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Lee MJ, de los Rios Kobara I, Barnard TR, Vales Torres X, Tobin NH, Ferbas KG, Rimoin AW, Yang OO, Aldrovandi GM, Wilk AJ, Fulcher JA, Blish CA. NK Cell-Monocyte Cross-talk Underlies NK Cell Activation in Severe COVID-19. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2024; 212:1693-1705. [PMID: 38578283 PMCID: PMC11102029 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
NK cells in the peripheral blood of severe COVID-19 patients exhibit a unique profile characterized by activation and dysfunction. Previous studies have identified soluble factors, including type I IFN and TGF-β, that underlie this dysregulation. However, the role of cell-cell interactions in modulating NK cell function during COVID-19 remains unclear. To address this question, we combined cell-cell communication analysis on existing single-cell RNA sequencing data with in vitro primary cell coculture experiments to dissect the mechanisms underlying NK cell dysfunction in COVID-19. We found that NK cells are predicted to interact most strongly with monocytes and that this occurs via both soluble factors and direct interactions. To validate these findings, we performed in vitro cocultures in which NK cells from healthy human donors were incubated with monocytes from COVID-19+ or healthy donors. Coculture of healthy NK cells with monocytes from COVID-19 patients recapitulated aspects of the NK cell phenotype observed in severe COVID-19, including decreased expression of NKG2D, increased expression of activation markers, and increased proliferation. When these experiments were performed in a Transwell setting, we found that only CD56bright CD16- NK cells were activated in the presence of severe COVID-19 patient monocytes. O-link analysis of supernatants from Transwell cocultures revealed that cultures containing severe COVID-19 patient monocytes had significantly elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, as well as TGF-β. Collectively, these results demonstrate that interactions between NK cells and monocytes in the peripheral blood of COVID-19 patients contribute to NK cell activation and dysfunction in severe COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline J. Lee
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
- Stanford Immunology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
| | - Izumi de los Rios Kobara
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
- Stanford Immunology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
| | - Trisha R. Barnard
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
| | - Xariana Vales Torres
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
- Stanford Immunology Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
| | - Nicole H. Tobin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Kathie G. Ferbas
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Anne W. Rimoin
- Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Otto O. Yang
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Grace M. Aldrovandi
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Aaron J. Wilk
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
- Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
| | - Jennifer A. Fulcher
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Catherine A. Blish
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA
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Sivonen M, Sirviö KA, Wojciechowski S, Kailaanmäki A, Kaipainen S, Bailey A, Villalba M, Kekarainen T. Cytokines impact natural killer cell phenotype and functionality against glioblastoma in vitro. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1227064. [PMID: 37841273 PMCID: PMC10569479 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1227064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Natural killer (NK) cells are a part of the innate immune system and first-line defense against cancer. Since they possess natural mechanisms to recognize and kill tumor cells, NK cells are considered as a potential option for an off-the-shelf allogeneic cell-based immunotherapy. Here, our objective was to identify the optimal cytokine-based, feeder-free, activation and expansion protocol for cytotoxic NK cells against glioblastoma in vitro. Methods NK cells were enriched from human peripheral blood and expanded for 16 days with different activation and cytokine combinations. The expansion conditions were evaluated based on NK cell viability, functionality, expansion rate and purity. The cytotoxicity and degranulation of the expanded NK cells were measured in vitro from co‑cultures with the glioma cell lines U‑87 MG, U‑87 MG EGFR vIII, LN-229, U-118 and DK-MG. The best expansion protocols were selected from ultimately 39 different conditions: three magnetic cell‑selection steps (Depletion of CD3+ cells, enrichment of CD56+ cells, and depletion of CD3+ cells followed by enrichment of CD56+ cells); four activation protocols (continuous, pre-activation, re-activation, and boost); and four cytokine combinations (IL-2/15, IL‑21/15, IL‑27/18/15 and IL-12/18/15). Results The expansion rates varied between 2-50-fold, depending on the donor and the expansion conditions. The best expansion rate and purity were gained with sequential selection (Depletion of CD3+ cells and enrichment of CD56+ cells) from the starting material and pre-activation with IL‑12/18/15 cytokines, which are known to produce cytokine-induced memory-like NK cells. The cytotoxicity of these memory-like NK cells was enhanced with re-activation, diminishing the donor variation. The most cytotoxic NK cells were produced when cells were boosted at the end of the expansion with IL-12/18/15 or IL-21/15. Conclusion According to our findings the ex vivo proliferation capacity and functionality of NK cells is affected by multiple factors, such as the donor, composition of starting material, cytokine combination and the activation protocol. The cytokines modified the NK cells' phenotype and functionality, which was evident in their reactivity against the glioma cell lines. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive comparative study performed to this extent, and these findings could be used for upscaling clinical NK cell manufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna Sivonen
- Kuopio Center for Gene and Cell Therapy, Kuopio, Finland
- A.I. Virtanen Institute, Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine Unit, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | | | | | | | - Satu Kaipainen
- Kuopio Center for Gene and Cell Therapy, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Aubrey Bailey
- Kuopio Center for Gene and Cell Therapy, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Martin Villalba
- IRMB, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, CHU Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
