Nonreceptor Tyrosine Kinase c-Abl- and Arg-Mediated IRF3 Phosphorylation Regulates Innate Immune Responses by Promoting Type I IFN Production.

The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase c-Abl plays important roles in T cell development and immune responses; however, the mechanism is poorly understood. IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) is a key transcriptional regulator of type I IFN-dependent immune responses against DNA and RNA viruses. The data in this study show that IRF3 is physically associated with c-Abl in vivo and directly binds to c-Abl in vitro. IRF3 is phosphorylated by c-Abl and c-Abl-related kinase, Arg, mainly at Y292. The inhibitor AMN107 inhibits IFN-ß production induced by poly(dA:dT), poly(I:C), and Sendai virus in THP-1 and mouse bone marrow-derived macrophage cells. IRF3-induced transcription of IFN-ß is significantly reduced by the mutation of Y292 to F. Moreover, AMN107 suppresses gene expression of absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) and subsequently reduces inflammasome activation induced by cytosolic bacteria, dsDNA, and DNA viruses. Consistent with this finding, Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica live vaccine strain (Ft LVS), which is known as an activator of AIM2 inflammasome, induces death in significantly more C57BL/6 mice treated with the Abl inhibitor AMN107 or c-Abl/Arg small interfering RNA than in untreated mice. This study provides new insight into the function of c-Abl and Arg in regulating immune responses and AIM2 inflammasome activation, especially against Ft LVS infection.

Activatable Fluorescence Probe via Self-Immolative Intramolecular Cyclization for Histone Deacetylase Imaging in Live Cells and Tissues.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play essential roles in transcription regulation and are valuable theranostic targets. However, there are no activatable fluorescent probes for imaging of HDAC activity in live cells. Here, we develop for the first time a novel activatable two-photon fluorescence probe that enables in situ imaging of HDAC activity in living cells and tissues. The probe is designed by conjugating an acetyl-lysine mimic substrate to a masked aldehyde-containing fluorophore via a cyanoester linker. Upon deacetylation by HDAC, the probe undergoes a rapid self-immolative intramolecular cyclization reaction, producing a cyanohydrin intermediate that is spontaneously rapidly decomposed into the highly fluorescent aldehyde-containing two-photon fluorophore. The probe is shown to exhibit high sensitivity, high specificity, and fast response for HDAC detection in vitro. Imaging studies reveal that the probe is able to directly visualize and monitor HDAC activity in living cells. Moreover, the probe is demonstrated to have the capability of two-photon imaging of HDAC activity in deep tissue slices up to 130 µm. This activatable fluorescent probe affords a useful tool for evaluating HDAC activity and screening HDAC-targeting drugs in both live cell and tissue assays.

A novel two-photon fluorescent probe with a long Stokes shift and a high signal-to-background ratio for human NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (hNQO1) detection and imaging in living cells and tissues.

In recent years, many activatable fluorescent probes have been developed for hNQO1 detection. However, most of the reported fluorescent probes are susceptible to the interferences of endogenous fluorescence and have the drawback of inadequate penetration depth. Very recently, researchers have reported a two-photon excitation (TPE) fluorescent probe for hNQO1 detection. Nevertheless, this probe only exhibits a compromised signal-to-background ratio, and has not been applied to image hNQO1 in living tissues. Herein, a novel TPE fluorescent probe, trimethyl locked quinone caged Acedan (Q3CA-P), has been developed for hNQO1 detection and imaging in living cells and tissues. Q3CA-P displays over 25-fold enhancement in fluorescence intensity toward hNQO1 with a Stokes shift over 100 nm in one-photon excitation and exhibits a very low detection limit of 5.6 ng mL-1. The imaging experiments performed in tumour cells and tissue slices using Q3CA-P demonstrate that Q3CA-P could image the endogenous hNQO1 with high selectivity and sensitivity with a TPE probing depth of 120 µm. Thus, our probe may have great potential for use in cancer diagnosis and image-guided surgery.

Involvement of aberrant miR-139/Jun feedback loop in human gastric cancer.

Accumulating evidence indicates that some miRNAs could form feedback loops with their targets to fine-tune tissue homeostasis, while disruption of these loops constitutes an essential step towards human tumorigenesis. In this study, we report the identification of a novel negative feedback loop formed between miR-139 and its oncogenic target Jun. In this loop, miR-139 could inhibit Jun expression by targeting a conserved site on its 3'-UTR, whereas Jun could induce miR-139 expression in a dose dependent manner through a distant upstream regulatory element. Interestingly, aberration in this loop was found in human gastric cancer, where miR-139 was down-regulated and inversely correlated with Jun expression. Further functional analysis showed that restored expression of miR-139 in gastric cancer cells significantly induces apoptosis, and inhibits cell migration and proliferation as well as tumour growth through targeting Jun. Thus, our data strongly suggests a role of aberrant miR-139/Jun negative feedback loop in the development of human gastric cancer and miR-139 as a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer. Given that miR-139 and Jun are deregulated in many cancers, our findings here might have broader implication in other types of human cancers.

Developing Activity Localization Fluorescence Peptide Probe Using Thiol-Ene Click Reaction for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Caspase-8 in Live Cells.

