Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)–T cell therapies have revolutionized the landscape of cancer treatment, in particular in the context of hematologic malignancies. However, for solid tumors that lack tumor-specific antigens, CAR-T cells can infiltrate and attack nonmalignant tissues expressing the CAR target antigen, leading to on-target, off-tumor toxicity. Severe on-target, off-tumor toxicities have been observed in clinical trials of CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, highlighting the need to address this issue. Here, we demonstrated that targeting the cell adhesion and migration molecules lymphocyte function–associated antigen 1 (LFA-1; CD11a/CD18) and very late activation antigen 4 (VLA-4; CD49d/CD29) with blocking antibodies reduced the on-target, off-tumor toxicity of CAR-T cells in mice. To translate this observation into improved CAR-T cell therapy, we either knocked out both CD11a and CD49d or knocked down CD11a and CD49d along with PSGL1, another cell adhesion molecule, in CAR-T cells. We found that these modified CAR-T cells exhibited reduced on-target, off-tumor toxicity in vivo without affecting CAR-T cell efficacy. Furthermore, we showed that this approach promoted T cell memory formation and decreased tonic signaling. On the basis of these data, we engineered a human version of these low-toxicity CAR-T cells and further validated the feasibility of this approach in vitro and in vivo. Together, these results provide a potential solution to address the clinical challenge of on-target, off-tumor toxicity in CAR-T therapy.
{"title":"Triple knockdown of CD11a, CD49d, and PSGL1 in T cells reduces CAR-T cell toxicity but preserves activity against solid tumors in mice","authors":"Hongye Wang, Zhaorong Wu, Dan Cui, Linke Bian, Zhigang Zheng, Jiufei Zhu, Haigang Geng, Zhen Sun, Yixiao Pan, Yaoping Shi, Qiaoyong Yi, Zhenyu Song, Yantao Li, Kangjie Shen, Yuan Li, Weiming Shen, Hexin Yan, Ruidong Hao, Minmin Sun, Shuangshung Zhang, Chuanjie Zhang, Haojie Jin, Bo Zhai","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adl6432","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adl6432","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)–T cell therapies have revolutionized the landscape of cancer treatment, in particular in the context of hematologic malignancies. However, for solid tumors that lack tumor-specific antigens, CAR-T cells can infiltrate and attack nonmalignant tissues expressing the CAR target antigen, leading to on-target, off-tumor toxicity. Severe on-target, off-tumor toxicities have been observed in clinical trials of CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, highlighting the need to address this issue. Here, we demonstrated that targeting the cell adhesion and migration molecules lymphocyte function–associated antigen 1 (LFA-1; CD11a/CD18) and very late activation antigen 4 (VLA-4; CD49d/CD29) with blocking antibodies reduced the on-target, off-tumor toxicity of CAR-T cells in mice. To translate this observation into improved CAR-T cell therapy, we either knocked out both <i>CD11a</i> and <i>CD49d</i> or knocked down <i>CD11a</i> and <i>CD49d</i> along with <i>PSGL1</i>, another cell adhesion molecule, in CAR-T cells. We found that these modified CAR-T cells exhibited reduced on-target, off-tumor toxicity in vivo without affecting CAR-T cell efficacy. Furthermore, we showed that this approach promoted T cell memory formation and decreased tonic signaling. On the basis of these data, we engineered a human version of these low-toxicity CAR-T cells and further validated the feasibility of this approach in vitro and in vivo. Together, these results provide a potential solution to address the clinical challenge of on-target, off-tumor toxicity in CAR-T therapy.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 782","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ads0255
Makoto Tonsho, Jane M. O, Kaitlan Ahrens, Kortney Robinson, Wiebke Sommer, Svjetlan Boskovic, Parth M. Patel, David C. Becerra, Kyu Ha Huh, Cynthia L. Miller, Abbas Dehnadi, Isabel Hanekamp, Ivy A. Rosales, Robert B. Colvin, David H. Sachs, Alessandro Alessandrini, A. Benedict Cosimi, Robert L. Fairchild, Paolo Cravedi, Sofia Bin, Peter S. Heeger, James S. Allan, Tatsuo Kawai, Gilles Benichou, Joren C. Madsen
Long-term, immunosuppression-free allograft survival has been induced in human and nonhuman primate (NHP) kidney recipients after nonmyeloablative conditioning and donor bone marrow transplantation (DBMT), resulting in transient mixed hematopoietic chimerism. However, the same strategy has consistently failed in NHP heart transplant recipients. Here, we investigated whether long-term heart allograft survival could be achieved by cotransplanting kidneys from the same donor. Cynomolgus monkeys were transplanted with heart allografts alone or heart and kidney allografts from the same major histocompatibility complex (MHC)–mismatched donors. All animals except one received DBMT, either at the same time or after a 2- to 4-month delay, plus short-term costimulation blockade and calcineurin inhibitor treatment. Long-term, immunosuppression-free heart allograft survival was consistently achieved in heart/kidney, but not heart-alone, recipients. This was not associated with greater donor/recipient histocompatibility or altered lymphoid cell reconstitution after conditioning. The maintenance of tolerance after heart/kidney transplantation was associated with the presence of forkhead box P3 (Foxp3+) regulatory T cell (Treg)–rich organized lymphoid structures in kidneys but not hearts. Substituting high-dose erythropoietin treatment for kidney transplantation was unsuccessful, suggesting that it was not the sole mechanism of action. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that gene expression in hearts from tolerant recipients closely resembled that in hearts from chronically immunosuppressed recipients but differed markedly from rejecting allografts and naïve hearts. A version of this protocol may be able to induce tolerance in patients with end-stage heart and kidney failure who require combined heart and kidney transplantation.
