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Gröning R, Dernstedt A, Ahlm C, Normark J, Sundström P, Forsell MNE. Immune response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in multiple sclerosis patients after rituximab treatment interruption. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1219560. [PMID: 37575257 PMCID: PMC10413123 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1219560] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Peripheral B cell depletion via anti-CD20 treatment is a highly effective disease-modifying treatment for reducing new relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A drawback of rituximab (RTX) and other anti-CD20 antibodies is a poor immune response to vaccination. While this can be mitigated by treatment interruption of at least six months prior to vaccination, the timing to resume treatment while maintaining subsequent vaccine responses remains undetermined. Here, we characterized SARS-CoV-2 S-directed antibody and B cell responses throughout three BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine doses in RTX-treated MS patients, with the first two doses given during treatment interruption. We examined B-cell mediated immune responses in blood samples from patients with RTX-treated MS throughout three BNT162b2 vaccine doses, compared to an age- and sex-matched healthy control group. The first vaccine dose was given 1.3 years (median) after the last RTX infusion, the second dose one month after the first, and the third dose four weeks after treatment re-initiation. We analyzed SARS-CoV-2 S-directed antibody levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the neutralization capacity of patient serum against SARS-CoV-2 S-pseudotyped lentivirus using luciferase reporter assay. In addition, we assessed switched memory (CD19+CD20+CD27+IgD-), unswitched memory (CD19+CD20+CD27+IgD+), naïve (CD19+CD20+CD27-IgD+), and double negative (DN, CD19+CD20+CD27-IgD-) B cell frequencies, as well as their SARS-CoV-2 S-specific (CoV+) and Decay Accelerating Factor-negative (DAF-) subpopulations, using flow cytometry. After two vaccine doses, S-binding antibody levels and neutralization capacity in SARS-CoV-2-naïve MS patients were comparable to vaccinated healthy controls, albeit with greater variation. Higher antibody response levels and CoV+-DN B cell frequencies after the second vaccine dose were predictive of a boost effect after the third dose, even after re-initiation of rituximab treatment. MS patients also exhibited lower frequencies of DAF- memory B cells, a suggested proxy for germinal centre activity, than control individuals. S-binding antibody levels in RTX-treated MS patients after two vaccine doses could help determine which individuals would need to move up their next vaccine booster dose or postpone their next RTX infusion. Our findings also offer first indications on the potential importance of antigenic stimulation of DN B cells and long-term impairment of germinal centre activity in rituximab-treated MS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remigius Gröning
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Andy Dernstedt
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Clas Ahlm
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Johan Normark
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Peter Sundström
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Neurosciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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Mason J, Öhlund D. Key aspects for conception and construction of co-culture models of tumor-stroma interactions. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1150764. [PMID: 37091337 PMCID: PMC10119418 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1150764] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment is crucial in the initiation and progression of cancers. The interplay between cancer cells and the surrounding stroma shapes the tumor biology and dictates the response to cancer therapies. Consequently, a better understanding of the interactions between cancer cells and different components of the tumor microenvironment will drive progress in developing novel, effective, treatment strategies. Co-cultures can be used to study various aspects of these interactions in detail. This includes studies of paracrine relationships between cancer cells and stromal cells such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and immune cells, as well as the influence of physical and mechanical interactions with the extracellular matrix of the tumor microenvironment. The development of novel co-culture models to study the tumor microenvironment has progressed rapidly over recent years. Many of these models have already been shown to be powerful tools for further understanding of the pathophysiological role of the stroma and provide mechanistic insights into tumor-stromal interactions. Here we give a structured overview of different co-culture models that have been established to study tumor-stromal interactions and what we have learnt from these models. We also introduce a set of guidelines for generating and reporting co-culture experiments to facilitate experimental robustness and reproducibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Mason
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Daniel Öhlund
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- *Correspondence: Daniel Öhlund,
