RESUMO
Immunity to infection has been extensively studied in humans and mice bearing naturally occurring or experimentally introduced germline mutations. Mouse studies are sometimes neglected by human immunologists, on the basis that mice are not humans and the infections studied are experimental and not natural. Conversely, human studies are sometimes neglected by mouse immunologists, on the basis of the uncontrolled conditions of study and small numbers of patients. However, both sides would agree that the infectious phenotypes of patients with inborn errors of immunity often differ from those of the corresponding mutant mice. Why is that? We argue that this important question is best addressed by revisiting and reinterpreting the findings of both mouse and human studies from a genetic perspective. Greater caution is required for reverse-genetics studies than for forward-genetics studies, but genetic analysis is sufficiently strong to define the studies likely to stand the test of time. Genetically robust mouse and human studies can provide invaluable complementary insights into the mechanisms of immunity to infection common and specific to these two species.
Assuntos
Doenças do Sistema Imunitário , Imunidade , Fenótipo , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Imunidade/genética , Doenças do Sistema Imunitário/genéticaRESUMO
Infection with SARS-CoV-2 results in clinical outcomes ranging from silent or benign infection in most individuals to critical pneumonia and death in a few. Genetic studies in patients have established that critical cases can result from inborn errors of TLR3- or TLR7-dependent type I interferon immunity, or from preexisting autoantibodies neutralizing primarily IFN-α and/or IFN-ω. These findings are consistent with virological studies showing that multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins interfere with pathways of induction of, or response to, type I interferons. They are also congruent with cellular studies and mouse models that found that type I interferons can limit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro and in vivo, while their absence or diminution unleashes viral growth. Collectively, these findings point to insufficient type I interferon during the first days of infection as a general mechanism underlying critical COVID-19 pneumonia, with implications for treatment and directions for future research.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Interferon Tipo I , Camundongos , Humanos , Animais , Interferons/farmacologia , SARS-CoV-2RESUMO
Antibodies have been used to prevent or treat viral infections since the nineteenth century, but the full potential to use passive immunization for infectious diseases has yet to be realized. The advent of efficient methods for isolating broad and potently neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies is enabling us to develop antibodies with unprecedented activities. The discovery of IgG Fc region modifications that extend antibody half-life in humans to three months or more suggests that antibodies could become the principal tool with which we manage future viral epidemics. Antibodies for members of most virus families that cause severe disease in humans have been isolated, and many of them are in clinical development, an area that has accelerated during the effort to prevent or treat COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). Broad and potently neutralizing antibodies are also important research reagents for identification of protective epitopes that can be engineered into active vaccines through structure-based reverse vaccinology.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais , COVID-19 , Animais , Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Epitopos , Humanos , Imunização Passiva/métodosRESUMO
Tissue-resident immune cells span both myeloid and lymphoid cell lineages, have been found in multiple human tissues, and play integral roles at all stages of the immune response, from maintaining homeostasis to responding to infectious challenges to resolution of inflammation to tissue repair. In humans, studying immune cells and responses in tissues is challenging, although recent advances in sampling and high-dimensional profiling have provided new insights into the ontogeny, maintenance, and functional role of tissue-resident immune cells. Each tissue contains a specific complement of resident immune cells. Moreover, resident immune cells for each lineage share core properties, along with tissue-specific adaptations. Here we propose a five-point checklist for defining resident immune cell types in humans and describe the currently known features of resident immune cells, their mechanisms of development, and their putative functional roles within various human organs. We also consider these aspects of resident immune cells in the context of future studies and therapeutics.
Assuntos
Imunidade Inata , Linfócitos , Animais , Linhagem da Célula , Homeostase , Humanos , InflamaçãoRESUMO
Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes that provide critical host defense against pathogens and cancer. Originally heralded for their early and rapid effector activity, NK cells have been recognized over the last decade for their ability to undergo adaptive immune processes, including antigen-driven clonal expansion and generation of long-lived memory. This review presents an overview of how NK cells lithely partake in both innate and adaptive responses and how this versatility is manifest in human NK cell-mediated immunity.
