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Fernández-Soto D, García-Jiménez ÁF, Casasnovas JM, Valés-Gómez M, Reyburn HT. Elevated levels of cell-free NKG2D-ligands modulate NKG2D surface expression and compromise NK cell function in severe COVID-19 disease. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1273942. [PMID: 38410511 PMCID: PMC10895954 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1273942] [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: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction It is now clear that coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) severity is associated with a dysregulated immune response, but the relative contributions of different immune cells is still not fully understood. SARS CoV-2 infection triggers marked changes in NK cell populations, but there are contradictory reports as to whether these effector lymphocytes play a protective or pathogenic role in immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Methods To address this question we have analysed differences in the phenotype and function of NK cells in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals who developed either very mild, or life-threatening COVID-19 disease. Results Although NK cells from patients with severe disease appeared more activated and the frequency of adaptive NK cells was increased, they were less potent mediators of ADCC than NK cells from patients with mild disease. Further analysis of peripheral blood NK cells in these patients revealed that a population of NK cells that had lost expression of the activating receptor NKG2D were a feature of patients with severe disease and this correlated with elevated levels of cell free NKG2D ligands, especially ULBP2 and ULBP3 in the plasma of critically ill patients. In vitro, culture in NKG2DL containing patient sera reduced the ADCC function of healthy donor NK cells and this could be blocked by NKG2DL-specific antibodies. Discussion These observations of reduced NK function in severe disease are consistent with the hypothesis that defects in immune surveillance by NK cells permit higher levels of viral replication, rather than that aberrant NK cell function contributes to immune system dysregulation and immunopathogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Fernández-Soto
- Department of Immunology and Oncology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Álvaro F. García-Jiménez
- Department of Immunology and Oncology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - José M. Casasnovas
- Department of Macromolecular Structures, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mar Valés-Gómez
- Department of Immunology and Oncology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Hugh T. Reyburn
- Department of Immunology and Oncology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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Lustig M, Chan C, Jansen JHM, Bräutigam M, Kölling MA, Gehlert CL, Baumann N, Mester S, Foss S, Andersen JT, Bastian L, Sondermann P, Peipp M, Burger R, Leusen JHW, Valerius T. Disruption of the sialic acid/Siglec-9 axis improves antibody-mediated neutrophil cytotoxicity towards tumor cells. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1178817. [PMID: 37346044 PMCID: PMC10279866 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1178817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Upregulation of surface expressed sialoglycans on tumor cells is one of the mechanisms which promote tumor growth and progression. Specifically, the interactions of sialic acids with sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (Siglecs) on lymphoid or myeloid cells transmit inhibitory signals and lead to suppression of anti-tumor responses. Here, we show that neutrophils express among others Siglec-9, and that EGFR and HER2 positive breast tumor cells express ligands for Siglec-9. Treatment of tumor cells with neuraminidases or a sialyl transferase inhibitor significantly reduced binding of a soluble recombinant Siglec-9-Fc fusion protein, while EGFR and HER2 expression remained unchanged. Importantly, the cytotoxic activity of neutrophils driven by therapeutic EGFR or HER2 antibodies in vitro was increased by blocking the sialic acid/Siglec interaction, either by reducing tumor cell sialylation or by a Siglec-9 blocking antibody containing an effector silenced Fc domain. In vivo a short-term xenograft mouse model confirmed the improved therapeutic efficacy of EGFR antibodies against sialic acid depleted, by a sialyltransferase inhibitor, tumor cells compared to untreated cells. Our studies demonstrate that sialic acid/Siglec interactions between tumor cells and myeloid cells can impair antibody dependent tumor cell killing, and that Siglec-9 on polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) is critically involved. Considering that PMN are often a highly abundant cell population in the tumor microenvironment, Siglec-9 constitutes a promising target for myeloid checkpoint blockade to improve antibody-based tumor immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Lustig
- Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Chilam Chan
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - J. H. Marco Jansen
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | | | - Max A. Kölling
- Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Carina Lynn Gehlert
- Division of Antibody-Based Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Niklas Baumann
- Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Simone Mester
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Stian Foss
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jan Terje Andersen
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lorenz Bastian
- Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Matthias Peipp
- Division of Antibody-Based Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Renate Burger
- Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jeanette H. W. Leusen
- Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Thomas Valerius
- Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine II, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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Crowley AR, Osei-Owusu NY, Dekkers G, Gao W, Wuhrer M, Magnani DM, Reimann KA, Pincus SH, Vidarsson G, Ackerman ME. Biophysical Evaluation of Rhesus Macaque Fc Gamma Receptors Reveals Similar IgG Fc Glycoform Preferences to Human Receptors. Front Immunol 2021; 12:754710. [PMID: 34712242 PMCID: PMC8546228 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.754710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [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: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhesus macaques are a common non-human primate model used in the evaluation of human monoclonal antibodies, molecules whose effector functions depend on a conserved N-linked glycan in the Fc region. This carbohydrate is a target of glycoengineering efforts aimed at altering antibody effector function by modulating the affinity of Fcγ receptors. For example, a reduction in the overall core fucose content is one such strategy that can increase antibody-mediated cellular cytotoxicity by increasing Fc-FcγRIIIa affinity. While the position of the Fc glycan is conserved in macaques, differences in the frequency of glycoforms and the use of an alternate monosaccharide in sialylated glycan species add a degree of uncertainty to the testing of glycoengineered human antibodies in rhesus macaques. Using a panel of 16 human IgG1 glycovariants, we measured the affinities of macaque FcγRs for differing glycoforms via surface plasmon resonance. Our results suggest that macaques are a tractable species in which to test the effects of antibody glycoengineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew R. Crowley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Nana Yaw Osei-Owusu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Gillian Dekkers
- Sanquin Research and Landsteiner Laboratory, Academic Medical Centre, Department of Experimental Immunohematology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Wenda Gao
- Antagen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Boston, MA, United States
| | - Manfred Wuhrer
- Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Diogo M. Magnani
- Nonhuman Primate Reagent Resource, MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Keith A. Reimann
- Nonhuman Primate Reagent Resource, MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Seth H. Pincus
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
| | - Gestur Vidarsson
- Sanquin Research and Landsteiner Laboratory, Academic Medical Centre, Department of Experimental Immunohematology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Margaret E. Ackerman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
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