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Xiong Q, Zhang H, Ji X, Zhang Y, Shi G, Dai L, Cheng F, Wang H, Luo J, Xu J, Ji Y, Su X, Yang W, Zhang L, Deng H. A novel membrane-bound interleukin-2 promotes NK-92 cell persistence and anti-tumor activity. Oncoimmunology 2022; 11:2127282. [PMID: 36185809 PMCID: PMC9519007 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2022.2127282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in natural killer (NK) cell immunotherapy is the limited persistence of NK cells in vivo. However, the proliferation of NK cells is dependent on cytokines such as interleukin-2 (IL-2). Although IL-2 is a critical cytokine for NK cell activation and survival, IL-2 administration in adoptive NK cell therapy can induce adverse toxicities. To improve the persistence of NK cells and attenuate the systemic toxicity of IL-2, we constructed a cell-restricted artificial IL-2, named membrane-bound IL-2 (mbIL-2), comprising human IL-2 and human IL-2Rα joined by a classic linker. We found that mbIL-2-activated NK-92 cells can survive and proliferate in vitro and in vivo, independent of exogenous IL-2, while mbIL-2-expressing NK-92 cells do not support bystander cell survival or proliferation. Additionally, mbIL-2 enhanced NK-92 cell-mediated antitumor activity by tuning the IL-2 receptor downstream signals and NK cell receptor repertoire expression. To conclude, our novel mbIL-2 improves NK-92 cell persistence and enhances NK-92 cell-mediated antitumor activity. NK-92 cells genetically modified to express the novel mbIL-2 with potential significance for clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Hantao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Xuanle Ji
- The College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Yong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Gang Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Lei Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Fuyi Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Huiling Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Jieyan Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Jia Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Yanhong Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Xiaolan Su
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Weixiao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Lin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Hongxin Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China
- Research Unit of Gene and Immunotherapy, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
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Cao JF, Gong Y, Wu M, Yang X, Xiong L, Chen S, Xiao Z, Li Y, Zhang L, Zan W, Zhang X. Exploring the mechanism of action of licorice in the treatment of COVID-19 through bioinformatics analysis and molecular dynamics simulation. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:1003310. [PMID: 36120307 PMCID: PMC9481297 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1003310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: The rapid worldwide spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become not only a global challenge, but also a lack of effective clinical treatments. Studies have shown that licorice can significantly improve clinical symptoms such as fever, dry cough and shortness of breath in COVID-19 patients with no significant adverse effects. However, there is still a lack of in-depth analysis of the specific active ingredients of licorice in the treatment of COVID-19 and its mechanism of action. Therefore, we used molecular docking and molecular dynamics to explore the mechanism of action of licorice in the treatment of COVID-19.Methods: We used bioinformatics to screen active pharmaceutical ingredients and potential targets, the disease-core gene target-drug network was established and molecular docking was used for verification. Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to verify that active ingredients were stably combined with protein targets. The supercomputer platform was used to measure and analyze stability of protein targets at the residue level, solvent accessible surface area, number of hydrogen bonds, radius of gyration and binding free energy.Results: Licorice had 255 gene targets, COVID-19 had 4,628 gene targets, the intersection gene targets were 101. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that licorice played an important role mainly through the signaling pathways of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress. Molecular docking showed that Glycyrol, Phaseol and Glyasperin F in licorice may playe a role in treating COVID-19 by acting on STAT3, IL2RA, MMP1, and CXCL8. Molecular dynamics were used to demonstrate and analyze the binding stability of active ingredients to protein targets.Conclusion: This study found that Phaseol in licorice may reduce inflammatory cell activation and inflammatory response by inhibiting the activation of CXCL8 and IL2RA; Glycyrol may regulate cell proliferation and survival by acting on STAT3. Glyasperin F may regulate cell growth by inhibiting the activation of MMP1, thus reducing tissue damage and cell death caused by excessive inflammatory response and promoting the growth of new tissues. Therefore, licorice is proposed as an effective candidate for the treatment of COVID-19 through STAT3, IL2RA, MMP1, and CXCL8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Feng Cao
- Clinical Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
- Chengdu Medical College of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Yunli Gong
- Laboratory Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Mei Wu
- Clinical Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Xingyu Yang
- Clinical Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Li Xiong
- Clinical Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Shengyan Chen
- Clinical Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Zixuan Xiao
- Laboratory Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Yang Li
- Laboratory Medicine, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Lixin Zhang
- Yunnan Academy of Forestry Sciences, Kunming, China
- *Correspondence: Lixin Zhang, , orcid.org/0086-135-2919-4157; Wang Zan, , orcid.org/0086-186-2812-0209; Xiao Zhang, , orcid.org/0086-130-8661-6376
| | - Wang Zan
- Chengdu Medical College of Pharmacy, Chengdu, China
- *Correspondence: Lixin Zhang, , orcid.org/0086-135-2919-4157; Wang Zan, , orcid.org/0086-186-2812-0209; Xiao Zhang, , orcid.org/0086-130-8661-6376
| | - Xiao Zhang
- Chengdu Medical College of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
- *Correspondence: Lixin Zhang, , orcid.org/0086-135-2919-4157; Wang Zan, , orcid.org/0086-186-2812-0209; Xiao Zhang, , orcid.org/0086-130-8661-6376
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