Clonal Characteristics of T-Cell Receptor Repertoires in Violent and Non-violent Patients With Schizophrenia

Microbial community composition in subgingival plaques and heterogeneity of tumor tissue TCRβ CDR3 repertoire in patients with moderate-to-severe periodontitis and oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The human oral cavity contains over 700 types of bacteria that may protect the body against colonization by exogenous pathogens and maintain relative homeostasis. However, alterations in the immune status can disrupt the balance between microorganisms and the host, inducing various diseases such as oral cancer and diabetes mellitus. The mechanism underlying this process is not clearly understood.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between subgingival bacteria, T-cell receptor β-chain complementarity-determining region 3 (TCRβ CDR3), and the development oforal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

METHODS

We grouped patients as "healthy periodontal" (H), "moderate-to-severe chronic periodontitis" (C), and "moderate-to-severe chronic periodontitis with OSCC" (T). Bacterial groups were "subgingival plaque" (bp) and "gingival/tumor tissue" (g). We also recorded patients' age, gender, attachment level (AL), bleeding on probing (BOP), and probing depth (PD). We extracted and sequenced RNA from plaques, gingival tissues, tumors, and teeth. We performed high-throughput sequencing on TCRβ CDR3 and plaque bacteria.

RESULTS

Synergistetes and Veillonella parvula were more abundant in the H group than in the T group. Granulicatella, Peptostreptococcus, and Streptococcus infantis were enriched in the T-bp group. AL, BOP, and PD were positively correlated with Granulicatella, Peptostreptococcus, and Pseudomonas but negatively correlated with Prevotella nigrescens and V. parvula. TCRβ CDR3 diversity was C > H > T. TCR β-chain Variable gene (TRBV)20-1 usage varied among the H, C, and T groups. TRBV2 and TRBV5-1 usage was greater in the T group than in the C group. TRBJ1-1, TRBJ1-2, TRBJ2-2, TRBJ2-7, and TRBJ2-5 were most frequently used.

CONCLUSIONS

These trends and the reduction of gingival Synergistetes were correlated with OSCC. TCRβ CDR3 diversity was the lowest in patients in the T group, and there were considerable changes in the expression of TRBV2 and TRBJ. Therefore, plaque bacterial composition can influence TCRβ CDR3.

Immunophenotypes in psychosis: is it a premature inflamm-aging disorder?

Immunopsychiatric field has rapidly accumulated evidence demonstrating the involvement of both innate and adaptive immune components in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Nevertheless, researchers are facing dilemmas of discrepant findings of immunophenotypes both outside and inside the brains of psychotic patients, as discovered by recent meta-analyses. These discrepancies make interpretations and interrogations on their roles in psychosis remain vague and even controversial, regarding whether certain immune cells are more activated or less so, and whether they are causal or consequential, or beneficial or harmful for psychosis. Addressing these issues for psychosis is not at all trivial, as immune cells either outside or inside the brain are an enormously heterogeneous and plastic cell population, falling into a vast range of lineages and subgroups, and functioning differently and malleably in context-dependent manners. This review aims to overview the currently known immunophenotypes of patients with psychosis, and provocatively suggest the premature immune "burnout" or inflamm-aging initiated since organ development as a potential primary mechanism behind these immunophenotypes and the pathogenesis of psychotic disorders.

T-cell and B-cell repertoire diversity are selectively skewed in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome revealed by high-throughput sequencing

BACKGROUND

Clinical studies suggest that the dysfunction of T cells and B cells may play an essential role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS), but laboratory evidence is lacking. Therefore, this study explored T-cell receptor (TCR) and B-cell receptor (BCR) profiling in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

METHODS

High-throughput sequencing technology was used to profile the TCR and BCR repertoires in children with INS. Peripheral blood was collected from ten INS patients, including five vinculin autoantibody-positive patients and five vinculin autoantibody-negative patients, before and after treatment. TCR and BCR libraries were constructed by 5'-RACE and sequenced by a DNBSEQ-T7 sequencer, and sequence analyses were performed using ReSeqTools, FastP, MiXCR, and VDJtools.

RESULTS

The TRA (T-cell receptor α), TRG (T-cell receptor γ), and IGH (immunoglobulin heavy chain) repertoires of the INS group were occupied by highly abundant clonotypes, whereas small clonotypes occupied the healthy group, especially TRA. A significant increase in the Shannon-Weaver index was observed for the TRA and TRG repertoires after treatment in vinculin autoantibody-negative patients, but a significant increase in the IGH repertoire after treatment was observed in vinculin autoantibody-positive patients. The frequency of some V-J pairs was significantly enriched in steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome patients. The usage frequency of the V and J genes was skewed in patients, which seemed not related to immunosuppressive therapy. However, after effective treatment, dynamic changes in the size of the individual clonotype were observed.

CONCLUSION

T-cell and B-cell immunity contribute to the pathogenesis of different INSs. Video: (MP4 99,786 KB).

