Safety evaluation of the mouse TCRα - transduced T cell product in preclinical models in vivo and in vitro.

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) based on TCR- or CAR-T cells has become an efficient immunotherapeutic approach for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Previously, we developed a novel strategy for generating therapeutic T cell products based on chain-centric TCRs, in which either α- or ß-chain dominates in cognate antigen recognition. To assess the suitability of our experimental approach for the clinical application and predict its possible adverse effects, in studies here, we evaluated the safety of the experimental TCRα-modified T cell product in mouse preclinical models. Our data showed no tumorigenic or mutagenic activity in vitro of TCRα-transduced T cells, indicating no genotoxicity of viral vectors used for the generation of the experimental T cell product. Adoptive transfer of TCRα-engineered T cells in a wide dose range didn`t disturb the host homeostasis and exhibited no acute toxicity or immunotoxicity in vivo. Based on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics analysis here, modified T cells rapidly penetrated and distributed in many viscera after infusion. Histological evaluations revealed no pathological changes in organs caused by T cells accumulation, indicating the absence of non-specific off-target activity or cross-reactivity of the therapeutic TCRα. Studies here provide valuable information on the potential safety of TCRα-T cell based ACT that could be extrapolated to possible effects in a human host.

APOBEC Mutagenesis Inhibits Breast Cancer Growth through Induction of T cell-Mediated Antitumor Immune Responses.

The APOBEC family of cytidine deaminases is one of the most common endogenous sources of mutations in human cancer. Genomic studies of tumors have found that APOBEC mutational signatures are enriched in the HER2 subtype of breast cancer and are associated with immunotherapy response in diverse cancer types. However, the direct consequences of APOBEC mutagenesis on the tumor immune microenvironment have not been thoroughly investigated. To address this, we developed syngeneic murine mammary tumor models with inducible expression of APOBEC3B. We found that APOBEC activity induced antitumor adaptive immune responses and CD4+ T cell-mediated, antigen-specific tumor growth inhibition. Although polyclonal APOBEC tumors had a moderate growth defect, clonal APOBEC tumors were almost completely rejected, suggesting that APOBEC-mediated genetic heterogeneity limits antitumor adaptive immune responses. Consistent with the observed immune infiltration in APOBEC tumors, APOBEC activity sensitized HER2-driven breast tumors to anti-CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibition and led to a complete response to combination anti-CTLA-4 and anti-HER2 therapy. In human breast cancers, the relationship between APOBEC mutagenesis and immunogenicity varied by breast cancer subtype and the frequency of subclonal mutations. This work provides a mechanistic basis for the sensitivity of APOBEC tumors to checkpoint inhibitors and suggests a rationale for using APOBEC mutational signatures and clonality as biomarkers predicting immunotherapy response in HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancers.

HPV Meets APOBEC: New Players in Head and Neck Cancer.

Besides smoking and alcohol, human papillomavirus (HPV) is a factor promoting head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In some human tumors, including HNSCC, a number of mutations are caused by aberrantly activated DNA-modifying enzymes, such as the apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC) family of cytidine deaminases. As the enzymatic activity of APOBEC proteins contributes to the innate immune response to viruses, including HPV, the role of APOBEC proteins in HPV-driven head and neck carcinogenesis has recently gained increasing attention. Ongoing research efforts take the cue from two key observations: (1) APOBEC expression depends on HPV infection status in HNSCC; and (2) APOBEC activity plays a major role in HPV-positive HNSCC mutagenesis. This review focuses on recent advances on the role of APOBEC proteins in HPV-positive vs. HPV-negative HNSCC.

Support of BCP-ALL-cells by autologous bone marrow Th-cells involves induction of AID expression but not widespread AID off-target mutagenesis.

