Sensory neurons: An integrated component of innate immunity

The sensory nervous system possesses the ability to integrate exogenous threats and endogenous signals to mediate downstream effector functions. Sensory neurons have been shown to activate or suppress host defense and immunity against pathogens, depending on the tissue and disease state. Through this lens, pro- and anti-inflammatory neuroimmune effector functions can be interpreted as evolutionary adaptations by host or pathogen. Here, we discuss recent and impactful examples of neuroimmune circuitry that regulate tissue homeostasis, autoinflammation, and host defense. Apparently paradoxical or conflicting reports in the literature also highlight the complexity of neuroimmune interactions that may depend on tissue- and microbe-specific cues. These findings expand our understanding of the nuanced mechanisms and the greater context of sensory neurons in innate immunity.

X-CHIME enables combinatorial, inducible, lineage-specific and sequential knockout of genes in the immune system

Annotation of immunologic gene function in vivo typically requires the generation of knockout mice, which is time consuming and low throughput. We previously developed CHimeric IMmune Editing (CHIME), a CRISPR-Cas9 bone marrow delivery system for constitutive, ubiquitous deletion of single genes. Here we describe X-CHIME, four new CHIME-based systems for modular and rapid interrogation of gene function combinatorially (C-CHIME), inducibly (I-CHIME), lineage-specifically (L-CHIME) or sequentially (S-CHIME). We use C-CHIME and S-CHIME to assess the consequences of combined deletion of Ptpn1 and Ptpn2, an embryonic lethal gene pair, in adult mice. We find that constitutive deletion of both PTPN1 and PTPN2 leads to bone marrow hypoplasia and lethality, while inducible deletion after immune development leads to enteritis and lethality. These findings demonstrate that X-CHIME can be used for rapid mechanistic evaluation of genes in distinct in vivo contexts and that PTPN1 and PTPN2 have some functional redundancy important for viability in adult mice.

Neuroimmune interactions in atopic and allergic contact dermatitis

The skin is a barrier organ populated by many types of skin-resident immune cells and sensory neurons. It has become increasingly appreciated that neuroimmune interactions are an important component of inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis. Neuropeptides secreted from nerve terminals play an important role in mediating cutaneous immune cell function, and soluble mediators derived from immune cells interact with neurons to induce itch. In this review article, we will explore emerging research describing neuronal effector functions on skin immune cells in mouse models of atopic and contact dermatitis. We will also discuss the contributions of both specific neuronal subsets and secreted immune factors to itch induction and the associated inflammatory processes. Finally, we will explore how treatment strategies have emerged around these findings and discuss the relationship between scratching and dermatitis.

Pharmacologic Screening Identifies Metabolic Vulnerabilities of CD8+ T Cells

Metabolic constraints in the tumor microenvironment constitute a barrier to effective antitumor immunity and similarities in the metabolic properties of T cells and cancer cells impede the specific therapeutic targeting of metabolism in either population. To identify distinct metabolic vulnerabilities of CD8+ T cells and cancer cells, we developed a high-throughput in vitro pharmacologic screening platform and used it to measure the cell type-specific sensitivities of activated CD8+ T cells and B16 melanoma cells to a wide array of metabolic perturbations during antigen-specific killing of cancer cells by CD8+ T cells. We illustrated the applicability of this screening platform by showing that CD8+ T cells were more sensitive to ferroptosis induction by inhibitors of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) than B16 and MC38 cancer cells. Overexpression of ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) or cytosolic GPX4 yielded ferroptosis-resistant CD8+ T cells without compromising their function, while genetic deletion of the ferroptosis sensitivity-promoting enzyme acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) protected CD8+ T cells from ferroptosis but impaired antitumor CD8+ T-cell responses. Our screen also revealed high T cell-specific vulnerabilities for compounds targeting NAD+ metabolism or autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways. We focused the current screening effort on metabolic agents. However, this in vitro screening platform may also be valuable for rapid testing of other types of compounds to identify regulators of antitumor CD8+ T-cell function and potential therapeutic targets.

PTPN2 regulates the generation of exhausted CD8+ T cell subpopulations and restrains tumor immunity

CD8⁺ T cell exhaustion is a state of dysfunction acquired in chronic viral infection and cancer, characterized by the formation of Slamf6⁺ progenitor exhausted and Tim-3⁺ terminally exhausted subpopulations through unknown mechanisms. Here we establish the phosphatase PTPN2 as a new regulator of the differentiation of the terminally exhausted subpopulation that functions by attenuating type 1 interferon signaling. Deletion of Ptpn2 in CD8⁺ T cells increased the generation, proliferative capacity and cytotoxicity of Tim-3⁺ cells without altering Slamf6⁺ numbers during lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus clone 13 infection. Likewise, Ptpn2 deletion in CD8⁺ T cells enhanced Tim-3⁺ anti-tumor responses and improved tumor control. Deletion of Ptpn2 throughout the immune system resulted in MC38 tumor clearance and improved programmed cell death-1 checkpoint blockade responses to B16 tumors. Our results indicate that increasing the number of cytotoxic Tim-3⁺CD8⁺ T cells can promote effective anti-tumor immunity and implicate PTPN2 in immune cells as an attractive cancer immunotherapy target.

A CRISPR-Cas9 delivery system for in vivo screening of genes in the immune system

Therapies that target the function of immune cells have significant clinical efficacy in diseases such as cancer and autoimmunity. Although functional genomics has accelerated therapeutic target discovery in cancer, its use in primary immune cells is limited because vector delivery is inefficient and can perturb cell states. Here we describe CHIME: CHimeric IMmune Editing, a CRISPR-Cas9 bone marrow delivery system to rapidly evaluate gene function in innate and adaptive immune cells in vivo without ex vivo manipulation of these mature lineages. This approach enables efficient deletion of genes of interest in major immune lineages without altering their development or function. We use this approach to perform an in vivo pooled genetic screen and identify Ptpn2 as a negative regulator of CD8+ T cell-mediated responses to LCMV Clone 13 viral infection. These findings indicate that this genetic platform can enable rapid target discovery through pooled screening in immune cells in vivo.