Subtypes of schizophrenia identified by multi-omic measures associated with dysregulated immune function

Epigenetic modifications are plausible molecular sources of phenotypic heterogeneity across schizophrenia patients. The current study investigated biological heterogeneity in schizophrenia using peripheral epigenetic profiles to delineate illness subtypes independent of their phenomenological manifestations. We applied epigenome-wide profiling with a DNA methylation array from blood samples of 63 schizophrenia patients and 59 healthy controls. Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) and k-means clustering were performed to identify DNA methylation-related patient subtypes. The validity of the partition was tested by assessing the profile of the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires. The uniqueness of the identified subtypes in relation to brain structural and clinical measures were evaluated. Two distinct patterns of DNA methylation profiles were identified in patients. One subtype (60.3% of patients) showed relatively limited changes in methylation levels and cell composition compared to controls, while a second subtype (39.7% of patients) exhibited widespread methylation level alterations among genes enriched in immune cell activity, as well as a higher proportion of neutrophils and lower proportion of lymphocytes. Differentiation of the two patient subtypes was validated by TCR repertoires, which paralleled the partition based on DNA methylation profiles. The subtype with widespread methylation modifications had higher symptom severity, performed worse on cognitive measures, and displayed greater reductions in fractional anisotropy of white matter tracts and evidence of gray matter thickening compared to the other subtype. Identification of a distinct subtype of schizophrenia with unique molecular, cerebral, and clinical features provide a novel parcellation of the schizophrenia syndrome with potential to guide development of individualized therapeutics.

Genes regulated by BCL11B during T-cell development are enriched for de novo mutations found in schizophrenia patients

While abnormal neurodevelopment contributes to schizophrenia (SCZ) risk, there is also evidence to support a role for immune dysfunction in SCZ. BCL11B, associated with SCZ in genome-wide association study (GWAS), is a transcription factor that regulates the differentiation and development of cells in the central nervous and immune systems. Here, we use functional genomics data from studies of BCL11B to investigate the contribution of neuronal and immune processes to SCZ pathophysiology. We identified the gene targets of BCL11B in brain striatal cells (n = 223 genes), double negative 4 (DN4) developing T cells (n = 114 genes) and double positive (DP) developing T cells (n = 518 genes) using an integrated analysis of RNA-seq and ChIP-seq data. No gene-set was enriched for genes containing common variants associated with SCZ but the DP gene-set was enriched for genes containing missense de novo mutations (DNMs; p = .001) using data from 3,447 SCZ trios. Post hoc analysis revealed the enrichment to be stronger for DP genes negatively regulated by BCL11B. Biological processes enriched for genes negatively regulated by BCL11B in DP gene-set included immune system development and cytokine signaling. These analyses, leveraging a GWAS-identified SCZ risk gene and data on gene expression and transcription factor binding, indicate that DNMs in immune pathways contribute to SCZ risk.

High-throughput sequencing reveals the diversity of TCR β chain CDR3 repertoire in patients with severe acne

Acne is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, and the inflammation immune response runs through all stages of acne lesions. In this study, we use a combination of multiplex-PCR and high-throughput sequencing technologies to analyze T cell receptor β chain CDR3 (complementarity-determining region 3) in peripheral blood isolated from severe acne patients. Once compared with healthy controls, we propose to identify acne-relevant CDR3 peptides. Our results reveal that the diversity of T cell receptor β chain (TRB) CDR3 sequences in the peripheral blood of the severe acne vulgaris (SA) group differed from that of the control group. In addition, we find 10 TRB CDR3 sequences, amino acid sequences and V-J combinations with significantly different expressions between the SA group and the non-acne (NA) group (P < 0.0001). These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the role of immunity in the pathogenesis of acne and may serve as biomarkers for evaluating risk or prognosis of severe acne disease in future.

Impact of antipsychotic medication on IL-6/STAT3 signaling axis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of drug-naive schizophrenia patients

AIM

Immunopathogenesis remains a widely appreciated etiopathological model of schizophrenia. Persistent efforts have aimed to identify schizophrenia biomarkers indexing immune system abnormalities and also immuno-dampening effects of antipsychotic medications. Although data arising from published reports are encouraging, such studies are limited to a few immune parameters and not focused on a specific pathway. Th17 cells-mediated immuno-inflammatory responses have emerged as a potential mechanism in various neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. The Th17 pathway is distinctly regulated through a coordinated action of multiple cytokines and transcription factors. In this study, we explored whether antipsychotic medication has any effect on the cytokines and transcription factors of the Th17 pathway.

METHODS

A total of 27 drug-naive schizophrenia patients were recruited and followed up for 3 months after initiation of antipsychotic medication. Lymphocyte gene expression levels of two transcription factors (STAT3 and RORC) and one of their upstream regulators, IL6, were quantified before and after treatment. Plasma levels of cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-17A, IL-23, and IL-33, were also analyzed before and after treatment.

RESULTS

Treatment with antipsychotic medication for 3 months resulted in significant downregulation of STAT3 gene expression as well as reduction in plasma levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-17A. Significant reduction in total scores for the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms was also observed in schizophrenia patients after 3 months of antipsychotic treatment.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest possible immuno-modulatory effects of antipsychotic medication on the critical regulators, such as IL-6 and STAT3, of the Th17 pathway in schizophrenia patients. The IL-6/STAT3 signaling axis involved in the transcriptional regulation of Th17 cells might appear as an important target of antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia patients. Alternatively, irrespective of the effect of antipsychotic drugs, the IL-6/STAT3 signaling axis might be crucially involved in ameliorating psychotic symptoms.