FK506 induces lung lymphatic endothelial cell senescence and downregulates LYVE-1 expression, with associated decreased hyaluronan uptake.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic lymphangiogenesis in an orthotopic lung transplant model has been shown to improve acute allograft rejection that is mediated at least in part through hyaluronan drainage. Lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor (LYVE-1) expressed on the surface of lymphatic endothelial cells plays important roles in hyaluronan uptake. The impact of current immunosuppressive therapies on lung lymphatic endothelial cells is largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that FK506, the most commonly used immunosuppressant after lung transplantation, induces lung lymphatic endothelial cell dysfunction. METHODS: Lung lymphatic endothelial cells were cultured in vitro and treated with FK506. Telomerase activity was measured using the TRAP assay. Protein expression of LYVE-1 and senescence markers p21 and ß-galactosidase was assessed with western blotting. Matrigel tubulation assay were used to investigate the effects of FK506 on TNF-α-induced lymphangiogenesis. Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm NFAT-dependent transcriptional regulation of LYVE-1. Flow cytometry was used to examine the effects of FK506 on LYVE-1 in precision-cut-lung-slices ex vivo and on hyaluronan uptake in vitro. RESULTS: In vitro, FK506 downregulated telomerase reverse transcriptase expression, resulting in decreased telomerase activity and subsequent induction of p21 expression and cell senescence. Treatment with FK506 decreased LYVE-1 mRNA and protein levels and resulted in decreased LEC HA uptake. Similar result showing reduction of LYVE-1 expression when treated with FK506 was observed ex vivo. We identified a putative NFAT binding site on the LYVE-1 promoter and cloned this region of the promoter in a luciferase-based reporter construct. We showed that this NFAT binding site regulates LYVE-1 transcription, and mutation of this binding site blunted FK506-dependent downregulation of LYVE-1 promoter-dependent transcription. Finally, FK506-treated lymphatic endothelial cells show a blunted response to TNF-α-mediated lymphangiogenesis. CONCLUSION: FK506 alters lymphatic endothelial cell molecular characteristics and causes lymphatic endothelial cell dysfunction in vitro and ex vivo. These effects of FK506 on lymphatic endothelial cell may impair the ability of the transplanted lung to drain hyaluronan macromolecules in vivo. The implications of our findings on the long-term health of lung allografts merit more investigation.

Racial disparities in Phase 1 COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Neighborhood sites in Pennsylvania by the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

Early racial disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates have been attributed primarily to personal vaccine attitudes and behavior. Little attention has been paid to the possibility that inequitable vaccine distribution may have contributed to racial disparities in vaccine uptake when supplies were most scarce. We test the hypothesis that scarce vaccines were distributed inequitably using the shipping addresses of 385,930 COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed in the first 17 weeks of Pennsylvania's Phase 1 rollout (December 14, 2020 through April 12, 2021). All shipments we analyze were allocated via the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, a public-private partnership coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Overall, White people had an average of 81.4% more retail pharmacy program doses shipped to their neighborhoods than did Black people. Regression models reveal that weekly vaccine allocations determined by pharmacy chains-rather than initial shipment and administration site decisions requiring state and federal approval-drove these effects. All findings remained consistent after controlling for neighborhood differences in income, population density, insurance coverage, number of pharmacies, and other social determinants of health.Our findings suggest that the private distribution of scarce public resources should be assessed for racial impact, regulated as public resources, and monitored continuously.

A dataset of geocoded Medicaid office locations in the United States.

Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the United States, covering more than 86 million Americans as of early 2023, and is key for progress towards health equity. Although policy changes like Medicaid expansion have significantly expanded the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid, the administrative burdens of enrolling in and renewing coverage can be substantial. Although many applications are now submitted online, physical access to Medicaid offices still plays a critical role in understanding eligibility, getting help in applying, and navigating required documentation for both initial enrollment and redetermination of eligibility. However, as more government functions have moved online, in-person office locations and/or staff may have been cut to reduce costs, and gentrification has shifted where minoritized, marginalized, and/or low-income populations live, it is unclear if the key local connection point between residents and Medicaid has been maintained. To our knowledge, no single source of Medicaid office locations has been assembled and made available for research purposes. Our objective was to identify and geocode all public-facing Medicaid offices in the United States, which can then be paired with other spatial data (e.g., demographics, Medicaid participation, health care use, health outcomes) to explore policy-relevant research questions. We identified Medicaid office addresses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by searching state government websites (e.g., Department of Health and Human Services or analogous state agency). Our corpus of Medicaid office addresses was then geocoded using the Census Geocoder with unresolved addresses investigated and/or manually geocoded using Google Maps. After deduplication (e.g., where multiple counties share a single office) and removal of mailing addresses (e.g., PO Boxes), our final dataset includes 3026 Medicaid office locations.

ETV2 regulates PARP-1 binding protein to induce ER stress-mediated death in tuberin-deficient cells.

