1
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Rojas M, Acosta-Ampudia Y, Heuer LS, Zang W, M Monsalve D, Ramírez-Santana C, Anaya JM, M Ridgway W, A Ansari A, Gershwin ME. Antigen-specific T cells and autoimmunity. J Autoimmun 2024; 148:103303. [PMID: 39141985 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2024.103303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2024] [Revised: 07/31/2024] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/16/2024]
Abstract
Autoimmune diseases (ADs) showcase the intricate balance between the immune system's protective functions and its potential for self-inflicted damage. These disorders arise from the immune system's erroneous targeting of the body's tissues, resulting in damage and disease. The ability of T cells to distinguish between self and non-self-antigens is pivotal to averting autoimmune reactions. Perturbations in this process contribute to AD development. Autoreactive T cells that elude thymic elimination are activated by mimics of self-antigens or are erroneously activated by self-antigens can trigger autoimmune responses. Various mechanisms, including molecular mimicry and bystander activation, contribute to AD initiation, with specific triggers and processes varying across the different ADs. In addition, the formation of neo-epitopes could also be implicated in the emergence of autoreactivity. The specificity of T cell responses centers on the antigen recognition sequences expressed by T cell receptors (TCRs), which recognize peptide fragments displayed by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The assortment of TCR gene combinations yields a diverse array of T cell populations, each with distinct affinities for self and non-self antigens. However, new evidence challenges the traditional notion that clonal expansion solely steers the selection of higher-affinity T cells. Lower-affinity T cells also play a substantial role, prompting the "two-hit" hypothesis. High-affinity T cells incite initial responses, while their lower-affinity counterparts perpetuate autoimmunity. Precision treatments that target antigen-specific T cells hold promise for avoiding widespread immunosuppression. Nevertheless, detection of such antigen-specific T cells remains a challenge, and multiple technologies have been developed with different sensitivities while still harboring several drawbacks. In addition, elements such as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes and validation through animal models are pivotal for advancing these strategies. In brief, this review delves into the intricate mechanisms contributing to ADs, accentuating the pivotal role(s) of antigen-specific T cells in steering immune responses and disease progression, as well as the novel strategies for the identification of antigen-specific cells and their possible future use in humans. Grasping the mechanisms behind ADs paves the way for targeted therapeutic interventions, potentially enhancing treatment choices while minimizing the risk of systemic immunosuppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Rojas
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA; Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research (CREA), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia.
| | - Yeny Acosta-Ampudia
- Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research (CREA), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Luke S Heuer
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Weici Zang
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Diana M Monsalve
- Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research (CREA), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Carolina Ramírez-Santana
- Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research (CREA), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia
| | | | - William M Ridgway
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Aftab A Ansari
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - M Eric Gershwin
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
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2
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Shi J, Yin W, Chen W. Mathematical models of TCR initial triggering. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1411614. [PMID: 39091495 PMCID: PMC11291225 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1411614] [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: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
T cell receptors (TCRs) play crucial roles in regulating T cell response by rapidly and accurately recognizing foreign and non-self antigens. The process involves multiple molecules and regulatory mechanisms, forming a complex network to achieve effective antigen recognition. Mathematical modeling techniques can help unravel the intricate network of TCR signaling and identify key regulators that govern it. In this review, we introduce and briefly discuss relevant mathematical models of TCR initial triggering, with a focus on kinetic proofreading (KPR) models with different modified structures. We compare the topology structures, biological hypotheses, parameter choices, and simulation performance of each model, and summarize the advantages and limitations of them. Further studies on TCR modeling design, aiming for an optimized balance of specificity and sensitivity, are expected to contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiawei Shi
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Weiwei Yin
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Detection Technology and Medicinal Effectiveness Appraisal, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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3
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Pathni A, Wagh K, Rey-Suarez I, Upadhyaya A. Mechanical regulation of lymphocyte activation and function. J Cell Sci 2024; 137:jcs219030. [PMID: 38995113 PMCID: PMC11267459 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.219030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Mechanosensing, or how cells sense and respond to the physical environment, is crucial for many aspects of biological function, ranging from cell movement during development to cancer metastasis, the immune response and gene expression driving cell fate determination. Relevant physical stimuli include the stiffness of the extracellular matrix, contractile forces, shear flows in blood vessels, complex topography of the cellular microenvironment and membrane protein mobility. Although mechanosensing has been more widely studied in non-immune cells, it has become increasingly clear that physical cues profoundly affect the signaling function of cells of the immune system. In this Review, we summarize recent studies on mechanical regulation of immune cells, specifically lymphocytes, and explore how the force-generating cytoskeletal machinery might mediate mechanosensing. We discuss general principles governing mechanical regulation of lymphocyte function, spanning from the molecular scale of receptor activation to cellular responses to mechanical stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aashli Pathni
- Biological Sciences Graduate Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Kaustubh Wagh
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Ivan Rey-Suarez
- Insitute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Microcore, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, DC 111711, USA
| | - Arpita Upadhyaya
- Biological Sciences Graduate Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Insitute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Biophysics Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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4
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Dixon MG, Keener JP. Dimensional Dependence of Binding Kinetics. Bull Math Biol 2024; 86:87. [PMID: 38874691 DOI: 10.1007/s11538-024-01311-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
In the context of protein-protein binding, the dissociation constant is used to describe the affinity between two proteins. For protein-protein interactions, most experimentally-measured dissociation constants are measured in solution and reported in units of volume concentration. However, many protein interactions take place on membranes. These interactions have dissociation constants with units of areal concentration, rather than volume concentration. Here, we present a novel, stochastic approach to understanding the dimensional dependence of binding kinetics. Using stochastic exit time calculations, in discrete and continuous space, we derive general reaction rates for protein-protein binding in one, two, and three dimensions and demonstrate that dimensionality greatly affects binding kinetics. Further, we present a formula to transform three-dimensional experimentally-measured dissociation constants to two-dimensional dissociation constants. This conversion can be used to mathematically model binding events that occur on membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan G Dixon
- Mathematics Department, Brigham Young University, 275 TMCB, Provo, UT, 84602, USA.
| | - James P Keener
- Mathematics Department, University of Utah, 155 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
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5
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Fan L, Liu J, Hu W, Chen Z, Lan J, Zhang T, Zhang Y, Wu X, Zhong Z, Zhang D, Zhang J, Qin R, Chen H, Zong Y, Zhang J, Chen B, Jiang J, Cheng J, Zhou J, Gao Z, Liu Z, Chai Y, Fan J, Wu P, Chen Y, Zhu Y, Wang K, Yuan Y, Huang P, Zhang Y, Feng H, Song K, Zeng X, Zhu W, Hu X, Yin W, Chen W, Wang J. Targeting pro-inflammatory T cells as a novel therapeutic approach to potentially resolve atherosclerosis in humans. Cell Res 2024; 34:407-427. [PMID: 38491170 PMCID: PMC11143203 DOI: 10.1038/s41422-024-00945-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Atherosclerosis (AS), a leading cause of cardio-cerebrovascular disease worldwide, is driven by the accumulation of lipid contents and chronic inflammation. Traditional strategies primarily focus on lipid reduction to control AS progression, leaving residual inflammatory risks for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). While anti-inflammatory therapies targeting innate immunity have reduced MACEs, many patients continue to face significant risks. Another key component in AS progression is adaptive immunity, but its potential role in preventing AS remains unclear. To investigate this, we conducted a retrospective cohort study on tumor patients with AS plaques. We found that anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody (mAb) significantly reduces AS plaque size. With multi-omics single-cell analyses, we comprehensively characterized AS plaque-specific PD-1+ T cells, which are activated and pro-inflammatory. We demonstrated that anti-PD-1 mAb, when captured by myeloid-expressed Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs), interacts with PD-1 expressed on T cells. This interaction turns the anti-PD-1 mAb into a substitute PD-1 ligand, suppressing T-cell functions in the PD-1 ligands-deficient context of AS plaques. Further, we conducted a prospective cohort study on tumor patients treated with anti-PD-1 mAb with or without Fc-binding capability. Our analysis shows that anti-PD-1 mAb with Fc-binding capability effectively reduces AS plaque size, while anti-PD-1 mAb without Fc-binding capability does not. Our work suggests that T cell-targeting immunotherapy can be an effective strategy to resolve AS in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Fan
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Research Center for Life Science and Human Health, Binjiang Institute of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Junwei Liu
- Department of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Guangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Wei Hu
- Department of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Kidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zexin Chen
- Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Department of Scientific Research, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jie Lan
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Bioinformatics, The Basic Medical School of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Tongtong Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Center for Integrated Oncology and Precision Medicine, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xianpeng Wu
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhiwei Zhong
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Danyang Zhang
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jinlong Zhang
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Rui Qin
- Department of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- The MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-machine Integration, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hui Chen
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yunfeng Zong
- National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jianmin Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Bing Chen
- Department of Vascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jun Jiang
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jifang Cheng
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jingyi Zhou
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhiwei Gao
- Department of Vascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhenjie Liu
- Department of Vascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ying Chai
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Junqiang Fan
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Pin Wu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yinxuan Chen
- Department of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yuefeng Zhu
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Kai Wang
- Department of Respiratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ying Yuan
- Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Pintong Huang
