Octyl itaconate enhances VSVΔ51 oncolytic virotherapy by multitarget inhibition of antiviral and inflammatory pathways

The presence of heterogeneity in responses to oncolytic virotherapy poses a barrier to clinical effectiveness, as resistance to this treatment can occur through the inhibition of viral spread within the tumor, potentially leading to treatment failures. Here we show that 4-octyl itaconate (4-OI), a chemical derivative of the Krebs cycle-derived metabolite itaconate, enhances oncolytic virotherapy with VSVΔ51 in various models including human and murine resistant cancer cell lines, three-dimensional (3D) patient-derived colon tumoroids and organotypic brain tumor slices. Furthermore, 4-OI in combination with VSVΔ51 improves therapeutic outcomes in a resistant murine colon tumor model. Mechanistically, we find that 4-OI suppresses antiviral immunity in cancer cells through the modification of cysteine residues in MAVS and IKKβ independently of the NRF2/KEAP1 axis. We propose that the combination of a metabolite-derived drug with an oncolytic virus agent can greatly improve anticancer therapeutic outcomes by direct interference with the type I IFN and NF-κB-mediated antiviral responses.

Trypanosoma brucei Invariant Surface Glycoprotein 75 Is an Immunoglobulin Fc Receptor Inhibiting Complement Activation and Antibody-Mediated Cellular Phagocytosis

Various subspecies of the unicellular parasite Trypanosoma brucei cause sleeping sickness, a neglected tropical disease affecting millions of individuals and domestic animals. Immune evasion mechanisms play a pivotal role in parasite survival within the host and enable the parasite to establish a chronic infection. In particular, the rapid switching of variant surface glycoproteins covering a large proportion of the parasite's surface enables the parasite to avoid clearance by the adaptive immune system of the host. In this article, we present the crystal structure and discover an immune-evasive function of the extracellular region of the T. brucei invariant surface gp75 (ISG75). Structural analysis determined that the ISG75 ectodomain is organized as a globular head domain and a long slender coiled-coil domain. Subsequent ligand screening and binding analysis determined that the head domain of ISG75 confers interaction with the Fc region of all subclasses of human IgG. Importantly, the ISG75-IgG interaction strongly inhibits both activation of the classical complement pathway and Ab-dependent cellular phagocytosis by competing with C1q and host cell FcγR CD32. Our data reveal a novel immune evasion mechanism of T. brucei, with ISG75 able to inactivate the activities of Abs recognizing the parasite surface proteins.

CRISPR/Cas9 model of prostate cancer identifies Kmt2c deficiency as a metastatic driver by Odam/Cabs1 gene cluster expression

Metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) poses a significant therapeutic challenge with high mortality rates. Utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 in vivo, we target five potential tumor suppressor genes (Pten, Trp53, Rb1, Stk11, and RnaseL) in the mouse prostate, reaching humane endpoint after eight weeks without metastasis. By further depleting three epigenetic factors (Kmt2c, Kmt2d, and Zbtb16), lung metastases are present in all mice. While whole genome sequencing reveals few mutations in coding sequence, RNA sequencing shows significant dysregulation, especially in a conserved genomic region at chr5qE1 regulated by KMT2C. Depleting Odam and Cabs1 in this region prevents metastasis. Notably, the gene expression signatures, resulting from our study, predict progression-free and overall survival and distinguish primary and metastatic human prostate cancer. This study emphasizes positive genetic interactions between classical tumor suppressor genes and epigenetic modulators in metastatic PCa progression, offering insights into potential treatments.

Amyloid-β aggregates activate peripheral monocytes in mild cognitive impairment

The peripheral immune system is important in neurodegenerative diseases, both in protecting and inflaming the brain, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Alzheimer's Disease is commonly preceded by a prodromal period. Here, we report the presence of large Aβ aggregates in plasma from patients with mild cognitive impairment (n = 38). The aggregates are associated with low level Alzheimer's Disease-like brain pathology as observed by 11C-PiB PET and 18F-FTP PET and lowered CD18-rich monocytes. We characterize complement receptor 4 as a strong binder of amyloids and show Aβ aggregates are preferentially phagocytosed and stimulate lysosomal activity through this receptor in stem cell-derived microglia. KIM127 integrin activation in monocytes promotes size selective phagocytosis of Aβ. Hydrodynamic calculations suggest Aβ aggregates associate with vessel walls of the cortical capillaries. In turn, we hypothesize aggregates may provide an adhesion substrate for recruiting CD18-rich monocytes into the cortex. Our results support a role for complement receptor 4 in regulating amyloid homeostasis.