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare progressive disease, characterized by mutations in the tuberous sclerosis complex genes (TSC1 or TSC2) and hyperactivation of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). Here, we report that E26 transformation-specific (ETS) variant transcription factor 2 (ETV2) is a critical regulator of Tsc2-deficient cell survival. ETV2 nuclear localization in Tsc2-deficient cells is mTORC1-independent and is enhanced by spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibition. In the nucleus, ETV2 transcriptionally regulates poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 binding protein (PARPBP) mRNA and protein expression, partially reversing the observed down-regulation of PARPBP expression induced by mTORC1 blockade during treatment with both Syk and mTORC1 inhibitors. In addition, silencing Etv2 or Parpbp in Tsc2-deficient cells induced ER stress and increased cell death in vitro and in vivo. We also found ETV2 expression in human cells with loss of heterozygosity for TSC2, lending support to the translational relevance of our findings. In conclusion, we report a novel ETV2 signaling axis unique to Syk inhibition that promotes a cytocidal response in Tsc2-deficient cells and therefore maybe a potential alternative therapeutic target in LAM.

Blocking hyaluronan synthesis alleviates acute lung allograft rejection.

Lung allograft rejection results in the accumulation of low-molecular weight hyaluronic acid (LMW-HA), which further propagates inflammation and tissue injury. We have previously shown that therapeutic lymphangiogenesis in a murine model of lung allograft rejection reduced tissue LMW-HA and was associated with improved transplant outcomes. Herein, we investigated the use of 4-Methylumbelliferone (4MU), a known inhibitor of HA synthesis, to alleviate acute allograft rejection in a murine model of lung transplantation. We found that treating mice with 4MU from days 20 to 30 after transplant was sufficient to significantly improve outcomes, characterized by a reduction in T cell-mediated lung inflammation and LMW-HA content and in improved pathology scores. In vitro, 4MU directly attenuated activation, proliferation, and differentiation of naive CD4+ T cells into Th1 cells. As 4MU has already been demonstrated to be safe for human use, we believe examining 4MU for the treatment of acute lung allograft rejection may be of clinical significance.

Hyaluronan and LYVE-1 and allograft function in lung transplantation recipients.

Hyaluronan (HA) is associated with innate immune response activation and may be a marker of allograft dysfunction in lung transplant recipients. This was a prospective, single center study comparing levels of bronchioalveolar lavage (BAL) and serum HA and the HA immobilizer LYVE-1 in lung transplant recipients with and without acute cellular rejection (ACR). Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD)-free survival was also evaluated based on HA and LYVE-1 levels. 78 recipients were enrolled with a total of 115 diagnostic biopsies and 1.5 years of median follow-up. Serum HA was correlated with BAL HA (r = 0.25, p = 0.01) and with serum LYVE-1 (r = 0.32, p = 0.002). There was significant variation in HA and LYVE-1 over time, regardless of ACR status. Levels of serum HA (median 74.7 vs 82.7, p = 0.69), BAL HA (median 149.4 vs 134.5, p = 0.39), and LYVE-1 (mean 190.2 vs 183.8, p = 0.72) were not associated with ACR. CLAD-free survival was not different in recipients with any episode of elevated serum HA (HR = 1.5, 95% CI = 0.3-7.7, p = 0.61) or BAL HA (HR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.2-3.6, p = 0.93). These results did not differ when stratified by bilateral transplant status. In this small cohort, serum HA, BAL HA, and LYVE-1 levels are not associated with ACR or CLAD-free survival in lung transplant recipients.

Glycogen synthase kinase 3-ß inhibition induces lymphangiogenesis through ß-catenin-dependent and mTOR-independent pathways.

Lymphatic vessels play an important role in health and in disease. In this study, we evaluated the effects of GSK3-ß inhibition on lung lymphatic endothelial cells in vitro. Pharmacological inhibition and silencing of GSK3-ß resulted in increased lymphangiogenesis of lung lymphatic endothelial cells. To investigate mechanisms of GSK3-ß-mediated lymphangiogenesis, we interrogated the mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin pathway and found that inhibition of GSK3-ß resulted in PTEN activation and subsequent decreased activation of AKT, leading to decreased p-P70S6kinase levels, indicating inhibition of the mTOR pathway. In addition, consistent with a negative role of GSK3-ß in ß-catenin stability through protein phosphorylation, we found that GSK3-ß inhibition resulted in an increase in ß-catenin levels. Simultaneous silencing of ß-catenin and inhibition of GSK3-ß demonstrated that ß-catenin is required for GSK3-ß-induced lymphangiogenesis.

Serum endostatin levels are associated with diffusion capacity and with tuberous sclerosis- associated lymphangioleiomyomatosis.

Endostatin is a naturally occurring collagen fragment with anti-angiogenic properties. We investigated the association between serum endostatin levels and DLCO in a cohort of patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). Associations of endostatin levels to clinical features of LAM were explored using logistic regression models. Endostatin levels were associated with DLCO and were higher in subjects with TSC-associated LAM compared to sporadic LAM. These data suggest that endostatin could be a predictive biomarker of decline in DLCO and that germline mutational inactivation of the TSC1 or TSC2 gene is associated with higher endostatin levels. These findings could offer novel insights into the pathogenesis of LAM.