Aberrant characteristics of peripheral blood innate lymphoid cells in COPD, independent of smoking history.

Background: Distinguishing asthma and COPD can pose challenges in clinical practice. Increased group 1 innate lymphoid cells (ILC1s) have been found in the lungs and peripheral blood of COPD patients, while asthma is associated with elevated levels of ILC2s. However, it is unclear whether the inflammatory characteristics of ILC1s and ILC2s differ between COPD and asthma. This study aims to compare peripheral blood ILC subsets and their expression of inflammatory markers in COPD patients, asthma patients and controls. Methods: The study utilised multi-colour flow cytometry to analyse peripheral blood ILC populations in clinically stable COPD patients (n=38), asthma patients (n=37), and smoking (n=19) and non-smoking (n=16) controls. Results: Proportions of peripheral blood inflammatory CD4+ ILC1s were significantly higher in COPD patients than in asthma. Proportions of CD4- ILC1s were increased in COPD patients compared to asthma patients and smoking controls. Frequencies of CD117- ILC2s were significantly reduced in COPD patients compared with asthma patients. In contrast, the fraction of inflammatory CD45RO+ cells within the CD117- ILC2 population was significantly increased. Principal component analyses showed that combined features of the circulating ILC compartment separated COPD patients from asthma patients and both control groups. Conclusion: Our in-depth characterisation of ILC1 and ILC2 populations in peripheral blood revealed significant differences in their phenotypes between COPD and asthma patients and smoking or non-smoking controls. These findings suggest a role for both ILC subsets in COPD disease pathology, independent of smoking history, and may have implications for patient stratification and therapy development.

Type-2 CD8+ T-cell formation relies on interleukin-33 and is linked to asthma exacerbations.

CD4+ T helper 2 (Th2) cells and group 2 innate lymphoid cells are considered the main producers of type-2 cytokines that fuel chronic airway inflammation in allergic asthma. However, CD8+ cytotoxic T (Tc) cells - critical for anti-viral defense - can also produce type-2 cytokines (referred to as 'Tc2' cells). The role of Tc cells in asthma and virus-induced disease exacerbations remains poorly understood, including which micro-environmental signals and cell types promote Tc2 cell formation. Here we show increased circulating Tc2 cell abundance in severe asthma patients, reaching peak levels during exacerbations and likely emerging from canonical IFNγ+ Tc cells through plasticity. Tc2 cell abundance is associated with increased disease burden, higher exacerbations rates and steroid insensitivity. Mouse models of asthma recapitulate the human disease by showing extensive type-2 skewing of lung Tc cells, which is controlled by conventional type-1 dendritic cells and IFNγ. Importantly, we demonstrate that the alarmin interleukin-33 (IL-33) critically promotes type-2 cytokine production by lung Tc cells in experimental allergic airway inflammation. Our data identify Tc cells as major producers of type-2 cytokines in severe asthma and during exacerbations that are remarkably sensitive to alterations in their inflammatory tissue micro-environment, with IL-33 emerging as an important regulator of Tc2 formation.

PD-L1 checkpoint blockade promotes regulatory T cell activity that underlies therapy resistance.

Despite the clinical success of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), in certain cancer types, most patients with cancer do not respond well. Furthermore, in patients for whom ICB is initially successful, this is often short-lived because of the development of resistance to ICB. The mechanisms underlying primary or secondary ICB resistance are incompletely understood. Here, we identified preferential activation and enhanced suppressive capacity of regulatory T cells (Treg cells) in αPD-L1 therapy-resistant solid tumor-bearing mice. Treg cell depletion reversed resistance to αPD-L1 with concomitant expansion of effector T cells. Moreover, we found that tumor-infiltrating Treg cells in human patients with skin cancer, and in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, up-regulated a suppressive transcriptional gene program after ICB treatment, which correlated with lack of treatment response. αPD-1/PD-L1-induced PD-1+ Treg cell activation was also seen in peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer and mesothelioma, especially in nonresponders. Together, these data reveal that treatment with αPD-1 and αPD-L1 unleashes the immunosuppressive role of Treg cells, resulting in therapy resistance, suggesting that Treg cell targeting is an important adjunct strategy to enhance therapeutic efficacy.