Small molecule probes suitable for high-resolution fluorescence imaging of enzyme activity pose a challenge in chemical biology. We developed a novel design of activity localization fluorescence (ALF) peptide probe, which enables spatially resolved, highly sensitive imaging of peptidase in live cells. The ALF probe was synthesized by a facile thiol-ene click reaction of a cysteine-appended peptide with an acryloylated fluorophore. Upon cleavage by peptidase, the probe undergoes a seven-membered intramolecular cyclization and releases the fluorophore with the excited-state intramolecular photon transfer (ESIPT) effect. A highly fluorescent, insoluble aggregate was formed around the enzyme, which facilitates high-sensitivity and high-resolution imaging. This design is demonstrated for detection of caspase-8 activation. The results show that our design allows easy, high-yield synthesis of the probe, and the probe affords high sensitivity for caspase-8 detection. Live cell imaging reveals that the probe is able to render highly localized and high-contrast fluorescence signal for caspase-8. Our design holds the potential as a generally applicable strategy for developing high-sensitivity and high-resolution imaging peptide probes in cell biology and diagnostics.

Development of a reporter gene method to measure the bioactivity of anti-CD38 × CD3 bispecific antibody.

BACKGROUND: A T cell-redirecting bispecific antibody (bsAb) consisting of a tumor-binding unit and a T cell-binding unit is a large group of antibody-based biologics against death-causing cancer diseases. The anti-CD38 × anti-CD3 bsAb (Y150) is potential for treating multiple myeloma (MM). When developing a cell-based reporter gene bioassay to assess the activities of Y150, it was found that the expression of CD38 on the human T lymphocyte cells (Jurkat) caused the nonspecific activation, which interfered with the specific T cells activation of mediated by the Y150 and CD38(+) tumor cells. METHODS: Here, we first knocked-out the CD38 expression on Jurkat T cell line by CRISPR-Cas9 technology, then developed a stable monoclonal CD38(-) Jurkat T cell line with an NFAT-RE driving luciferase expressing system. Further based on the CD38(-) Jurkat cell, we developed a reporter gene method to assess the bioactivity of the anti-CD38 × anti-CD3 bsAb. RESULTS: Knocking out CD38 expression abolished the nonspecific self-activation of the Jurkat cells. The selected stable monoclonal CD38(-) Jurkat T cell line assured the robustness of the report genes assay for the anti-CD38 × anti-CD3 bsAb. The relative potencies of the Y150 measured by the developed reporter gene assay were correlated with those by the flow-cytometry-based cell cytotoxicity assay and by the ELISA-based binding assay. CONCLUSIONS: The developed reporter gene assay was mechanism of action-reflective for the bioactivity of anti-CD38 × anti-CD3 antibody, and suitable for the quality control for the bsAb product.

Bispecific Antibody PD-L1 x CD3 Boosts the Anti-Tumor Potency of the Expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T Cells.

Vγ2Vδ2 T cell-based immunotherapy has benefited some patients in clinical trials, but the overall efficacy is low for solid tumor patients. In this study, a bispecific antibody against both PD-L1 and CD3 (PD-L1 x CD3), Y111, could efficiently bridge T cells and PD-L1 expressing tumor cells. The Y111 prompted fresh CD8+ T cell-mediated lysis of H358 cells, but spared this effect on the fresh Vδ2+ T cells enriched from the same donors, which suggested that Y111 could bypass the anti-tumor capacity of the fresh Vγ2Vδ2 T cells. As the adoptive transfer of the expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells was approved to be safe and well-tolerated in clinical trials, we hypothesized that the combination of the expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells with the Y111 would provide an alternative approach of immunotherapy. Y111 induced the activation of the expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells in a dose-dependent fashion in the presence of PD-L1 positive tumor cells. Moreover, Y111 increased the cytotoxicity of the expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells against various NSCLC-derived tumor cell lines with the releases of granzyme B, IFNγ, and TNFα in vitro. Meanwhile, the adoptive transferred Vγ2Vδ2 T cells together with the Y111 inhibited the growth of the established xenografts in NPG mice. Taken together, our data suggested a clinical potential for the adoptive transferring the Vγ2Vδ2 T cells with the Y111 to treat PD-L1 positive solid tumors.

AMPK inhibition blocks ROS-NFκB signaling and attenuates endotoxemia-induced liver injury.

BACKGROUND: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an important enzyme in regulation of cellular energy homeostasis. We have previously shown that AMPK activation by 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide (AICAR) results in suppression of immune responses, indicating the pivotal role of AMPK in immune regulation. However, the cellular mechanism underpinning AMPK inhibition on immune response remains largely to be elucidated. The study aimed to investigate the effects of AMPK inhibition on reactive oxygen species (ROS)-nuclear factor κB (NFκB) signaling and endotoxemia-induced liver injury. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: RAW 264.7 cells were pretreated with AMPK activator or inhibitor, followed by LPS challenge. In addition, LPS was injected intraperitoneally into mice to induce systemic inflammation. The parameters of liver injury and immune responses were determined, and survival of mice was monitored respectively. LPS challenge in RAW 264.7 cells resulted in AMPK activation which was then inhibited by compound C treatment. Both AMPK activation by AICAR or inhibition by compound C diminished LPS-induced ROS generation, inhibited phosphorylation of IKK, IκB, and NFκB p65, and consequently, decreased TNF production of RAW 264.7 cells. AICAR or compound C treatment decreased ALT, AST, and TNF levels in serum, reduced CD68 expression and MPO activity in liver tissue of mice with endotoxemia. Moreover, AICAR or compound C treatment improved survival of endotoxemic mice. CONCLUSIONS: AICAR or compound C treatment attenuates LPS-induced ROS-NFκB signaling, immune responses and liver injury. Strategies to activate or inhibit AMPK signaling may provide alternatives to the current clinical approaches to inhibit immune responses of endotoxemia.