{"title":"Cardiac allograft tolerance can be achieved in nonhuman primates by donor bone marrow and kidney cotransplantation","authors":"Makoto Tonsho, Jane M. O, Kaitlan Ahrens, Kortney Robinson, Wiebke Sommer, Svjetlan Boskovic, Parth M. Patel, David C. Becerra, Kyu Ha Huh, Cynthia L. Miller, Abbas Dehnadi, Isabel Hanekamp, Ivy A. Rosales, Robert B. Colvin, David H. Sachs, Alessandro Alessandrini, A. Benedict Cosimi, Robert L. Fairchild, Paolo Cravedi, Sofia Bin, Peter S. Heeger, James S. Allan, Tatsuo Kawai, Gilles Benichou, Joren C. Madsen","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.ads0255","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.ads0255","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Long-term, immunosuppression-free allograft survival has been induced in human and nonhuman primate (NHP) kidney recipients after nonmyeloablative conditioning and donor bone marrow transplantation (DBMT), resulting in transient mixed hematopoietic chimerism. However, the same strategy has consistently failed in NHP heart transplant recipients. Here, we investigated whether long-term heart allograft survival could be achieved by cotransplanting kidneys from the same donor. Cynomolgus monkeys were transplanted with heart allografts alone or heart and kidney allografts from the same major histocompatibility complex (MHC)–mismatched donors. All animals except one received DBMT, either at the same time or after a 2- to 4-month delay, plus short-term costimulation blockade and calcineurin inhibitor treatment. Long-term, immunosuppression-free heart allograft survival was consistently achieved in heart/kidney, but not heart-alone, recipients. This was not associated with greater donor/recipient histocompatibility or altered lymphoid cell reconstitution after conditioning. The maintenance of tolerance after heart/kidney transplantation was associated with the presence of forkhead box P3 (Foxp3<sup>+</sup>) regulatory T cell (T<sub>reg</sub>)–rich organized lymphoid structures in kidneys but not hearts. Substituting high-dose erythropoietin treatment for kidney transplantation was unsuccessful, suggesting that it was not the sole mechanism of action. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that gene expression in hearts from tolerant recipients closely resembled that in hearts from chronically immunosuppressed recipients but differed markedly from rejecting allografts and naïve hearts. A version of this protocol may be able to induce tolerance in patients with end-stage heart and kidney failure who require combined heart and kidney transplantation.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 782","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adr4049
Robert S. Rogers, Vamsi K. Mootha
Oxygen is essential for human life, yet a growing body of preclinical research is demonstrating that chronic continuous hypoxia can be beneficial in models of mitochondrial disease, autoimmunity, ischemia, and aging. This research is revealing exciting new and unexpected facets of oxygen biology, but translating these findings to patients poses major challenges, because hypoxia can be dangerous. Overcoming these barriers will require integrating insights from basic science, high-altitude physiology, clinical medicine, and sports technology. Here, we explore the foundations of this nascent field and outline a path to determine how chronic continuous hypoxia can be safely, effectively, and practically delivered to patients.
