scholarly journals The Viral Protein Corona Directs Viral Pathogenesis and Amyloid Aggregation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kariem Ezzat ◽  
Maria Pernemalm ◽  
Sandra Pålsson ◽  
Thomas C. Roberts ◽  
Peter Järver ◽  
...  

AbstractArtificial nanoparticles accumulate a protein corona layer in biological fluids, which significantly influences their bioactivity. As nanosized obligate intracellular parasites, viruses share many biophysical properties with artificial nanoparticles in extracellular environments and here we show that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) accumulate a rich and distinctive protein corona in different biological fluids. Moreover, we show that corona pre-coating differentially affects viral infectivity and immune cell activation. Additionally, we demonstrate that viruses bind amyloidogenic peptides in their corona and catalyze amyloid formation via surface-assisted heterogeneous nucleation. Importantly, we show that HSV-1 catalyzes the aggregation of the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ42), a major constituent of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease, in-vitro and in animal models. Our results highlight the viral protein corona as an acquired structural layer that is critical for viral-host interactions and illustrate a mechanistic convergence between viral and amyloid pathologies.

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junu A. George ◽  
Shaikha H. AlShamsi ◽  
Maryam H. Alhammadi ◽  
Ahmed R. Alsuwaidi

Influenza A virus (IAV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are leading causes of childhood infections. RSV and influenza are competitive in vitro. In this study, the in vivo effects of RSV and IAV co-infection were investigated. Mice were intranasally inoculated with RSV, with IAV, or with both viruses (RSV+IAV and IAV+RSV) administered sequentially, 24 h apart. On days 3 and 7 post-infection, lung tissues were processed for viral loads and immune cell populations. Lung functions were also evaluated. Mortality was observed only in the IAV+RSV group (50% of mice did not survive beyond 7 days). On day 3, the viral loads in single-infected and co-infected mice were not significantly different. However, on day 7, the IAV titer was much higher in the IAV+RSV group, and the RSV viral load was reduced. CD4 T cells were reduced in all groups on day 7 except in single-infected mice. CD8 T cells were higher in all experimental groups except the RSV-alone group. Increased airway resistance and reduced thoracic compliance were demonstrated in both co-infected groups. This model indicates that, among all the infection types we studied, infection with IAV followed by RSV is associated with the highest IAV viral loads and the most morbidity and mortality.


Author(s):  
Ruchir Gupta ◽  
Mara L Leimanis ◽  
Marie Adams ◽  
Andre S Bachmann ◽  
Katie L. Uhl ◽  
...  

Viral infections affecting the lower respiratory tract place enormous burdens on hospitals. As neither vaccines nor anti-viral agents exist for many viruses, understanding risk factors and outcomes in each patient using minimally invasive analysis, such as blood, can lead to improved healthcare delivery. A cohort of PAXGene RNAseq of infants admitted with moderate or severe acute bronchiolitis and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were compared with case-control statistical analysis and cohort-based outlier mapping for precision transcriptomics. Severe bronchiolitis patients had signatures connected to the immune system, interferon signaling, and cytokine signaling, with marked sex differences in XIST, RPS4Y1, KDM5D, and LINC00278 for severity. Several patients had unique secondary infections, cytokine activation, immune responses, biological pathways, and immune cell activation, highlighting the need for defining patient-level transcriptomic signatures. Balancing relative contributions of cohort-based biomarker discoveries with patient's biological responses is needed to understand totality of mechanisms of adverse outcomes in viral bronchiolitis.


Hypertension ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melis Sahinoz ◽  
Fernando Elijovich ◽  
Cheryl L Laffer ◽  
Ashley Pitzer ◽  
Thomas G Stewart ◽  
...  