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Huiqin Feng
- Department of Clinical Research Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Kaichen Song
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xun Zeng
- National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wei Zhu
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xinyang Hu
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Research Center for Life Science and Human Health, Binjiang Institute of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Weiwei Yin
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Detection Technology and Medicinal Effectiveness Appraisal, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Department of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- The MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-machine Integration, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Jian'an Wang
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Cardiovascular Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Research Center for Life Science and Human Health, Binjiang Institute of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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6
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Huang X, Meng L, Cao G, Prominski A, Hu Y, Yang C, Chen M, Shi J, Gallagher C, Cao T, Yue J, Huang J, Tian B. Multimodal probing of T-cell recognition with hexapod heterostructures. Nat Methods 2024; 21:857-867. [PMID: 38374262 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-023-02165-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
Studies using antigen-presenting systems at the single-cell and ensemble levels can provide complementary insights into T-cell signaling and activation. Although crucial for advancing basic immunology and immunotherapy, there is a notable absence of synthetic material toolkits that examine T cells at both levels, and especially those capable of single-molecule-level manipulation. Here we devise a biomimetic antigen-presenting system (bAPS) for single-cell stimulation and ensemble modulation of T-cell recognition. Our bAPS uses hexapod heterostructures composed of a submicrometer cubic hematite core (α-Fe2O3) and nanostructured silica branches with diverse surface modifications. At single-molecule resolution, we show T-cell activation by a single agonist peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex; distinct T-cell receptor (TCR) responses to structurally similar peptides that differ by only one amino acid; and the superior antigen recognition sensitivity of TCRs compared with that of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). We also demonstrate how the magnetic field-induced rotation of hexapods amplifies the immune responses in suspended T and CAR-T cells. In addition, we establish our bAPS as a precise and scalable method for identifying stimulatory antigen-specific TCRs at the single-cell level. Thus, our multimodal bAPS represents a unique biointerface tool for investigating T-cell recognition, signaling and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodan Huang
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lingyuan Meng
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Guoshuai Cao
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Yifei Hu
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Chuanwang Yang
- The James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Min Chen
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jiuyun Shi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Thao Cao
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jiping Yue
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jun Huang
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Bozhi Tian
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- The James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- The Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
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7
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Wilhelm KB, Vissa A, Groves JT. Differential Roles of Kinetic On- and Off-Rates in T-Cell Receptor Signal Integration Revealed with a Modified Fab'-DNA Ligand. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.01.587588. [PMID: 38617215 PMCID: PMC11014569 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.01.587588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-derived T-cell receptor (TCR) agonists are commonly used to activate T cells. While antibodies can trigger TCRs regardless of clonotype, they bypass native T cell signal integration mechanisms that rely on monovalent, membrane-associated, and relatively weakly-binding ligand in the context of cellular adhesion. Commonly used antibodies and their derivatives bind much more strongly than native peptide-MHC (pMHC) ligands bind their cognate TCRs. Because ligand dwell time is a critical parameter that tightly correlates with physiological function of the TCR signaling system, there is a general need, both in research and therapeutics, for universal TCR ligands with controlled kinetic binding parameters. To this end, we have introduced point mutations into recombinantly expressed α-TCRβ H57 Fab to modulate the dwell time of monovalent Fab binding to TCR. When tethered to a supported lipid bilayer via DNA complementation, these monovalent Fab'-DNA ligands activate T cells with potencies well-correlated with their TCR binding dwell time. Single-molecule tracking studies in live T cells reveal that individual binding events between Fab'-DNA ligands and TCRs elicit local signaling responses closely resembling native pMHC. The unique combination of high on- and off-rate of the H57 R97L mutant enables direct observations of cooperative interplay between ligand binding and TCR-proximal condensation of the linker for activation of T cells (LAT), which is not readily visualized with pMHC. This work provides insights into how T cells integrate kinetic information from synthetic ligands and introduces a method to develop affinity panels for polyclonal T cells, such as cells from a human patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiera B Wilhelm
- Department of Chemistry, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 93720
| | - Anand Vissa
- Department of Chemistry, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 93720
| | - Jay T Groves
- Department of Chemistry, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 93720
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8
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Su Z, Griffin B, Emmons S, Wu Y. Prediction of interactions between cell surface proteins by machine learning. Proteins 2024; 92:567-580. [PMID: 38050713 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Cells detect changes in their external environments or communicate with each other through proteins on their surfaces. These cell surface proteins form a complicated network of interactions in order to fulfill their functions. The interactions between cell surface proteins are highly dynamic and, thus, challenging to detect using traditional experimental techniques. Here, we tackle this challenge using a computational framework. The primary focus of the framework is to develop new tools to identify interactions between domains in the immunoglobulin (Ig) fold, which is the most abundant domain family in cell surface proteins. These interactions could be formed between ligands and receptors from different cells or between proteins on the same cell surface. In practice, we collected all structural data on Ig domain interactions and transformed them into an interface fragment pair library. A high-dimensional profile can then be constructed from the library for a given pair of query protein sequences. Multiple machine learning models were used to read this profile so that the probability of interaction between the query proteins could be predicted. We tested our models on an experimentally derived dataset that contains 564 cell surface proteins in humans. The cross-validation results show that we can achieve higher than 70% accuracy in identifying the PPIs within this dataset. We then applied this method to a group of 46 cell surface proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans. We screened every possible interaction between these proteins. Many interactions recognized by our machine learning classifiers have been experimentally confirmed in the literature. In conclusion, our computational platform serves as a useful tool to help identify potential new interactions between cell surface proteins in addition to current state-of-the-art experimental techniques. The tool is freely accessible for use by the scientific community. Moreover, the general framework of the machine learning classification can also be extended to study the interactions of proteins in other domain superfamilies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoqian Su
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Brian Griffin
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Scott Emmons
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Yinghao Wu
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
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9
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Pang R, Sun W, Yang Y, Wen D, Lin F, Wang D, Li K, Zhang N, Liang J, Xiong C, Liu Y. PIEZO1 mechanically regulates the antitumour cytotoxicity of T lymphocytes. Nat Biomed Eng 2024:10.1038/s41551-024-01188-5. [PMID: 38514773 DOI: 10.1038/s41551-024-01188-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
The killing function of cytotoxic T cells can be enhanced biochemically. Here we show that blocking the mechanical sensor PIEZO1 in T cells strengthens their traction forces and augments their cytotoxicity against tumour cells. By leveraging cytotoxic T cells collected from tumour models in mice and from patients with cancers, we show that PIEZO1 upregulates the transcriptional factor GRHL3, which in turn induces the expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF114. RNF114 binds to filamentous actin, causing its downregulation and rearrangement, which depresses traction forces in the T cells. In mice with tumours, the injection of cytotoxic T cells collected from the animals and treated with a PIEZO1 antagonist promoted their infiltration into the tumour and attenuated tumour growth. As an immunomechanical regulator, PIEZO1 could be targeted to enhance the outcomes of cancer immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiyang Pang
- State Key Laboratory of Common Mechanism Research for Major Diseases, Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Weihao Sun
- Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China
- Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, China
| | - Yingyun Yang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dahan Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Common Mechanism Research for Major Diseases, Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Feng Lin
- Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, China
| | - Dingding Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Common Mechanism Research for Major Diseases, Center for Bioinformatics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Kailong Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Beijing Key Laboratory of Protein Posttranslational Modifications and Cell Function, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Centre, Beijing, China
| | - Ning Zhang
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
- Institute of Blood Transfusion, Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Junbo Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Common Mechanism Research for Major Diseases, Center for Bioinformatics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
| | - Chunyang Xiong
- Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China.
- Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, China.
| | - Yuying Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Common Mechanism Research for Major Diseases, Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
- Clinical Immunology Centre, CAMS, Beijing, China.
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10
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Rogers J, Ma R, Foote A, Hu Y, Salaita K. Force-Induced Site-Specific Enzymatic Cleavage Probes Reveal That Serial Mechanical Engagement Boosts T Cell Activation. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:7233-7242. [PMID: 38451498 PMCID: PMC10958510 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c08137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
The T cell membrane is studded with >104 T cell receptors (TCRs) that are used to scan target cells to identify short peptide fragments associated with viral infection or cancerous mutation. These peptides are presented as peptide-major-histocompatibility complexes (pMHCs) on the surface of virtually all nucleated cells. The TCR-pMHC complex forms at cell-cell junctions, is highly transient, and experiences mechanical forces. An important question in this area pertains to the role of the force duration in immune activation. Herein, we report the development of force probes that autonomously terminate tension within a time window following mechanical triggering. Force-induced site-specific enzymatic cleavage (FUSE) probes tune the tension duration by controlling the rate of a force-triggered endonuclease hydrolysis reaction. This new capability provides a method to study how the accumulated force duration contributes to T cell activation. We screened DNA sequences and identified FUSE probes that disrupt mechanical interactions with F > 7.1 piconewtons (pN) between TCRs and pMHCs. This rate of disruption, or force lifetime (τF), is tunable from tens of minutes down to 1.9 min. T cells challenged with FUSE probes with F > 7.1 pN presenting cognate antigens showed up to a 23% decrease in markers of early activation. FUSE probes with F > 17.0 pN showed weaker influence on T cell triggering further showing that TCR-pMHC with F > 17.0 pN are less frequent compared to F > 7.1 pN. Taken together, FUSE probes allow a new strategy to investigate the role of force dynamics in mechanotransduction broadly and specifically suggest a model of serial mechanical engagement boosting TCR activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jhordan Rogers