{"title":"Hypoxia as a medicine","authors":"Robert S. Rogers, Vamsi K. Mootha","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adr4049","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adr4049","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Oxygen is essential for human life, yet a growing body of preclinical research is demonstrating that chronic continuous hypoxia can be beneficial in models of mitochondrial disease, autoimmunity, ischemia, and aging. This research is revealing exciting new and unexpected facets of oxygen biology, but translating these findings to patients poses major challenges, because hypoxia can be dangerous. Overcoming these barriers will require integrating insights from basic science, high-altitude physiology, clinical medicine, and sports technology. Here, we explore the foundations of this nascent field and outline a path to determine how chronic continuous hypoxia can be safely, effectively, and practically delivered to patients.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 782","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.science.org/doi/reader/10.1126/scitranslmed.adr4049","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adk9145
Florian Jaudas, Florian Bartenschlager, Bachuki Shashikadze, Gianluca Santamaria, Daniel Reichart, Alexander Schnell, Jan Bernd Stöckl, Roxane L. Degroote, Josep M. Cambra, Simon Y. Graeber, Andrea Bähr, Heike Kartmann, Monika Stefanska, Huan Liu, Nora Naumann-Bartsch, Heiko Bruns, Johannes Berges, Lea Hanselmann, Michael Stirm, Stefan Krebs, Cornelia A. Deeg, Helmut Blum, Christian Schulz, Dorota Zawada, Melanie Janda, Ignacio Caballero-Posadas, Karl Kunzelmann, Alessandra Moretti, Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz, Christian Kupatt, Armin Saalmüller, Thomas Fröhlich, Eckhard Wolf, Marcus A. Mall, Lars Mundhenk, Wilhelm Gerner, Nikolai Klymiuk
In patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), repeated cycles of infection and inflammation eventually lead to fatal lung damage. Although diminished mucus clearance can be restored by highly effective CFTR modulator therapy, inflammation and infection often persist. To elucidate the role of the innate immune system in CF etiology, we investigated a CF pig model and compared these results with those for preschool children with CF. In newborn CF pigs, we observed changes in lung immune cell composition before the onset of infection that were dominated by increased monocyte infiltration, whereas neutrophil numbers remained constant. Flow cytometric and transcriptomic profiling revealed that the infiltrating myeloid cells displayed a more immature status. Cells with comparably immature transcriptomic profiles were enriched in the blood of CF pigs at birth as well as in preschool children with CF. This pattern coincided with decreased CD16 expression in the myeloid cells of both pigs and humans, which translated into lower phagocytic activity and reduced production of reactive oxygen species in both species. These results were indicative of a congenital, translationally conserved, and functionally relevant aberration of the immune system in CF. In newborn wild-type pigs, CFTR transcription in immune cells, including lung-derived and circulating monocytes, isolated from the bone marrow, thymus, spleen, and blood was below the detection limits of highly sensitive assays, suggesting an indirect etiology of the observed effects. Our findings highlight the need for additional immunological treatments to target innate immune deficits in patients with CF.
{"title":"Perinatal dysfunction of innate immunity in cystic fibrosis","authors":"Florian Jaudas, Florian Bartenschlager, Bachuki Shashikadze, Gianluca Santamaria, Daniel Reichart, Alexander Schnell, Jan Bernd Stöckl, Roxane L. Degroote, Josep M. Cambra, Simon Y. Graeber, Andrea Bähr, Heike Kartmann, Monika Stefanska, Huan Liu, Nora Naumann-Bartsch, Heiko Bruns, Johannes Berges, Lea Hanselmann, Michael Stirm, Stefan Krebs, Cornelia A. Deeg, Helmut Blum, Christian Schulz, Dorota Zawada, Melanie Janda, Ignacio Caballero-Posadas, Karl Kunzelmann, Alessandra Moretti, Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz, Christian Kupatt, Armin Saalmüller, Thomas Fröhlich, Eckhard Wolf, Marcus A. Mall, Lars Mundhenk, Wilhelm Gerner, Nikolai Klymiuk","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adk9145","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adk9145","url":null,"abstract":"<div >In patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), repeated cycles of infection and inflammation eventually lead to fatal lung damage. Although diminished mucus clearance can be restored by highly effective CFTR modulator therapy, inflammation and infection often persist. To elucidate the role of the innate immune system in CF etiology, we investigated a CF pig model and compared these results with those for preschool children with CF. In newborn CF pigs, we observed changes in lung immune cell composition before the onset of infection that were dominated by increased monocyte infiltration, whereas neutrophil numbers remained constant. Flow cytometric and transcriptomic profiling revealed that the infiltrating myeloid cells displayed a more immature status. Cells with comparably immature transcriptomic profiles were enriched in the blood of CF pigs at birth as well as in preschool children with CF. This pattern coincided with decreased CD16 expression in the myeloid cells of both pigs and humans, which translated into lower phagocytic activity and reduced production of reactive oxygen species in both species. These results were indicative of a congenital, translationally conserved, and functionally relevant aberration of the immune system in CF. In newborn wild-type pigs, <i>CFTR</i> transcription in immune cells, including lung-derived and circulating monocytes, isolated from the bone marrow, thymus, spleen, and blood was below the detection limits of highly sensitive assays, suggesting an indirect etiology of the observed effects. Our findings highlight the need for additional immunological treatments to target innate immune deficits in patients with CF.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 782","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adp2564