Assuntos
Infecções por Citomegalovirus , Citomegalovirus , Animais , Humanos , Imunidade Celular , Células Matadoras NaturaisRESUMO
Recent progress in both conceptual and technological approaches to human immunology have rejuvenated a field that has long been in the shadow of the inbred mouse model. This is a healthy development both for the clinical relevance of immunology and for the fact that it is a way to gain access to the wealth of phenomenology in the many human diseases that involve the immune system. This is where we are likely to discover new immunological mechanisms and principals, especially those involving genetic heterogeneity or environmental influences that are difficult to model effectively in inbred mice. We also suggest that there are likely to be novel immunological mechanisms in long-lived, less fecund mammals such as human beings since they must remain healthy far longer than short-lived rodents in order for the species to survive.
Assuntos
Sistema Imunitário/fisiologia , Imunidade , Animais , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Evolução Biológica , Variação Biológica da População , Deleção Clonal/imunologia , Interações Hospedeiro-Patógeno/imunologia , Humanos , Memória Imunológica , Modelos Animais , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos T/metabolismo , Linfócitos T/imunologia , Linfócitos T/metabolismoRESUMO
Obesity causes significant morbidity and mortality globally. Research in the last three decades has delivered a step-change in our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that regulate energy homeostasis, building on foundational discoveries in mouse models of metabolic disease. However, not all findings made in rodents have translated to humans, hampering drug discovery in this field. Here, we review how studies in mice and humans have informed our current framework for understanding energy homeostasis, discuss their challenges and limitations, and offer a perspective on how human studies may play an increasingly important role in the discovery of disease mechanisms and identification of therapeutic targets in the future.
Assuntos
Modelos Animais de Doenças , Doenças Metabólicas , Pesquisa Translacional Biomédica , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Doenças Metabólicas/metabolismo , Metabolismo Energético , Homeostase , Obesidade/metabolismoRESUMO
Retrospective lineage reconstruction of humans predicts that dramatic clonal imbalances in the body can be traced to the 2-cell stage embryo. However, whether and how such clonal asymmetries arise in the embryo is unclear. Here, we performed prospective lineage tracing of human embryos using live imaging, non-invasive cell labeling, and computational predictions to determine the contribution of each 2-cell stage blastomere to the epiblast (body), hypoblast (yolk sac), and trophectoderm (placenta). We show that the majority of epiblast cells originate from only one blastomere of the 2-cell stage embryo. We observe that only one to three cells become internalized at the 8-to-16-cell stage transition. Moreover, these internalized cells are more frequently derived from the first cell to divide at the 2-cell stage. We propose that cell division dynamics and a cell internalization bottleneck in the early embryo establish asymmetry in the clonal composition of the future human body.
Assuntos
Blastômeros , Linhagem da Célula , Embrião de Mamíferos , Feminino , Humanos , Blastômeros/citologia , Blastômeros/metabolismo , Divisão Celular , Embrião de Mamíferos/citologia , Embrião de Mamíferos/metabolismo , Desenvolvimento Embrionário , Camadas Germinativas/citologia , Camadas Germinativas/metabolismo , Masculino , Animais , CamundongosRESUMO
Tauopathies are age-associated neurodegenerative diseases whose mechanistic underpinnings remain elusive, partially due to a lack of appropriate human models. Here, we engineered human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neuronal lines to express 4R Tau and 4R Tau carrying the P301S MAPT mutation when differentiated into neurons. 4R-P301S neurons display progressive Tau inclusions upon seeding with Tau fibrils and recapitulate features of tauopathy phenotypes including shared transcriptomic signatures, autophagic body accumulation, and reduced neuronal activity. A CRISPRi screen of genes associated with Tau pathobiology identified over 500 genetic modifiers of seeding-induced Tau propagation, including retromer VPS29 and genes in the UFMylation cascade. In progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) brains, the UFMylation cascade is altered in neurofibrillary-tangle-bearing neurons. Inhibiting the UFMylation cascade in vitro and in vivo suppressed seeding-induced Tau propagation. This model provides a robust platform to identify novel therapeutic strategies for 4R tauopathy.
