitment from the blood, is a signature of TH2 inflammation

A defining feature of inflammation is the accumulation of innate immune cells in the tissue that are thought to be recruited from the blood. We reveal that a distinct process exists in which tissue macrophages undergo rapid in situ proliferation in order to increase population density. This inflammatory mechanism occurred during T helper 2 (T(H)2)-related pathologies under the control of the archetypal T(H)2 cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) and was a fundamental component of T(H)2 inflammation because exogenous IL-4 was sufficient to drive accumulation of tissue macrophages through self-renewal. Thus, expansion of innate cells necessary for pathogen control or wound repair can occur without recruitment of potentially tissue-destructive inflammatory cells.