Sebastian N. Roemer-Cassiano, Fabian Wagner, Lisa Evangelista, Boris-Stephan Rauchmann, Amir Dehsarvi, Anna Steward, Anna Dewenter, Davina Biel, Zeyu Zhu, Julia Pescoller, Mattes Gross, Robert Perneczky, Maura Malpetti, Michael Ewers, Michael Schöll, Martin Dichgans, Günter U. Höglinger, Matthias Brendel, Sarah Jäkel, Nicolai Franzmeier
In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyloid-β (Aβ) triggers the aggregation and spreading of tau pathology, which drives neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. However, the pathophysiological link between Aβ and tau remains unclear, which hinders therapeutic efforts to attenuate Aβ-related tau accumulation. Aβ has been found to trigger neuronal hyperactivity and hyperconnectivity, and preclinical research has shown that tau spreads across connected neurons in an activity-dependent manner. Here, we hypothesized that neuronal hyperactivity and hypersynchronicity, resulting in functional connectivity increases, constitute a crucial mechanism by which Aβ facilitates the spreading of tau pathology. By combining Aβ positron emission tomography (PET), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, and longitudinal tau-PET in 69 cognitively normal amyloid-negative controls and 140 amyloid-positive patients covering the AD spectrum, we confirmed that Aβ induces hyperconnectivity of temporal lobe tau epicenters to posterior brain regions that are vulnerable to tau accumulation in AD. This was replicated in an independent sample of 55 controls and 345 individuals with preclinical AD and low cortical tau-PET uptake, suggesting that the emergence of Aβ-related hyperconnectivity precedes neocortical tau spreading . Last, using longitudinal tau-PET and mediation analysis, we confirmed that these Aβ-related connectivity increases in tau epicenters to typical tau-vulnerable brain regions in AD mediated the effect of Aβ on faster tau accumulation, unveiling increased connectivity as a potential causal link between the two AD hallmark pathologies. Together, these findings suggest that Aβ promotes tau spreading by eliciting neuronal hyperconnectivity and that targeting Aβ-related neuronal hyperconnectivity may attenuate tau spreading in AD.
{"title":"Amyloid-associated hyperconnectivity drives tau spread across connected brain regions in Alzheimer’s disease","authors":"Sebastian N. Roemer-Cassiano, Fabian Wagner, Lisa Evangelista, Boris-Stephan Rauchmann, Amir Dehsarvi, Anna Steward, Anna Dewenter, Davina Biel, Zeyu Zhu, Julia Pescoller, Mattes Gross, Robert Perneczky, Maura Malpetti, Michael Ewers, Michael Schöll, Martin Dichgans, Günter U. Höglinger, Matthias Brendel, Sarah Jäkel, Nicolai Franzmeier","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adp2564","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adp2564","url":null,"abstract":"<div >In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyloid-β (Aβ) triggers the aggregation and spreading of tau pathology, which drives neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. However, the pathophysiological link between Aβ and tau remains unclear, which hinders therapeutic efforts to attenuate Aβ-related tau accumulation. Aβ has been found to trigger neuronal hyperactivity and hyperconnectivity, and preclinical research has shown that tau spreads across connected neurons in an activity-dependent manner. Here, we hypothesized that neuronal hyperactivity and hypersynchronicity, resulting in functional connectivity increases, constitute a crucial mechanism by which Aβ facilitates the spreading of tau pathology. By combining Aβ positron emission tomography (PET), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, and longitudinal tau-PET in 69 cognitively normal amyloid-negative controls and 140 amyloid-positive patients covering the AD spectrum, we confirmed that Aβ induces hyperconnectivity of temporal lobe tau epicenters to posterior brain regions that are vulnerable to tau accumulation in AD. This was replicated in an independent sample of 55 controls and 345 individuals with preclinical AD and low cortical tau-PET uptake, suggesting that the emergence of Aβ-related hyperconnectivity precedes neocortical tau spreading . Last, using longitudinal tau-PET and mediation analysis, we confirmed that these Aβ-related connectivity increases in tau epicenters to typical tau-vulnerable brain regions in AD mediated the effect of Aβ on faster tau accumulation, unveiling increased connectivity as a potential causal link between the two AD hallmark pathologies. Together, these findings suggest that Aβ promotes tau spreading by eliciting neuronal hyperconnectivity and that targeting Aβ-related neuronal hyperconnectivity may attenuate tau spreading in AD.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 782","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143020132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-15DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adj1445