Assuntos
Células-Tronco Pluripotentes Induzidas , Neurônios , Tauopatias , Proteínas tau , Humanos , Células-Tronco Pluripotentes Induzidas/metabolismo , Proteínas tau/metabolismo , Tauopatias/metabolismo , Tauopatias/patologia , Neurônios/metabolismo , Neurônios/patologia , Animais , Camundongos , Doença de Alzheimer/metabolismo , Doença de Alzheimer/patologia , Doença de Alzheimer/genética , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Encéfalo/patologia , Paralisia Supranuclear Progressiva/metabolismo , Paralisia Supranuclear Progressiva/patologia , Paralisia Supranuclear Progressiva/genética , Diferenciação Celular , Mutação , AutofagiaRESUMO
Human brain development involves an orchestrated, massive neural progenitor expansion while a multi-cellular tissue architecture is established. Continuously expanding organoids can be grown directly from multiple somatic tissues, yet to date, brain organoids can solely be established from pluripotent stem cells. Here, we show that healthy human fetal brain in vitro self-organizes into organoids (FeBOs), phenocopying aspects of in vivo cellular heterogeneity and complex organization. FeBOs can be expanded over long time periods. FeBO growth requires maintenance of tissue integrity, which ensures production of a tissue-like extracellular matrix (ECM) niche, ultimately endowing FeBO expansion. FeBO lines derived from different areas of the central nervous system (CNS), including dorsal and ventral forebrain, preserve their regional identity and allow to probe aspects of positional identity. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we showcase the generation of syngeneic mutant FeBO lines for the study of brain cancer. Taken together, FeBOs constitute a complementary CNS organoid platform.
Assuntos
Encéfalo , Organoides , Humanos , Encéfalo/citologia , Encéfalo/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Sistema Nervoso Central/metabolismo , Matriz Extracelular/metabolismo , Células-Tronco Pluripotentes/metabolismo , Prosencéfalo/citologia , Técnicas de Cultura de Tecidos , Células-Tronco/metabolismo , MorfogêneseRESUMO
This perspective focuses on advances in genome technology over the last 25 years and their impact on germline variant discovery within the field of human genetics. The field has witnessed tremendous technological advances from microarrays to short-read sequencing and now long-read sequencing. Each technology has provided genome-wide access to different classes of human genetic variation. We are now on the verge of comprehensive variant detection of all forms of variation for the first time with a single assay. We predict that this transition will further transform our understanding of human health and biology and, more importantly, provide novel insights into the dynamic mutational processes shaping our genomes.
Assuntos
Variação Estrutural do Genoma , Genômica , Humanos , Genômica/métodos , Mutação em Linhagem Germinativa , Mutação , TecnologiaRESUMO
While CD4+ T cell depletion is key to disease progression in people living with HIV and SIV-infected macaques, the mechanisms underlying this depletion remain incompletely understood, with most cell death involving uninfected cells. In contrast, SIV infection of "natural" hosts such as sooty mangabeys does not cause CD4+ depletion and AIDS despite high-level viremia. Here, we report that the CARD8 inflammasome is activated immediately after HIV entry by the viral protease encapsulated in incoming virions. Sensing of HIV protease activity by CARD8 leads to rapid pyroptosis of quiescent cells without productive infection, while T cell activation abolishes CARD8 function and increases permissiveness to infection. In humanized mice reconstituted with CARD8-deficient cells, CD4+ depletion is delayed despite high viremia. Finally, we discovered loss-of-function mutations in CARD8 from "natural hosts," which may explain the peculiarly non-pathogenic nature of these infections. Our study suggests that CARD8 drives CD4+ T cell depletion during pathogenic HIV/SIV infections.
Assuntos
Infecções por HIV , Inflamassomos , Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida dos Símios , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Sinalização CARD/genética , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Sinalização CARD/metabolismo , Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/metabolismo , Progressão da Doença , Infecções por HIV/patologia , Inflamassomos/metabolismo , Proteínas de Neoplasias/metabolismo , Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida dos Símios/patologia , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Símia/fisiologia , Viremia , HIV/fisiologiaRESUMO
Our understanding of the normal variation in the upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiota across the human lifespan and how these relate to host, environment, and health is limited. We studied the microbiota of 3,104 saliva (<10 year-olds)/oropharynx (≥10 year-olds) and 2,485 nasopharynx samples of 3,160 Dutch individuals 0-87 years of age, participating in a cross-sectional population-wide study (PIENTER-3) using 16S-rRNA sequencing. The microbiota composition was strongly related to age, especially in the nasopharynx, with maturation occurring throughout childhood and adolescence. Clear niche- and age-specific associations were found between the microbiota composition and host/environmental factors and health outcomes. Among others, social interaction, sex, and season were associated with the nasopharyngeal microbial community. By contrast, the oral microbiota was more related to antibiotics, tobacco, and alcohol use. We present an atlas of the URT microbiota across the lifespan in association with environment and health, establishing a baseline for future research.
