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Thornlow DN, Macintyre AN, Oguin TH, Karlsson AB, Stover EL, Lynch HE, Sempowski GD, Schmidt AG. Altering the Immunogenicity of Hemagglutinin Immunogens by Hyperglycosylation and Disulfide Stabilization. Front Immunol 2021; 12:737973. [PMID: 34691043 PMCID: PMC8528956 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.737973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Influenza virus alters glycosylation patterns on its surface exposed glycoproteins to evade host adaptive immune responses. The viral hemagglutinin (HA), in particular the H3 subtype, has increased its overall surface glycosylation since its introduction in 1968. We previously showed that modulating predicted N-linked glycosylation sites on H3 A/Hong Kong/1/1968 HA identified a conserved epitope at the HA interface. This epitope is occluded on the native HA trimer but is likely exposed during HA "breathing" on the virion surface. Antibodies directed to this site are protective via an ADCC-mediated mechanism. This glycan engineering strategy made an otherwise subdominant epitope dominant in the murine model. Here, we asked whether cysteine stabilization of the hyperglycosylated HA trimer could reverse this immunodominance by preventing access to the interface epitope and focus responses to the HA receptor binding site (RBS). While analysis of serum responses from immunized mice did not show a redirection to the RBS, cysteine stabilization did result in an overall reduction in immunogenicity of the interface epitope. Thus, glycan engineering and cysteine stabilization are two strategies that can be used together to alter immunodominance patterns to HA. These results add to rational immunogen design approaches used to manipulate immune responses for the development of next-generation influenza vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana N. Thornlow
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Andrew N. Macintyre
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Thomas H. Oguin
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Amelia B. Karlsson
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Erica L. Stover
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Heather E. Lynch
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Gregory D. Sempowski
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Aaron G. Schmidt
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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Choi HW, Chan C, Shterev ID, Lynch HE, Robinette TJ, Johnson-Weaver BT, Shi J, Sempowski GD, Kim SY, Dickson JK, Gooden DM, Abraham SN, Staats HF. Identification of Novel Mast Cell Activators Using Cell-Based High-Throughput Screening. SLAS Discov 2019; 24:628-640. [PMID: 30917061 DOI: 10.1177/2472555219834699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Mast cells (MCs) are known to regulate innate and adaptive immunity. MC activators have recently been described as safe and effective vaccine adjuvants. Many currently known MC activators are inadequate for in vivo applications, however, and research on identifying novel MC activators is limited. In this study, we identified novel MC activators by using high-throughput screening (HTS) assays using approximately 55,000 small molecules. Data sets obtained by the primary HTS assays were statistically evaluated using quality control rules and the B-score calculation, and compounds with B-scores of >3.0 were chosen as mast cell activators (hits). These hits were re-evaluated with secondary and tertiary HTS assays, followed by further statistical analysis. From these hits, we selected 15 compounds that caused degranulation in murine and human MCs, with potential for flexible chemical modification for further study. Among these 15 compounds, ST101036, ST029248, and ST026567 exhibited higher degranulation potency than other hit compounds in both human and mouse MCs. In addition, the 15 compounds identified promote de novo synthesis of cytokines and induce the release of eicosanoids from human and mouse MCs. HTS enabled us to identify small-molecule MC activators with unique properties that may be useful as vaccine adjuvants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hae Woong Choi
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Cliburn Chan
- 2 Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ivo D Shterev
- 3 Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,4 Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Heather E Lynch
- 3 Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,4 Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,5 Departments of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Taylor J Robinette
- 5 Departments of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Jianling Shi
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Gregory D Sempowski
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,3 Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,4 Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,5 Departments of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - So Young Kim
- 6 Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - David M Gooden
- 8 Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Soman N Abraham
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,9 Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.,10 Department of Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.,11 Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Herman F Staats