Low-Dose JAK3 Inhibition Improves Antitumor T-Cell Immunity and Immunotherapy Efficacy.

Terminal T-cell exhaustion poses a significant barrier to effective anticancer immunotherapy efficacy, with current drugs aimed at reversing exhaustion being limited. Recent investigations into the molecular drivers of T-cell exhaustion have led to the identification of chronic IL2 receptor (IL2R)-STAT5 pathway signaling in mediating T-cell exhaustion. We targeted the key downstream IL2R-intermediate JAK 3 using a clinically relevant highly specific JAK3-inhibitor (JAK3i; PF-06651600) that potently inhibited STAT5-phosphorylation in vitro. Whereas pulsed high-dose JAK3i administration inhibited antitumor T-cell effector function, low-dose chronic JAK3i significantly improved T-cell responses and decreased tumor load in mouse models of solid cancer. Low-dose JAK3i combined with cellular and peptide vaccine strategies further decreased tumor load compared with both monotherapies alone. Collectively, these results identify JAK3 as a novel and promising target for combination immunotherapy.

Peripheral Blood T Cells of Patients with IPAH Have a Reduced Cytokine-Producing Capacity.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is rare disease that is categorized as idiopathic (IPAH) when no underlying cause can be identified. Lungs of most patients with IPAH contain increased numbers of T cells and dendritic cells (DCs), suggesting involvement of the immune system in its pathophysiology. However, our knowledge on circulating immune cells in IPAH is rather limited. We used flow cytometry to characterize peripheral blood DCs and T cells in treatment-naive IPAH patients, compared with connective-tissue disease-PAH (CTD-PAH) patients and healthy controls (HCs). At diagnosis, T-helper (Th) cells of IPAH patients were less capable of producing TNFα, IFNγ, IL-4 and IL-17 compared to HCs. IPAH patients showed a decreased frequency of Th2 cells and significantly enhanced expression of the CTLA4 checkpoint molecule in naive CD4+ T cells and both naive and memory CD8+ T cells. Frequencies and surface marker expression of circulating DCs and monocytes were essentially comparable between IPAH patients and HCs. Principal component analysis (PCA) separated IPAH patients-but not CTD-PAH patients-from HCs, based on T-cell cytokine profiles. At 1-year follow-up, the frequencies of IL-17+ production by memory CD4+ T cells were increased in IPAH patients and accompanied by increased proportions of Th17 and Tc17 cells, as well as decreased CTLA4 expression. Treatment-naive IPAH patients displayed a unique T-cell phenotype that was different from CTD-PAH patients and was characterized by reduced cytokine-producing capacity. These findings point to involvement of adaptive immune responses in IPAH, which may have an implication for the development of therapeutic interventions.

Bacterial lysate add-on therapy to reduce exacerbations in severe asthma: A double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Asthma exacerbations are frequently induced by respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Bacterial lysates have been described to possess immune-modulatory effects and reduce RTIs as well as asthma symptoms in children. However, whether bacterial lysates have similar effects in adult asthma patients is unknown. AIMS: To reduce asthma exacerbations by add-on bacterial lysate therapy in adults with severe asthma and to characterize the clinical and immune-modulatory effects of this treatment. METHODS: Asthma patients (GINA 4) with ≥2 annual exacerbations in the previous year were included. The intervention regimen consisted of OM-85/placebo for 10 consecutive days per month for 6 months during two winter seasons. Primary end-point was the number of severe asthma exacerbations within 18 months. The study was approved by the national and local ethical review board and registered in the Dutch Trial Registry (NL5752). All participants provided written informed consent. RESULTS: Seventy-five participants were included (38 OM-85; 37 placebo). Exacerbation frequencies were not different between the groups after 18 months (incidence rate ratio 1.07, 95%CI [0.68-1.69], p = 0.77). With the use of OM-85, FEV1% increased by 3.81% (p = 0.04) compared with placebo. Nasopharyngeal swabs taken during RTIs detected a virus less frequently in patients using OM-85 compared to placebo (30.5% vs. 48.0%, p = 0.02). In subjects with type 2 inflammation adherent to the protocol (22 OM-85; 20 placebo), a non-statistically significant decrease in exacerbations in the OM-85 group was observed (IRR = 0.71, 95%CI [0.39-1.26], p = 0.25). Immune-modulatory effects included an increase in several plasma cytokines in the OM-85 group, especially IL-10 and interferons. Peripheral blood T- and B cell subtyping, including regulatory T cells, did not show differences between the groups. CONCLUSION: Although OM-85 may have immune-modulatory effects, it did not reduce asthma exacerbations in this heterogeneous severe adult asthma group. Post hoc analysis showed a potential clinical benefit in patients with type 2 inflammation.