Introduction: Salt Sensitivity (SS) of blood pressure (BP) is an independent predictor of death due to cardiovascular disease, but its pathogenesis is poorly understood. Sodium (Na + ) is stored in the skin and muscle interstitium. This hyperosmolar Na + activates monocytes in vitro via oxidative stress with generation of isolevuglandin (isoLG) protein adducts that are immunogenic and activate the adaptive immune system. Methods: Five subjects with essential hypertension discontinued all anti-hypertensive therapy for two weeks before the study. SS was assessed by an inpatient protocol of salt loading (460 mmoL/24h) and salt depletion (10 mmoL/24h, plus furosemide 40 mg x 3). Muscle and skin Na + contents were measured at baseline (BA) by 23 Sodium magnetic resonance imaging ( 23 NaMRI). Urine and serum electrolytes, glomerular filtration rate and the % CD14 + monocytes containing isoLG adducts using flow cytometry were obtained at BA, after salt-loading (HI) and after salt-depletion (LO). All continuous data are displayed as median (interquartile range). Spearman’s correlation was used to test associations. Results: Median age was 54 years (44-55), 60% of subjects were female, screening systolic BP (SBP) was 140 mmHg (134-148), diastolic BP was 88 mmHg (84-99) and BMI was 35 kg/m 2 (30-39). SBP response to salt-depletion (salt-sensitivity index, SSI) varied from -13.8 to +1.8 mmHg. %isoLG + CD14 + cells were 48 (27-65) at BA, 55 (31-56) at HI, and 70 (33-72) at LO (p=0.594, by the Kruskal-Wallis test). The correlation between SSI and delta (Δ) %isoLG LO minus HI, was 0.86, [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.07-0.99] which may suggest conclusively as we gather more data that the greater the SSI, the larger the decrease in isoLGs by salt depletion. Muscle Na + content correlated with 24h urine Na + (BA) (r=0.90, 95% CI, 0.11-0.99), however, the correlation with BP, SSI or isoLGs was inconclusive, potentially due to the small sample size. Skin Na + content correlated with baseline %CD14IsoLG + (r=0.91; 95% CI, 0.12-0.99). Conclusions: Na + intake is a component of the determinants of muscle Na + . Skin Na + is associated with increased isoLGs in monocytes, a marker of immune cell activation. Variability in ΔCD14isoLG may serve as a biomarker for SS of BP in humans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Kang ◽  
Marjan Nasr ◽  
Yiru Guo ◽  
Shizuka Uchida ◽  
Tyler Weirick ◽  
...  

Abstract Although cardiac mesenchymal cell (CMC) therapy mitigates post-infarct cardiac dysfunction, the underlying mechanisms remain unidentified. It is acknowledged that donor cells are neither appreciably retained nor meaningfully contribute to tissue regeneration—suggesting a paracrine-mediated mechanism of action. As the immune system is inextricably linked to wound healing/remodeling in the ischemically injured heart, the reparative actions of CMCs may be attributed to their immunoregulatory properties. The current study evaluated the consequences of CMC administration on post myocardial infarction (MI) immune responses in vivo and paracrine-mediated immune cell function in vitro. CMC administration preferentially elicited the recruitment of cell types associated with innate immunity (e.g., monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils). CMC paracrine signaling assays revealed enhancement in innate immune cell chemoattraction, survival, and phagocytosis, and diminished pro-inflammatory immune cell activation; data that identifies and catalogues fundamental immunomodulatory properties of CMCs, which have broad implications regarding the mechanism of action of CMCs in cardiac repair.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi129-vi129
Author(s):  
Marilin Koch ◽  
Mykola Zdioruk ◽  
M Oskar Nowicki ◽  
Estuardo Aguilar ◽  
Laura Aguilar ◽  
...  

Abstract RATIONALE Dexamethasone is frequently used in symptomatic treatment of glioma patients, although it is known to cause immune suppression. Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies have not yet been successful in glioma treatments. Gene-mediated cytotoxic immunotherapy (GMCI) is an immunotherapeutic approach that uses aglatimagene besadenovec with an anti-herpetic prodrug to induce immunogenic tumor cell death and immune cell attraction to the tumor site with potent CD8 T cell activation. GMCI is currently in clinical trials for solid tumors including glioblastoma, where it showed encouraging survival results in a Phase 2 study that did not limit the use of dexamethasone. However, the effects of dexamethasone on its efficacy have not been explored. METHODS We investigated the effects of dexamethasone on GMCI in vitro using cytotoxicity and T-cell-killing assays in glioblastoma cell lines. The impact of dexamethasone in vivo was assessed in an orthotopic syngeneic murine glioblastoma model. RESULTS Cyotoxicity assays showed that Dexamethasone has a slight impact on GMCI in vitro. In contrast, we observed a highly significant effect in T-cell-functional assays in which killing was greatly impaired. Immune cell response assays revealed a reduced T-cell proliferation after co-culture with supernatant from dexamethasone or combination treated glioblastoma cells in contrast to GMCI alone. In a murine model, the combination of GMCI and dexamethasone resulted in a significant reduction in median symptom-free survival (29d) in comparison to GMCI alone (39.5d) (P = 0.0184). CONCLUSION Our data suggest that high doses of dexamethasone may negatively impact the efficacy of immunotherapy for glioma, which may be a consequence of impaired T cell function. These results support the idea that there is a need in identifying possible alternatives to dexamethasone to maximize the effectiveness of immunostimulatory therapies such as GMCI.


