Foxn1 overexpression promotes thymic epithelial progenitor cell proliferation and mTEC maintenance, but does not prevent thymic involution.

The transcription factor FOXN1 is essential for fetal thymic epithelial cell (TEC) differentiation and proliferation. Postnatally, Foxn1 levels vary widely between TEC subsets, from low/undetectable in putative TEC progenitors to highest in differentiated TEC subsets. Correct Foxn1 expression is required to maintain the postnatal microenvironment; premature downregulation of Foxn1 causes a rapid involution-like phenotype, and transgenic overexpression can cause thymic hyperplasia and/or delayed involution. We investigated a K5.Foxn1 transgene that drives overexpression in mouse TECs, but causes neither hyperplasia nor delay or prevention of aging-related involution. Similarly, this transgene cannot rescue thymus size in Foxn1lacZ/lacZ mice, which undergo premature involution as a result of reduced Foxn1 levels. However, TEC differentiation and cortico-medullary organization are maintained with aging in both K5.Foxn1 and Foxn1lacZ/lacZ mice. Analysis of candidate TEC markers showed co-expression of progenitor and differentiation markers as well as increased proliferation in Plet1+ TECs associated with Foxn1 expression. These results demonstrate that the functions of FOXN1 in promoting TEC proliferation and differentiation are separable and context dependent, and suggest that modulating Foxn1 levels can regulate the balance of proliferation and differentiation in TEC progenitors.

Hepatic vascular malignancies in children are associated with increased rates of surgical resection and improved overall survival compared with adults.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic vascular malignancies (HVMs) are rare malignancies, with no standardized treatment regimens. The most common HVMs, angiosarcoma and malignant epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), are often grouped together in the literature complicating our ability to achieve reliable survival data and treatment strategies. OBJECTIVE: To compare the disease characteristics of HVMs, with a subanalysis on pediatric patients. METHODS: The 2016 National Cancer Database was queried for patients with HVMs using international classification of diseases-oncology-3 (ICD-O-3) codes yielding 699 patients. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, Kaplan-Meier, and log-rank analyses were performed. RESULTS: We found 478 patients (68%) with angiosarcoma and 221 (32%) with EHE. The median (Q1, Q3) age for angiosarcoma patients was 65 years (56, 75) versus 54 years (37, 65) in EHE patients (P < .001). The rate of resection was lower in patients with angiosarcoma than EHE (13% vs 32%, P < .001). The mean 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival for angiosarcoma patients was 17%, 8%, and 6%, respectively, versus 80%, 65%, and 62% in EHE patients (P < .0001). A subgroup analysis was performed on pediatric patients demonstrating six with angiosarcoma and 10 with EHE. The mean 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival for pediatric angiosarcoma patients was 67%, 50%, and 50%, respectively, and 90%, 90%, and 90% for pediatric EHE patients. CONCLUSION: In the largest study of HVMs to date, we found angiosarcoma has significantly worse overall survival than EHE. Pediatric patients appear to have improved survival and higher rates of resection. Larger studies of HVMs are needed to clearly differentiate tumor types, standardize care, and improve survivorship.

Optimized Timing of Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide in MHC-Haploidentical Murine Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) reduces the risks of severe acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Yet, the standard clinical dose and timing of PTCy were partly extrapolated from MHC-matched skin allografting models and were partly empirical. Here we investigated the impact of differential dosing and timing of PTCy on its efficacy in preventing GVHD in a murine MHC-haploidentical HCT model. Administration of PTCy on days +3/+4 was superior to administration on days +1/+2, +5/+6, or +7/+8, whereas low-dose (10 mg/kg/day) PTCy on days +1/+2 actually led to accelerated death. Although the optimal timing of PTCy dosing was day +2 or +3 in the skin allografting models, in our MHC-haploidentical HCT model, PTCy on days +2/+3 was inferior to PTCy on days +3/+4 at lower doses. PTCy administered on days +3/+4, +4/+5, or +3/+5 were similarly efficacious. Single-day versus 2-day dosing schedules demonstrated that PTCy is maximally effective when given on day +4. Flow cytometric analysis showed that optimal PTCy dosing schedules both decreased alloreactive CD4+CD25-Foxp3- T cell proliferation at day +7 and allowed preferential CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cell reconstitution at day +21, suggesting that this combination may be a potential predictive biomarker of successful GVHD prevention by PTCy. These results show that the dose, timing, and cumulative exposure of PTCy all are critical for its efficacy in preventing GVHD. We are currently investigating the clinical relevance of these findings in a protocol seeking to optimize PTCy dose and timing and test these T cell endpoints as candidate biomarkers of successful GVHD prevention by PTCy.