B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) is the most common childhood malignancy. The two-step BCP-ALL pathogenesis requires in utero-induced chromosomal aberrations and additional mutagenic events for overt leukemia. In mouse models, activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID/AICDA) was suggested to contribute to BCP-ALL pathogenesis by off-target mutagenic activity. The role of AID in patients, however, remains unclear. Moreover, AID is usually not expressed in precursor B-cells but in germinal center B-cells, where it is induced upon T-helper (Th) cell stimulation. We have previously demonstrated that autologous Th-cells supportively interacted with BCP-ALL-cells. Here, we hypothesize that this interaction additionally induces AID expression in BCP-ALL-cells, leading to off-target mutagenic activity. We show that co-culture with autologous bone marrow Th-cells induced high AICDA expression in primary BCP-ALL-cells. This induction was mediated by a mechanism similar to the induction in mature B-cells involving IL-13/Stat6, CD40L/NF-κB and TGFß/Smad2/3 signaling. Even though Th-cell-induced AID seemed to be active in vitro in a BCP-ALL reporter cell line, extensive mutational signature analysis revealed no major contribution of AID activity to the mutational landscape in BCP-ALL patients. AID activity was neither detected in mutation clusters nor in known AID targets. Moreover, no recurrently mutated gene showed a relevant enrichment of mutations in the AID motif. Together, the lack of AID-induced mutational consequences argues towards a Th-cell-promoted yet AID-independent BCP-ALL pathogenesis and favors therapeutic research focusing on Th-cell-derived support of BCP-ALL-cells rather than AID-induced effects.

Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease Caused by Mutations in the X-Linked Gene IL2RG

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Lack of Evidence for a Substantial Rate of Templated Mutagenesis in B Cell Diversification.

BCR sequences diversify through mutations introduced by purpose-built cellular machinery. A recent paper has concluded that a "templated mutagenesis" process is a major contributor to somatic hypermutation and therefore Ig diversification in mice and humans. In this proposed process, mutations in the Ig locus are introduced by copying short segments from other Ig genes. If true, this would overturn decades of research on B cell diversification and would require a complete rewrite of computational methods to analyze B cell data for these species. In this paper, we re-evaluate the templated mutagenesis hypothesis. By applying the original inferential method using potential donor templates absent from B cell genomes, we obtain estimates of the methods' false positive rates. We find false positive rates of templated mutagenesis in murine and human Ig loci that are similar to or even higher than the original rate inferences, and by considering the bases used in substitution, we find evidence that if templated mutagenesis occurs, it is at a low rate. We also show that the statistically significant results in the original paper can easily result from a slight misspecification of the null model.

Designing a less immunogenic nattokinase from Bacillus subtilis subsp. natto: a computational mutagenesis.

Nattokinase is an enzyme produced by Bacillus subtilis subsp. natto that contains strong fibrinolytic activity. It has potential to treat cardiovascular diseases. In silico analysis revealed that nattokinase is considered as an antigen, thus hindering its application for injectable therapeutic protein. Various web servers were used to predict B-cell epitopes of nattokinase both continuously and discontinuously to determine which amino acid residues had been responsible for the immunogenicity. With the exclusion of the predicted conserved amino acids, four amino acids such as S18, Q19, T242, and Q245 were allowed for mutation. Substitution mutation was done to lower the immunogenicity of native nattokinase. Through the stability of the mutated protein with the help of Gibbs free energy difference, the proposed mutein was S18D, Q19I, T242Y, and Q245W. The 3D model of the mutated nattokinase was modeled and validated with various tools. Physicochemical properties and stability analysis of the protein indicated that the mutation brought higher stability without causing any changes in the catalytic site of nattokinase. Molecular dynamics simulation implied that the mutation indicated similar stability, conformation, and behavior compared to the native nattokinase. These results are highly likely to contribute to the wet lab experiment to develop safer nattokinase.

APOBEC mutagenesis is tightly linked to the immune landscape and immunotherapy biomarkers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

HNSCC is an immunologically active tumor with high levels of immune cell infiltration, high mutational burden and a subset of patients who respond to immunotherapy. One of the primary sources of mutations in HNSCC is the cytidine deaminase APOBEC3, which is a known participant in innate immunity. Why particular HNSCCs have higher rates of APOBEC mutations and how these mutations relate to the immune microenvironment remains unknown. Utilizing whole exome and RNA-Seq datasets from TCGA HNSCCs we annotated APOBEC mutations, immune cell populations, activating and end effectors of immunity and neoantigens in order to interrogate the relationship between APOBEC mutations and the immune landscape. Immune cell populations and composite scores of immune activation were tightly associated with APOBEC mutational burden (p = 0.04-1.17e-5). HNSCC had the highest levels of IFNy across cancer types with high APOBEC mutational burden, with the highest IFNy scores in HPV mediated HNSCC. Tumor specific neoantigens were significantly correlated with APOBEC mutational burden while other sources of neoantigens were not (0.53 [0.24, 0.76] p = 8e-5). The presence of a germline APOBEC polymorphism was more prevalent in non-white, non-black patients and within this group, patients with the polymorphism had higher APOBEC mutational burden (p = 0.002). APOBEC mutations are tightly linked to immune activation and infiltration in HNSCC. Multiple mechanisms may exist within HNSCC leading to APOBEC mutations including immune upregulation in response to neoantigens and viral infection, via induction of IFNy. These mechanisms may be additive and not mutually exclusive, which could explain higher levels of APOBEC mutations in HPV mediated HNSCC.