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Rong Ma
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Alexander Foote
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Yuesong Hu
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
| | - Khalid Salaita
- Department
of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States
- Wallace
H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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11
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Jeffreys N, Brockman JM, Zhai Y, Ingber DE, Mooney DJ. Mechanical forces amplify TCR mechanotransduction in T cell activation and function. APPLIED PHYSICS REVIEWS 2024; 11:011304. [PMID: 38434676 PMCID: PMC10848667 DOI: 10.1063/5.0166848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Adoptive T cell immunotherapies, including engineered T cell receptor (eTCR) and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapies, have shown efficacy in treating a subset of hematologic malignancies, exhibit promise in solid tumors, and have many other potential applications, such as in fibrosis, autoimmunity, and regenerative medicine. While immunoengineering has focused on designing biomaterials to present biochemical cues to manipulate T cells ex vivo and in vivo, mechanical cues that regulate their biology have been largely underappreciated. This review highlights the contributions of mechanical force to several receptor-ligand interactions critical to T cell function, with central focus on the TCR-peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex (pMHC). We then emphasize the role of mechanical forces in (i) allosteric strengthening of the TCR-pMHC interaction in amplifying ligand discrimination during T cell antigen recognition prior to activation and (ii) T cell interactions with the extracellular matrix. We then describe approaches to design eTCRs, CARs, and biomaterials to exploit TCR mechanosensitivity in order to potentiate T cell manufacturing and function in adoptive T cell immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yunhao Zhai
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
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12
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Eggert J, Zinzow-Kramer WM, Hu Y, Kolawole EM, Tsai YL, Weiss A, Evavold BD, Salaita K, Scharer CD, Au-Yeung BB. Cbl-b mitigates the responsiveness of naive CD8 + T cells that experience extensive tonic T cell receptor signaling. Sci Signal 2024; 17:eadh0439. [PMID: 38319998 PMCID: PMC10897907 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.adh0439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Naive T cells experience tonic T cell receptor (TCR) signaling in response to self-antigens presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in secondary lymphoid organs. We investigated how relatively weak or strong tonic TCR signals influence naive CD8+ T cell responses to stimulation with foreign antigens. The heterogeneous expression of Nur77-GFP, a transgenic reporter of tonic TCR signaling, in naive CD8+ T cells suggests variable intensities or durations of tonic TCR signaling. Although the expression of genes associated with acutely stimulated T cells was increased in Nur77-GFPHI cells, these cells were hyporesponsive to agonist TCR stimulation compared with Nur77-GFPLO cells. This hyporesponsiveness manifested as diminished activation marker expression and decreased secretion of IFN-γ and IL-2. The protein abundance of the ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b, a negative regulator of TCR signaling, was greater in Nur77-GFPHI cells than in Nur77-GFPLO cells, and Cbl-b deficiency partially restored the responsiveness of Nur77-GFPHI cells. Our data suggest that the cumulative effects of previously experienced tonic TCR signaling recalibrate naive CD8+ T cell responsiveness. These changes include gene expression changes and negative regulation partially dependent on Cbl-b. This cell-intrinsic negative feedback loop may enable the immune system to restrain naive CD8+ T cells with higher self-reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Eggert
- Division of Immunology, Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Department of Medicine, Emory University; Atlanta, 30322, USA
| | - Wendy M. Zinzow-Kramer
- Division of Immunology, Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Department of Medicine, Emory University; Atlanta, 30322, USA
| | - Yuesong Hu
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University; Atlanta, 30322, USA
| | - Elizabeth M. Kolawole
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, 84112, USA
| | - Yuan-Li Tsai
- Rosalind Russell and Ephraim P. Engleman Rheumatology Research Center, Departments of Medicine and of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, 94143, USA
| | - Arthur Weiss
- Rosalind Russell and Ephraim P. Engleman Rheumatology Research Center, Departments of Medicine and of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, 94143, USA
| | - Brian D. Evavold
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, 84112, USA
| | - Khalid Salaita
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University; Atlanta, 30322, USA
| | | | - Byron B. Au-Yeung
- Division of Immunology, Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Department of Medicine, Emory University; Atlanta, 30322, USA
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13
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Jamaleddine H, Rogers D, Perreault G, Postat J, Patel D, Mandl JN, Khadra A. Chronic infection control relies on T cells with lower foreign antigen binding strength generated by N-nucleotide diversity. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002465. [PMID: 38300945 PMCID: PMC10833529 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
The breadth of pathogens to which T cells can respond is determined by the T cell receptors (TCRs) present in an individual's repertoire. Although more than 90% of the sequence diversity among TCRs is generated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated N-nucleotide addition during V(D)J recombination, the benefit of TdT-altered TCRs remains unclear. Here, we computationally and experimentally investigated whether TCRs with higher N-nucleotide diversity via TdT make distinct contributions to acute or chronic pathogen control specifically through the inclusion of TCRs with lower antigen binding strengths (i.e., lower reactivity to peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC)). When T cells with high pMHC reactivity have a greater propensity to become functionally exhausted than those of low pMHC reactivity, our computational model predicts a shift toward T cells with low pMHC reactivity over time during chronic, but not acute, infections. This TCR-affinity shift is critical, as the elimination of T cells with lower pMHC reactivity in silico substantially increased the time to clear a chronic infection, while acute infection control remained largely unchanged. Corroborating an affinity-centric benefit for TCR diversification via TdT, we found evidence that TdT-deficient TCR repertoires possess fewer T cells with weaker pMHC binding strengths in vivo and showed that TdT-deficient mice infected with a chronic, but not an acute, viral pathogen led to protracted viral clearance. In contrast, in the case of a chronic fungal pathogen where T cells fail to clear the infection, both our computational model and experimental data showed that TdT-diversified TCR repertoires conferred no additional protection to the hosts. Taken together, our in silico and in vivo data suggest that TdT-mediated TCR diversity is of particular benefit for the eventual resolution of prolonged pathogen replication through the inclusion of TCRs with lower foreign antigen binding strengths.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dakota Rogers
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Centre on Complex Traits, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Geneviève Perreault
- McGill University Research Centre on Complex Traits, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jérémy Postat
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Centre on Complex Traits, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Dhanesh Patel
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Centre on Complex Traits, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Judith N. Mandl
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Centre on Complex Traits, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anmar Khadra
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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14
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Schrangl L, Göhring J, Kellner F, Huppa JB, Schütz GJ. Measurement of Forces Acting on Single T-Cell Receptors. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2800:147-165. [PMID: 38709483 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3834-7_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Molecular forces are increasingly recognized as an important parameter to understand cellular signaling processes. In the recent years, evidence accumulated that also T-cells exert tensile forces via their T-cell receptor during the antigen recognition process. To measure such intercellular pulling forces, one can make use of the elastic properties of spider silk peptides, which act similar to Hookean springs: increased strain corresponds to increased stress applied to the peptide. Combined with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to read out the strain, such peptides represent powerful and versatile nanoscopic force sensing tools. In this paper, we provide a detailed protocol how to synthesize a molecular force sensor for application in T-cell antigen recognition and hands-on guidelines on experiments and analysis of obtained single molecule FRET data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Janett Göhring
- Institute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Florian Kellner
- Institute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Johannes B Huppa
- Institute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
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15
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Liu S, Liu ZC, Zhang MY, Wang SJ, Pan M, Ji P, Zhu C, Lin P, Wang Y. ICAM-1 mediated cell-cell adhesion exerts dual roles on human B cell differentiation and IgG production. iScience 2023; 26:108505. [PMID: 38162034 PMCID: PMC10755720 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) plays prominent roles in mediating cell-cell adhesion which also facilitates B cell activation and differentiation with the help from CD4+ T cells. Here, we have reported a unique phenomenon that increased ICAM-1 on purified human CD4+ T cells upon anti-CD3/CD28 stimulation enhanced CD4+ T-B cell adhesion whereas induced less B cell differentiation and IgG production. This was largely due to increased PD-1 expression on CD19hi B cells after coculturing with hyperactivated CD4+ T cells. Consequently, ICAM-1 blockade during CD4+ T cell-B cell coculture promoted IgG production with the activation of ERK1/2 and Blimp-1/IRF4 upregulation. Consistently, CD4+ T cells from moderate-to-severe SLE patients with high ICAM-1 expression mediated less IgG production after T-B coculture. Therefore, ICAM-1-mediated human CD4+ T-B cell adhesion provides dual roles on B cell differentiation and IgG production partially depending on expression levels of PD-1 on B cells, supporting cell adhesion and subsequent PD-1 induction as an alternative intrinsic checkpoint for B cell differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Liu
- Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Department of Diagnostic Laboratory, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Zhi-cui Liu
- Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China
| | - Mei-yu Zhang
- Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Shu-jun Wang
- Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Meng Pan
- Department of Dermatology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Ping Ji
- Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Cheng Zhu
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Ping Lin
- Department of Diagnostic Laboratory, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- Shanghai Institute of Virology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Emergency Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Respiratory Infectious Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
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16
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Mo G, Lu X, Wu S, Zhu W. Strategies and rules for tuning TCR-derived therapy. Expert Rev Mol Med 2023; 26:e4. [PMID: 38095091 PMCID: PMC11062142 DOI: 10.1017/erm.2023.27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Manipulation of T cells has revolutionized cancer immunotherapy. Notably, the use of T cells carrying engineered T cell receptors (TCR-T) offers a favourable therapeutic pathway, particularly in the treatment of solid tumours. However, major challenges such as limited clinical response efficacy, off-target effects and tumour immunosuppressive microenvironment have hindered the clinical translation of this approach. In this review, we mainly want to guide TCR-T investigators on several major issues they face in the treatment of solid tumours after obtaining specific TCR sequences: (1) whether we have to undergo affinity maturation or not, and what parameter we should use as a criterion for being more effective. (2) What modifications can be added to counteract the tumour inhibitory microenvironment to make our specific T cells to be more effective and what is the safety profile of such modifications? (3) What are the new forms and possibilities for TCR-T cell therapy in the future?