Ewa A. Ziółkowska, Matthew J. Jansen, Letitia L. Williams, Sophie H. Wang, Elizabeth M. Eultgen, Keigo Takahashi, Steven Q. Le, Hemanth R. Nelvagal, Jaiprakash Sharma, Marco Sardiello, Brian J. DeBosch, Patricia I. Dickson, Jessica B. Anderson, Sophie E. Sax, Christina M. Wright, Rebecca P. Bradley, Ineka T. Whiteman, Takako Makita, John R. Grider, Mark S. Sands, Robert O. Heuckeroth, Jonathan D. Cooper
Children with neurodegenerative disease often have debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms. We hypothesized that this may be due at least in part to underappreciated degeneration of neurons in the enteric nervous system (ENS), the master regulator of bowel function. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated mouse models of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 1 and 2 (CLN1 and CLN2 disease, respectively), neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders caused by deficiencies in palmitoyl protein thioesterase-1 and tripeptidyl peptidase-1, respectively. Both mouse lines displayed slow bowel transit in vivo that worsened with age. Although the ENS appeared to develop normally in these mice, there was a progressive and profound loss of myenteric plexus neurons accompanied by changes in enteric glia in adult mice. Similar pathology was evident in colon autopsy material from a child with CLN1 disease. Neonatal administration of adeno-associated virus–mediated gene therapy prevented bowel transit defects, ameliorated loss of enteric neurons, and extended survival in mice. Treatment after weaning was less effective than treating neonatally but still extended the lifespan of CLN1 disease mice. These data provide proof-of-principle evidence of ENS degeneration in two lysosomal storage diseases and suggest that gene therapy can ameliorate ENS disease, also improving survival.
{"title":"Gene therapy ameliorates bowel dysmotility and enteric neuron degeneration and extends survival in lysosomal storage disorder mouse models","authors":"Ewa A. Ziółkowska, Matthew J. Jansen, Letitia L. Williams, Sophie H. Wang, Elizabeth M. Eultgen, Keigo Takahashi, Steven Q. Le, Hemanth R. Nelvagal, Jaiprakash Sharma, Marco Sardiello, Brian J. DeBosch, Patricia I. Dickson, Jessica B. Anderson, Sophie E. Sax, Christina M. Wright, Rebecca P. Bradley, Ineka T. Whiteman, Takako Makita, John R. Grider, Mark S. Sands, Robert O. Heuckeroth, Jonathan D. Cooper","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adj1445","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adj1445","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Children with neurodegenerative disease often have debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms. We hypothesized that this may be due at least in part to underappreciated degeneration of neurons in the enteric nervous system (ENS), the master regulator of bowel function. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated mouse models of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 1 and 2 (CLN1 and CLN2 disease, respectively), neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders caused by deficiencies in palmitoyl protein thioesterase-1 and tripeptidyl peptidase-1, respectively. Both mouse lines displayed slow bowel transit in vivo that worsened with age. Although the ENS appeared to develop normally in these mice, there was a progressive and profound loss of myenteric plexus neurons accompanied by changes in enteric glia in adult mice. Similar pathology was evident in colon autopsy material from a child with CLN1 disease. Neonatal administration of adeno-associated virus–mediated gene therapy prevented bowel transit defects, ameliorated loss of enteric neurons, and extended survival in mice. Treatment after weaning was less effective than treating neonatally but still extended the lifespan of CLN1 disease mice. These data provide proof-of-principle evidence of ENS degeneration in two lysosomal storage diseases and suggest that gene therapy can ameliorate ENS disease, also improving survival.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 781","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-15DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adr6459
Baijie Xu, Katherine Lawler, Steven C. Wyler, Li Li, Swati, Julia M. Keogh, Xiameng Chen, Rong Wan, Amanda G. Almeida, Susan Kirsch, Kathleen G. Mountjoy, Joel K. Elmquist, I. Sadaf Farooqi, Chen Liu
Disruption of hypothalamic melanocortin 4 receptors (MC4Rs) causes obesity in mice and humans. Here, we investigated the transcriptional regulation of MC4R in the hypothalamus. In mice, we show that the homeodomain transcription factor Orthopedia (OTP) is enriched in MC4R neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus and directly regulates Mc4r transcription. Deletion of Otp in PVN neurons during development or adulthood reduced Mc4r expression, causing increased food intake and obesity. In humans, four of the five carriers of rare predicted functional OTP variants in UK Biobank had obesity. To explore a causal role for human OTP variants, we generated mice with a loss-of-function OTP mutation identified in a child with severe obesity. Heterozygous knock-in mice exhibited hyperphagia and obesity, reversed by treatment with an MC4R agonist. Our findings demonstrate that OTP regulates mammalian energy homeostasis and enable the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with obesity due to OTP deficiency.