Trends in therapeutic antibody affinity maturation: From in-vitro towards next-generation sequencing approaches.

Current advances in antibody engineering driving the strongest growth area in biotherapeutic agents development. Affinity improvement that is mainly important for biological activity and clinical efficacy of therapeutic antibodies, has still remained a challenging task. In the human body, during a course of immune response affinity maturation increase antibody activity by several rounds of somatic hypermutation and clonal selection in the germinal center. The final outputs are antibodies representing higher affinity and specificity against a particular antigen. In the realm of biotechnology, exploring of mutations which improve antibody affinity while preserving its specificity and stability is an extremely time-consuming and laborious process. Recent advances in computational algorithms and DNA sequencing technologies help researchers to redesign antibody structure to achieve desired properties such as improved binding affinity. In this review, we briefly described the principle of affinity maturation and different corresponding in vitro techniques. Also, we recapitulated the most recent advancements in the field of antibody affinity maturation including computational approaches and next-generation sequencing (NGS).

CARD11 is dispensable for homeostatic responses and suppressive activity of peripherally induced FOXP3+ regulatory T cells.

FOXP3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for immunological tolerance and immune homeostasis. Despite a great deal of interest in modulating their number and function for the treatment of autoimmune disease or cancer, the precise mechanisms that control the homeostasis of Treg cells remain unclear. We report a new ENU-induced mutant mouse, lack of costimulation (loco), with atopic dermatitis and Treg cell deficiency typical of Card11 loss-of-function mutants. Three distinct single nucleotide variants were found in the Card11 introns 2, 10 and 20 that cause the loss of CARD11 expression in these mutant mice. These mutations caused the loss of thymic-derived, Neuropilin-1+ (NRP1+ ) Treg cells in neonatal and adult loco mice; however, residual peripherally induced NRP1- Treg cells remained. These peripherally generated Treg cells could be expanded in vivo by the administration of IL-2:anti-IL-2 complexes, indicating that this key homeostatic signaling axis remained intact in CARD11-deficient Treg cells. Furthermore, these expanded Treg cells could mediate near-normal suppression of activated, conventional CD4+ T cells, suggesting that CARD11 is dispensable for Treg cell function. In addition to shedding light on the requirements for CARD11 in Treg cell homeostasis and function, these data reveal novel noncoding Card11 loss-of-function mutations that impair the expression of this critical immune-regulatory protein.

Catechol Oxidase versus Tyrosinase Classification Revisited by Site-Directed Mutagenesis Studies.

Catechol oxidases (COs) and tyrosinases (TYRs) are both polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) that catalyze the oxidation of ortho-diphenols to the corresponding quinones. By the official classification, only TYRs can also catalyze the hydroxylation of monophenols to ortho-diphenols. Researchers have been trying to find the molecular reason for the mono-/diphenolase specificity for decades. However, the hypotheses for the lack of monophenolase activity of plant COs are only based on crystal structures so far. To test these hypotheses, we performed site-directed mutagenesis studies and phylogenetic analyses with dandelion PPOs offering high phylogenetic diversity, the results of which refute the structure-based hypotheses. While plant PPOs of phylogenetic group 2 solely exhibit diphenolase activity, plant PPOs of phylogenetic group 1 unexpectedly also show monophenolase activity. This finding sheds new light upon the molecular basis for mono-/diphenol substrate specificity and challenges the current practice of generally naming plant PPOs as COs.

Multifunctional CRISPR-Cas9 with engineered immunosilenced human T cell epitopes.