RESUMO
FMS-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (FLT3L), encoded by FLT3LG, is a hematopoietic factor essential for the development of natural killer (NK) cells, B cells, and dendritic cells (DCs) in mice. We describe three humans homozygous for a loss-of-function FLT3LG variant with a history of various recurrent infections, including severe cutaneous warts. The patients' bone marrow (BM) was hypoplastic, with low levels of hematopoietic progenitors, particularly myeloid and B cell precursors. Counts of B cells, monocytes, and DCs were low in the patients' blood, whereas the other blood subsets, including NK cells, were affected only moderately, if at all. The patients had normal counts of Langerhans cells (LCs) and dermal macrophages in the skin but lacked dermal DCs. Thus, FLT3L is required for B cell and DC development in mice and humans. However, unlike its murine counterpart, human FLT3L is required for the development of monocytes but not NK cells.
Assuntos
Células Matadoras Naturais , Proteínas de Membrana , Animais , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Camundongos , Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Linfócitos B/citologia , Medula Óssea/metabolismo , Linhagem da Célula , Células Dendríticas/metabolismo , Hematopoese , Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/metabolismo , Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/citologia , Células Matadoras Naturais/metabolismo , Células Matadoras Naturais/imunologia , Células de Langerhans/metabolismo , Proteínas de Membrana/metabolismo , Proteínas de Membrana/genética , Monócitos/metabolismo , Pele/metabolismo , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BLRESUMO
Diminished hepatocyte regeneration is a key feature of acute and chronic liver diseases and after extended liver resections, resulting in the inability to maintain or restore a sufficient functional liver mass. Therapies to restore hepatocyte regeneration are lacking, making liver transplantation the only curative option for end-stage liver disease. Here, we report on the structure-based development and characterization (nuclear magnetic resonance [NMR] spectroscopy) of first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of the dual-specificity kinase MKK4 (MKK4i). MKK4i increased liver regeneration upon hepatectomy in murine and porcine models, allowed for survival of pigs in a lethal 85% hepatectomy model, and showed antisteatotic and antifibrotic effects in liver disease mouse models. A first-in-human phase I trial (European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials [EudraCT] 2021-000193-28) with the clinical candidate HRX215 was conducted and revealed excellent safety and pharmacokinetics. Clinical trials to probe HRX215 for prevention/treatment of liver failure after extensive oncological liver resections or after transplantation of small grafts are warranted.
Assuntos
Inibidores Enzimáticos , Falência Hepática , MAP Quinase Quinase 4 , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Hepatectomia/métodos , Hepatócitos , Fígado , Hepatopatias/tratamento farmacológico , Falência Hepática/tratamento farmacológico , Falência Hepática/prevenção & controle , Regeneração Hepática , Suínos , MAP Quinase Quinase 4/antagonistas & inibidores , Inibidores Enzimáticos/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
Diet impacts human health, influencing body adiposity and the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. The gut microbiome is a key player in the diet-health axis, but while its bacterial fraction is widely studied, the role of micro-eukaryotes, including Blastocystis, is underexplored. We performed a global-scale analysis on 56,989 metagenomes and showed that human Blastocystis exhibits distinct prevalence patterns linked to geography, lifestyle, and dietary habits. Blastocystis presence defined a specific bacterial signature and was positively associated with more favorable cardiometabolic profiles and negatively with obesity (p < 1e-16) and disorders linked to altered gut ecology (p < 1e-8). In a diet intervention study involving 1,124 individuals, improvements in dietary quality were linked to weight loss and increases in Blastocystis prevalence (p = 0.003) and abundance (p < 1e-7). Our findings suggest a potentially beneficial role for Blastocystis, which may help explain personalized host responses to diet and downstream disease etiopathogenesis.