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Jansson M, Lindberg J, Rask G, Svensson J, Billing O, Nazemroaya A, Berglund A, Wärnberg F, Sund M. Prognostic Value of Stromal Type IV Collagen Expression in Small Invasive Breast Cancers. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:904526. [PMID: 35693557 PMCID: PMC9174894 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.904526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Localized breast cancer can be cured by surgery and adjuvant therapy, but mortality remains high for tumors that metastasize early. Type IV collagen is a basement membrane protein, and breach of this extracellular matrix structure is the first step of cancer invasion. Type IV collagen is found in the stroma of many cancers, but its role in tumor biology is unclear. Here, expression of type IV collagen in the stroma of small breast cancers was analyzed, correlated to clinically used prognostic biomarkers and patient survival. The findings were further validated in an independent gene expression data cohort. Tissue samples from 1,379 women with in situ and small invasive breast cancers (≤15 mm) diagnosed in 1986-2004 were included. Primary tumor tissue was collected into tissue microarrays. Type IV collagen expression in tissues was visualized using immunohistochemistry. Gene expression data was extracted from the Cancer Genome Atlas database. Out of 1,379 women, 856 had an invasive breast cancer and type IV collagen staining was available for 714 patients. In Kaplan-Meier analysis high type IV collagen expression was significantly associated (p = 0.026) with poorer breast cancer specific survival. There was no correlation of type IV collagen expression to clinically used prognostic biomarkers. High type IV collagen expression was clearly associated to distant metastasis (p = 0.002). In an external validation cohort (n = 1,104), high type IV collagen mRNA expression was significantly (p = 0.041) associated with poorer overall survival, with overexpression of type IV collagen mRNA in metastatic tissue. Stromal type IV collagen expression in the primary tumor correlates to poor breast cancer specific survival most likely due to a higher risk of developing distant metastasis. This ECM protein may function as biomarker to predict the risk of future metastatic disease in patients with breast cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin Jansson
- Department of Surgery and Perioperative Sciences/Surgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- *Correspondence: Malin Jansson,
| | - Jessica Lindberg
- Department of Surgery and Perioperative Sciences/Surgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Gunilla Rask
- Department of Medical Biosciences/Pathology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Johan Svensson
- Department of Surgery and Perioperative Sciences/Surgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Statistics, Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ola Billing
- Department of Surgery and Perioperative Sciences/Surgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | | | - Anette Berglund
- Department of Surgery and Perioperative Sciences/Surgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Wärnberg
- Department of Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Malin Sund
- Department of Surgery and Perioperative Sciences/Surgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Surgery, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
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Kerkman PF, Dernstedt A, Tadala L, Mittler E, Dannborg M, Sundling C, Maleki KT, Tauriainen J, Tuiskunen‐Bäck A, Wigren Byström J, Ocaya P, Thunberg T, Jangra RK, Román‐Sosa G, Guardado‐Calvo P, Rey FA, Klingström J, Chandran K, Puhar A, Ahlm C, Forsell MNE. Generation of plasma cells and CD27 -IgD - B cells during hantavirus infection is associated with distinct pathological findings. Clin Transl Immunology 2021; 10:e1313. [PMID: 34277007 PMCID: PMC8275445 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Human hantavirus infections can cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). The pathogenic mechanisms are not fully understood, nor if they affect the humoral immune system. The objective of this study was to investigate humoral immune responses to hantavirus infection and to correlate them to the typical features of HFRS: thrombocytopenia and transient kidney dysfunction. METHODS We performed a comprehensive characterisation of longitudinal antiviral B-cell responses of 26 hantavirus patients and combined this with paired clinical data. In addition, we measured extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and its breakdown products in circulation and performed in vitro stimulations to address its effect on B cells. RESULTS We found that thrombocytopenia was correlated to an elevated frequency of plasmablasts in circulation. In contrast, kidney dysfunction was indicative of an accumulation of CD27-IgD- B cells and CD27-/low plasmablasts. Finally, we provide evidence that high levels of extracellular ATP and matrix metalloproteinase 8 can contribute to shedding of CD27 during human hantavirus infection. CONCLUSION Our findings demonstrate that thrombocytopenia and kidney dysfunction associate with distinctly different effects on the humoral immune system. Moreover, hantavirus-infected individuals have significantly elevated levels of extracellular ATP in circulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscilla F Kerkman
- Department of Clinical MicrobiologyUmeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
| | - Andy Dernstedt
- Department of Clinical MicrobiologyUmeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
| | - Lalitha Tadala