The Ty1 Retrotransposon Restriction Factor p22 Targets Gag.

A novel form of copy number control (CNC) helps maintain a low number of Ty1 retrovirus-like transposons in the Saccharomyces genome. Ty1 produces an alternative transcript that encodes p22, a trans-dominant negative inhibitor of Ty1 retrotransposition whose sequence is identical to the C-terminal half of Gag. The level of p22 increases with copy number and inhibits normal Ty1 virus-like particle (VLP) assembly and maturation through interactions with full length Gag. A forward genetic screen for CNC-resistant (CNCR) mutations in Ty1 identified missense mutations in GAG that restore retrotransposition in the presence of p22. Some of these mutations map within a predicted UBN2 domain found throughout the Ty1/copia family of long terminal repeat retrotransposons, and others cluster within a central region of Gag that is referred to as the CNCR domain. We generated multiple alignments of yeast Ty1-like Gag proteins and found that some Gag proteins, including those of the related Ty2 elements, contain non-Ty1 residues at multiple CNCR sites. Interestingly, the Ty2-917 element is resistant to p22 and does not undergo a Ty1-like form of CNC. Substitutions conferring CNCR map within predicted helices in Ty1 Gag that overlap with conserved sequence in Ty1/copia, suggesting that p22 disturbs a central function of the capsid during VLP assembly. When hydrophobic residues within predicted helices in Gag are mutated, Gag level remains unaffected in most cases yet VLP assembly and maturation is abnormal. Gag CNCR mutations do not alter binding to p22 as determined by co-immunoprecipitation analyses, but instead, exclude p22 from Ty1 VLPs. These findings suggest that the CNCR alleles enhance retrotransposition in the presence of p22 by allowing productive Gag-Gag interactions during VLP assembly. Our work also expands the strategies used by retroviruses for developing resistance to Gag-like restriction factors to now include retrotransposons.

Systemic immune derangements are shared across various CNS pathologies and reflect novel mechanisms of immune privilege.

Background: The nervous and immune systems interact in a reciprocal manner, both under physiologic and pathologic conditions. Literature spanning various CNS pathologies including brain tumors, stroke, traumatic brain injury and de-myelinating diseases describes a number of associated systemic immunologic changes, particularly in the T-cell compartment. These immunologic changes include severe T-cell lymphopenia, lymphoid organ contraction, and T-cell sequestration within the bone marrow. Methods: We performed an in-depth systematic review of the literature and discussed pathologies that involve brain insults and systemic immune derangements. Conclusions: In this review, we propose that the same immunologic changes hereafter termed 'systemic immune derangements', are present across CNS pathologies and may represent a novel, systemic mechanism of immune privilege for the CNS. We further demonstrate that systemic immune derangements are transient when associated with isolated insults such as stroke and TBI but persist in the setting of chronic CNS insults such as brain tumors. Systemic immune derangements have vast implications for informed treatment modalities and outcomes of various neurologic pathologies.

Erratum to "E.C. Lerner, E.S. Srinivasan, G. Broadwater, et al. Factors Associated With New-Onset Seizures Following Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Newly Diagnosed Brain Metastases. Adv Radiat Oncol. 2022;7:101054."

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.adro.2022.101054.].

Posttransplantation cyclophosphamide expands functional myeloid-derived suppressor cells and indirectly influences Tregs.

Posttransplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy), given on days +3 and +4, reduces graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), but its immunologic underpinnings are not fully understood. In a T-cell-replete, major histocompatibility complex-haploidentical murine HCT model (B6C3F1→B6D2F1), we previously showed that PTCy rapidly induces suppressive mechanisms sufficient to prevent GVHD induction by non-PTCy-exposed donor splenocytes infused on day +5. Here, in PTCy-treated mice, we found that depleting Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the initial graft but not the day +5 splenocytes did not worsen GVHD, yet depleting Tregs in both cellular compartments led to fatal GVHD induced by the day +5 splenocytes. Hence, Tregs were necessary to control GVHD induced by new donor cells, but PTCy's impact on Tregs appeared to be indirect. Therefore, we hypothesized that myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play a complementary role. Functionally suppressive granulocytic and monocytic MDSCs were increased in percentages in PTCy-treated mice, and MDSC percentages were increased after administering PTCy to patients undergoing HLA-haploidentical HCT. PTCy increased colony-stimulating factors critical for MDSC development and rapidly promoted the generation of MDSCs from bone marrow precursors. MDSC reduction via anti-Gr1 treatment in murine HCT did not worsen histopathologic GVHD but resulted in decreased Tregs and inferior survival. The clinical implications of these findings, including the potential impact of expanded MDSCs after PTCy on engraftment and cytokine release syndrome, remain to be elucidated. Moreover, the indirect effect that PTCy has on Tregs, which in turn play a necessary role in GVHD prevention by initially transplanted or subsequently infused T cells, requires further investigation.

