Cytomegalovirus vaccine vector-induced effector memory CD4 + T cells protect cynomolgus macaques from lethal aerosolized heterologous avian influenza challenge.

An influenza vaccine approach that overcomes the problem of viral sequence diversity and provides long-lived heterosubtypic protection is urgently needed to protect against pandemic influenza viruses. Here, to determine if lung-resident effector memory T cells induced by cytomegalovirus (CMV)-vectored vaccines expressing conserved internal influenza antigens could protect against lethal influenza challenge, we immunize Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCM) with cynomolgus CMV (CyCMV) vaccines expressing H1N1 1918 influenza M1, NP, and PB1 antigens (CyCMV/Flu), and challenge with heterologous, aerosolized avian H5N1 influenza. All six unvaccinated MCM died by seven days post infection with acute respiratory distress, while 54.5% (6/11) CyCMV/Flu-vaccinated MCM survived. Survival correlates with the magnitude of lung-resident influenza-specific CD4 + T cells prior to challenge. These data demonstrate that CD4 + T cells targeting conserved internal influenza proteins can protect against highly pathogenic heterologous influenza challenge and support further exploration of effector memory T cell-based vaccines for universal influenza vaccine development.

Pandemic 1918 Influenza Virus Does Not Cause Lethal Infection in Rhesus or Cynomolgus Macaques.

The 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic was among the most severe in history, taking the lives of approximately 50 million people worldwide, and novel prophylactic vaccines are urgently needed to prevent another pandemic. Given that macaques are physiologically relevant preclinical models of human immunology that have advanced the clinical treatment of infectious diseases, a lethal pandemic influenza challenge model would provide a stringent platform for testing new influenza vaccine concepts. To this end, we infected rhesus macaques and Mauritian cynomolgus macaques with highly pathogenic 1918 H1N1 influenza virus and assessed pathogenesis and disease severity. Despite infection with a high dose of 1918 influenza delivered via multiple routes, rhesus macaques demonstrated minimal signs of disease, with only intermittent viral shedding. Cynomolgus macaques infected via intrabronchial instillation demonstrated mild symptoms, with disease severity depending on the infection dose. Cynomolgus macaques infected with a high dose of 1918 influenza delivered via multiple routes experienced moderate disease characterized by consistent viral shedding, pulmonary infiltrates, and elevated inflammatory cytokine levels. However, 1918 influenza was uniformly nonlethal in these two species, demonstrating that this isolate is insufficiently pathogenic in rhesus and Mauritian cynomolgus macaques to support testing novel prophylactic influenza approaches where protection from severe disease combined with a lethal outcome is desired as a highly stringent indication of vaccine efficacy. IMPORTANCE The world remains at risk of an influenza pandemic, and the development of new therapeutic and preventative modalities is critically important for minimizing human death and suffering during the next influenza pandemic. Animal models are central to the development of new therapies and vaccine approaches. In particular, nonhuman primates like rhesus and cynomolgus macaques are highly relevant preclinical models given their physiological and immunological similarities to humans. Unfortunately, there remains a scarcity of macaque models of pandemic influenza with which to test novel antiviral modalities. Here, we demonstrate that even at the highest doses tested, 1918 influenza was not lethal in these two macaque species, suggesting that they are not ideal for the development and testing of novel pandemic influenza-specific vaccines and therapies. Therefore, other physiologically relevant nonhuman primate models of pandemic influenza are needed.

Reduced Cell Surface Levels of C-C Chemokine Receptor 5 and Immunosuppression in Long Coronavirus Disease 2019 Syndrome.

In an exploratory trial treating "long COVID" with the CCR5-binding antibody leronlimab, we observed significantly increased blood cell surface CCR5 in treated symptomatic responders but not in nonresponders or placebo-treated participants. These findings suggest an unexpected mechanism of abnormal immune downmodulation in some persons that is normalized by leronlimab. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT04678830.

CCR5 Receptor Occupancy Analysis Reveals Increased Peripheral Blood CCR5+CD4+ T Cells Following Treatment With the Anti-CCR5 Antibody Leronlimab.

CCR5 plays a central role in infectious disease, host defense, and cancer progression, thereby making it an ideal target for therapeutic development. Notably, CCR5 is the major HIV entry co-receptor, where its surface density correlates with HIV plasma viremia. The level of CCR5 receptor occupancy (RO) achieved by a CCR5-targeting therapeutic is therefore a critical predictor of its efficacy. However, current methods to measure CCR5 RO lack sensitivity, resulting in high background and overcalculation. Here, we report on two independent, flow cytometric methods of calculating CCR5 RO using the anti-CCR5 antibody, Leronlimab. We show that both methods led to comparable CCR5 RO values, with low background on untreated CCR5+CD4+ T cells and sensitive measurements of occupancy on both blood and tissue-resident CD4+ T cells that correlated longitudinally with plasma concentrations in Leronlimab-treated macaques. Using these assays, we found that Leronlimab stabilized cell surface CCR5, leading to an increase in the levels of circulating and tissue-resident CCR5+CD4+ T cells in vivo in Leronlimab-treated macaques. Weekly Leronlimab treatment in a chronically SIV-infected macaque led to increased CCR5+CD4+ T cells levels and fully suppressed plasma viremia, both concomitant with full CCR5 RO on peripheral blood CD4+ T cells, demonstrating that CCR5+CD4+ T cells were protected from viral replication by Leronlimab binding. Finally, we extended these results to Leronlimab-treated humans and found that weekly 700 mg Leronlimab led to complete CCR5 RO on peripheral blood CD4+ T cells and a statistically significant increase in CCR5+CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood. Collectively, these results establish two RO calculation methods for longitudinal monitoring of anti-CCR5 therapeutic antibody blockade efficacy in both macaques and humans, demonstrate that CCR5+CD4+ T cell levels temporarily increase with Leronlimab treatment, and facilitate future detailed investigations into the immunological impacts of CCR5 inhibition in multiple pathophysiological processes.

