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Koch KC, Jadon N, Thesmar I, Tew GN, Minter LM. Combating bone marrow failure with polymer materials. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1396486. [PMID: 38694497 PMCID: PMC11061490 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1396486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Bone marrow failure (BMF) has become one of the most studied autoimmune disorders, particularly due to its prevalence both as an inherited disease, but also as a result of chemotherapies. BMF is associated with severe symptoms such as bleeding episodes and susceptibility to infections, and often has underlying characteristics, such as anemia, thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia. The current treatment landscape for BMF requires stem cell transplantation or chemotherapies to induce immune suppression. However, there is limited donor cell availability or dose related toxicity associated with these treatments. Optimizing these treatments has become a necessity. Polymer-based materials have become increasingly popular, as current research efforts are focused on synthesizing novel cell matrices for stem cell expansion to solve limited donor cell availability, as well as applying polymer delivery vehicles to intracellularly deliver cargo that can aid in immunosuppression. Here, we discuss the importance and impact of polymer materials to enhance therapeutics in the context of BMF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayla C. Koch
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Nidhi Jadon
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Iris Thesmar
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Gregory N. Tew
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Lisa M. Minter
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
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Hioki KA, Ryan DJ, Thesmar I, Lynch AC, Pobezinsky LA, Pobezinskaya EL. The mosquito effect: regulatory and effector T cells acquire cytoplasmic material from tumor cells through intercellular transfer. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1272918. [PMID: 38179041 PMCID: PMC10765531 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1272918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The phenomenon of intercellular transfer of cellular material, including membranes, cytoplasm, and even organelles, has been observed for decades. The functional impact and molecular mechanisms of such transfer in the immune system remain largely elusive due to the absence of a robust in vivo model. Here, we introduce a new tumor mouse model, where tumor cells express the soluble ultra-bright fluorescent protein ZsGreen, which allows detection and measurement of intercellular transfer of cytoplasm from tumor cells to infiltrating immune cells. We found that in addition to various types of myeloid lineage cells, a large fraction of T regulatory cells and effector CD8 T cells acquire tumor material. Based on the distribution of tumor-derived ZsGreen, the majority of T cells integrate captured cytoplasm into their own, while most myeloid cells store tumor material in granules. Furthermore, scRNA-seq analysis revealed significant alterations in transcriptomes of T cells that acquired tumor cell cytoplasm, suggesting potential impact on T cell function. We identified that the participation of T cells in intercellular transfer requires cell-cell contact and is strictly dependent on the activation status of T lymphocytes. Finally, we propose to name the described phenomenon of intercellular transfer for tumor infiltrating T cells the "mosquito effect".
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaito A. Hioki
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States
- UMass Biotech Training Program (BTP), University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Daniel J. Ryan
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Iris Thesmar
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Adam C. Lynch
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Leonid A. Pobezinsky
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Elena L. Pobezinskaya
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States
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Wells AC, Hioki KA, Angelou CC, Lynch AC, Liang X, Ryan DJ, Thesmar I, Zhanybekova S, Zuklys S, Ullom J, Cheong A, Mager J, Hollander GA, Pobezinskaya EL, Pobezinsky LA. Let-7 enhances murine anti-tumor CD8 T cell responses by promoting memory and antagonizing terminal differentiation. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5585. [PMID: 37696797 PMCID: PMC10495470 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40959-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The success of the CD8 T cell-mediated immune response against infections and tumors depends on the formation of a long-lived memory pool, and the protection of effector cells from exhaustion. The advent of checkpoint blockade therapy has significantly improved anti-tumor therapeutic outcomes by reversing CD8 T cell exhaustion, but fails to generate effector cells with memory potential. Here, using in vivo mouse models, we show that let-7 miRNAs determine CD8 T cell fate, where maintenance of let-7 expression during early cell activation results in memory CD8 T cell formation and tumor clearance. Conversely, let-7-deficiency promotes the generation of a terminal effector population that becomes vulnerable to exhaustion and cell death in immunosuppressive environments and fails to reject tumors. Mechanistically, let-7 restrains metabolic changes that occur during T cell activation through the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and production of reactive oxygen species, potent drivers of terminal differentiation and exhaustion. Thus, our results reveal a role for let-7 in the time-sensitive support of memory formation and the protection of effector cells from exhaustion. Overall, our data suggest a strategy in developing next-generation immunotherapies by preserving the multipotency of effector cells rather than enhancing the efficacy of differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandria C Wells
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Kaito A Hioki
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
- UMass Biotech Training Program (BTP), Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Constance C Angelou
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Adam C Lynch
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Xueting Liang
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Daniel J Ryan
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Iris Thesmar
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Saule Zhanybekova
- Pediatric Immunology, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Children's Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Saulius Zuklys
- Pediatric Immunology, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Children's Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jacob Ullom
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Agnes Cheong
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Jesse Mager
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Georg A Hollander
- Pediatric Immunology, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Children's Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Elena L Pobezinskaya
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.
| | - Leonid A Pobezinsky
- Department of Veterinary and Animal science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.
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