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Wang Q, Yang Y, Chen Z, Li B, Niu Y, Li X. Lymph Node-on-Chip Technology: Cutting-Edge Advances in Immune Microenvironment Simulation. Pharmaceutics 2024; 16:666. [PMID: 38794327 PMCID: PMC11124897 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16050666] [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: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Organ-on-a-chip technology is attracting growing interest across various domains as a crucial platform for drug screening and testing and is set to play a significant role in precision medicine research. Lymph nodes, being intricately structured organs essential for the body's adaptive immune responses to antigens and foreign particles, are pivotal in assessing the immunotoxicity of novel pharmaceuticals. Significant progress has been made in research on the structure and function of the lymphatic system. However, there is still an urgent need to develop prospective tools and techniques to delve deeper into its role in various diseases' pathological and physiological processes and to develop corresponding immunotherapeutic therapies. Organ chips can accurately reproduce the specific functional areas in lymph nodes to better simulate the complex microstructure of lymph nodes and the interactions between different immune cells, which is convenient for studying specific biological processes. This paper reviews existing lymph node chips and their design approaches. It discusses the applications of the above systems in modeling immune cell motility, cell-cell interactions, vaccine responses, drug testing, and cancer research. Finally, we summarize the challenges that current research faces in terms of structure, cell source, and extracellular matrix simulation of lymph nodes, and we provide an outlook on the future direction of integrated immune system chips.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Xiaoqiong Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Separation and Analysis in Biomedicine and Pharmaceuticals, School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; (Q.W.); (Y.Y.); (Z.C.); (B.L.); (Y.N.)
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Cruz de Casas P, Knöpper K, Dey Sarkar R, Kastenmüller W. Same yet different - how lymph node heterogeneity affects immune responses. Nat Rev Immunol 2024; 24:358-374. [PMID: 38097778 DOI: 10.1038/s41577-023-00965-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
Lymph nodes are secondary lymphoid organs in which immune responses of the adaptive immune system are initiated and regulated. Distributed throughout the body and embedded in the lymphatic system, local lymph nodes are continuously informed about the state of the organs owing to a constant drainage of lymph. The tissue-derived lymph carries products of cell metabolism, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, pathogens and circulating immune cells. Notably, there is a growing body of evidence that individual lymph nodes differ from each other in their capacity to generate immune responses. Here, we review the structure and function of the lymphatic system and then focus on the factors that lead to functional heterogeneity among different lymph nodes. We will discuss how lymph node heterogeneity impacts on cellular and humoral immune responses and the implications for vaccination, tumour development and tumour control by immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Cruz de Casas
- Max Planck Research Group, Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Konrad Knöpper
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rupak Dey Sarkar
- Max Planck Research Group, Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Kastenmüller
- Max Planck Research Group, Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
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Sun P, Cui M, Jing J, Kong F, Wang S, Tang L, Leng J, Chen K. Deciphering the molecular and cellular atlas of immune cells in septic patients with different bacterial infections. J Transl Med 2023; 21:777. [PMID: 37919720 PMCID: PMC10621118 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04631-4] [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: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by abnormal immune responses to various, predominantly bacterial, infections. Different bacterial infections lead to substantial variation in disease manifestation and therapeutic strategies. However, the underlying cellular heterogeneity and mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. METHODS Multiple bulk transcriptome datasets from septic patients with 12 types of bacterial infections were integrated to identify signature genes for each infection. Signature genes were mapped onto an integrated large single-cell RNA (scRNA) dataset from septic patients, to identify subsets of cells associated with different sepsis types, and multiple omics datasets were combined to reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms. In addition, an scRNA dataset and spatial transcriptome data were used to identify signaling pathways in sepsis-related cells. Finally, molecular screening, optimization, and de novo design were conducted to identify potential targeted drugs and compounds. RESULTS We elucidated the cellular heterogeneity among septic patients with different bacterial infections. In Escherichia coli (E. coli) sepsis, 19 signature genes involved in epigenetic regulation and metabolism were identified, of which DRAM1 was demonstrated to promote autophagy and glycolysis in response to E. coli infection. DRAM1 upregulation was