Involvement of Dendritic Cells and Th17 Cells in Induced Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in a Chronic Beryllium Disease Mouse Model.

OBJECTIVE: To study airway pathophysiology and the role of dendritic cells (DCs) and IL-17 receptor (IL-17R) signals in a mouse model for CBD. METHODS: Here, we present a CBD mouse model in which mice were exposed to beryllium during three weeks. We also exposed IL-17R-deficient mice and mice in which DCs were depleted. RESULTS: Eight weeks after the initial beryllium exposure, an inflammatory response was detected in the lungs. Mice displayed inflammation of the lower airways that included focal dense infiltrates, granuloma-like foci, and tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) containing T cells, B cells, and germinal centers. Alveolar cell analysis showed significantly increased numbers of CD4+ T cells expressing IFNγ, IL-17, or both cytokines. The pathogenic role of IL-17R signals was demonstrated in IL-17R-deficient mice, which had strongly reduced lung inflammation and TLS development following beryllium exposure. In CBD mice, pulmonary DC subsets including CD103+ conventional DCs (cDCs), CD11b+ cDCs, and monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs) were also prominently increased. We used diphtheria toxin receptor-mediated targeted cell ablation to conditionally deplete DCs and found that DCs are essential for the maintenance of TLS in CBD. Furthermore, the presence of antinuclear autoantibodies in the serum of CBD mice showed that CBD had characteristics of autoimmune disease. CONCLUSIONS: We generated a translational model of sarcoidosis driven by beryllium and show that DCs and IL-17R signals play a pathophysiological role in CBD development as well as in established CBD in vivo.

Steroid-resistant human inflammatory ILC2s are marked by CD45RO and elevated in type 2 respiratory diseases.

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) orchestrate protective type 2 immunity and have been implicated in various immune disorders. In the mouse, circulatory inflammatory ILC2s (iILC2s) were identified as a major source of type 2 cytokines. The human equivalent of the iILC2 subset remains unknown. Here, we identify a human inflammatory ILC2 population that resides in inflamed mucosal tissue and is specifically marked by surface CD45RO expression. CD45RO+ ILC2s are derived from resting CD45RA+ ILC2s upon activation by epithelial alarmins such as IL-33 and TSLP, which is tightly linked to STAT5 activation and up-regulation of the IRF4/BATF transcription factors. Transcriptome analysis reveals marked similarities between human CD45RO+ ILC2s and mouse iILC2s. Frequencies of CD45RO+ inflammatory ILC2 are increased in inflamed mucosal tissue and in the circulation of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis or asthma, correlating with disease severity and resistance to corticosteroid therapy. CD45RA-to-CD45RO ILC2 conversion is suppressed by corticosteroids via induction of differentiation toward an immunomodulatory ILC2 phenotype characterized by low type 2 cytokine and high amphiregulin expression. Once converted, however, CD45RO+ ILC2s are resistant to corticosteroids, which is associated with metabolic reprogramming resulting in the activation of detoxification pathways. Our combined data identify CD45RO+ inflammatory ILC2s as a human analog of mouse iILC2s linked to severe type 2 inflammatory disease and therapy resistance.