{"title":"Orthopedia regulates melanocortin 4 receptor transcription and energy homeostasis","authors":"Baijie Xu, Katherine Lawler, Steven C. Wyler, Li Li, Swati, Julia M. Keogh, Xiameng Chen, Rong Wan, Amanda G. Almeida, Susan Kirsch, Kathleen G. Mountjoy, Joel K. Elmquist, I. Sadaf Farooqi, Chen Liu","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adr6459","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adr6459","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Disruption of hypothalamic melanocortin 4 receptors (MC4Rs) causes obesity in mice and humans. Here, we investigated the transcriptional regulation of <i>MC4R</i> in the hypothalamus. In mice, we show that the homeodomain transcription factor Orthopedia (OTP) is enriched in MC4R neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus and directly regulates <i>Mc4r</i> transcription. Deletion of <i>Otp</i> in PVN neurons during development or adulthood reduced <i>Mc4r</i> expression, causing increased food intake and obesity. In humans, four of the five carriers of rare predicted functional <i>OTP</i> variants in UK Biobank had obesity. To explore a causal role for human <i>OTP</i> variants, we generated mice with a loss-of-function <i>OTP</i> mutation identified in a child with severe obesity. Heterozygous knock-in mice exhibited hyperphagia and obesity, reversed by treatment with an MC4R agonist. Our findings demonstrate that OTP regulates mammalian energy homeostasis and enable the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with obesity due to <i>OTP</i> deficiency.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 781","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143011098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-15DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adn8699
Li-Li Bao, Yu-Qiang Yu, Miguel González-Acera, Jay V. Patankar, Andreas Giessl, Gregor Sturm, Anja A. Kühl, Raja Atreya, Lena Erkert, Reyes Gámez-Belmonte, Susanne M. Krug, Benjamin Schmid, Philipp Tripal, Mircea T. Chiriac, Kai Hildner, Britta Siegmund, Stefan Wirtz, Michael Stürzl, Mariam Mohamed Abdou, Zlatko Trajanoski, TRR241 IBDome Consortium, Markus F. Neurath, Antonio Zorzano, Christoph Becker
Dysregulation at the intestinal epithelial barrier is a driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the molecular mechanisms of barrier failure are not well understood. Here, we demonstrate dysregulated mitochondrial fusion in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) of patients with IBD and show that impaired fusion is sufficient to drive chronic intestinal inflammation. We found reduced expression of mitochondrial fusion–related genes, such as the dynamin-related guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) optic atrophy 1 (OPA1), and fragmented mitochondrial networks in crypt IECs of patients with IBD. Mice with Opa1 deficiency in the gut epithelium (Opa1i∆IEC) spontaneously developed chronic intestinal inflammation with mucosal ulcerations and immune cell infiltration. Intestinal inflammation in Opa1i∆IEC mice was driven by microbial translocation and associated with epithelial progenitor cell death and gut barrier dysfunction. Opa1-deficient epithelial cells and human organoids exposed to a pharmacological OPA1 inhibitor showed disruption of the mitochondrial network with mitochondrial fragmentation and changes in mitochondrial size, ultrastructure, and function, resembling changes observed in patient samples. Pharmacological inhibition of the GTPase dynamin-1–like protein in organoids derived from Opa1i∆IEC mice partially reverted this phenotype. Together, our data demonstrate a role for epithelial OPA1 in regulating intestinal immune homeostasis and epithelial barrier function. Our data provide a mechanistic explanation for the observed mitochondrial dysfunction in IBD and identify mitochondrial fusion as a potential therapeutic target in this disease.