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoheng Mo
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinyu Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Sha Wu
- Department of Immunology/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Proteomics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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17
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Klebanoff CA, Chandran SS, Baker BM, Quezada SA, Ribas A. T cell receptor therapeutics: immunological targeting of the intracellular cancer proteome. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2023; 22:996-1017. [PMID: 37891435 PMCID: PMC10947610 DOI: 10.1038/s41573-023-00809-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
The T cell receptor (TCR) complex is a naturally occurring antigen sensor that detects, amplifies and coordinates cellular immune responses to epitopes derived from cell surface and intracellular proteins. Thus, TCRs enable the targeting of proteins selectively expressed by cancer cells, including neoantigens, cancer germline antigens and viral oncoproteins. As such, TCRs have provided the basis for an emerging class of oncology therapeutics. Herein, we review the current cancer treatment landscape using TCRs and TCR-like molecules. This includes adoptive cell transfer of T cells expressing endogenous or engineered TCRs, TCR bispecific engagers and antibodies specific for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-bound peptides (TCR mimics). We discuss the unique complexities associated with the clinical development of these therapeutics, such as HLA restriction, TCR retrieval, potency assessment and the potential for cross-reactivity. In addition, we highlight emerging clinical data that establish the antitumour potential of TCR-based therapies, including tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes, for the treatment of diverse human malignancies. Finally, we explore the future of TCR therapeutics, including emerging genome editing methods to safely enhance potency and strategies to streamline patient identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Klebanoff
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Smita S Chandran
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, New York, NY, USA
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, New York, NY, USA
- Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Brian M Baker
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, ID, USA
- The Harper Cancer Research Institute, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, ID, USA
| | - Sergio A Quezada
- Cancer Immunology Unit, Research Department of Haematology, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK
- Achilles Therapeutics, London, UK
| | - Antoni Ribas
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA
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18
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Platzer R, Hellmeier J, Göhring J, Perez ID, Schatzlmaier P, Bodner C, Focke‐Tejkl M, Schütz GJ, Sevcsik E, Stockinger H, Brameshuber M, Huppa JB. Monomeric agonist peptide/MHCII complexes activate T-cells in an autonomous fashion. EMBO Rep 2023; 24:e57842. [PMID: 37768718 PMCID: PMC10626418 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202357842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular crowding of agonist peptide/MHC class II complexes (pMHCIIs) with structurally similar, yet per se non-stimulatory endogenous pMHCIIs is postulated to sensitize T-cells for the recognition of single antigens on the surface of dendritic cells and B-cells. When testing this premise with the use of advanced live cell microscopy, we observe pMHCIIs as monomeric, randomly distributed entities diffusing rapidly after entering the APC surface. Synaptic TCR engagement of highly abundant endogenous pMHCIIs is low or non-existent and affects neither TCR engagement of rare agonist pMHCII in early and advanced synapses nor agonist-induced TCR-proximal signaling. Our findings highlight the capacity of single freely diffusing agonist pMHCIIs to elicit the full T-cell response in an autonomous and peptide-specific fashion with consequences for adaptive immunity and immunotherapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- René Platzer
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, Immunology, Institute for Hygiene and Applied ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Joschka Hellmeier
- TU Wien, Institute of Applied PhysicsViennaAustria
- Present address:
Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Imaging and BionanotechnologyMartinsriedGermany
| | - Janett Göhring
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, Immunology, Institute for Hygiene and Applied ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Iago Doel Perez
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, Immunology, Institute for Hygiene and Applied ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Present address:
Takeda Manufacturing Austria AGViennaAustria
| | - Philipp Schatzlmaier
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, Immunology, Institute for Hygiene and Applied ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Clara Bodner
- TU Wien, Institute of Applied PhysicsViennaAustria
| | - Margarete Focke‐Tejkl
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, Immunology, Institute for Pathophysiology and Allergy ResearchMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | | | - Eva Sevcsik
- TU Wien, Institute of Applied PhysicsViennaAustria
| | - Hannes Stockinger
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, Immunology, Institute for Hygiene and Applied ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | | | - Johannes B Huppa
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, Immunology, Institute for Hygiene and Applied ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
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19
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Su Z, Griffin B, Emmons S, Wu Y. Prediction of Interactions between Cell Surface Proteins by Machine Learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.12.557337. [PMID: 37745607 PMCID: PMC10515853 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.12.557337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Cells detect changes of external environments or communicate with each other through proteins on their surfaces. These cell surface proteins form a complicated network of interactions in order to fulfill their functions. The interactions between cell surface proteins are highly dynamic and thus challenging to detect using traditional experimental techniques. Here we tackle this challenge by a computational framework. The primary focus of the framework is to develop new tools to identify interactions between domains in immunoglobulin (Ig) fold, which is the most abundant domain family in cell surface proteins. These interactions could be formed between ligands and receptors from different cells, or between proteins on the same cell surface. In practice, we collected all structural data of Ig domain interactions and transformed them into an interface fragment pair library. A high dimensional profile can be then constructed from the library for a given pair of query protein sequences. Multiple machine learning models were used to read this profile, so that the probability of interaction between the query proteins can be predicted. We tested our models to an experimentally derived dataset which contains 564 cell surface proteins in human. The cross-validation results show that we can achieve higher than 70% accuracy in identifying the PPIs within this dataset. We then applied this method to a group of 46 cell surface proteins in C elegans. We screened every possible interaction between these proteins. Many interactions recognized by our machine learning classifiers have been experimentally confirmed in the literatures. In conclusion, our computational platform serves a useful tool to help identifying potential new interactions between cell surface proteins in addition to current state-of-the-art experimental techniques. The tool is freely accessible for use by the scientific community. Moreover, the general framework of the machine learning classification can also be extended to study interactions of proteins in other domain superfamilies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoqian Su
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461
| | - Brian Griffin
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461
| | - Scott Emmons
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461
| | - Yinghao Wu
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461
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20
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García-Sánchez M, Castro M, Faro J. B cell receptors and free antibodies have different antigen-binding kinetics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2220669120. [PMID: 37616223 PMCID: PMC10469035 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2220669120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the pioneering works of Berg and Purcell, discriminating between diffusion followed by binding has played a central role in understanding cell signaling. B cell receptors (BCR) and antibodies (Ab) challenge that simplified view as binding to the antigen follows after a chain of diffusion and rotations, including whole molecule rotation and independent tilts and twists of their Fab arms due to their Y-shaped structure and flexibility. In this paper, we combine analytical calculations with Brownian simulations to derive the first-passage times due to these three rotations positioning the Fab paratopes at a proper distance and orientation required for antigen binding. Our results indicate that when measuring Ab-Ag effective kinetic binding rates, using experimental methods in which the analyte is in solution only gives values proportional to the intrinsic binding rates, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text], for values of [Formula: see text] up to [Formula: see text]. Beyond that, a plateau of the effective 3D on rate between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is attained. Additionally, for BCR-Ag interactions, the effective 2D on and off binding rates can only be inferred from the corresponding effective 3D on and off rates for values of effective 3D on rates lower than [Formula: see text]. This is highly relevant when trying to relate BCR-antigen-binding strength and B cell response, especially during germinal center reactions. Therefore, there is a pressing need to reexamine our current understanding of the BCR-antigen kinetic rates in germinal centers using the latest experimental assays for BCR-Ag interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel García-Sánchez
- Instituto de Investigación Tecnológica and Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, MadridE28015, Spain
| | - Mario Castro
- Instituto de Investigación Tecnológica and Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, MadridE28015, Spain
| | - José Faro
- Area of Immunology, Faculty of Biology, and Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas (Biomedical Research Center), Universidade de Vigo, Vigo36310, Spain
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras2781-901, Portugal
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21
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Rogers J, Ma R, Hu Y, Salaita K. Force-induced site-specific enzymatic cleavage probes reveal that serial mechanical engagement boosts T cell activation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.07.552310. [PMID: 37609308 PMCID: PMC10441320 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.07.552310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
The surface of T cells is studded with T cell receptors (TCRs) that are used to scan target cells to identify peptide-major histocompatibility complexes (pMHCs) signatures of viral infection or cancerous mutation. It is now established that the TCR-pMHC complex is highly transient and experiences mechanical forces that augment the fidelity of T cell activation. An important question in this area pertains to the role of force duration in immune activation. Herein, we report the development of force probes that autonomously terminate tension within a time window following mechanical triggering. Force-induced site-specific enzymatic cleavage (FUSE) probes tune tension duration by controlling the rate of a force-triggered endonuclease hydrolysis reaction. This new capability provides a method to study how accumulated force duration contributes to T cell activation. We screened DNA sequences and identified FUSE probes that disrupt mechanical interactions with F >7.1 piconewtons (pN) between TCRs and pMHCs. Force lifetimes (τF) are tunable from tens of min down to 1.9 min. T cells challenged with FUSE probes presenting cognate antigens with τF of 1.9 min demonstrated dampened markers of early activation, thus demonstrating that repeated mechanical sampling boosts TCR activation. Repeated mechanical sampling F >7.1 pN was found to be particularly critical at lower pMHC antigen densities, wherein the T cell activation declined by 23% with τF of 1.9 min. FUSE probes with F >17.0 pN response showed weaker influence on T cell triggering further showing that TCR-pMHC with F >17.0 pN are less frequent compared to F >7.1 pN. Taken together, FUSE probes allow a new strategy to investigate the role of force dynamics in mechanotransduction broadly and specifically suggest a model of serial mechanical engagement in antigen recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jhordan Rogers
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, USA
| | - Rong Ma
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, USA
| | - Yuesong Hu
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, USA
| | - Khalid Salaita
- Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, USA
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA
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22
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Moldovan L, Song CH, Chen YC, Wang HJ, Ju LA. Biomembrane force probe (BFP): Design, advancements, and recent applications to live-cell mechanobiology. EXPLORATION (BEIJING, CHINA) 2023; 3:20230004. [PMID: 37933233 PMCID: PMC10624387 DOI: 10.1002/exp.20230004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
Mechanical forces play a vital role in biological processes at molecular and cellular levels, significantly impacting various diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and COVID-19. Recent advancements in dynamic force spectroscopy (DFS) techniques have enabled the application and measurement of forces and displacements with high resolutions, providing crucial insights into the mechanical pathways underlying these diseases. Among DFS techniques, the biomembrane force probe (BFP) stands out for its ability to measure bond kinetics and cellular mechanosensing with pico-newton and nano-meter resolutions. Here, a comprehensive overview of the classical BFP-DFS setup is presented and key advancements are emphasized, including the development of dual biomembrane force probe (dBFP) and fluorescence biomembrane force probe (fBFP). BFP-DFS allows us to investigate dynamic bond behaviors on living cells and significantly enhances the understanding of specific ligand-receptor axes mediated cell mechanosensing. The contributions of BFP-DFS to the fields of cancer biology, thrombosis, and inflammation are delved into, exploring its potential to elucidate novel therapeutic discoveries. Furthermore, future BFP upgrades aimed at improving output and feasibility are anticipated, emphasizing its growing importance in the field of cell mechanobiology. Although BFP-DFS remains a niche research modality, its impact on the expanding field of cell mechanobiology is immense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Moldovan
- School of Biomedical EngineeringThe University of SydneyDarlingtonNew South WalesAustralia
- Charles Perkins CentreThe University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
- Heart Research InstituteNewtownNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Caroline Haoran Song
- School of Biomedical EngineeringThe University of SydneyDarlingtonNew South WalesAustralia
- Charles Perkins CentreThe University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
- Heart Research InstituteNewtownNew South WalesAustralia
- Sydney Nano Institute (Sydney Nano)The University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Yiyao Catherine Chen
- School of Biomedical EngineeringThe University of SydneyDarlingtonNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Haoqing Jerry Wang