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has raised hopes for developing personalized gene therapies for complex diseases. Its application for genetic and epigenetic therapies in humans raises concerns over immunogenicity of the bacterially derived Cas9 protein. Here we detect antibodies to Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) in at least 5% of 143 healthy individuals. We also report pre-existing human CD8+T cell immunity in the majority of healthy individuals screened. We identify two immunodominant SpCas9 T cell epitopes for HLA-A*02:01 using an enhanced prediction algorithm that incorporates T cell receptor contact residue hydrophobicity and HLA binding and evaluated them by T cell assays using healthy donor PBMCs. In a proof-of-principle study, we demonstrate that Cas9 protein can be modified to eliminate immunodominant epitopes through targeted mutation while preserving its function and specificity. Our study highlights the problem of pre-existing immunity against CRISPR-associated nucleases and offers a potential solution to mitigate the T cell immune response.

The Complex Interplay between DNA Injury and Repair in Enzymatically Induced Mutagenesis and DNA Damage in B Lymphocytes.

Lymphocytes are endowed with unique and specialized enzymatic mutagenic properties that allow them to diversify their antigen receptors, which are crucial sensors for pathogens and mediators of adaptive immunity. During lymphocyte development, the antigen receptors expressed by B and T lymphocytes are assembled in an antigen-independent fashion by ordered variable gene segment recombinations (V(D)J recombination), which is a highly ordered and regulated process that requires the recombination activating gene products 1 & 2 (RAG1, RAG2). Upon activation by antigen, B lymphocytes undergo additional diversifications of their immunoglobulin B-cell receptors. Enzymatically induced somatic hypermutation (SHM) and immunoglobulin class switch recombination (CSR) improves the affinity for antigen and shape the effector function of the humoral immune response, respectively. The activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) enzyme is crucial for both SHM and CSR. These processes have evolved to both utilize as well as evade different DNA repair and DNA damage response pathways. The delicate balance between enzymatic mutagenesis and DNA repair is crucial for effective immune responses and the maintenance of genomic integrity. Not surprisingly, disturbances in this balance are at the basis of lymphoid malignancies by provoking the formation of oncogenic mutations and chromosomal aberrations. In this review, we discuss recent mechanistic insight into the regulation of RAG1/2 and AID expression and activity in lymphocytes and the complex interplay between these mutagenic enzymes and DNA repair and DNA damage response pathways, focusing on the base excision repair and mismatch repair pathways. We discuss how disturbances of this interplay induce genomic instability and contribute to oncogenesis.

Variaciones fenotípicas en el síndrome de Aicardi-Goutières causado por mutaciones en el genRNASEH2B: presentación de dos nuevos casos / Phenotypic variations in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome caused by RNASEH2B gene mutations: report of two new cases

Introducción. El síndrome de Aicardi-Goutières es un trastorno inmunitario raro debido a mutaciones en siete genes que codifican proteínas llamadas TREX1, el complejo ribonucleasa H2, SAMHD1, ADAR e IFIH1 (MAD5), las cuales están implicadas en el metabolismo de los ácidos nucleicos. A continuación se presentan dos nuevos casos por mutación en el gen RNASEH2B, uno de los cuales presenta una mutación no descrita hasta la fecha. Casos clínicos. Caso 1: varón que consultó porque desde los 5 meses, coincidiendo con cuadros febriles de repetición, presentaba pérdida de los ítems madurativos adquiridos hasta la fecha. Caso 2: niño de 4 meses que desde los 2 meses mostraba gran irritabilidad con dificultades en la alimentación, asociado a un grave retraso psicomotor. En ambos casos se constató un aumento de las pterinas en el líquido cefalorraquídeo, principalmente de la neopterina, con calcificaciones en los ganglios basales. El diagnóstico se confirmó mediante secuenciación del gen RNASEH2B; el caso 2 presentaba una mutación no descrita en la literatura médica. Conclusiones. Los casos corresponden a la descripción clásica realizada por Aicardi-Goutières. Debe tenerse en cuenta este síndrome ante un paciente con un cuadro de encefalopatía subaguda de comienzo en el primer año de vida, distonía/espasticidad en grado variable e importante afectación/regresión del desarrollo psicomotor, especialmente si asocia aumento de las pterinas (neopterina) en el líquido cefalorraquídeo y calcificaciones en los ganglios basales (AU)

