Upcycling HOXB13: enhancing prostate cancer detection with a novel antibody†

Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent and, upon metastasis, deadliest cancers in men. Timely identification is essential for effective treatment. Furthermore, accurate determination of prostatic origin is crucial for personalized therapy once the cancer has spread. However, current prostate cancer screening methods are lacking. A recent article in The Journal of Pathology addresses this issue by utilizing an improved antibody to reevaluate HOXB13 as a lineage marker for prostate cancer. The study's findings support the concept that, despite decreased expression in advanced prostate cancer, HOXB13 remains highly suitable for determining prostatic origin due to its androgen receptor independence, high specificity, and sensitivity. © 2024 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

CLEC10A Is a Specific Marker for Human CD1c+ Dendritic Cells and Enhances Their Toll-Like Receptor 7/8-Induced Cytokine Secretion

Dendritic cells (DCs) are major players for the induction of immune responses. Apart from plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), human DCs can be categorized into two types of conventional DCs: CD141⁺ DCs (cDC1) and CD1c⁺ DCs (cDC2). Defining uniquely expressed surface markers on human immune cells is not only important for the identification of DC subpopulations but also a prerequisite for harnessing the DC subset-specific potential in immunomodulatory approaches, such as antibody-mediated antigen targeting. Although others identified CLEC9A as a specific endocytic receptor for CD141⁺ DCs, such a receptor for CD1c⁺ DCs has not been discovered, yet. By performing transcriptomic and flow cytometric analyses on human DC subpopulations from different lymphohematopoietic tissues, we identified CLEC10A (CD301, macrophage galactose-type C-type lectin) as a specific marker for human CD1c⁺ DCs. We further demonstrate that CLEC10A rapidly internalizes into human CD1c⁺ DCs upon binding of a monoclonal antibody directed against CLEC10A. The binding of a CLEC10A-specific bivalent ligand (the MUC-1 peptide glycosylated with N-acetylgalactosamine) is limited to CD1c⁺ DCs and enhances the cytokine secretion (namely TNFα, IL-8, and IL-10) induced by TLR 7/8 stimulation. Thus, CLEC10A represents not only a candidate to better define CD1c⁺ DCs—due to its high endocytic potential—CLEC10A also exhibits an interesting candidate receptor for future antigen-targeting approaches.

When β-cells fail: lessons from dedifferentiation

Diabetes is caused by a combination of impaired responsiveness to insulin and reduced production of insulin by the pancreas. Until recently, the decline of insulin production had been ascribed to β-cell death. But recent research has shown that β-cells do not die in diabetes, but undergo a silencing process, termed "dedifferentiation." The main implication of this discovery is that β-cells can be revived by appropriate treatments. We have shown that mitochondrial abnormalities are a key step in the progression of β-cell dysfunction towards dedifferentiation. In normal β-cells, mitochondria generate energy required to sustain insulin production and its finely timed release in response to the body's nutritional status. A normal β-cell can adapt its mitochondrial fuel source based on substrate availability, a concept known as "metabolic flexibility." This capability is the first casualty in the progress of β-cell failure. β-Cells lose the ability to select the right fuel for mitochondrial energy production. Mitochondria become overloaded, and accumulate by-products derived from incomplete fuel utilization. Energy production stalls, and insulin production drops, setting the stage for dedifferentiation. The ultimate goal of these investigations is to explore novel treatment paradigms that will benefit people with diabetes.

Expression of XCR1 Characterizes the Batf3-Dependent Lineage of Dendritic Cells Capable of Antigen Cross-Presentation

Cross-presentation of antigen by dendritic cells (DCs) to CD8⁺ T cells is a fundamentally important mechanism in the defense against pathogens and tumors. Due to the lack of an appropriate lineage marker, cross-presenting DCs in the mouse are provisionally classified as “Batf3-IRF-8-Id2-dependent DCs” or as “CD8⁺ DCs” in the spleen, and as “CD103⁺CD11b⁻ DCs” in the periphery. We have now generated a mAb to XCR1, a chemokine receptor which is specifically expressed on CD8⁺ DCs and a subpopulation of double negative DCs in the spleen. Using this antibody, we have determined that only XCR1⁺CD8⁺ (around 80% of CD8⁺ DCs) and their probable precursors, XCR1⁺CD8⁻ DCs, efficiently take up cellular material and excel in antigen cross-presentation. In lymph nodes (LNs) and peripheral tissues, XCR1⁺ DCs largely, but not fully, correspond to CD103⁺CD11b⁻ DCs. Most importantly, we demonstrate that XCR1⁺ DCs in the spleen, LNs, and peripheral tissues are dependent on the growth factor Flt3 ligand and are selectively absent in Batf3-deficient animals. These results provide evidence that expression of XCR1 throughout the body defines the Batf3-dependent lineage of DCs with a special capacity to cross-present antigen. XCR1 thus emerges as the first surface marker characterizing a DC lineage in the mouse and potentially also in the human.

Evaluation of the mouse TgTP6.3 tauGFP transgene as a lineage marker in chimeras

The mouse TgTP6.3 transgene, encoding a tauGFP fusion protein, is becoming widely used but has yet to be fully characterized and evaluated as suitable lineage marker. The aim of the present study was to investigate the phenotype of TgTP6.3(+/+) homozygotes and TgTP6.3(+/-) hemizygotes, characterize the expression of the TgTP6.3 transgene in different tissues and critically evaluate its use as a lineage marker. TgTP6.3(+/+) homozygotes died between embryonic day 14.5 and weaning, whereas TgTP6.3(+/-) hemizygotes were mostly viable and fertile but smaller than non-transgenic siblings. TgTP6.3 expression began in the late two-cell stage, persisted in most fetal and adult tissues and was uniformly expressed in many (but not all) tissues. TgTP6.3(+/-) cells were readily identified in many chimeric tissues and their contribution appeared to be quantitatively and spatially normal. Overall, tauGFP expression in hemizygous TgTP6.3(+/-) cells fulfils the main criteria of a good lineage marker for many tissues. It provides a useful lineage marker, which should be particularly suitable for axons, blood vessels and pre-implantation embryos.

Human monoclonal antibody detects a cell surface antigen expressed on hematopoietic malignant cells of lymphoid lineage

An antigen with a molecular weight of 150 kilodaltons expressed on certain leukemia and lymphoma cells was recognized by a human monoclonal antibody (3H12), which had been established by the fusion of lymphocytes from a small cell lung cancer patient with a mouse myeloma cell line (P3U1). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 3 out of 4 cases with lymphoid crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) were positively stained by 3H12, while cells from 5 cases with myeloid crisis of CML did not react to this antibody. The antibody did not show any reactivity to cells from the chronic phase of CML, other types of leukemias or normal hematopoietic cells. We further examined 29 cell lines of hematopoietic origin and found that 2 undifferentiated cells (BV-173 and K-562) reacted to the 3H12 antibody. In addition, we found that 3 out of 6 Burkitt lymphoma cells (DAUDI, RAJI and HR1K) reacted to 3H12. Taken together, these results suggest that the antigen recognized by 3H12 is a differentiation-associated antigen expressed on immature lymphoid cells, and could potentially be a reliable cell lineage marker.