Gold Nanostars Obviate Limitations to Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) for the Treatment of Intracranial Tumors.

PURPOSE: Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is an effective minimally invasive treatment option for intracranial tumors. Our group produced plasmonics-active gold nanostars (GNS) designed to preferentially accumulate within intracranial tumors and amplify the ablative capacity of LITT. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The impact of GNS on LITT coverage capacity was tested in ex vivo models using clinical LITT equipment and agarose gel-based phantoms of control and GNS-infused central "tumors." In vivo accumulation of GNS and amplification of ablation were tested in murine intracranial and extracranial tumor models followed by intravenous GNS injection, PET/CT, two-photon photoluminescence, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), histopathology, and laser ablation. RESULTS: Monte Carlo simulations demonstrated the potential of GNS to accelerate and specify thermal distributions. In ex vivo cuboid tumor phantoms, the GNS-infused phantom heated 5.5× faster than the control. In a split-cylinder tumor phantom, the GNS-infused border heated 2× faster and the surrounding area was exposed to 30% lower temperatures, with margin conformation observed in a model of irregular GNS distribution. In vivo, GNS preferentially accumulated within intracranial tumors on PET/CT, two-photon photoluminescence, and ICP-MS at 24 and 72 hours and significantly expedited and increased the maximal temperature achieved in laser ablation compared with control. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide evidence for use of GNS to improve the efficiency and potentially safety of LITT. The in vivo data support selective accumulation within intracranial tumors and amplification of laser ablation, and the GNS-infused phantom experiments demonstrate increased rates of heating, heat contouring to tumor borders, and decreased heating of surrounding regions representing normal structures.

CD8+ T cells maintain killing of MHC-I-negative tumor cells through the NKG2D-NKG2DL axis.

The accepted paradigm for both cellular and anti-tumor immunity relies upon tumor cell killing by CD8+ T cells recognizing cognate antigens presented in the context of target cell major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I (MHC-I) molecules. Likewise, a classically described mechanism of tumor immune escape is tumor MHC-I downregulation. Here, we report that CD8+ T cells maintain the capacity to kill tumor cells that are entirely devoid of MHC-I expression. This capacity proves to be dependent instead on interactions between T cell natural killer group 2D (NKG2D) and tumor NKG2D ligands (NKG2DLs), the latter of which are highly expressed on MHC-loss variants. Necessarily, tumor cell killing in these instances is antigen independent, although prior T cell antigen-specific activation is required and can be furnished by myeloid cells or even neighboring MHC-replete tumor cells. In this manner, adaptive priming can beget innate killing. These mechanisms are active in vivo in mice as well as in vitro in human tumor systems and are obviated by NKG2D knockout or blockade. These studies challenge the long-advanced notion that downregulation of MHC-I is a viable means of tumor immune escape and instead identify the NKG2D-NKG2DL axis as a therapeutic target for enhancing T cell-dependent anti-tumor immunity against MHC-loss variants.

Grief in Medical Students: The Short and Long-Term Impacts on Health and Well-Being.

CONTEXT: Healthcare workers often experience grief stemming from the loss of patients under their care. The impact of personal grief on healthcare workers' wellbeing is less well described, particularly for trainees. To better characterize the prevalence and impact of personal grief on the mental and physical health of medical students, we conducted a survey of medical students at our institution. METHODS: An electronic Qualtrics survey was distributed to all currently enrolled medical students at our institution. After an initial question screening for loss before or during medical school, our survey assessed (1) basic demographic data; (2) relationship to the deceased; (3) impact of the loss on trainee health; and (4) utilization of institutional supports for grief. RESULTS: A total of 344 (68.8%) students responded to our survey. Two hundred and 25 (65.4%) students had experienced personal loss prior to or during medical school. 53.7% experienced more than 1 loss, with most of these losses (62.5%) occurring more than 2 years prior to the survey date. Up to 40% of respondents reported at least 1 psychologically distressing symptom that persisted beyond 1 year. Most students (93.8%) relied on family members for support; however, 23.2% of students indicated they would use institutional resources if available. CONCLUSION: Most medical students have experienced bereavement before or during medical school, which has had significant impact on their well-being. While medical students did not typically utilize institutionally based resources, many students expressed interest in such resources.