- School of Biomedical EngineeringThe University of SydneyDarlingtonNew South WalesAustralia
- Heart Research InstituteNewtownNew South WalesAustralia
- Sydney Nano Institute (Sydney Nano)The University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Lining Arnold Ju
- School of Biomedical EngineeringThe University of SydneyDarlingtonNew South WalesAustralia
- Charles Perkins CentreThe University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
- Heart Research InstituteNewtownNew South WalesAustralia
- Sydney Nano Institute (Sydney Nano)The University of SydneyCamperdownNew South WalesAustralia
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23
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Ayres CM, Corcelli SA, Baker BM. The Energetic Landscape of Catch Bonds in TCR Interfaces. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2023; 211:325-332. [PMID: 37459192 PMCID: PMC10361606 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Recognition of peptide/MHC complexes by αβ TCRs has traditionally been viewed through the lens of conventional receptor-ligand theory. Recent work, however, has shown that TCR recognition and T cell signaling can be profoundly influenced and tuned by mechanical forces. One outcome of applied force is the catch bond, where TCR dissociation rates decrease (half-lives increase) when limited force is applied. Although catch bond behavior is believed to be widespread in biology, its counterintuitive nature coupled with the difficulties of describing mechanisms at the structural level have resulted in considerable mystique. In this review, we demonstrate that viewing catch bonds through the lens of energy landscapes, barriers, and the ensuing reaction rates can help demystify catch bonding and provide a foundation on which atomic-level TCR catch bond mechanisms can be built.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cory M Ayres
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
- The Harper Cancer Research Institute, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
| | - Steve A Corcelli
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
| | - Brian M Baker
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
- The Harper Cancer Research Institute, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
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24
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Faust MA, Rasé VJ, Lamb TJ, Evavold BD. What's the Catch? The Significance of Catch Bonds in T Cell Activation. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2023; 211:333-342. [PMID: 37459191 PMCID: PMC10732538 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
One of the main goals in T cell biology has been to investigate how TCR recognition of peptide:MHC (pMHC) determines T cell phenotype and fate. Ag recognition is required to facilitate survival, expansion, and effector function of T cells. Historically, TCR affinity for pMHC has been used as a predictor for T cell fate and responsiveness, but there have now been several examples of nonfunctional high-affinity clones and low-affinity highly functional clones. Recently, more attention has been paid to the TCR being a mechanoreceptor where the key biophysical determinant is TCR bond lifetime under force. As outlined in this review, the fundamental parameters between the TCR and pMHC that control Ag recognition and T cell triggering are affinity, bond lifetime, and the amount of force at which the peak lifetime occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Faust
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Viva J Rasé
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Tracey J Lamb
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Brian D Evavold
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
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25
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Rappazzo CG, Fernández-Quintero ML, Mayer A, Wu NC, Greiff V, Guthmiller JJ. Defining and Studying B Cell Receptor and TCR Interactions. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2023; 211:311-322. [PMID: 37459189 PMCID: PMC10495106 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
BCRs (Abs) and TCRs (or adaptive immune receptors [AIRs]) are the means by which the adaptive immune system recognizes foreign and self-antigens, playing an integral part in host defense, as well as the emergence of autoimmunity. Importantly, the interaction between AIRs and their cognate Ags defies a simple key-in-lock paradigm and is instead a complex many-to-many mapping between an individual's massively diverse AIR repertoire, and a similarly diverse antigenic space. Understanding how adaptive immunity balances specificity with epitopic coverage is a key challenge for the field, and terms such as broad specificity, cross-reactivity, and polyreactivity remain ill-defined and are used inconsistently. In this Immunology Notes and Resources article, a group of experimental, structural, and computational immunologists define commonly used terms associated with AIR binding, describe methodologies to study these binding modes, as well as highlight the implications of these different binding modes for therapeutic design.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andreas Mayer
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Nicholas C. Wu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Victor Greiff
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jenna J. Guthmiller
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045
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26
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Choi HK, Travaglino S, Münchhalfen M, Görg R, Zhong Z, Lyu J, Reyes-Aguilar DM, Wienands J, Singh A, Zhu C. Mechanotransduction governs CD40 function and underlies X-linked Hyper IgM syndrome. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.23.550231. [PMID: 37546834 PMCID: PMC10401940 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.23.550231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
B cell maturation in germinal centers (GCs) depends on cognate interactions between the T and B cells. Upon interaction with CD40 ligand (CD40L) on T cells, CD40 delivers co-stimulatory signals alongside B cell antigen receptor (BCR) signaling to regulate affinity maturation and antibody class-switch during GC reaction. Mutations in CD40L disrupt interactions with CD40, which lead to abnormal antibody responses in immune deficiencies known as X-linked Hyper IgM syndrome (X-HIgM). Assuming that physical interactions between highly mobile T and B cells generate mechanical forces on CD40-CD40L bonds, we set out to study the B cell mechanobiology mediated by CD40-CD40L interaction. Using a suite of biophysical assays we find that CD40 forms catch bond with CD40L where the bond lasts longer at larger forces, B cells exert tension on CD40-CD40L bonds, and force enhances CD40 signaling and antibody class-switch. Significantly, X-HIgM CD40L mutations impair catch bond formation, suppress endogenous tension, and reduce force-enhanced CD40 signaling, leading to deficiencies in antibody class switch. Our findings highlight the critical role of mechanotransduction in CD40 function and provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying X-HIgM syndrome.
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27
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Liu C, Zhou J, Kudlacek S, Qi T, Dunlap T, Cao Y. Population dynamics of immunological synapse formation induced by bispecific T cell engagers predict clinical pharmacodynamics and treatment resistance. eLife 2023; 12:e83659. [PMID: 37490053 PMCID: PMC10368424 DOI: 10.7554/elife.83659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Effector T cells need to form immunological synapses (IS) with recognized target cells to elicit cytolytic effects. Facilitating IS formation is the principal pharmacological action of most T cell-based cancer immunotherapies. However, the dynamics of IS formation at the cell population level, the primary driver of the pharmacodynamics of many cancer immunotherapies, remains poorly defined. Using classic immunotherapy CD3/CD19 bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) as our model system, we integrate experimental and theoretical approaches to investigate the population dynamics of IS formation and their relevance to clinical pharmacodynamics and treatment resistance. Our models produce experimentally consistent predictions when defining IS formation as a series of spatiotemporally coordinated events driven by molecular and cellular interactions. The models predict tumor-killing pharmacodynamics in patients and reveal trajectories of tumor evolution across anatomical sites under BiTE immunotherapy. Our models highlight the bone marrow as a potential sanctuary site permitting tumor evolution and antigen escape. The models also suggest that optimal dosing regimens are a function of tumor growth, CD19 expression, and patient T cell abundance, which confer adequate tumor control with reduced disease evolution. This work has implications for developing more effective T cell-based cancer immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can Liu
- Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Jiawei Zhou
- Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Stephan Kudlacek
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Timothy Qi
- Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Tyler Dunlap
- Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Yanguang Cao
- Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States
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28
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Du Y, Lyu Y, Lin J, Ma C, Zhang Q, Zhang Y, Qiu L, Tan W. Membrane-anchored DNA nanojunctions enable closer antigen-presenting cell-T-cell contact in elevated T-cell receptor triggering. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2023; 18:818-827. [PMID: 36894782 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-023-01333-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
How the engagement of a T-cell receptor to antigenic peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) initiates intracellular signalling cascades in T cells is not well understood. In particular, the dimension of the cellular contact zone is regarded as a determinant, but its influence remains controversial. This is due to the need for appropriate strategies for manipulating intermembrane spacing between the APC-T-cell interfaces without involving protein modification. Here we describe a membrane-anchored DNA nanojunction with distinct sizes to extend, maintain and shorten the APC-T-cell interface down to 10 nm. Our results suggest that the axial distance of the contact zone is critical in T-cell activation, presumably by modulating protein reorganization and mechanical force. Notably, we observe the promotion of T-cell signalling by shortening the intermembrane distance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulin Du
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Yifan Lyu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Jie Lin
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Chunran Ma
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Qiang Zhang
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Yutong Zhang
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, China
| | - Liping Qiu
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, China.
- The Cancer Hospital of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Zhejiang Cancer Hospital), Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Weihong Tan
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, China.
- The Cancer Hospital of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Zhejiang Cancer Hospital), Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
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29
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Zhuang C, Gould JE, Enninful A, Shao S, Mak M. Biophysical and mechanobiological considerations for T-cell-based immunotherapy. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2023; 44:366-378. [PMID: 37172572 PMCID: PMC10188210 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2023.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapies modulate the body's defense system to treat cancer. While these therapies have shown efficacy against multiple types of cancer, patient response rates are limited, and the off-target effects can be severe. Typical approaches in developing immunotherapies tend to focus on antigen targeting and molecular signaling, while overlooking biophysical and mechanobiological effects. Immune cells and tumor cells are both responsive to biophysical cues, which are prominent in the tumor microenvironment. Recent studies have shown that mechanosensing - including through Piezo1, adhesions, and Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) - influences tumor-immune interactions and immunotherapeutic efficacy. Furthermore, biophysical methods such as fluidic systems and mechanoactivation schemes can improve the controllability and manufacturing of engineered T cells, with potential for increasing therapeutic efficacy and specificity. This review focuses on leveraging advances in immune biophysics and mechanobiology toward improving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell and anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuzhi Zhuang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Jared E Gould
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Archibald Enninful
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Stephanie Shao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Michael Mak
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
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30
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Ding H, Kollipara PS, Yao K, Chang Y, Dickinson DJ, Zheng Y. Multimodal Optothermal Manipulations along Various Surfaces. ACS NANO 2023; 17:9280-9289. [PMID: 37017427 PMCID: PMC10391738 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c00583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Optical tweezers have provided tremendous opportunities for fundamental studies and applications in the life sciences, chemistry, and physics by offering contact-free manipulation of small objects. However, it requires sophisticated real-time imaging and feedback systems for conventional optical tweezers to achieve controlled motion of micro/nanoparticles along textured surfaces, which are required for such applications as high-resolution near-field characterizations of cell membranes with nanoparticles as probes. In addition, most optical tweezers systems are limited to single manipulation modes, restricting their broader applications. Herein, we develop an optothermal platform that enables the multimodal manipulation of micro/nanoparticles along various surfaces. Specifically, we achieve the manipulation of micro/nanoparticles through the synergy between the optical and thermal forces, which arise due to the temperature gradient self-generated by the particles absorbing the light. With a simple control of the laser beam, we achieve five switchable working modes [i.e., tweezing, rotating, rolling (toward), rolling (away), and shooting] for the versatile manipulation of both synthesized particles and biological cells along various substrates. More interestingly, we realize the manipulation of micro/nanoparticles on rough surfaces of live worms and their embryos for localized control of biological functions. By enabling the three-dimensional control of micro/nano-objects along various surfaces, including topologically uneven biological tissues, our multimodal optothermal platform will become a powerful tool in life sciences, nanotechnology, and colloidal sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongru Ding
- Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara
- Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Kan Yao
- Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Materials Science & Engineering Program and Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Yiran Chang
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Daniel J Dickinson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Yuebing Zheng
- Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Materials Science & Engineering Program and Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
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31