Introduction. Aicardi-Goutières syndrome is a rare immune disorder due to mutations in seven different genes that encode proteins called TREX1, ribonuclease H2 complex, SAMHD1, ADAR and IDIH1 (MDA5), which are involved in acid nucleic metabolism. Two cases are described in detail below caused by RNASEH2B gene mutation, one of which displays a mutation no described to date. Case reports. Case 1: male consulting because from 5-month-old shows loss of maturity items acquired until then, coming with several fever episodes. Case 2: a 4-month-old boy showing since 2-month-old great irritability and oral-feeding trouble with severe psychomotor impairment. In both cases it was found an increase of pterines in the cerebrospinal fluid, mainly neopterine, with calcifications in the basal ganglia. The diagnosis was proved by sequencing RNASEH2B gene, founding in case 2 a new mutation not described previously. Conclusions. The reported cases belong to the description already done by Aicardi-Goutières, it should be noticed this syndrome in a patient with a subacute encephalopathy of debut in the first year of life, dystonia/spasticity in variable degree and important affectation/regression of psychomotor development, particularly in those with increase of pterines (neopterine) in the cerebrospinal fluid and calcifications in the basal ganglia (AU)

Filaggrin polymorphism Pro478Ser is associated with the severity of atopic dermatitis and colonization by staphylococcal aureus

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Diagnóstico genético de fibrosis quística mediante la técnica de desnaturalización de ADN a alta resolución (HRM) / Genetic diagnosis of cystic fibrosis by high resolution melting of DNA (HRM)

La fibrosis quística es la enfermedad grave de herencia autosómica recesiva más frecuente en la raza caucásica, con una incidencia estimada entre 1/2.000 y 1/6.000 nacidos vivos y causada por mutaciones en el gen CFTR. La casi totalidad de los pacientes desarrollan una enfermedad pulmonar crónica y progresiva, que es la causa más frecuente de la morbimortalidad. En el 85% de los casos existe disfunción pancreática (exocrina o endocrina). El diagnóstico de la fibrosis quística se basa esencialmente en la historia clínica, aunque el diagnóstico etiológico es el diagnóstico molecular, con la identificación de las mutaciones en el gen CFTR. Para ello, existen técnicas de rastreo de mutaciones que identifican patrones anormales en la secuencia que necesitan ser confirmadas por secuenciación del ADN. Actualmente se acepta que el HRM es la técnica de rastreo más sensible en la búsqueda de variantes en la secuencia de ADN. Alternativamente, existen baterías diagnósticas actualmente disponibles comercialmente, que identifican las mutaciones más frecuentes en fibrosis quística con una sensibilidad superior al 75%. En este trabajo hemos hecho un análisis del gen CFTR en pacientes con fibrosis quística mediante la técnica de rastreo de mutaciones basada en la desnaturalización a alta resolución del ADN (High Resolution Melting [HRM]). En paralelo, en los mismos pacientes, hemos hecho un estudio comparativo de la sensibilidad del HRM con dos test comerciales y de estos dos test entre sí. Uno de los test, Devyser, incluye una batería complementaria para la identificación de mutaciones específicas de la población española. Los resultados de este trabajo indican que el HRM tiene una sensibilidad cercana al 100% en la detección de mutaciones y polimorfismos en el gen CFTR. Además la técnica de HRM es también más sensible que los test comerciales en el diagnóstico molecular de pacientes de fibrosis quística (AU)