- 1 Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,4 Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.,10 Department of Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
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Kajimura J, Lynch HE, Geyer S, French B, Yamaoka M, Shterev ID, Sempowski GD, Kyoizumi S, Yoshida K, Misumi M, Ohishi W, Hayashi T, Nakachi K, Kusunoki Y. Radiation- and Age-Associated Changes in Peripheral Blood Dendritic Cell Populations among Aging Atomic Bomb Survivors in Japan. Radiat Res 2018; 189:84-94. [PMID: 29324175 PMCID: PMC10949854 DOI: 10.1667/rr4854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Previous immunological studies in atomic bomb survivors have suggested that radiation exposure leads to long-lasting changes, similar to immunological aging observed in T-cell-adaptive immunity. However, to our knowledge, late effects of radiation on dendritic cells (DCs), the key coordinators for activation and differentiation of T cells, have not yet been investigated in humans. In the current study, we hypothesized that numerical and functional decreases would be observed in relationship to radiation dose in circulating conventional DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) among 229 Japanese A-bomb survivors. Overall, the evidence did not support this hypothesis, with no overall changes in DCs or functional changes observed with radiation dose. Multivariable regression analysis for radiation dose, age and gender effects revealed that total DC counts as well as subpopulation counts decreased in relationship to increasing age. Further analyses revealed that in women, absolute numbers of pDCs showed significant decreases with radiation dose. A hierarchical clustering analysis of gene expression profiles in DCs after Toll-like receptor stimulation in vitro identified two clusters of participants that differed in age-associated expression levels of genes involved in antigen presentation and cytokine/chemokine production in cDCs. These results suggest that DC counts decrease and expression levels of gene clusters change with age. More than 60 years after radiation exposure, we also observed changes in pDC counts associated with radiation, but only among women.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heather E. Lynch
- Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Susan Geyer
- Health Informatics Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
| | - Benjamin French
- Statistics, Department of Molecular Biosciences, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Mika Yamaoka
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Ivo D. Shterev
- Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Gregory D. Sempowski
- Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | - Kengo Yoshida
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Munechika Misumi
- Statistics, Department of Molecular Biosciences, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Waka Ohishi
- Clinical Studies, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan
| | | | - Kei Nakachi
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Hiroshima, Japan
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Kajimura J, Lynch HE, Geyer S, French B, Yamaoka M, Shterev ID, Sempowski GD, Kyoizumi S, Yoshida K, Misumi M, Ohishi W, Hayashi T, Nakachi K, Kusunoki Y. Radiation- and Age-Associated Changes in Peripheral Blood Dendritic Cell Populations among Aging Atomic Bomb Survivors in Japan. Radiat Res 2017:RR14854.1. [PMID: 29189104 DOI: 10.1667/rr14854.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Previous immunological studies in atomic bomb survivors have suggested that radiation exposure leads to long-lasting changes, similar to immunological aging observed in T-cell-adaptive immunity. However, to our knowledge, late effects of radiation on dendritic cells (DCs), the key coordinators for activation and differentiation of T cells, have not yet been investigated in humans. In the current study, we hypothesized that numerical and functional decreases would be observed in relationship to radiation dose in circulating conventional DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) among 229 Japanese A-bomb survivors. Overall, the evidence did not support this hypothesis, with no overall changes in DCs or functional changes observed with radiation dose. Multivariable regression analysis for radiation dose, age and gender effects revealed that total DC counts as well as subpopulation counts decreased in relationship to increasing age. Further analyses revealed that in women, absolute numbers of pDCs showed significant decreases with radiation dose. A hierarchical clustering analysis of gene expression profiles in DCs after Toll-like receptor stimulation in vitro identified two clusters of participants that differed in age-associated expression levels of genes involved in antigen presentation and cytokine/chemokine production in cDCs. These results suggest that DC counts decrease and expression levels of gene clusters change with age. More than 60 years after radiation exposure, we also observed changes in pDC counts associated with radiation, but only among women.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heather E Lynch
- b Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; and
| | - Susan Geyer
- c Health Informatics Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
| | | | | | - Ivo D Shterev
- b Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; and
| | - Gregory D Sempowski
- b Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; and
| | | | | | | | - Waka Ohishi
- e Clinical Studies, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan