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Du R, Li L, Ji J, Fan Y. Receptor-Ligand Binding: Effect of Mechanical Factors. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24109062. [PMID: 37240408 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24109062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Gaining insight into the in situ receptor-ligand binding is pivotal for revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying the physiological and pathological processes and will contribute to drug discovery and biomedical application. An important issue involved is how the receptor-ligand binding responds to mechanical stimuli. This review aims to provide an overview of the current understanding of the effect of several representative mechanical factors, such as tension, shear stress, stretch, compression, and substrate stiffness on receptor-ligand binding, wherein the biomedical implications are focused. In addition, we highlight the importance of synergistic development of experimental and computational methods for fully understanding the in situ receptor-ligand binding, and further studies should focus on the coupling effects of these mechanical factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruotian Du
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Long Li
- State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Beijing Key Laboratory of Engineered Construction and Mechanobiology, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Jing Ji
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yubo Fan
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
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32
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Choi HK, Cong P, Ge C, Natarajan A, Liu B, Zhang Y, Li K, Rushdi MN, Chen W, Lou J, Krogsgaard M, Zhu C. Catch bond models may explain how force amplifies TCR signaling and antigen discrimination. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2616. [PMID: 37147290 PMCID: PMC10163261 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38267-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The TCR integrates forces in its triggering process upon interaction with pMHC. Force elicits TCR catch-slip bonds with strong pMHCs but slip-only bonds with weak pMHCs. We develop two models and apply them to analyze 55 datasets, demonstrating the models' ability to quantitatively integrate and classify a broad range of bond behaviors and biological activities. Comparing to a generic two-state model, our models can distinguish class I from class II MHCs and correlate their structural parameters with the TCR/pMHC's potency to trigger T cell activation. The models are tested by mutagenesis using an MHC and a TCR mutated to alter conformation changes. The extensive comparisons between theory and experiment provide model validation and testable hypothesis regarding specific conformational changes that control bond profiles, thereby suggesting structural mechanisms for the inner workings of the TCR mechanosensing machinery and plausible explanations of why and how force may amplify TCR signaling and antigen discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun-Kyu Choi
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Peiwen Cong
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Chenghao Ge
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Amgen Inc., One Amgen Center Dr., Thousand Oaks, CA, 91320, USA
| | - Aswin Natarajan
- Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Pathology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Baoyu Liu
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Yong Zhang
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kaitao Li
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Muaz Nik Rushdi
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Medtronic CO., Minneapolis, MN, 55432, USA
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Jizhong Lou
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Michelle Krogsgaard
- Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Pathology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Cheng Zhu
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
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33
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Hyun J, Kim SJ, Cho SD, Kim HW. Mechano-modulation of T cells for cancer immunotherapy. Biomaterials 2023; 297:122101. [PMID: 37023528 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy, despite its promise for future anti-cancer approach, faces significant challenges, such as off-tumor side effects, innate or acquired resistance, and limited infiltration of immune cells into stiffened extracellular matrix (ECM). Recent studies have highlighted the importance of mechano-modulation/-activation of immune cells (mainly T cells) for effective caner immunotherapy. Immune cells are highly sensitive to the applied physical forces and matrix mechanics, and reciprocally shape the tumor microenvironment. Engineering T cells with tuned properties of materials (e.g., chemistry, topography, and stiffness) can improve their expansion and activation ex vivo, and their ability to mechano-sensing the tumor specific ECM in vivo where they perform cytotoxic effects. T cells can also be exploited to secrete enzymes that soften ECM, thus increasing tumor infiltration and cellular therapies. Furthermore, T cells, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells, genomic engineered to be spatiotemporally controllable by physical stimuli (e.g., ultrasound, heat, or light), can mitigate adverse off-tumor effects. In this review, we communicate these recent cutting-edge endeavors devoted to mechano-modulating/-activating T cells for effective cancer immunotherapy, and discuss future prospects and challenges in this field.
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34
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Nguyen NX, Richens AW, Sircy LM, Allard DE, Kolawole EM, Evavold BD, Bettini M, Hale JS. Immunogen-Specific Strengths and Limitations of the Activation-Induced Marker Assay for Assessing Murine Antigen-Specific CD4+ T Cell Responses. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2023; 210:916-925. [PMID: 36883856 PMCID: PMC10038905 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2200638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
The activation-induced marker (AIM) assay is a cytokine-independent technique to identify Ag-specific T cells based on the upregulated expression of activation markers after Ag restimulation. The method offers an alternative to intracellular cytokine staining in immunological studies, in which limited cytokine production makes the cell subsets of interest difficult to detect. Studies of lymphocytes in human and nonhuman primates have used the AIM assay to detect Ag-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. However, there is a lack of validation of the strengths and limitations of the assay in murine (Mus musculus) models of infection and vaccination. In this study, we analyzed immune responses of TCR-transgenic CD4+ T cells, including lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-specific SMARTA, OVA-specific OT-II, and diabetogenic BDC2.5-transgenic T cells, and measured the ability of the AIM assay to effectively identify these cells to upregulate AIM markers OX40 and CD25 following culture with cognate Ag. Our findings indicate that the AIM assay is effective for identifying the relative frequency of protein immunization-induced effector and memory CD4+ T cells, whereas the AIM assay had reduced ability to identify specific cells induced by viral infection, particularly during chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection. Evaluation of polyclonal CD4+ T cell responses to acute viral infection demonstrated that the AIM assay can detect a proportion of both high- and low-affinity cells. Together, our findings indicate that the AIM assay can be an effective tool for relative quantification of murine Ag-specific CD4+ T cells to protein vaccination, while demonstrating its limitations during conditions of acute and chronic infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nguyen X Nguyen
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Andrew W Richens
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Linda M Sircy
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Denise E Allard
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Elizabeth M Kolawole
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Brian D Evavold
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Maria Bettini
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - J Scott Hale
- Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
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35
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Pan Y, Pohjolainen E, Schmidpeter PAM, Vaiana AC, Nimigean CM, Grubmüller H, Scheuring S. Discrimination between cyclic nucleotides in a cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2023; 30:512-520. [PMID: 36973509 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-023-00955-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels are crucial in many physiological processes such as vision and pacemaking in the heart. SthK is a prokaryotic homolog with high sequence and structure similarities to hyperpolarization-activated and cyclic nucleotide-modulated and cyclic nucleotide-gated channels, especially at the level of the cyclic nucleotide binding domains (CNBDs). Functional measurements showed that cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is a channel activator while cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) barely leads to pore opening. Here, using atomic force microscopy single-molecule force spectroscopy and force probe molecular dynamics simulations, we unravel quantitatively and at the atomic level how CNBDs discriminate between cyclic nucleotides. We find that cAMP binds to the SthK CNBD slightly stronger than cGMP and accesses a deep-bound state that a cGMP-bound CNBD cannot reach. We propose that the deep binding of cAMP is the discriminatory state that is essential for cAMP-dependent channel activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangang Pan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Emmi Pohjolainen
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Department, Goettingen, Germany
| | | | - Andrea C Vaiana
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Department, Goettingen, Germany
- Institute of Biophysics, National Research Council, Palermo, Italy
| | - Crina M Nimigean
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Helmut Grubmüller
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Department, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Simon Scheuring
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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36
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Rosado AM, Zhang Y, Choi HK, Chen Y, Ehrlich SM, Jin F, Grakoui A, Evavold BD, Zhu C. Memory in repetitive protein–protein interaction series. APL Bioeng 2023. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0130805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Interactions between proteins coordinate biological processes in an organism and may impact its responses to changing environments and diseases through feedback systems. Feedback systems function by using changes in the past to influence behaviors in the future, which we refer to here as memory. Here, we summarized several observations made, ideas conceptualized, and mathematical models developed for quantitatively analyzing memory effects in repetitive protein–protein interactions (PPIs). Specifically, we consider how proteins on the cell or in isolation retain information about prior interactions to impact current interactions. The micropipette, biomembrane force probe, and atomic force microscopic techniques were used to repeatedly assay PPIs. The resulting time series were analyzed by a previous and two new models to extract three memory indices of short (seconds), intermediate (minutes), and long (hours) timescales. We found that interactions of cell membrane, but not soluble, T cell receptor (TCR) with peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) exhibits short-term memory that impacts on-rate, but not off-rate of the binding kinetics. Peptide dissociation from MHC resulted in intermediate- and long-term memories in TCR–pMHC interactions. However, we observed no changes in kinetic parameters by repetitive measurements on living cells over intermediate timescales using stable pMHCs. Parameters quantifying memory effects in PPIs could provide additional information regarding biological mechanisms. The methods developed herein also provide tools for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron M. Rosado
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Yan Zhang
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
- Georgia W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Hyun-Kyu Choi
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Yunfeng Chen
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
- Georgia W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Samuel M. Ehrlich
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
- Georgia W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Fengzhi Jin
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Arash Grakoui
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
| | - Brian D. Evavold
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 USA
| | - Cheng Zhu
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
- Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
- Georgia W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
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37
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Jing Y, Kong Y, Allard D, Liu B, Kolawole E, Sprouse M, Evavold B, Bettini M, Bettini M. Increased TCR signaling in regulatory T cells is disengaged from TCR affinity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.17.523999. [PMID: 36711832 PMCID: PMC9882247 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.17.523999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are capable suppressors of aberrant self-reactivity. However, TCR affinity and specificities that support Treg function, and how these compare to autoimmune T cells remain unresolved. In this study, we used antigen agnostic and epitope-focused analyses to compare TCR repertoires of regulatory and effector T cells that spontaneously infiltrate pancreatic islets of non-obese diabetic mice. We show that effector and regulatory T cell-derived TCRs possess similar wide-ranging reactivity for self-antigen. Treg-derived TCRs varied in their capacity to confer optimal protective function, and Treg suppressive capacity was in part determined by effector TCR affinity. Interestingly, when expressing the same TCR, Tregs showed higher Nur77-GFP expression than Teffs, suggesting Treg-intrinsic ability to compete for antigen. Our findings provide a new insight into TCR-dependent and independent mechanisms that regulate Treg function and indicate a TCR-intrinsic insufficiency in tissue-specific Tregs that may contribute to the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes.
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38
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Qin R, An C, Chen W. Physical-Chemical Regulation of Membrane Receptors Dynamics in Viral Invasion and Immune Defense. J Mol Biol 2023; 435:167800. [PMID: 36007627 PMCID: PMC9394170 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Mechanical cues dynamically regulate membrane receptors functions to trigger various physiological and pathological processes from viral invasion to immune defense. These cues mainly include various types of dynamic mechanical forces and the spatial confinement of plasma membrane. However, the molecular mechanisms of how they couple with biochemical cues in regulating membrane receptors functions still remain mysterious. Here, we review recent advances in methodologies of single-molecule biomechanical techniques and in novel biomechanical regulatory mechanisms of critical ligand recognition of viral and immune receptors including SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, T cell receptor (TCR) and other co-stimulatory immune receptors. Furthermore, we provide our perspectives of the general principle of how force-dependent kinetics determine the dynamic functions of membrane receptors and of biomechanical-mechanism-driven SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody design and TCR engineering for T-cell-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Qin
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Chenyi An
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; School of Biology and Engineering, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University Medical Center, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, the MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, State Key Laboratory for Modern Optical Instrumentation Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China.