{"title":"Epithelial OPA1 links mitochondrial fusion to inflammatory bowel disease","authors":"Li-Li Bao, Yu-Qiang Yu, Miguel González-Acera, Jay V. Patankar, Andreas Giessl, Gregor Sturm, Anja A. Kühl, Raja Atreya, Lena Erkert, Reyes Gámez-Belmonte, Susanne M. Krug, Benjamin Schmid, Philipp Tripal, Mircea T. Chiriac, Kai Hildner, Britta Siegmund, Stefan Wirtz, Michael Stürzl, Mariam Mohamed Abdou, Zlatko Trajanoski, TRR241 IBDome Consortium, Markus F. Neurath, Antonio Zorzano, Christoph Becker","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adn8699","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adn8699","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Dysregulation at the intestinal epithelial barrier is a driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the molecular mechanisms of barrier failure are not well understood. Here, we demonstrate dysregulated mitochondrial fusion in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) of patients with IBD and show that impaired fusion is sufficient to drive chronic intestinal inflammation. We found reduced expression of mitochondrial fusion–related genes, such as the dynamin-related guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) optic atrophy 1 (<i>OPA1</i>), and fragmented mitochondrial networks in crypt IECs of patients with IBD. Mice with <i>Opa1</i> deficiency in the gut epithelium (<i>Opa1<sup>i∆IEC</sup></i>) spontaneously developed chronic intestinal inflammation with mucosal ulcerations and immune cell infiltration. Intestinal inflammation in <i>Opa1<sup>i∆IEC</sup></i> mice was driven by microbial translocation and associated with epithelial progenitor cell death and gut barrier dysfunction. <i>Opa1</i>-deficient epithelial cells and human organoids exposed to a pharmacological OPA1 inhibitor showed disruption of the mitochondrial network with mitochondrial fragmentation and changes in mitochondrial size, ultrastructure, and function, resembling changes observed in patient samples. Pharmacological inhibition of the GTPase dynamin-1–like protein in organoids derived from <i>Opa1<sup>i∆IEC</sup></i> mice partially reverted this phenotype. Together, our data demonstrate a role for epithelial OPA1 in regulating intestinal immune homeostasis and epithelial barrier function. Our data provide a mechanistic explanation for the observed mitochondrial dysfunction in IBD and identify mitochondrial fusion as a potential therapeutic target in this disease.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 781","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143011102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Macrophages play a central role in antitumor immunity, making them an attractive target for gene therapy strategies. However, macrophages are difficult to transfect because of nucleic acid sensors that can trigger the degradation of foreign plasmid DNA. Here, we developed a macrophage-specific editing (MAGE) system by which compact plasmid DNA encoding a CasRx editor can be delivered to macrophages by a poly(β-amino ester) (PBAE) carrier to bypass the DNA sensor and enable RNA editing in vitro and in vivo. We identified a four-arm branched PBAE with 1-(2-aminoethyl)-4-methylpiperazine end-capping (PBAE29) that enables highly efficient macrophage transfection. PBAE29-mediated transfection of cultured macrophages stimulated less inflammatory cytokine production and inflammasome activation compared with traditional lipofectamine or electroporation-mediated plasmid delivery. Transfection efficiency was further improved by delivering CasRx by minicircle plasmid. The MAGE system incorporated a layer of carboxylated-mannan coating to target macrophage mannose receptors and a macrophage-specific promoter for enhanced selectivity. The delivery of CasRx with guide RNA targeting the transcripts for sialic acid–binding immunoglobulin similar to lectin 10 and signal regulatory protein alpha expression resulted in effective protein knockdown, improving macrophage phagocytosis. The MAGE system also showed efficacy in targeting macrophages in vivo, stimulating antitumor immune responses and reducing tumor volume in murine tumor models, including patient-derived pancreatic adenocarcinoma xenografts in humanized mice. In sum, the MAGE system presents a promising platform for in vivo macrophage-specific delivery of RNA editing tools that can be applied as a cancer therapy.
{"title":"Macrophage-specific in vivo RNA editing promotes phagocytosis and antitumor immunity in mice","authors":"Yuxuan Chen, Xiaohong Chen, Yao Zhang, Meng Wang, Minqi Yang, Ruiji Wang, Xiaojie Yan, Shiyi Shao, Huhu Xin, Qida Hu, Wei Wei, Yuan Ping","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adl5800","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.adl5800","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Macrophages play a central role in antitumor immunity, making them an attractive target for gene therapy strategies. However, macrophages are difficult to transfect because of nucleic acid sensors that can trigger the degradation of foreign plasmid DNA. Here, we developed a macrophage-specific editing (MAGE) system by which compact plasmid DNA encoding a CasRx editor can be delivered to macrophages by a poly(β-amino ester) (PBAE) carrier to bypass the DNA sensor and enable RNA editing in vitro and in vivo. We identified a four-arm branched PBAE with 1-(2-aminoethyl)-4-methylpiperazine