Efflux capacity and aldehyde dehydrogenase both contribute to CD8+ T-cell resistance to posttransplant cyclophosphamide.

Mechanisms of T-cell survival after cytotoxic chemotherapy, including posttransplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy), are not well understood. Here, we explored the impact of PTCy on human CD8+ T-cell survival and reconstitution, including what cellular pathways drive PTCy resistance. In major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-mismatched mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC), treatment with mafosfamide, an in vitro active cyclophosphamide analog, preserved a relatively normal distribution of naïve and memory CD8+ T cells, whereas the percentages of mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and phenotypically stem cell memory (Tscm) T-cell subsets were increased. Activated (CD25+) and proliferating CD8+ T cells were derived from both naïve and memory subsets and were reduced but still present after mafosfamide. By contrast, cyclosporine-A (CsA) or rapamycin treatment preferentially maintained nonproliferating CD25- naïve cells. Drug efflux capacity and aldehyde dehydrogenase-1A1 expression were increased in CD8+ T cells in allogeneic reactions in vitro and in patients, were modulated by common γ-chain cytokines and the proliferative state of the cell, and contributed to CD8+ T-cell survival after mafosfamide. The CD8+ T-cell composition early after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in PTCy-treated patients was dominated by CD25+ and phenotypically memory, including Tscm and MAIT, cells, consistent with MLC. Yet, MHC-mismatched murine HCT studies revealed that peripherally expanded, phenotypically memory T cells 1 to 3 months after transplant originated largely from naïve-derived rather than memory-derived T cells surviving PTCy, suggesting that initial resistance and subsequent immune reconstitution are distinct. These studies provide insight into the complex immune mechanisms active in CD8+ T-cell survival, differentiation, and reconstitution after cyclophosphamide, with relevance for post-HCT immune recovery, chemotherapy use in autologous settings, and adoptive cellular therapies.

Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide prevents graft-versus-host disease by inducing alloreactive T cell dysfunction and suppression.

Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) recently has had a marked impact on human allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Yet, our understanding of how PTCy prevents graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) largely has been extrapolated from major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-matched murine skin allografting models that were highly contextual in their efficacy. Herein, we developed a T-cell-replete, MHC-haploidentical, murine HCT model (B6C3F1→B6D2F1) to test the putative underlying mechanisms: alloreactive T-cell elimination, alloreactive T-cell intrathymic clonal deletion, and suppressor T-cell induction. In this model and confirmed in four others, PTCy did not eliminate alloreactive T cells identified using either specific Vßs or the 2C or 4C T-cell receptors. Furthermore, the thymus was not necessary for PTCy's efficacy. Rather, PTCy induced alloreactive T-cell functional impairment which was supported by highly active suppressive mechanisms established within one day after PTCy that were sufficient to prevent new donor T cells from causing GVHD. These suppressive mechanisms included the rapid, preferential recovery of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, including those that were alloantigen-specific, which served an increasingly critical function over time. Our results prompt a paradigm-shift in our mechanistic understanding of PTCy. These results have direct clinical implications for understanding tolerance induction and for rationally developing novel strategies to improve patient outcomes.

Do Biology Students Really Hate Math? Empirical Insights into Undergraduate Life Science Majors' Emotions about Mathematics.

Undergraduate life science majors are reputed to have negative emotions toward mathematics, yet little empirical evidence supports this. We sought to compare emotions of majors in the life sciences versus other natural sciences and math. We adapted the Attitudes toward the Subject of Chemistry Inventory to create an Attitudes toward the Subject of Mathematics Inventory (ASMI). We collected data from 359 science and math majors at two research universities and conducted a series of statistical tests that indicated that four AMSI items comprised a reasonable measure of students' emotional satisfaction with math. We then compared life science and non-life science majors and found that major had a small to moderate relationship with students' responses. Gender also had a small relationship with students' responses, while students' race, ethnicity, and year in school had no observable relationship. Using latent profile analysis, we identified three groups-students who were emotionally satisfied with math, emotionally dissatisfied with math, and neutral. These results and the emotional satisfaction with math scale should be useful for identifying differences in other undergraduate populations, determining the malleability of undergraduates' emotional satisfaction with math, and testing effects of interventions aimed at improving life science majors' attitudes toward math.