The PD-1/PD-L1-Checkpoint Restrains T cell Immunity in Tumor-Draining Lymph Nodes.

PD-1/PD-L1-checkpoint blockade therapy is generally thought to relieve tumor cell-mediated suppression in the tumor microenvironment but PD-L1 is also expressed on non-tumor macrophages and conventional dendritic cells (cDCs). Here we show in mouse tumor models that tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) are enriched for tumor-specific PD-1+ T cells which closely associate with PD-L1+ cDCs. TDLN-targeted PD-L1-blockade induces enhanced anti-tumor T cell immunity by seeding the tumor site with progenitor-exhausted T cells, resulting in improved tumor control. Moreover, we show that abundant PD-1/PD-L1-interactions in TDLNs of nonmetastatic melanoma patients, but not those in corresponding tumors, associate with early distant disease recurrence. These findings point at a critical role for PD-L1 expression in TDLNs in governing systemic anti-tumor immunity, identifying high-risk patient groups amendable to adjuvant PD-1/PD-L1-blockade therapy.

Dendritic cell vaccination and CD40-agonist combination therapy licenses T cell-dependent antitumor immunity in a pancreatic carcinoma murine model.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is notoriously resistant to treatment including checkpoint-blockade immunotherapy. We hypothesized that a bimodal treatment approach consisting of dendritic cell (DC) vaccination to prime tumor-specific T cells, and a strategy to reprogram the desmoplastic tumor microenvironment (TME) would be needed to break tolerance to these pancreatic cancers. As a proof-of-concept, we investigated the efficacy of combined DC vaccination with CD40-agonistic antibodies in a poorly immunogenic murine model of PDAC. Based on the rationale that mesothelioma and pancreatic cancer share a number of tumor associated antigens, the DCs were loaded with either pancreatic or mesothelioma tumor lysates. METHODS: Immune-competent mice with subcutaneously or orthotopically growing KrasG12D/+;Trp53R172H/+;Pdx-1-Cre (KPC) PDAC tumors were vaccinated with syngeneic bone marrow-derived DCs loaded with either pancreatic cancer (KPC) or mesothelioma (AE17) lysate and consequently treated with FGK45 (CD40 agonist). Tumor progression was monitored and immune responses in TME and lymphoid organs were analyzed using multicolor flow cytometry and NanoString analyzes. RESULTS: Mesothelioma-lysate loaded DCs generated cross-reactive tumor-antigen-specific T-cell responses to pancreatic cancer and induced delayed tumor outgrowth when provided as prophylactic vaccine. In established disease, combination with stimulating CD40 antibody was necessary to improve survival, while anti-CD40 alone was ineffective. Extensive analysis of the TME showed that anti-CD40 monotherapy did improve CD8 +T cell infiltration, but these essential effector cells displayed hallmarks of exhaustion, including PD-1, TIM-3 and NKG2A. Combination therapy induced a strong change in tumor transcriptome and mitigated the expression of inhibitory markers on CD8 +T cells. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the potency of DC therapy in combination with CD40-stimulation for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and provide directions for near future clinical trials.

T cell receptor repertoire characteristics both before and following immunotherapy correlate with clinical response in mesothelioma.

