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Wohnhaas CT, Baßler K, Watson CK, Shen Y, Leparc GG, Tilp C, Heinemann F, Kind D, Stierstorfer B, Delić D, Brunner T, Gantner F, Schultze JL, Viollet C, Baum P. Monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages are key drivers of smoke-induced lung inflammation and tissue remodeling. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1325090. [PMID: 38348034 PMCID: PMC10859862 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1325090] [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: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Smoking is a leading risk factor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), that is characterized by chronic lung inflammation, tissue remodeling and emphysema. Although inflammation is critical to COPD pathogenesis, the cellular and molecular basis underlying smoking-induced lung inflammation and pathology remains unclear. Using murine smoke models and single-cell RNA-sequencing, we show that smoking establishes a self-amplifying inflammatory loop characterized by an influx of molecularly heterogeneous neutrophil subsets and excessive recruitment of monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages (MoAM). In contrast to tissue-resident AM, MoAM are absent in homeostasis and characterized by a pro-inflammatory gene signature. Moreover, MoAM represent 46% of AM in emphysematous mice and express markers causally linked to emphysema. We also demonstrate the presence of pro-inflammatory and tissue remodeling associated MoAM orthologs in humans that are significantly increased in emphysematous COPD patients. Inhibition of the IRAK4 kinase depletes a rare inflammatory neutrophil subset, diminishes MoAM recruitment, and alleviates inflammation in the lung of cigarette smoke-exposed mice. This study extends our understanding of the molecular signaling circuits and cellular dynamics in smoking-induced lung inflammation and pathology, highlights the functional consequence of monocyte and neutrophil recruitment, identifies MoAM as key drivers of the inflammatory process, and supports their contribution to pathological tissue remodeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian T. Wohnhaas
- Translational Medicine & Clinical Pharmacology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Kevin Baßler
- Genomics and Immunoregulation, Life & Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Carolin K. Watson
- Immunology & Respiratory Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Yang Shen
- Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Germán G. Leparc
- Translational Medicine & Clinical Pharmacology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Cornelia Tilp
- Immunology & Respiratory Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Fabian Heinemann
- Drug Discovery Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - David Kind
- Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Birgit Stierstorfer
- Drug Discovery Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Denis Delić
- Translational Medicine & Clinical Pharmacology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
- Fifth Department of Medicine (Nephrology/Endocrinology/Rheumatology), University Medical Centre Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Thomas Brunner
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Florian Gantner
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Translational Medicine & Clinical Pharmacology, C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Joachim L. Schultze
- Genomics and Immunoregulation, Life & Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Systems Medicine, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
- PRECISE Platform for Single Cell Genomics and Epigenomics, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Coralie Viollet
- Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
| | - Patrick Baum
- Translational Medicine & Clinical Pharmacology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach, Germany
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Gupta Y, Savytskyi OV, Coban M, Venugopal A, Pleqi V, Weber CA, Chitale R, Durvasula R, Hopkins C, Kempaiah P, Caulfield TR. Protein structure-based in-silico approaches to drug discovery: Guide to COVID-19 therapeutics. Mol Aspects Med 2023; 91:101151. [PMID: 36371228 PMCID: PMC9613808 DOI: 10.1016/j.mam.2022.101151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
With more than 5 million fatalities and close to 300 million reported cases, COVID-19 is the first documented pandemic due to a coronavirus that continues to be a major health challenge. Despite being rapid, uncontrollable, and highly infectious in its spread, it also created incentives for technology development and redefined public health needs and research agendas to fast-track innovations to be translated. Breakthroughs in computational biology peaked during the pandemic with renewed attention to making all cutting-edge technology deliver agents to combat the disease. The demand to develop effective treatments yielded surprising collaborations from previously segregated fields of science and technology. The long-standing pharmaceutical industry's aversion to repurposing existing drugs due to a lack of exponential financial gain was overrun by the health crisis and pressures created by front-line researchers and providers. Effective vaccine development even at an unprecedented pace took more than a year to develop and commence trials. Now the emergence of variants and waning protections during the booster shots is resulting in breakthrough infections that continue to strain health care systems. As of now, every protein of SARS-CoV-2 has been structurally characterized and related host pathways have been extensively mapped out. The research community has addressed the druggability of a multitude of possible targets. This has been made possible due to existing technology for virtual computer-assisted drug development as well as new tools and technologies such as artificial intelligence to deliver new leads. Here in this article, we are discussing advances in the drug discovery field related to target-based drug discovery and exploring the implications of known target-specific agents on COVID-19 therapeutic management. The current scenario calls for more personalized medicine efforts and stratifying patient populations early on for their need for different combinations of prognosis-specific therapeutics. We intend to highlight target hotspots and their potential agents, with the ultimate goal of using rational design of new therapeutics to not only end this pandemic but also uncover a generalizable platform for use in future pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yash Gupta
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Oleksandr V Savytskyi
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; In Vivo Biosystems, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Matt Coban
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | | | - Vasili Pleqi
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Caleb A Weber
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Rohit Chitale
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; The Council on Strategic Risks, 1025 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Ravi Durvasula
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | | | - Prakasha Kempaiah
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Thomas R Caulfield
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Department of QHS Computational Biology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; Department of Clinical Genomics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION As the third year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic approaches, COVID-19 continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality due to waning vaccine efficacy and the emergence of new, highly contagious subvariants and better therapies are urgently needed. AREAS COVERED Hospitalized patients who develop hypoxia due to SARS-CoV-2 infection are typically treated with an antiviral agent, remdesivir, as well as an immunomodulator, dexamethasone, but mortality rates for severe COVID-19 remain unacceptably high. Mounting evidence suggests a second immunomodulator added to the standard of care may benefit some hospitalized patients; however, the optimal treatment remains controversial. EXPERT OPINION On 2 June 2022, the United States National Institutes of Health reported results from a large, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial known as ACTIV-1. The study found a mortality benefit and substantially improved clinical status for adults hospitalized with COVID-19 who were treated with infliximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds to and inhibits TNF-α, and is widely used to treat a variety of autoimmune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. This manuscript reviews what is known about infliximab as an immunomodulator for patients with COVID-19 and explores how this agent may be used in the future to address the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew P Velez
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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