confirmed in an independent sepsis cohort. Further, we showed that DRAM1 could maintain survival of a pro-inflammatory monocyte subset, C10_ULK1, which induces systemic inflammation by interacting with other cell subsets via resistin and integrin signaling pathways in blood and kidney tissue, respectively. Finally, retapamulin was identified and optimized as a potential drug for treatment of E. coli sepsis targeting the signature gene, DRAM1, and inhibiting E. coli protein synthesis. Several other targeted drugs were also identified in other types of sepsis, including nystatin targeting C1QA in Neisseria sepsis and dalfopristin targeting CTSD in Streptococcus viridans sepsis. CONCLUSION Our study provides a comprehensive overview of the cellular heterogeneity and underlying mechanisms in septic patients with various bacterial infections, providing insights to inform development of stratified targeted therapies for sepsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Sun
- Translational Medical Center for Stem Cell Therapy, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200127, China
- Department of Emergency, Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225000, China
| | - Mintian Cui
- Translational Medical Center for Stem Cell Therapy, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Jiongjie Jing
- Translational Medical Center for Stem Cell Therapy, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Fanyu Kong
- Department of Internal Emergency Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200120, China
| | - Shixi Wang
- Translational Medical Center for Stem Cell Therapy, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Lunxian Tang
- Department of Internal Emergency Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200120, China
| | - Junling Leng
- Department of Emergency, Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225000, China
| | - Kun Chen
- Translational Medical Center for Stem Cell Therapy, Institute for Regenerative Medicine, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200127, China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
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De Martin A, Stanossek Y, Lütge M, Cadosch N, Onder L, Cheng HW, Brandstadter JD, Maillard I, Stoeckli SJ, Pikor NB, Ludewig B. PI16 + reticular cells in human palatine tonsils govern T cell activity in distinct subepithelial niches. Nat Immunol 2023:10.1038/s41590-023-01502-4. [PMID: 37202490 DOI: 10.1038/s41590-023-01502-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs) direct the interaction and activation of immune cells in discrete microenvironments of lymphoid organs. Despite their important role in steering innate and adaptive immunity, the age- and inflammation-associated changes in the molecular identity and functional properties of human FRCs have remained largely unknown. Here, we show that human tonsillar FRCs undergo dynamic reprogramming during life and respond vigorously to inflammatory perturbation in comparison to other stromal cell types. The peptidase inhibitor 16 (PI16)-expressing reticular cell (PI16+ RC) subset of adult tonsils exhibited the strongest inflammation-associated structural remodeling. Interactome analysis combined with ex vivo and in vitro validation revealed that T cell activity within subepithelial niches is controlled by distinct molecular pathways during PI16+ RC-lymphocyte interaction. In sum, the topological and molecular definition of the human tonsillar stromal cell landscape reveals PI16+ RCs as a specialized FRC niche at the core of mucosal immune responses in the oropharynx.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelina De Martin
- Institute of Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Yves Stanossek
- Institute of Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Mechthild Lütge
- Institute of Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Nadine Cadosch
- Institute of Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Lucas Onder
- Institute of Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Hung-Wei Cheng
- Institute of Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Joshua D Brandstadter
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ivan Maillard
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sandro J Stoeckli
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Natalia B Pikor
- Institute of Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Burkhard Ludewig
- Institute of Immunobiology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
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León B. Understanding the development of Th2 cell-driven allergic airway disease in early life. FRONTIERS IN ALLERGY 2023; 3:1080153. [PMID: 36704753 PMCID: PMC9872036 DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2022.1080153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and food allergy, are caused by abnormal responses to relatively harmless foreign proteins called allergens found in pollen, fungal spores, house dust mites (HDM), animal dander, or certain foods. In particular, the activation of allergen-specific helper T cells towards a type 2 (Th2) phenotype during the first encounters with the allergen, also known as the sensitization phase, is the leading cause of the subsequent development of allergic disease. Infants and children are especially prone to developing Th2 cell responses after initial contact with allergens. But in addition, the rates of allergic sensitization and the development of allergic diseases among children are increasing in the industrialized world and have been associated with living in urban