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS)Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
- Department of Molecular BiologyUmeå UniversityUmeaSweden
| | - Eva Mittler
- Department of Microbiology & ImmunologyAlbert Einstein College of MedicineBronxNYUSA
| | - Mirjam Dannborg
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS)Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
- Department of Molecular BiologyUmeå UniversityUmeaSweden
| | - Christopher Sundling
- Department of MedicineKarolinska InstitutetSolnaSweden
- Department of Infectious DiseasesKarolinska University HospitalStockholmSweden
| | - Kimia T Maleki
- Department of MedicineKarolinska InstitutetHuddingeSweden
| | | | - Anne Tuiskunen‐Bäck
- Department of Clinical MicrobiologyUmeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
| | - Julia Wigren Byström
- Department of Clinical MicrobiologyUmeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
| | - Pauline Ocaya
- Department of Clinical MicrobiologyUmeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
| | - Therese Thunberg
- Department of Clinical MicrobiologyUmeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
| | - Rohit K Jangra
- Department of Microbiology & ImmunologyAlbert Einstein College of MedicineBronxNYUSA
| | - Gleyder Román‐Sosa
- Structural Virology UnitVirology DepartmentInstitut PasteurCNRS UMR 3569ParisFrance
| | - Pablo Guardado‐Calvo
- Structural Virology UnitVirology DepartmentInstitut PasteurCNRS UMR 3569ParisFrance
| | - Felix A Rey
- Structural Virology UnitVirology DepartmentInstitut PasteurCNRS UMR 3569ParisFrance
| | | | - Kartik Chandran
- Department of Microbiology & ImmunologyAlbert Einstein College of MedicineBronxNYUSA
| | - Andrea Puhar
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS)Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
- Department of Molecular BiologyUmeå UniversityUmeaSweden
| | - Clas Ahlm
- Department of Clinical MicrobiologyUmeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
| | - Mattias NE Forsell
- Department of Clinical MicrobiologyUmeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)UmeaSweden
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Brundin PMA, Landgren BM, Fjällström P, Shamekh MM, Gustafsson JÅ, Johansson AF, Nalvarte I. Expression of Sex Hormone Receptor and Immune Response Genes in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells During the Menstrual Cycle. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021; 12:721813. [PMID: 34630328 PMCID: PMC8493253 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2021.721813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Sex hormones are known to interact with the immune system on multiple levels but information on the types of sex hormone receptors (SHR) and their expression levels in immune cells is scarce. Estrogen, testosterone and progesterone are all considered to interact with the immune system through their respective cell receptors (ERα and ERβ including the splice variant ERβ2, AR and PGR). In this study expression levels of SHR genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and cell subsets (CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, CD56+ NK-cells, CD14+ monocytes and CD19+ B-cells) were analyzed using standard manual qPCR or a qPCR array (TLDA). Nine healthy individuals including men (n = 2), premenopausal (Pre-MP, n = 5) and postmenopausal (post-MP, n = 2) women were sampled for PBMCs which were separated to cell subsets using FACS. Ten Pre-MP women were longitudinally sampled for total PBMCs at different phases of the menstrual cycle. We found that ERα was most abundant and, unexpectedly, that ERβ2 was the dominant ERβ variant in several FACS sorted cell subsets. In total PBMCs, SHR (ERα, ERβ1, ERβ2, and AR) expression did not fluctuate according to the phase of the menstrual cycle and PGR was not expressed. However, several immune response genes (GATA3, IFNG, IL1B, LTA, NFKB1, PDCD1, STAT3, STAT5A, TBX21, TGFB1, TNFA) were more expressed during the ovulatory and mid-luteal phases. Sex hormone levels did not correlate significantly with gene expression of SHR or immune response genes, but sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), a steroid hormone transporting protein, was positively correlated to expression of ERβ1 gene. This study provides new insights in the distribution of ERs in immune cells. Furthermore, expression patterns of several immune response genes differ significantly between phases of the menstrual cycle, supporting a role for sex hormones in the immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peik M. A. Brundin
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Infection and Immunology, and the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
- Unit of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, St Göran’s Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- *Correspondence: Peik M. A. Brundin,
| | | | - Peter Fjällström
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Infection and Immunology, and the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Mohamed M. Shamekh
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
| | - Jan-Åke Gustafsson
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
- Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Anders F. Johansson
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Infection and Immunology, and the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ivan Nalvarte
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
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