end-capping (PBAE29) that enables highly efficient macrophage transfection. PBAE29-mediated transfection of cultured macrophages stimulated less inflammatory cytokine production and inflammasome activation compared with traditional lipofectamine or electroporation-mediated plasmid delivery. Transfection efficiency was further improved by delivering CasRx by minicircle plasmid. The MAGE system incorporated a layer of carboxylated-mannan coating to target macrophage mannose receptors and a macrophage-specific promoter for enhanced selectivity. The delivery of CasRx with guide RNA targeting the transcripts for sialic acid–binding immunoglobulin similar to lectin 10 and signal regulatory protein alpha expression resulted in effective protein knockdown, improving macrophage phagocytosis. The MAGE system also showed efficacy in targeting macrophages in vivo, stimulating antitumor immune responses and reducing tumor volume in murine tumor models, including patient-derived pancreatic adenocarcinoma xenografts in humanized mice. In sum, the MAGE system presents a promising platform for in vivo macrophage-specific delivery of RNA editing tools that can be applied as a cancer therapy.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 781","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-15DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ado6649
Xiaotian Ju, Nahal Emami Fard, Anurag Bhalla, Anna Dvorkin-Gheva, Maria Xiao, Katherine Radford, Kayla Zhang, Reina Ditta, John Paul Oliveria, Guillaume Paré, Manali Mukherjee, Parameswaran Nair, Roma Sehmi
In prednisone-dependent severe asthma, uncontrolled sputum eosinophilia is associated with increased numbers of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s). These cells represent a relatively steroid-insensitive source of interleukin-5 (IL-5) and IL-13 and are considered critical drivers of asthma pathology. The abundance of ILC subgroups in severe asthma with neutrophilic or mixed granulocytic (both eosinophilic and neutrophilic) airway inflammation, prone to recurrent infective exacerbations, remains unclear. Here, we found by flow cytometry that sputum ILC3s are increased in severe asthma with intense airway neutrophilia, whereas equivalently raised sputum ILC2s and ILC3s were found in severe asthma with mixed granulocytic inflammation. Unbiased clustering analyses identified an “intermediate-ILC2” population displaying markers of both ILC2s (prostaglandin D2 receptor 2; CRTH2, IL-5, and IL-13) and ILC3s (c-kit and IL-17A) that were most abundant in severe asthma with mixed granulocytic airway inflammation. Intermediate ILC2s correlated with airway neutrophilia and were associated with increased amounts of IL-1β and IL-18 in sputum supernatants. Coculture of sort-purified canonical ILC2s with IL-1β and IL-18 in vitro up-regulated c-kit and IL-17A as well as gene expression profiles related to both type 2 and type 17 inflammatory pathways. Together, we have identified an intermediate-ILC2 phenotype in the airways of individuals with severe mixed granulocytic asthma, representing a candidate therapeutic target for controlling neutrophilic airway inflammation.
{"title":"A population of c-kit+ IL-17A+ ILC2s in sputum from individuals with severe asthma supports ILC2 to ILC3 trans-differentiation","authors":"Xiaotian Ju, Nahal Emami Fard, Anurag Bhalla, Anna Dvorkin-Gheva, Maria Xiao, Katherine Radford, Kayla Zhang, Reina Ditta, John Paul Oliveria, Guillaume Paré, Manali Mukherjee, Parameswaran Nair, Roma Sehmi","doi":"10.1126/scitranslmed.ado6649","DOIUrl":"10.1126/scitranslmed.ado6649","url":null,"abstract":"<div >In prednisone-dependent severe asthma, uncontrolled sputum eosinophilia is associated with increased numbers of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s). These cells represent a relatively steroid-insensitive source of interleukin-5 (IL-5) and IL-13 and are considered critical drivers of asthma pathology. The abundance of ILC subgroups in severe asthma with neutrophilic or mixed granulocytic (both eosinophilic and neutrophilic) airway inflammation, prone to recurrent infective exacerbations, remains unclear. Here, we found by flow cytometry that sputum ILC3s are increased in severe asthma with intense airway neutrophilia, whereas equivalently raised sputum ILC2s and ILC3s were found in severe asthma with mixed granulocytic inflammation. Unbiased clustering analyses identified an “intermediate-ILC2” population displaying markers of both ILC2s (prostaglandin D<sub>2</sub> receptor 2; CRTH2, IL-5, and IL-13) and ILC3s (c-kit and IL-17A) that were most abundant in severe asthma with mixed granulocytic airway inflammation. Intermediate ILC2s correlated with airway neutrophilia and were associated with increased amounts of IL-1β and IL-18 in sputum supernatants. Coculture of sort-purified canonical ILC2s with IL-1β and IL-18 in vitro up-regulated c-kit and IL-17A as well as gene expression profiles related to both type 2 and type 17 inflammatory pathways. Together, we have identified an intermediate-ILC2 phenotype in the airways of individuals with severe mixed granulocytic asthma, representing a candidate therapeutic target for controlling neutrophilic airway inflammation.</div>","PeriodicalId":21580,"journal":{"name":"Science Translational Medicine","volume":"17 781","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142986489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}