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39
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Li L, Ji J, Song F, Hu J. Intercellular Receptor-ligand Binding: Effect of Protein-membrane Interaction. J Mol Biol 2023; 435:167787. [PMID: 35952805 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Gaining insights into the intercellular receptor-ligand binding is of great importance for understanding numerous physiological and pathological processes, and stimulating new strategies in drug design and discovery. In contrast to the in vitro protein interaction in solution, the anchored receptor and ligand molecules interact with membrane in situ, which affects the intercellular receptor-ligand binding. Here, we review theoretical, simulation and experimental works regarding the regulatory effects of protein-membrane interactions on intercellular receptor-ligand binding mainly from the following aspects: membrane fluctuations, membrane curvature, glycocalyx, and lipid raft. In addition, we discuss biomedical significances and possible research directions to advance the field and highlight the importance of understanding of coupling effects of these factors in pharmaceutical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Li
- Kuang Yaming Honors School and Institute for Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, 210023 Nanjing, China; State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Engineered Construction and Mechanobiology, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, China
| | - Jing Ji
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Beihang University), Ministry of Education Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Fan Song
- State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Engineered Construction and Mechanobiology, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190 Beijing, China; School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China
| | - Jinglei Hu
- Kuang Yaming Honors School and Institute for Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, 210023 Nanjing, China.
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40
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Zheng S, Zou M, Shao Y, Wu H, Wu H, Wang X. Two-dimensional measurements of receptor-ligand interactions. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1154074. [PMID: 36876050 PMCID: PMC9981951 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1154074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Gaining insight into the two-dimensional receptor-ligand interactions, which play a significant role in various pivotal biological processes such as immune response and cancer metastasis, will deepen our understanding of numerous physiological and pathological mechanisms and contribute to biomedical applications and drug design. A central issue involved is how to measure the in situ receptor-ligand binding kinetics. Here, we review several representative mechanical-based and fluorescence-based methods, and briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses for each method. In addition, we emphasize the great importance of the combination of experimental and computational methods in studying the receptor-ligand interactions, and further studies should focus on the synergistic development of experimental and computational methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songjie Zheng
- Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Min Zou
- Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yingfeng Shao
- Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Huaping Wu
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Helong Wu
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaohuan Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
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41
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Fan J, Shi J, Zhang Y, Liu J, An C, Zhu H, Wu P, Hu W, Qin R, Yao D, Shou X, Xu Y, Tong Z, Wen X, Xu J, Zhang J, Fang W, Lou J, Yin W, Chen W. NKG2D discriminates diverse ligands through selectively mechano-regulated ligand conformational changes. EMBO J 2022; 41:e107739. [PMID: 34913508 PMCID: PMC8762575 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2021107739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Stimulatory immune receptor NKG2D binds diverse ligands to elicit differential anti-tumor and anti-virus immune responses. Two conflicting degeneracy recognition models based on static crystal structures and in-solution binding affinities have been considered for almost two decades. Whether and how NKG2D recognizes and discriminates diverse ligands still remain unclear. Using live-cell-based single-molecule biomechanical assay, we characterized the in situ binding kinetics of NKG2D interacting with different ligands in the absence or presence of mechanical force. We found that mechanical force application selectively prolonged NKG2D interaction lifetimes with the ligands MICA and MICB, but not with ULBPs, and that force-strengthened binding is much more pronounced for MICA than for other ligands. We also integrated steered molecular dynamics simulations and mutagenesis to reveal force-induced rotational conformational changes of MICA, involving formation of additional hydrogen bonds on its binding interface with NKG2D, impeding MICA dissociation under force. We further provided a kinetic triggering model to reveal that force-dependent affinity determines NKG2D ligand discrimination and its downstream NK cell activation. Together, our results demonstrate that NKG2D has a discrimination power to recognize different ligands, which depends on selective mechanical force-induced ligand conformational changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Fan
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Jiawei Shi
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of EducationZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yong Zhang
- Key Laboratory of RNA BiologyCAS Center for Excellence in BiomacromoleculesInstitute of BiophysicsChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Junwei Liu
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of EducationZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic SurgeryThe Center for Integrated Oncology and Precision MedicineAffiliated Hangzhou First People's HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Chenyi An
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Huaying Zhu
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Peng Wu
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Wei Hu
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Rui Qin
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Danmei Yao
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Xin Shou
- Institute of Translational MedicineSchool of MedicineZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yibing Xu
- Institute of Translational MedicineSchool of MedicineZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Zhou Tong
- Department of Medical OncologyFirst Affiliated HospitalSchool of MedicineZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Xue Wen
- Department of PathologyThe First Affiliated HospitalSchool of MedicineZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Jianpo Xu
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative MedicineDepartment of Basic Medical SciencesThe First Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
| | - Jin Zhang
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative MedicineDepartment of Basic Medical SciencesThe First Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
- Zhejiang Laboratory for Systems and Precision MedicineZhejiang University Medical CenterHangzhouChina
- Institute of HematologyZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Weijia Fang
- Department of Medical OncologyFirst Affiliated HospitalSchool of MedicineZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Jizhong Lou
- Key Laboratory of RNA BiologyCAS Center for Excellence in BiomacromoleculesInstitute of BiophysicsChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Weiwei Yin
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of EducationZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- Department of Thoracic SurgerySir Run Run Shaw HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardio‐Cerebral Vascular Detection Technology and Medicinal Effectiveness AppraisalCollege of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument of ScienceZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Cell Biology and Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of EducationZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic SurgeryThe Center for Integrated Oncology and Precision MedicineAffiliated Hangzhou First People's HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhouChina
- Zhejiang Laboratory for Systems and Precision MedicineZhejiang University Medical CenterHangzhouChina
- The MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain‐machine IntegrationZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
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42
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Rushdi MN, Pan V, Li K, Choi HK, Travaglino S, Hong J, Griffitts F, Agnihotri P, Mariuzza RA, Ke Y, Zhu C. Cooperative binding of T cell receptor and CD4 to peptide-MHC enhances antigen sensitivity. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7055. [PMID: 36396644 PMCID: PMC9671906 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34587-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Antigen recognition by the T cell receptor (TCR) of CD4+ T cells can be greatly enhanced by the coreceptor CD4. Yet, understanding of the molecular mechanism is hindered by the ultra-low affinity of CD4 binding to class-II peptide-major histocompatibility complexes (pMHC). Here we show, using two-dimensional (2D) mechanical-based assays, that the affinity of CD4-pMHC interaction is 3-4 logs lower than that of cognate TCR-pMHC interactions, and it is more susceptible to increased dissociation by forces (slip bond). In contrast, CD4 binds TCR-pre-bound pMHC at 3-6 logs higher affinity, forming TCR-pMHC-CD4 tri-molecular bonds that are prolonged by force (catch bond), and modulated by protein mobility on the cell membrane, indicating profound TCR-CD4 cooperativity. Consistent with a tri-crystal structure, using DNA origami as a molecular ruler to titrate spacing between TCR and CD4 we show that 7-nm proximity optimizes TCR-pMHC-CD4 tri-molecular bond formation with pMHC. Our results thus provide deep mechanistic insight into CD4 enhancement of TCR antigen recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muaz Nik Rushdi
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.419673.e0000 0000 9545 2456Present Address: Medtronic CO., Minneapolis, MN USA
| | - Victor Pan
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.510306.10000 0004 5907 6472Present Address: Intellia Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Kaitao Li
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Hyun-Kyu Choi
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Stefano Travaglino
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Jinsung Hong
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.417587.80000 0001 2243 3366Present Address: Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD USA
| | - Fletcher Griffitts
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Georgia W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Pragati Agnihotri
- grid.440664.40000 0001 0313 4029W. M. Keck Laboratory for Structural Biology, Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD USA ,grid.164295.d0000 0001 0941 7177Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD USA ,grid.281126.e0000 0004 0612 4549Present Address: Advanced Bioscience Laboratories, Rockville, MD USA
| | - Roy A. Mariuzza
- grid.440664.40000 0001 0313 4029W. M. Keck Laboratory for Structural Biology, Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD USA ,grid.164295.d0000 0001 0941 7177Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD USA
| | - Yonggang Ke
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.189967.80000 0001 0941 6502Medical Scientist Training Program, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Cheng Zhu
- grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA ,grid.213917.f0000 0001 2097 4943Georgia W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA USA
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Gerber HP, Presta LG. TCR mimic compounds for pHLA targeting with high potency modalities in oncology. Front Oncol 2022; 12:1027548. [PMID: 36338746 PMCID: PMC9635445 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1027548] [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] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
pHLA complexes represent the largest class of cell surface markers on cancer cells, making them attractive for targeted cancer therapies. Adoptive cell therapies expressing TCRs that recognize tumor specific pHLAs take advantage of the unique selectivity and avidity of TCR: pHLA interactions. More recently, additional protein binding domains binding to pHLAs, known as TCR mimics (TCRm), were developed for tumor targeting of high potency therapeutic modalities, including bispecifics, ADCs, CAR T and -NK cells. TCRm compounds take advantage of the exquisite tumor specificity of certain pHLA targets, including cell lineage commitment markers and cancer testis antigens (CTAs). To achieve meaningful anti-tumor responses, it is critical that TCRm compounds integrate both, high target binding affinities and a high degree of target specificity. In this review, we describe the most advanced approaches to achieve both criteria, including affinity- and specificity engineering of TCRs, antibodies and alternative protein scaffolds. We also discuss the status of current TCRm based therapeutics developed in the clinic, key challenges, and emerging trends to improve treatment options for cancer patients treated with TCRm based therapeutics in Oncology.