BACKGROUND: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly lethal malignancy in need for new treatment options. Although immunotherapies have been shown to boost a tumor-specific immune response, not all patients respond and prognostic biomarkers are scarce. In this study, we determined the peripheral blood T cell receptor ß (TCRß) chain repertoire of nine MPM patients before and 5 weeks after the start of dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We separately profiled PD1+ and PD1-CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as Tregs and analyzed 70 000 TCRß sequences per patient. RESULTS: Strikingly, limited TCRß repertoire diversity and high average clone sizes in total CD3+ T cells before the start of immunotherapy were associated with a better clinical response. To explore the differences in TCRß repertoire prior-DC-therapy and post-DC-therapy, for each patient the TCRß clones present in the total CD3+ T cell fractions were classified into five categories, based on therapy-associated frequency changes: expanding, decreasing, stable, newly appearing and disappearing clones. Subsequently, the presence of these five groups of clones was analyzed in the individual sorted T cell fractions. DC-therapy primarily induced TCRß repertoire changes in the PD1+CD4+ and PD1+CD8+ T cell fractions. In particular, in the PD1+CD8+ T cell subpopulation we found high frequencies of expanding, decreasing and newly appearing clones. Conversion from a PD1- to a PD1+ phenotype was significantly more frequent in CD8+ T cells than in CD4+ T cells. Hereby, the number of expanding PD1+CD8+ T cell clones-and not expanding PD1+CD4+ T cell clones following immunotherapy positively correlated with overall survival, progression-free survival and reduction of tumor volume. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the clinical response to DC-mediated immunotherapy is dependent on both the pre-existing TCRß repertoire of total CD3+ T cells and on therapy-induced changes, in particular expanding PD1+CD8+ T cell clones. Therefore, TCRß repertoire profiling in sorted T cell subsets could serve as predictive biomarker for the selection of MPM patients that benefit from immunotherapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02395679.

Notch signaling licenses allergic airway inflammation by promoting Th2 cell lymph node egress.

Allergic asthma is mediated by Th2 responses to inhaled allergens. Although previous experiments indicated that Notch signaling activates expression of the key Th2 transcription factor Gata3, it remains controversial how Notch promotes allergic airway inflammation. Here we show that T cell-specific Notch deficiency in mice prevented house dust mite-driven eosinophilic airway inflammation and significantly reduced Th2 cytokine production, serum IgE levels, and airway hyperreactivity. However, transgenic Gata3 overexpression in Notch-deficient T cells only partially rescued this phenotype. We found that Notch signaling was not required for T cell proliferation or Th2 polarization. Instead, Notch-deficient in vitro-polarized Th2 cells showed reduced accumulation in the lungs upon in vivo transfer and allergen challenge, as Notch-deficient Th2 cells were retained in the lung-draining lymph nodes. Transcriptome analyses and sequential adoptive transfer experiments revealed that while Notch-deficient lymph node Th2 cells established competence for lung migration, they failed to upregulate sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) and its critical upstream transcriptional activator Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2). As this KLF2/S1PR1 axis represents the essential cell-intrinsic regulator of T cell lymph node egress, we conclude that the druggable Notch signaling pathway licenses the Th2 response in allergic airway inflammation via promoting lymph node egress.

Enhanced Bruton's tyrosine kinase in B-cells and autoreactive IgA in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

RATIONALE: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is thought to be triggered by repeated alveolar epithelial cell injury. Current evidence suggests that aberrant immune activation may contribute. However, the role of B-cell activation remains unclear. We determined the phenotype and activation status of B-cell subsets and evaluated the contribution of activated B-cells to the development of lung fibrosis both in humans and in mice. METHODS: B-cells in blood, mediastinal lymph node, and lung single-cell suspensions of IPF patients and healthy controls (HC) were characterized using 14-color flow cytometry. Mice were exposed to bleomycin to provoke pulmonary fibrosis. RESULTS: More IgA+ memory B-cells and plasmablasts were found in blood (n = 27) and lungs (n = 11) of IPF patients compared to HC (n = 21) and control lungs (n = 9). IPF patients had higher levels of autoreactive IgA in plasma, which correlated with an enhanced decline of forced vital capacity (p = 0.002, r = - 0.50). Bruton's tyrosine kinase expression was higher in circulating IPF B-cells compared to HC, indicating enhanced B-cell activation. Bleomycin-exposed mice had increased pulmonary IgA+ germinal center and plasma cell proportions compared to control mice. The degree of lung fibrosis correlated with pulmonary germinal center B-cell proportions (p = 0.010, r = 0.88). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that IPF patients have more circulating activated B-cells and autoreactive IgA, which correlate with disease progression. These B-cell alterations were also observed in the widely used mouse model of experimental pulmonary fibrosis. Autoreactive IgA could be useful as a biomarker for disease progression in IPF.