settings. Particularly for respiratory allergies, greater susceptibility to developing allergic Th2 cell responses has been shown in children living in urban environments containing low levels of microbial contaminants, principally bacterial endotoxins [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)], in the causative aeroallergens. This review highlights the current understanding of the factors that balance Th2 cell immunity to environmental allergens, with a particular focus on the determinants that program conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) toward or away from a Th2 stimulatory function. In this context, it discusses transcription factor-guided functional specialization of type-2 cDCs (cDC2s) and how the integration of signals derived from the environment drives this process. In addition, it analyzes observational and mechanistic studies supporting an essential role for innate sensing of microbial-derived products contained in aeroallergens in modulating allergic Th2 cell immune responses. Finally, this review examines whether hyporesponsiveness to microbial stimulation, particularly to LPS, is a risk factor for the induction of Th2 cell responses and allergic sensitization during infancy and early childhood and the potential factors that may affect early-age response to LPS and other environmental microbial components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz León
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
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Germolec DR, Lebrec H, Anderson SE, Burleson GR, Cardenas A, Corsini E, Elmore SE, Kaplan BL, Lawrence BP, Lehmann GM, Maier CC, McHale CM, Myers LP, Pallardy M, Rooney AA, Zeise L, Zhang L, Smith MT. Consensus on the Key Characteristics of Immunotoxic Agents as a Basis for Hazard Identification. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2022; 130:105001. [PMID: 36201310 PMCID: PMC9536493 DOI: 10.1289/ehp10800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Key characteristics (KCs), properties of agents or exposures that confer potential hazard, have been developed for carcinogens and other toxicant classes. KCs have been used in the systematic assessment of hazards and to identify assay and data gaps that limit screening and risk assessment. Many of the mechanisms through which pharmaceuticals and occupational or environmental agents modulate immune function are well recognized. Thus KCs could be identified for immunoactive substances and applied to improve hazard assessment of immunodulatory agents. OBJECTIVES The goal was to generate a consensus-based synthesis of scientific evidence describing the KCs of agents known to cause immunotoxicity and potential applications, such as assays to measure the KCs. METHODS A committee of 18 experts with diverse specialties identified 10 KCs of immunotoxic agents, namely, 1) covalently binds to proteins to form novel antigens, 2) affects antigen processing and presentation, 3) alters immune cell signaling, 4) alters immune cell proliferation, 5) modifies cellular differentiation, 6) alters immune cell-cell communication, 7) alters effector function of specific cell types, 8) alters immune cell trafficking, 9) alters cell death processes, and 10) breaks down immune tolerance. The group considered how these KCs could influence immune processes and contribute to hypersensitivity, inappropriate enhancement, immunosuppression, or autoimmunity. DISCUSSION KCs can be used to improve efforts to identify agents that cause immunotoxicity via one or more mechanisms, to develop better testing and biomarker approaches to evaluate immunotoxicity, and to enable a more comprehensive and mechanistic understanding of adverse effects of exposures on the immune system. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10800.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dori R. Germolec
- Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Herve Lebrec
- Translational Safety & Bioanalytical Sciences, Amgen Research, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Stacey E. Anderson
- Allergy and Clinical Immunology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
| | - Gary R. Burleson
- Burleson Research Technologies, Inc., Morrisville, North Carolina, USA
| | - Andres Cardenas
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Emanuela Corsini
- Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Sarah E. Elmore
- Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, California, USA
| | - Barbara L.F. Kaplan
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Center for Environmental Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, USA
| | - B. Paige Lawrence
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Geniece M. Lehmann
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Curtis C. Maier
- In Vitro In Vivo Translation, Research and Development, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Cliona M. McHale
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - L. Peyton Myers
- Division of Pharm/Tox, Office of Infectious Diseases, Office of New Drugs, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Marc Pallardy
- Inserm, Inflammation microbiome immunosurveillance, Université Paris-Saclay, Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - Andrew A. Rooney
- Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lauren Zeise
- Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, California, USA
| | - Luoping Zhang
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Martyn T. Smith
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
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