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Rauch E, Amendt T, Lopez Krol A, Lang FB, Linse V, Hohmann M, Keim AC, Kreutzer S, Kawengian K, Buchholz M, Duschner P, Grauer S, Schnierle B, Ruhl A, Burtscher I, Dehnert S, Kuria C, Kupke A, Paul S, Liehr T, Lechner M, Schnare M, Kaufmann A, Huber M, Winkler TH, Bauer S, Yu P. T-bet + B cells are activated by and control endogenous retroviruses through TLR-dependent mechanisms. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1229. [PMID: 38336876 PMCID: PMC10858178 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45201-6] [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: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are an integral part of the mammalian genome. The role of immune control of ERVs in general is poorly defined as is their function as anti-cancer immune targets or drivers of autoimmune disease. Here, we generate mouse-strains where Moloney-Murine Leukemia Virus tagged with GFP (ERV-GFP) infected the mouse germline. This enables us to analyze the role of genetic, epigenetic and cell intrinsic restriction factors in ERV activation and control. We identify an autoreactive B cell response against the neo-self/ERV antigen GFP as a key mechanism of ERV control. Hallmarks of this response are spontaneous ERV-GFP+ germinal center formation, elevated serum IFN-γ levels and a dependency on Age-associated B cells (ABCs) a subclass of T-bet+ memory B cells. Impairment of IgM B cell receptor-signal in nucleic-acid sensing TLR-deficient mice contributes to defective ERV control. Although ERVs are a part of the genome they break immune tolerance, induce immune surveillance against ERV-derived self-antigens and shape the host immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen Rauch
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
- CSL Behring Innovation GmbH, Emil-von-Behring-Str. 76, 35041, Marburg, Germany
| | - Timm Amendt
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
- The Francis Crick Institute, NW1 1AT, London, UK
| | | | - Fabian B Lang
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Vincent Linse
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Michelle Hohmann
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
- Apollo Ventures Holding GmbH, 20457, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ann-Christin Keim
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Susanne Kreutzer
- Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, 61231, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Kevin Kawengian
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Malte Buchholz
- Department of Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Core Facility Small Animal Multispectral and Ultrasound Imaging, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Philipp Duschner
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Saskia Grauer
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Barbara Schnierle
- Department of Virology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, 63225, Langen, Germany
| | - Andreas Ruhl
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
- Department of Infection Biology, University Hospital Erlangen, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Ingo Burtscher
- Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Sonja Dehnert
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Chege Kuria
- Nikolaus-Fiebiger Center for Molecular Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Alexandra Kupke
- Institute of Virology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Stephanie Paul
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Liehr
- Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Human Genetics, 07747, Jena, Germany
| | - Marcus Lechner
- Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Markus Schnare
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Kaufmann
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Magdalena Huber
- Institute of Sytems Immunology, Center for Tumor and Immunobiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Thomas H Winkler
- Nikolaus-Fiebiger Center for Molecular Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Stefan Bauer
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Philipp Yu
- Institute of Immunology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35043, Marburg, Germany.
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Ahmad W, Panicker NG, Akhlaq S, Gull B, Baby J, Khader TA, Rizvi TA, Mustafa F. Global Down-regulation of Gene Expression Induced by Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (MMTV) in Normal Mammary Epithelial Cells. Viruses 2023; 15:v15051110. [PMID: 37243196 DOI: 10.3390/v15051110] [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: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) is a betaretrovirus that causes breast cancer in mice. The mouse mammary epithelial cells are the most permissive cells for MMTV, expressing the highest levels of virus upon infection and being the ones later transformed by the virus due to repeated rounds of infection/superinfection and integration, leading eventually to mammary tumors. The aim of this study was to identify genes and molecular pathways dysregulated by MMTV expression in mammary epithelial cells. Towards this end, mRNAseq was performed on normal mouse mammary epithelial cells stably expressing MMTV, and expression of host genes was analyzed compared with cells in its absence. The identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were grouped on the basis of gene ontology and relevant molecular pathways. Bioinformatics analysis identified 12 hub genes, of which 4 were up-regulated (Angp2, Ccl2, Icam, and Myc) and 8 were down-regulated (Acta2, Cd34, Col1a1, Col1a2, Cxcl12, Eln, Igf1, and Itgam) upon MMTV expression. Further screening of these DEGs showed their involvement in many diseases, especially in breast cancer progression when compared with available data. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) identified 31 molecular pathways dysregulated upon MMTV expression, amongst which the PI3-AKT-mTOR was observed to be the central pathway down-regulated by MMTV. Many of the DEGs and 6 of the 12 hub genes identified in this study showed expression profile similar to that observed in the PyMT mouse model of breast cancer, especially during tumor progression. Interestingly, a global down-regulation of gene expression was observed, where nearly 74% of the DEGs in HC11 cells were repressed by MMTV expression, an observation similar to what was observed in the PyMT mouse model during tumor progression, from hyperplasia to adenoma to early and late carcinomas. Comparison of our results with the Wnt1 mouse model revealed further insights into how MMTV expression could lead to activation of the Wnt1 pathway independent of insertional mutagenesis. Thus, the key pathways, DEGs, and hub genes identified in this study can provide important clues to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in MMTV replication, escape from cellular anti-viral response, and potential to cause cell transformation. These data also validate the use of the MMTV-infected HC11 cells as an important model to study early transcriptional changes that could lead to mammary cell transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Waqar Ahmad
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Neena G Panicker
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Shaima Akhlaq
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Bushra Gull
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Jasmin Baby
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Thanumol A Khader
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Tahir A Rizvi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), UAE University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
- Zayed Center for Health Sciences (ZCHS), UAE University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
- ASPIRE Research Institute in Precision Medicine, Abu Dhabi, UAE University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
| | - Farah Mustafa
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
- Zayed Center for Health Sciences (ZCHS), UAE University, Al Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
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Advances in Biomaterial-Mediated Gene Therapy for Articular Cartilage Repair. Bioengineering (Basel) 2022; 9:bioengineering9100502. [PMID: 36290470 PMCID: PMC9598732 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9100502] [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: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Articular cartilage defects caused by various reasons are relatively common in clinical practice, but the lack of efficient therapeutic methods remains a substantial challenge due to limitations in the chondrocytes’ repair abilities. In the search for scientific cartilage repair methods, gene therapy appears to be more effective and promising, especially with acellular biomaterial-assisted procedures. Biomaterial-mediated gene therapy has mainly been divided into non-viral vector and viral vector strategies, where the controlled delivery of gene vectors is contained using biocompatible materials. This review will introduce the common clinical methods of cartilage repair used, the strategies of gene therapy for cartilage injuries, and the latest progress.
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König R, Münk C. Special Issue: "Innate Immune Sensing of Viruses and Viral Evasion". Viruses 2021; 13:v13040567. [PMID: 33810623 PMCID: PMC8066569 DOI: 10.3390/v13040567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In this Special Issue, a wide variety of original and review articles provide a timely overview of how viruses are recognized by and evade from cellular innate immunity, which represents the first line of defense against viruses [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Renate König
- Host-Pathogen Interactions, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, 63225 Langen, Germany
- Correspondence: (R.K.); (C.M.)
| | - Carsten Münk
- Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Correspondence: (R.K.); (C.M.)
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