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44
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A bead-based method for high-throughput mapping of the sequence- and force-dependence of T cell activation. Nat Methods 2022; 19:1295-1305. [PMID: 36064771 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-022-01592-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Adaptive immunity relies on T lymphocytes that use αβ T cell receptors (TCRs) to discriminate among peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex molecules (pMHCs). Identifying pMHCs capable of inducing robust T cell responses will not only enable a deeper understanding of the mechanisms governing immune responses but could also have broad applications in diagnosis and treatment. T cell recognition of sparse antigenic pMHCs in vivo relies on biomechanical forces. However, in vitro screening methods test potential pMHCs without force and often at high (nonphysiological) pMHC densities and thus fail to predict potent agonists in vivo. Here, we present a technology termed BATTLES (biomechanically assisted T cell triggering for large-scale exogenous-pMHC screening) that uses biomechanical force to initiate T cell triggering for peptides and cells in parallel. BATTLES displays candidate pMHCs on spectrally encoded beads composed of a thermo-responsive polymer capable of applying shear loads to T cells, facilitating exploration of the force- and sequence-dependent landscape of T cell responses. BATTLES can be used to explore basic T cell mechanobiology and T cell-based immunotherapies.
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45
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Britain DM, Town JP, Weiner OD. Progressive enhancement of kinetic proofreading in T cell antigen discrimination from receptor activation to DAG generation. eLife 2022; 11:e75263. [PMID: 36125261 PMCID: PMC9536835 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
T cells use kinetic proofreading to discriminate antigens by converting small changes in antigen-binding lifetime into large differences in cell activation, but where in the signaling cascade this computation is performed is unknown. Previously, we developed a light-gated immune receptor to probe the role of ligand kinetics in T cell antigen signaling. We found significant kinetic proofreading at the level of the signaling lipid diacylglycerol (DAG) but lacked the ability to determine where the multiple signaling steps required for kinetic discrimination originate in the upstream signaling cascade (Tiseher and Weiner, 2019). Here, we uncover where kinetic proofreading is executed by adapting our optogenetic system for robust activation of early signaling events. We find the strength of kinetic proofreading progressively increases from Zap70 recruitment to LAT clustering to downstream DAG generation. Leveraging the ability of our system to rapidly disengage ligand binding, we also measure slower reset rates for downstream signaling events. These data suggest a distributed kinetic proofreading mechanism, with proofreading steps both at the receptor and at slower resetting downstream signaling complexes that could help balance antigen sensitivity and discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek M Britain
- Cardiovascular Research Institute and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Jason P Town
- Cardiovascular Research Institute and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Orion David Weiner
- Cardiovascular Research Institute and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
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46
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Li L, Hu J, Różycki B, Ji J, Song F. Interplay of receptor-ligand binding and lipid domain formation during cell adhesion. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:1019477. [PMID: 36203878 PMCID: PMC9531914 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.1019477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell adhesion involved in biological processes such as cell migration, immune responses, and cancer metastasis, is mediated by the specific binding of receptor and ligand proteins. Some of these proteins exhibit affinity for nanoscale lipid clusters in cell membranes. A key question is how these nanoscale lipid clusters influence and react to the receptor-ligand binding during cell adhesion. In this article, we review recent computational studies that shed new light on the interplay of the receptor-ligand binding and the formation of lipid domains in adhering membranes. These studies indicate that the receptor-ligand binding promotes coalescence of lipid clusters into mesoscale domains, which, in turn, enhances both the affinity and cooperativity of the receptor-ligand binding in cell-cell adhesion with mobile ligands. In contrast, in the case of cell-extracellular matrix adhesion with immobile ligands, the receptor-ligand binding and the lipid cluster coalescence can be correlated or anti-correlated, depending strongly on the ligand distribution. These findings deepen our understanding of correlations between cell adhesion and membrane heterogeneities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Li
- Kuang Yaming Honors School and Institute for Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Engineered Construction and Mechanobiology, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jinglei Hu
- Kuang Yaming Honors School and Institute for Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Jinglei Hu, ; Bartosz Różycki, ; Jing Ji,
| | - Bartosz Różycki
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- *Correspondence: Jinglei Hu, ; Bartosz Różycki, ; Jing Ji,
| | - Jing Ji
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Beihang University), Ministry of Education Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Jinglei Hu, ; Bartosz Różycki, ; Jing Ji,
| | - Fan Song
- State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Engineered Construction and Mechanobiology, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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47
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Sušac L, Vuong MT, Thomas C, von Bülow S, O'Brien-Ball C, Santos AM, Fernandes RA, Hummer G, Tampé R, Davis SJ. Structure of a fully assembled tumor-specific T cell receptor ligated by pMHC. Cell 2022; 185:3201-3213.e19. [PMID: 35985289 PMCID: PMC9630439 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The T cell receptor (TCR) expressed by T lymphocytes initiates protective immune responses to pathogens and tumors. To explore the structural basis of how TCR signaling is initiated when the receptor binds to peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) molecules, we used cryogenic electron microscopy to determine the structure of a tumor-reactive TCRαβ/CD3δγε2ζ2 complex bound to a melanoma-specific human class I pMHC at 3.08 Å resolution. The antigen-bound complex comprises 11 subunits stabilized by multivalent interactions across three structural layers, with clustered membrane-proximal cystines stabilizing the CD3-εδ and CD3-εγ heterodimers. Extra density sandwiched between transmembrane helices reveals the involvement of sterol lipids in TCR assembly. The geometry of the pMHC/TCR complex suggests that efficient TCR scanning of pMHC requires accurate pre-positioning of T cell and antigen-presenting cell membranes. Comparisons of the ligand-bound and unliganded receptors, along with molecular dynamics simulations, indicate that TCRs can be triggered in the absence of spontaneous structural rearrangements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Sušac
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Mai T Vuong
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Christoph Thomas
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Sören von Bülow
- Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Str. 3, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Caitlin O'Brien-Ball
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Ana Mafalda Santos
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Ricardo A Fernandes
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Gerhard Hummer
- Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Max-von-Laue-Str. 3, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Robert Tampé
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Simon J Davis
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK; Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.
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48
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Light-driven single-cell rotational adhesion frequency assay. ELIGHT 2022; 2:13. [PMID: 35965781 PMCID: PMC9358104 DOI: 10.1186/s43593-022-00020-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The interaction between cell surface receptors and extracellular ligands is highly related to many physiological processes in living systems. Many techniques have been developed to measure the ligand-receptor binding kinetics at the single-cell level. However, few techniques can measure the physiologically relevant shear binding affinity over a single cell in the clinical environment. Here, we develop a new optical technique, termed single-cell rotational adhesion frequency assay (scRAFA), that mimics in vivo cell adhesion to achieve label-free determination of both homogeneous and heterogeneous binding kinetics of targeted cells at the subcellular level. Moreover, the scRAFA is also applicable to analyze the binding affinities on a single cell in native human biofluids. With its superior performance and general applicability, scRAFA is expected to find applications in study of the spatial organization of cell surface receptors and diagnosis of infectious diseases.
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49
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Treatment of allergic eosinophilic asthma through engineered IL-5-anchored chimeric antigen receptor T cells. Cell Discov 2022; 8:80. [PMID: 35973984 PMCID: PMC9381771 DOI: 10.1038/s41421-022-00433-y] [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] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) is a therapy-resistant respiratory condition with poor clinical control. Treatment efficacy and patient compliance of current therapies remain unsatisfactory. Here, inspired by the remarkable success of chimeric antigen receptor-based cellular adoptive immunotherapies demonstrated for the treatment of a variety of malignant tumors, we engineered a cytokine-anchored chimeric antigen receptor T (CCAR-T) cell system using a chimeric IL-5-CD28-CD3ζ receptor to trigger T-cell-mediated killing of eosinophils that are elevated during severe asthma attacks. IL-5-anchored CCAR-T cells exhibited selective and effective killing capacity in vitro and restricted eosinophil differentiation with apparent protection against allergic airway inflammation in two mouse models of asthma. Notably, a single dose of IL-5-anchored CCAR-T cells resulted in persistent protection against asthma-related conditions over three months, significantly exceeding the typical therapeutic window of current mAb-based treatments in the clinics. This study presents a cell-based treatment strategy for SEA and could set the stage for a new era of precision therapies against a variety of intractable allergic diseases in the future.
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50
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Baumgaertner P, Schmidt J, Costa-Nunes CM, Bordry N, Guillaume P, Luescher I, Speiser DE, Rufer N, Hebeisen M. CD8 T cell function and cross-reactivity explored by stepwise increased peptide-HLA versus TCR affinity. Front Immunol 2022; 13:973986. [PMID: 36032094 PMCID: PMC9399405 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.973986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Recruitment and activation of CD8 T cells occur through specific triggering of T cell receptor (TCR) by peptide-bound human leucocyte antigen (HLA) ligands. Within the generated trimeric TCR-peptide:HLA complex, the molecular binding affinities between peptide and HLA, and between TCR and peptide:HLA both impact T cell functional outcomes. However, how their individual and combined effects modulate immunogenicity and overall T cell responsiveness has not been investigated systematically. Here, we established two panels of human tumor peptide variants differing in their affinity to HLA. For precise characterization, we developed the “blue peptide assay”, an upgraded cell-based approach to measure the peptide:HLA affinity. These peptide variants were then used to investigate the cross-reactivity of tumor antigen-specific CD8 T cell clonotypes derived from blood of cancer patients after vaccination with either the native or an affinity-optimized Melan-A/MART-1 epitope, or isolated from tumor infiltrated lymph nodes (TILNs). Vaccines containing the native tumor epitope generated T cells with better functionality, and superior cross-reactivity against potential low affinity escape epitopes, as compared to T cells induced by vaccines containing an HLA affinity-optimized epitope. Comparatively, Melan-A/MART-1-specific TILN cells displayed functional and cross-reactive profiles that were heterogeneous and clonotype-dependent. Finally, we took advantage of a collection of T cells expressing affinity-optimized NY-ESO-1-specific TCRs to interrogate the individual and combined impact of peptide:HLA and TCR-pHLA affinities on overall CD8 T cell responses. We found profound and distinct effects of both biophysical parameters, with additive contributions and absence of hierarchical dominance. Altogether, the biological impact of peptide:HLA and TCR-pHLA affinities on T cell responses was carefully dissected in two antigenic systems, frequently targeted in human cancer immunotherapy. Our technology and stepwise comparison open new insights into the rational design and selection of vaccine-associated tumor-specific epitopes and highlight the functional and cross-reactivity profiles that endow T cells with best tumor control capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Baumgaertner
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Michael Hebeisen, ; Petra Baumgaertner,
| | - Julien Schmidt
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Carla-Marisa Costa-Nunes
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Natacha Bordry
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Guillaume
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Immanuel Luescher
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Daniel E. Speiser
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Nathalie Rufer
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Michael Hebeisen
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch - University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Michael Hebeisen, ; Petra Baumgaertner,
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