RESUMO
The human seasonal coronavirus HKU1-CoV, which causes common colds worldwide, relies on the sequential binding to surface glycans and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) for entry into target cells. TMPRSS2 is synthesized as a zymogen that undergoes autolytic activation to process its substrates. Several respiratory viruses, in particular coronaviruses, use TMPRSS2 for proteolytic priming of their surface spike protein to drive membrane fusion upon receptor binding. We describe the crystal structure of the HKU1-CoV receptor binding domain in complex with TMPRSS2, showing that it recognizes residues lining the catalytic groove. Combined mutagenesis of interface residues and comparison across species highlight positions 417 and 469 as determinants of HKU1-CoV host tropism. The structure of a receptor-blocking nanobody in complex with zymogen or activated TMPRSS2 further provides the structural basis of TMPRSS2 activating conformational change, which alters loops recognized by HKU1-CoV and dramatically increases binding affinity.
Assuntos
Serina Endopeptidases , Serina Endopeptidases/metabolismo , Serina Endopeptidases/química , Humanos , Cristalografia por Raios X , Coronavirus/metabolismo , Coronavirus/química , Precursores Enzimáticos/metabolismo , Precursores Enzimáticos/química , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/metabolismo , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/química , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/genética , Modelos Moleculares , Ligação Proteica , Células HEK293 , Animais , Ativação Enzimática , Internalização do VírusRESUMO
The Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD), widely recognized as the gold-standard reference map of human genetic variation, has largely overlooked tandem repeat (TR) expansions, despite the fact that TRs constitute â¼6% of our genome and are linked to over 50 human diseases. Here, we introduce the TR-gnomAD (https://wlcb.oit.uci.edu/TRgnomAD), a biobank-scale reference of 0.86 million TRs derived from 338,963 whole-genome sequencing (WGS) samples of diverse ancestries (39.5% non-European samples). TR-gnomAD offers critical insights into ancestry-specific disease prevalence using disparities in TR unit number frequencies among ancestries. Moreover, TR-gnomAD is able to differentiate between common, presumably benign TR expansions, which are prevalent in TR-gnomAD, from those potentially pathogenic TR expansions, which are found more frequently in disease groups than within TR-gnomAD. Together, TR-gnomAD is an invaluable resource for researchers and physicians to interpret TR expansions in individuals with genetic diseases.
Assuntos
Genoma Humano , Sequências de Repetição em Tandem , Humanos , Sequências de Repetição em Tandem/genética , Sequenciamento Completo do Genoma , Bases de Dados Genéticas , Expansão das Repetições de DNA/genética , Estudo de Associação Genômica AmplaRESUMO
Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements that often encode fitness-enhancing features. However, many bacteria carry "cryptic" plasmids that do not confer clear beneficial functions. We identified one such cryptic plasmid, pBI143, which is ubiquitous across industrialized gut microbiomes and is 14 times as numerous as crAssphage, currently established as the most abundant extrachromosomal genetic element in the human gut. The majority of mutations in pBI143 accumulate in specific positions across thousands of metagenomes, indicating strong purifying selection. pBI143 is monoclonal in most individuals, likely due to the priority effect of the version first acquired, often from one's mother. pBI143 can transfer between Bacteroidales, and although it does not appear to impact bacterial host fitness in vivo, it can transiently acquire additional genetic content. We identified important practical applications of pBI143, including its use in identifying human fecal contamination and its potential as an alternative approach to track human colonic inflammatory states.
Assuntos
Bactérias , Trato Gastrointestinal , Metagenoma , Plasmídeos , Humanos , Bactérias/genética , Bacteroidetes/genética , Fezes/microbiologia , Plasmídeos/genéticaRESUMO
X chromosome inactivation (XCI) serves as a paradigm for RNA-mediated regulation of gene expression, wherein the long non-coding RNA XIST spreads across the X chromosome in cis to mediate gene silencing chromosome-wide. In female naive human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), XIST is in a dispersed configuration, and XCI does not occur, raising questions about XIST's function. We found that XIST spreads across the X chromosome and induces dampening of X-linked gene expression in naive hPSCs. Surprisingly, XIST also targets specific autosomal regions, where it induces repressive chromatin changes and gene expression dampening. Thereby, XIST equalizes X-linked gene dosage between male and female cells while inducing differences in autosomes. The dispersed Xist configuration and autosomal localization also occur transiently during XCI initiation in mouse PSCs. Together, our study identifies XIST as the regulator of X chromosome dampening, uncovers an evolutionarily conserved trans-acting role of XIST/Xist, and reveals a correlation between XIST/Xist dispersal and autosomal targeting.