Initiation and Pathogenesis of Severe Asthma with Fungal Sensitization.

Fungi represent one of the most diverse and abundant eukaryotes on earth, and their ubiquity and small proteolytically active products make them pervasive allergens that affect humans and other mammals. The immunologic parameters surrounding fungal allergies are still not fully elucidated despite their importance given that a large proportion of severe asthmatics are sensitized to fungal allergens. Herein, we explore fungal allergic asthma with emphasis on mouse models that recapitulate the characteristics of human disease, and the main leukocyte players in the pathogenesis of fungal allergies. The endogenous mycobiome may also contribute to fungal asthma, a phenomenon that we discuss only superficially, as much remains to be discovered.

Eosinophil Responses at the Airway Epithelial Barrier during the Early Phase of Influenza A Virus Infection in C57BL/6 Mice.

Eosinophils, previously considered terminally differentiated effector cells, have multifaceted functions in tissues. We previously found that allergic mice with eosinophil-rich inflammation were protected from severe influenza and discovered specialized antiviral effector functions for eosinophils including promoting cellular immunity during influenza. In this study, we hypothesized that eosinophil responses during the early phase of influenza contribute to host protection. Using in vitro and in vivo models, we found that eosinophils were rapidly and dynamically regulated upon influenza A virus (IAV) exposure to gain migratory capabilities to traffic to lymphoid organs after pulmonary infection. Eosinophils were capable of neutralizing virus upon contact and combinations of eosinophil granule proteins reduced virus infectivity through hemagglutinin inactivation. Bi-directional crosstalk between IAV-exposed epithelial cells and eosinophils occurred after IAV infection and cross-regulation promoted barrier responses to improve antiviral defenses in airway epithelial cells. Direct interactions between eosinophils and airway epithelial cells after IAV infection prevented virus-induced cytopathology in airway epithelial cells in vitro, and eosinophil recipient IAV-infected mice also maintained normal airway epithelial cell morphology. Our data suggest that eosinophils are important in the early phase of IAV infection providing immediate protection to the epithelial barrier until adaptive immune responses are deployed during influenza.

Murine Models of Eosinophil Function in Fungal and Viral Infections.

Eosinophils are granulocytes that were historically considered to be terminally differentiated at the time of bone marrow egress. However, more recent evidence provides a new outlook on these cells as complex immunomodulators that are involved in host defense and homeostasis. Our work established a role for eosinophils as mediators of antiviral immune responses during influenza in hosts that were sensitized and challenged with fungal allergens. Herein, we describe methods for working with murine eosinophils in the context of influenza A virus.

Respiratory Barrier as a Safeguard and Regulator of Defense Against Influenza A Virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

The primary function of the respiratory system of gas exchange renders it vulnerable to environmental pathogens that circulate in the air. Physical and cellular barriers of the respiratory tract mucosal surface utilize a variety of strategies to obstruct microbe entry. Physical barrier defenses including the surface fluid replete with antimicrobials, neutralizing immunoglobulins, mucus, and the epithelial cell layer with rapidly beating cilia form a near impenetrable wall that separates the external environment from the internal soft tissue of the host. Resident leukocytes, primarily of the innate immune branch, also maintain airway integrity by constant surveillance and the maintenance of homeostasis through the release of cytokines and growth factors. Unfortunately, pathogens such as influenza virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae require hosts for their replication and dissemination, and prey on the respiratory tract as an ideal environment causing severe damage to the host during their invasion. In this review, we outline the host-pathogen interactions during influenza and post-influenza bacterial pneumonia with a focus on inter- and intra-cellular crosstalk important in pulmonary immune responses.

Chronic features of allergic asthma are enhanced in the absence of resistin-like molecule-beta.

Asthma is characterized by inflammation and architectural changes in the lungs. A number of immune cells and mediators are recognized as initiators of asthma, although therapeutics based on these are not always effective. The multifaceted nature of this syndrome necessitate continued exploration of immunomodulators that may play a role in pathogenesis. We investigated the role of resistin-like molecule-beta (RELM-ß), a gut antibacterial, in the development and pathogenesis of Aspergillus-induced allergic airways disease. Age and gender matched C57BL/6J and Retnlb-/- mice rendered allergic to Aspergillus fumigatus were used to measure canonical markers of allergic asthma at early and late time points. Inflammatory cells in airways were similar, although Retnlb-/- mice had reduced tissue inflammation. The absence of RELM-ß elevated serum IgA and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the lungs at homeostasis. Markers of chronic disease including goblet cell numbers, Muc genes, airway wall remodelling, and hyperresponsiveness were greater in the absence RELM-ß. Specific inflammatory mediators important in antimicrobial defence in allergic asthma were also increased in the absence of RELM-ß. These data suggest that while characteristics of allergic asthma develop in the absence of RELM-ß, that RELM-ß may reduce the development of chronic markers of allergic airways disease.