Repeated upslope biome shifts in Saxifraga during late-Cenozoic climate cooling

Mountains are among the most biodiverse places on Earth, and plant lineages that inhabit them have some of the highest speciation rates ever recorded. Plant diversity within the alpine zone - the elevation above which trees cannot grow-contributes significantly to overall diversity within mountain systems, but the origins of alpine plant diversity are poorly understood. Here, we quantify the processes that generate alpine plant diversity and their changing dynamics through time in Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae), an angiosperm genus that occurs predominantly in mountain systems. We present a time-calibrated molecular phylogenetic tree for the genus that is inferred from 329 low-copy nuclear loci and incorporates 73% (407) of known species. We show that upslope biome shifts into the alpine zone are considerably more prevalent than dispersal of alpine specialists between regions, and that the rate of upslope biome shifts increased markedly in the last 5 Myr, a timeframe concordant with a cooling and fluctuating climate that is likely to have increased the extent of the alpine zone. Furthermore, alpine zone specialists have lower speciation rates than generalists that occur inside and outside the alpine zone, and major speciation rate increases within Saxifraga significantly pre-date increased rates of upslope biome shifts. Specialisation to the alpine zone is not therefore associated with speciation rate increases. Taken together, this study presents a quantified and broad scale perspective of processes underpinning alpine plant diversity.

Treatment of schizophrenia evaluated via the pharmacopsychometric triangle-An integrative approach with emphasis on well-being and functioning

Quantification of treatment response is crucial to optimize outcomes for patients with schizophrenia. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between quantitative measures of clinician-rated symptom severity and self-rated side effects, well-being, and functioning among inpatients with schizophrenia using the six-item version of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-6), the Glasgow Antipsychotic Side-effect Scale (GASS), the WHO-Five Well-being Index (WHO-5), and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). All measurements were conducted as close to admission and discharge as possible. Well-being and functioning were found to be most strongly associated with the additive effect of symptoms and side effects, while changes in side effects, well-being, and functioning appeared to be relatively independent from changes in symptom severity. The use of both symptom and side effect measures should inform clinical decision-making in the treatment of schizophrenia, as it has the potential to optimize functioning and well-being.

Longitudinal tracking of acute kidney injury reveals injury propagation along the nephron

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an important risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the underlying mechanisms of failed tubule repair and AKI-CKD transition are incompletely understood. In this study, we aimed for dynamic tracking of tubule injury and remodeling to understand if focal injury upon AKI may spread over time. Here, we present a model of AKI, in which we rendered only half of the kidney ischemic. Using serial intravital 2-photon microscopy and genetic identification of cycling cells, we tracked dynamic tissue remodeling in post- and non-ischemic kidney regions simultaneously and over 3 weeks. Spatial and temporal analysis of cycling cells relative to initial necrotic cell death demonstrated pronounced injury propagation and expansion into non-necrotic tissue regions, which predicted tubule atrophy with epithelial VCAM1 expression. In summary, our longitudinal analyses of tubule injury, remodeling, and fate provide important insights into AKI pathology.

Participation bias in the UK Biobank distorts genetic associations and downstream analyses

While volunteer-based studies such as the UK Biobank have become the cornerstone of genetic epidemiology, the participating individuals are rarely representative of their target population. To evaluate the impact of selective participation, here we derived UK Biobank participation probabilities on the basis of 14 variables harmonized across the UK Biobank and a representative sample. We then conducted weighted genome-wide association analyses on 19 traits. Comparing the output from weighted genome-wide association analyses (neffective = 94,643 to 102,215) with that from standard genome-wide association analyses (n = 263,464 to 283,749), we found that increasing representativeness led to changes in SNP effect sizes and identified novel SNP associations for 12 traits. While heritability estimates were less impacted by weighting (maximum change in h2, 5%), we found substantial discrepancies for genetic correlations (maximum change in rg, 0.31) and Mendelian randomization estimates (maximum change in βSTD, 0.15) for socio-behavioural traits. We urge the field to increase representativeness in biobank samples, especially when studying genetic correlates of behaviour, lifestyles and social outcomes.