Cystic fibrosis is the severe disease of autosomal recessive inheritance most common in caucasians, with an estimated incidence between 1/2,000 and 1/6,000 live births. This disease is caused by mutations in the CFTR gene. Almost all patients develop a chronic, progressive lung disease, which is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality. In 85% of cases there is also pancreatic dysfunction (exocrine and endocrine). The diagnosis of cystic fibrosis is essentially based on clinical history, although the etiologic diagnosis is the diagnosis at molecular level, with the identification of mutations in the CFTR gene. For this purpose, there are screening techniques that identify abnormal patterns that need to be confirmed by DNA sequencing. It is now accepted that the HRM is the most sensitive screening technique in the search for variants in the DNA sequence. Alternatively, there are diagnostic batteries currently available commercially, which identify the most common cystic fibrosis mutations with sensitivity greater than 75%. In this work we have done an analysis of the CFTR gene in cystic fibrosis patients by the screening technique based on denatured DNA at high resolution (High Resolution Melting [HRM]). In parallel, in the same patients, we have made a comparative study of the sensitivity of the HRM with two commercial test. One of the test, Devyser includes an additional battery for identification of specific mutations in the Spanish population. Results obtained indicated that HRM has a sensibility closed to 100% for the detection of mutations and polymorphisms in CFTR gene. Furthermore, HRM presented higher sensitivity than the commercial tests for molecular diagnosis of cystic fibrosis patients (AU)

APOBEC3 genes: retroviral restriction factors to cancer drivers.

The APOBEC3 cytosine deaminases play key roles in innate immunity through their ability to mutagenize viral DNA and restrict viral replication. Recent advances in cancer genomics, together with biochemical characterization of the APOBEC3 enzymes, have now implicated at least two family members in somatic mutagenesis during tumor development. We review the evidence linking these enzymes to carcinogenesis and highlight key questions, including the potential mechanisms that misdirect APOBEC3 activity to the host genome, the links to viral infection, and the association between a common APOBEC3 polymorphism and cancer risk.

Analysis of mutations in the IL2RG gene in 2 asian infants with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency

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Antimicrobials, stress and mutagenesis.

Cationic antimicrobial peptides are ancient and ubiquitous immune effectors that multicellular organisms use to kill and police microbes whereas antibiotics are mostly employed by microorganisms. As antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) mostly target the cell wall, a microbial 'Achilles heel', it has been proposed that bacterial resistance evolution is very unlikely and hence AMPs are ancient 'weapons' of multicellular organisms. Here we provide a new hypothesis to explain the widespread distribution of AMPs amongst multicellular organism. Studying five antimicrobial peptides from vertebrates and insects, we show, using a classic Luria-Delbrück fluctuation assay, that cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) do not increase bacterial mutation rates. Moreover, using rtPCR and disc diffusion assays we find that AMPs do not elicit SOS or rpoS bacterial stress pathways. This is in contrast to the main classes of antibiotics that elevate mutagenesis via eliciting the SOS and rpoS pathways. The notion of the 'Achilles heel' has been challenged by experimental selection for AMP-resistance, but our findings offer a new perspective on the evolutionary success of AMPs. Employing AMPs seems advantageous for multicellular organisms, as it does not fuel the adaptation of bacteria to their immune defenses. This has important consequences for our understanding of host-microbe interactions, the evolution of innate immune defenses, and also sheds new light on antimicrobial resistance evolution and the use of AMPs as drugs.

Point mutagenesis reveals that a coiled-coil motif of CrV1 is required for entry to hemocytes to suppress cellular immune responses.

Various immunosuppressive factors are derived from polydnaviruses (PDVs) mutually symbiotic to some ichneumonid and braconid wasps. CrV1 was originally identified from a PDV called Cotesia rubecula bracovirus. CrV1 orthologs are reported in other Cotesia-associated PDVs, but not clearly understood in their physiological functions. This study determined a function of CrV1 encoded in Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV). CpBV-CrV1 is the largest molecule among the known CrV1s and is predicted to possess three coiled-coil motifs. It was constitutively expressed in parasitized host, Plutella xylostella. In vivo transient expression of CpBV-CrV1 significantly impaired hemocyte nodule formation. However, its specific RNA interference significantly recovered the immune response. Two point mutations (Ala→Pro at 192nd and 196th positions) were designed to remove the main coiled-coil motif of CpBV-CrV1. When CpBV-CrV1 and the mutant CpBV-CrV1 were expressed in Sf9 cells, their proteins were synthesized and secreted into each culture medium. When each culture medium was overlaid on hemocytes of nonparasitized P. xylostella, an immunofluorescence assay showed that CpBV-CrV1 entered the hemocytes, but the mutant protein did not. The entered CpBV-CrV1 significantly inhibited hemocyte-spreading behavior by preventing F-actin formation. These results indicate that CpBV-CrV1 is an immunosuppressive factor of CpBV, in which its coiled-coil motif is essential.