The plasma cell signature in autoimmune disease.

OBJECTIVE: Production of pathogenic autoantibodies by self-reactive plasma cells (PCs) is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases. We undertook this study to investigate the prevalence of PCs and their relationship to known pathogenic pathways to increase our understanding of the role of PCs in disease progression and treatment response. METHODS: We developed a sensitive gene expression-based method to overcome the challenges of measuring PCs using flow cytometry. Whole-genome microarray analysis of sorted cellular fractions identified a panel of genes, IGHA1, IGJ, IGKC, IGKV4-1, and TNFRSF17, expressed predominantly in PCs. The sensitivity of the PC signature score created from the combined expression levels of these genes was assessed through ex vivo experiments with sorted cells. This PC gene expression signature was used for monitoring changes in PC levels following anti-CD19 therapy, for evaluating the relationship between PCs and other autoimmune disease-related genes, and for estimating PC levels in affected blood and tissue from patients with multiple autoimmune diseases. RESULTS: The PC signature was highly sensitive and capable of detecting a change in as few as 360 PCs. The PC signature was reduced more than 90% in scleroderma patients following anti-CD19 treatment, and this reduction was highly correlated (r = 0.80) with inhibition of collagen gene expression. Evaluation of multiple autoimmune diseases revealed that 30-35% of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients had increased levels of PCs. CONCLUSION: This newly developed PC signature provides a robust and accurate method of measuring PC levels in the clinic. Our results highlight subsets of patients across multiple autoimmune diseases who may benefit from PC-depleting therapy.

Uncovering gene regulatory networks during mouse fetal germ cell development.

The commitment of germ cells to either oogenesis or spermatogenesis occurs during fetal gonad development: germ cells enter meiosis or mitotic arrest, depending on whether they reside within an ovary or a testis, respectively. Despite the critical importance of this step for sexual reproduction, gene networks underlying germ cell development have remained only partially understood. Taking advantage of the W(v) mouse model, in which gonads lack germ cells, we conducted a microarray study to identify genes expressed in fetal germ cells. In addition to distinguishing genes expressed by germ cells from those expressed by somatic cells within the developing gonads, we were able to highlight specific groups of genes expressed only in female or male germ cells. Our results provide an important resource for deciphering the molecular pathways driving proper germ cell development and sex determination and will improve our understanding of the etiology of human germ cell tumors that arise from dysregulation of germ cell differentiation.

Reproductive toxicity and pharmacokinetics of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) following dietary exposure of pregnant rats.

Most rodent developmental toxicity studies of dibutylphthalate (DBP) have relied on bolus gavage dosing. This study characterized the developmental toxicity of dietary DBP. Pregnant CD rats were given nominal doses of 0, 100, or 500 mg DBP/kg/day in diet (actual intake 0, 112, and 582 mg/kg/day) from gestational day (GD) 12 through the morning of GD 19. Rats were killed 4 or 24 hr thereafter. DBP dietary exposure resulted in significant dose-dependent reductions in testicular mRNA concentration of scavenger receptor class B, member 1; steroidogenic acute regulatory protein; cytochrome P450, family 11, subfamily a, polypeptide 1; and cytochrome P450 family 17, subfamily a, polypeptide 1. These effects were most pronounced 4 hr after the end of exposure. Testicular testosterone was reduced 24 hr post-exposure in both DBP dose groups and 4 hr after termination of the 500-mg DBP/kg/day exposure. Maternal exposure to 500 mg DBP/kg/day induced a significant reduction in male offspring's anogenital distance indicating in utero disruption of androgen function. Leydig cell aggregates, increased cord diameters, and multinucleated gonocytes were present in DBP-treated rats. Monobutyl phthalate, the developmentally toxic metabolite of DBP, and its glucuronide conjugate were found in maternal and fetal plasma, amniotic fluid, and maternal urine. Our results, when compared to previously conducted gavage studies, indicate that approximately equal doses of oral DBP exposure of pregnant rats, from diet or gavage, result in similar responses in male offspring.

Gene expression profiling following in utero exposure to phthalate esters reveals new gene targets in the etiology of testicular dysgenesis.

Male reproductive tract abnormalities associated with testicular dysgenesis in humans also occur in male rats exposed gestationally to some phthalate esters. We examined global gene expression in the fetal testis of the rat following in utero exposure to a panel of phthalate esters. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were treated by gavage daily from Gestational Days 12 through 19 with corn oil vehicle (1 ml/kg) or diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), dioctyl tere-phthalate (DOTP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), dipentyl phthalate (DPP), or benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) at 500 mg/kg per day. Testes were isolated on Gestational Day 19, and global changes in gene expression were determined. Of the approximately 30 000 genes queried, expression of 391 genes was significantly altered following exposure to the developmentally toxic phthalates (DBP, BBP, DPP, and DEHP) relative to the control. The developmentally toxic phthalates were indistinguishable in their effects on global gene expression. No significant changes in gene expression were detected in the nondevelopmentally toxic phthalate group (DMP, DEP, and DOTP). Gene pathways disrupted include those previously identified as targets for DBP, including cholesterol transport and steroidogenesis, as well as newly identified pathways involved in intracellular lipid and cholesterol homeostasis, insulin signaling, transcriptional regulation, and oxidative stress. Additional gene targets include alpha inhibin, which is essential for normal Sertoli cell development, and genes involved with communication between Sertoli cells and gonocytes. The common targeting of these genes by a select group of phthalates indicates a role for their associated molecular pathways in testicular development and offers new insight into the molecular mechanisms of testicular dysgenesis.

Dose-dependent alterations in gene expression and testosterone synthesis in the fetal testes of male rats exposed to di (n-butyl) phthalate.

Exposure to di (n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) in utero impairs the development of the male rat reproductive tract. The adverse effects are due in part to a coordinated decrease in expression of genes involved in cholesterol transport and steroidogenesis with a resultant reduction in testosterone production in the fetal testis. To determine the dose-response relationship for the effect of DBP on steroidogenesis in fetal rat testes, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats received corn oil (vehicle control) or DBP (0.1, 1.0, 10, 50, 100, or 500 mg/kg/day) by gavage daily from gestation day (GD) 12 to 19. Testes were isolated on GD 19, and changes in gene and protein expression were quantified by RT-PCR and Western analysis. Fetal testicular testosterone concentration was determined by radioimmunoassay. DBP exposure resulted in significant dose-dependent reductions in mRNA and protein concentration of scavenger receptor, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage, 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and cytochrome P450c17. Testicular testosterone was reduced at doses of 50 mg/kg/day and above. Whole-testis expression of peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) mRNA, which functions with StAR to transport cholesterol across the mitochondrial membrane, was upregulated following exposure to DBP at 500 mg/kg/day. By immunocytochemistry, however, PBR protein was reduced in interstitial cells and also expressed but not reduced in gonocytes. Our results demonstrate a coordinate, dose-dependent reduction in the expression of key genes and proteins involved in cholesterol transport and steroidogenesis and a corresponding reduction in testosterone in fetal testes following maternal exposure to DBP, at dose levels below which adverse effects are detected in the developing male reproductive tract. Alterations in gene and protein expression and testosterone synthesis may serve as sensitive indicators of testicular response to DBP.