T cells and ILC2s are major effector cells in influenza-induced exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation in mice.

Influenza virus infection is an important cause of severe asthma exacerbations, but it remains unclear how a Th1-mediated antiviral response triggers a prototypical Th2 disease. We investigated CD4+ T cells and group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in influenza virus-infected mice. We found that ILC2s accumulated in the lung rapidly after influenza virus infection, but the induction of IL-5 and IL-13 secretion was delayed and concomitant with T cell activation. In an influenza-induced exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation model we noticed an initial reduction of ILC2 numbers and cytokine production in broncho-alveolar lavage compared to chronic house dust mite (HDM)-mediated airway inflammation alone. ILC2s phenotype was characterized by low T1/ST2, ICOS, KLRG1, and CD25 expression, resembling naïve ILC2s. The contribution of ILC2s to type 2 cytokine production in the early stage of the influenza-induced exacerbation was limited. In contrast, T cells showed increased IL-4 and IL-5 production when exposed to both HDM and influenza virus. Upon virus clearance, ILC2s regained an activated T1/ST2high ICOShigh KLRG1high CD25high phenotype paired with cytokine production and were major contributors to the type 2 cytokine milieu. Collectively, our data indicate that both T cells and ILC2s contribute to influenza-induced exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation, but with different kinetics.

Increased T-helper 17.1 cells in sarcoidosis mediastinal lymph nodes.

The lung-draining mediastinal lymph nodes (MLNs) are currently widely used to diagnose sarcoidosis. We previously reported that T-helper (Th) 17.1 cells are responsible for the exaggerated interferon-γ production in sarcoidosis lungs. In this study, we aimed to investigate 1) whether Th17.1 cells are also increased in the MLNs of sarcoidosis patients and 2) whether frequencies of the Th17.1 cells at diagnosis may correlate with disease progression.MLN cells from treatment-naive pulmonary sarcoidosis patients (n=17) and healthy controls (n=22) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (n=34) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) (n=36) from sarcoidosis patients were examined for CD4+ T-cell subset proportions using flow cytometry.Higher proportions of Th17.1 cells were detected in sarcoidosis MLNs than in control MLNs. Higher Th17.1 cell proportions were found in sarcoidosis BALF compared with MLNs and peripheral blood. Furthermore, BALF Th17.1 cell proportions were significantly higher in patients developing chronic disease than in patients undergoing resolution within 2 years of clinical follow-up.These data suggest that Th17.1 cell proportions in pulmonary sarcoidosis can be evaluated as a diagnostic and/or prognostic marker in clinical practice and could serve as a new therapeutic target.

A pathophysiological role of PDE3 in allergic airway inflammation.

Phosphodiesterase 3 (PDE3) and PDE4 regulate levels of cyclic AMP, which are critical in various cell types involved in allergic airway inflammation. Although PDE4 inhibition attenuates allergic airway inflammation, reported side effects preclude its application as an antiasthma drug in humans. Case reports showed that enoximone, which is a smooth muscle relaxant that inhibits PDE3, is beneficial and lifesaving in status asthmaticus and is well tolerated. However, clinical observations also showed antiinflammatory effects of PDE3 inhibition. In this study, we investigated the role of PDE3 in a house dust mite-driven (HDM-driven) allergic airway inflammation (AAI) model that is characterized by T helper 2 cell activation, eosinophilia, and reduced mucosal barrier function. Compared with wild-type (WT) littermates, mice with a targeted deletion of the PDE3A or PDE3B gene showed significantly reduced HDM-driven AAI. Therapeutic intervention in WT mice showed that all hallmarks of HDM-driven AAI were abrogated by the PDE3 inhibitors enoximone and milrinone. Importantly, we found that enoximone also reduced the upregulation of the CD11b integrin on mouse and human eosinophils in vitro, which is crucial for their recruitment during allergic inflammation. This study provides evidence for a hitherto unknown antiinflammatory role of PDE3 inhibition in allergic airway inflammation and offers a potentially novel treatment approach.