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Lynch HE, Stewart SM, Kepler TB, Sempowski GD, Alam SM. Surface plasmon resonance measurements of plasma antibody avidity during primary and secondary responses to anthrax protective antigen. J Immunol Methods 2013; 404:1-12. [PMID: 24316020 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2013.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2013] [Revised: 11/21/2013] [Accepted: 11/25/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Establishment of humoral immunity against pathogens is dependent on events that occur in the germinal center and the subsequent induction of high-affinity neutralizing antibodies. Quantitative assays that allow monitoring of affinity maturation and duration of antibody responses can provide useful information regarding the efficacy of vaccines and adjuvants. Using an anthrax protective antigen (rPA) and alum model antigen/adjuvant system, we describe a methodology for monitoring antigen-specific serum antibody concentration and avidity by surface plasmon resonance during primary and secondary immune responses. Our analyses showed that following a priming dose in mice, rPA-specific antibody concentration and avidity increases over time and reaches a maximal response in about six weeks, but gradually declines in the absence of antigenic boost. Germinal center reactions were observed early with maximal development achieved during the primary response, which coincided with peak antibody avidity responses to primary immunization. Boosting with antigen resulted in a rapid increase in rPA-specific antibody concentration and five-fold increase in avidity, which was not dependent on sustained GC development. The described methodology couples surface plasmon resonance-based plasma avidity measurements with germinal center analysis and provides a novel way to monitor humoral responses that can play a role in facilitating vaccine and adjuvant development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E Lynch
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute and Departments of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - Shelley M Stewart
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute and Departments of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - Thomas B Kepler
- Department of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, United States
| | - Gregory D Sempowski
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute and Departments of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - S Munir Alam
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute and Departments of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States.
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Abstract
This chapter provides protocols necessary for quantifying human, mouse, and nonhuman primate signal joint T cell receptor excision circles (sjTRECs) produced during T cell receptor alpha (TCRA) gene rearrangement. These non-replicated episomal circles of DNA are generated by the recombination process used to produce antigen-specific T cell receptors. The number of sjTRECs per mg of thymus tissue or per 100,000 lysed cells has been shown to be a molecular marker of thymopoiesis and naïve T cells. This technology is beneficial to investigators interested in quantitating the level of naïve T cell production occurring under various circumstances in a variety of systems, and complements traditional phenotypic analyses of thymopoiesis. This chapter specifically describes procedures required for rapid detection and quantitation of sjTRECs in thymus tissue or isolated cells using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The sjTREC assay system comprises species-specific forward and reverse primers for amplification of a unique site on the T cell receptor δ (TCRD) sjTREC, a fluorescently labeled (FAM/ZEN/IABkFQ) species-specific real-time probe, and a species-specific sjTREC DNA plasmid standard for quantitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E Lynch
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
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Lynch HE, Goldberg GL, Chidgey A, Van den Brink MRM, Boyd R, Sempowski GD. Thymic involution and immune reconstitution. Trends Immunol 2009; 30:366-73. [PMID: 19540807 DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2009.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 323] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2009] [Revised: 04/13/2009] [Accepted: 04/14/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Chronic thymus involution associated with aging results in less efficient T-cell development and decreased emigration of naïve T cells to the periphery. Thymic decline in the aged is linked to increased morbidity and mortality in a wide range of clinical settings. Negative consequences of these effects on global health make it of paramount importance to understand the mechanisms driving thymic involution and homeostatic processes across the lifespan. There is growing evidence that thymus tissue is plastic and that the involution process might be therapeutically halted or reversed. We present here progress on the exploitation of thymosuppressive and thymostimulatory pathways using factors such as keratinocyte growth factor, interleukin 7 or sex steroid ablation for therapeutic thymus restoration and peripheral immune reconstitution in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E Lynch
- Duke University Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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