TNF-α-induced protein 3 levels in lung dendritic cells instruct TH2 or TH17 cell differentiation in eosinophilic or neutrophilic asthma.

BACKGROUND: It is currently unknown why allergen exposure or environmental triggers in patients with mild-to-moderate asthma result in TH2-mediated eosinophilic inflammation, whereas patients with severe asthma often present with TH17-mediated neutrophilic inflammation. The activation state of dendritic cells (DCs) is crucial for both TH2 and TH17 cell differentiation and is mediated through nuclear factor κB activation. Ablation of TNF-α-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3), one of the crucial negative regulators of nuclear factor κB activation in myeloid cells and DCs, was shown to control DC activation. OBJECTIVE: In this study we investigated the precise role of TNFAIP3 in myeloid cells for the development of TH2- and TH17-cell mediated asthma. METHODS: We exposed mice with conditional deletion of the Tnfaip3 gene in either myeloid cells (by using the lysozyme M [LysM] promotor) or specifically in DCs (by using the Cd11c promotor) to acute and chronic house dust mite (HDM)-driven asthma models. RESULTS: We demonstrated that reduced Tnfaip3 gene expression in DCs in either Tnfaip3CD11c or Tnfaip3LysM mice dose-dependently controlled development of TH17-mediated neutrophilic severe asthma in both acute and chronic HDM-driven models, whereas wild-type mice had a purely TH2-mediated eosinophilic inflammation. TNFAIP3-deficient DCs induced HDM-specific TH17 cell differentiation through increased expression of the TH17-instructing cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-23, whereas HDM-specific TH2 cell differentiation was hampered by increased IL-12 and IL-6 production. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that the extent of TNFAIP3 expression in DCs controls TH2/TH17 cell differentiation. This implies that reducing DC activation could be a new pharmacologic intervention to treat patients with severe asthma who present with TH17-mediated neutrophilic inflammation.

The Notch pathway inhibitor stapled α-helical peptide derived from mastermind-like 1 (SAHM1) abrogates the hallmarks of allergic asthma.

BACKGROUND: The Notch signaling pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation. Targeting the active Notch transactivation complex by using the cell-permeable, hydrocarbon-stapled synthetic peptide stapled α-helical peptide derived from mastermind-like 1 (SAHM1) resulted in genome-wide suppression of Notch-activated genes in leukemic cells and other models. However, the efficacy of SAHM1 in allergic asthma models has remained unexplored. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of SAHM1 in a house dust mite (HDM)-driven asthma model. METHODS: Topical therapeutic intervention with SAHM1 or a control peptide was performed during sensitization, challenge, or both with HDM in mice. Airway inflammation was assessed by using multicolor flow cytometry, and bronchial hyperreactivity was studied. Additionally, SAHM1 therapy was investigated in mice with established allergic airway inflammation and in a model in which we neutralized IFN-γ during HDM challenge to support the TH2 response and exacerbate asthma. RESULTS: SAHM1 treatment during the challenge phase led to a marked reduction of eosinophil and T cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid compared with those in diluent-treated or control peptide-treated mice. Likewise, T-cell cytokine content and bronchial hyperreactivity were reduced. SAHM1 treatment dampened TH2 inflammation during ongoing HDM challenge and enhanced recovery after established asthma. Additionally, in the presence of anti-IFN-γ antibodies, SAHM1 downregulated expression of the key TH2 transcription factor GATA3 and intracellular IL-4 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid T cells, but expression of the TH17 transcription factor retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt or intracellular IL-17 was not affected. SAHM1 therapy also reduced serum IgE levels. CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic intervention of Notch signaling by SAHM1 inhibits allergic airway inflammation in mice and is therefore an interesting new topical treatment opportunity in asthmatic patients.