2019 ◽  
Vol 216 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Kosik ◽  
Davide Angeletti ◽  
James S. Gibbs ◽  
Matthew Angel ◽  
Kazuyo Takeda ◽  
...  

Broadly neutralizing antibodies (Abs) that bind the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) stem may enable universal influenza vaccination. Here, we show that anti-stem Abs sterically inhibit viral neuraminidase (NA) activity against large substrates, with activity inversely proportional to the length of the fibrous NA stalk that supports the enzymatic domain. By modulating NA stalk length in recombinant IAVs, we show that anti-stem Abs inhibit virus release from infected cells by blocking NA, accounting for their in vitro neutralization activity. NA inhibition contributes to anti-stem Ab protection in influenza-infected mice, likely due at least in part to NA-mediated inhibition of FcγR-dependent activation of innate immune cells by Ab bound to virions. Food and Drug Administration–approved NA inhibitors enhance anti-stem–based Fc-dependent immune cell activation, raising the possibility of therapeutic synergy between NA inhibitors and anti-stem mAb treatment in humans.


2017 ◽  
Vol 313 (2) ◽  
pp. L406-L415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene T. Yocum ◽  
Damian L. Turner ◽  
Jennifer Danielsson ◽  
Matthew B. Barajas ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
...  

Emerging evidence indicates that hypnotic anesthetics affect immune function. Many anesthetics potentiate γ-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABAAR) activation, and these receptors are expressed on multiple subtypes of immune cells, providing a potential mechanistic link. Like immune cells, airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells also express GABAARs, particularly isoforms containing α4-subunits, and activation of these receptors leads to ASM relaxation. We sought to determine if GABAAR signaling modulates the ASM contractile and inflammatory phenotype of a murine allergic asthma model utilizing GABAAR α4-subunit global knockout (KO; Gabra40/0) mice. Wild-type (WT) and Gabra4 KO mice were sensitized with house dust mite (HDM) antigen or exposed to PBS intranasally 5 days/wk for 3 wk. Ex vivo tracheal rings from HDM-sensitized WT and Gabra4 KO mice exhibited similar magnitudes of acetylcholine-induced contractile force and isoproterenol-induced relaxation ( P = not significant; n = 4). In contrast, in vivo airway resistance (flexiVent) was significantly increased in Gabra4 KO mice ( P < 0.05, n = 8). Moreover, the Gabra4 KO mice demonstrated increased eosinophilic lung infiltration ( P < 0.05; n = 4) and increased markers of lung T-cell activation/memory (CD62L low, CD44 high; P < 0.01, n = 4). In vitro, Gabra4 KO CD4+ cells produced increased cytokines and exhibited increased proliferation after stimulation of the T-cell receptor as compared with WT CD4+ cells. These data suggest that the GABAAR α4-subunit plays a role in immune cell function during allergic lung sensitization. Thus GABAAR α4-subunit-specific agonists have the therapeutic potential to treat asthma via two mechanisms: direct ASM relaxation and inhibition of airway inflammation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 104-104
Author(s):  
Victoria Smith ◽  
Vladi Juric ◽  
Amanda Mikels-Vigdal ◽  
Chris O'Sullivan ◽  
Maria Kovalenko ◽  
...  

104 Background: Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) acts via diverse mechanisms to promote tumor growth and metastasis, and is a key component of the immune-suppressive myeloid inflammatory milieu. We developed a monoclonal antibody (AB0046) that inhibits murine MMP9 and assessed its mechanism of action in immunocompetent mice as a single agent, or in combination with a murine anti-PDL1 antibody. Methods: An orthotopic, syngeneic tumor model (NeuT), which models MMP9-positive myeloid infiltrate, was utilized for efficacy and pharmacodynamic studies involving RNA and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing, and flow cytometry. Enzymatic analyses were performed on T cell chemoattractant CXCR3 ligands (CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11) which were subsequently evaluated in chemotaxis assays. Results: Anti-MMP9 treatment alone or in combination with an anti-PDL1 antibody decreased primary tumor growth as compared to IgG control-treated animals (56% vs 335% tumor growth increase, p = 0.0005) or anti-PDL1 alone. Profiling of tumors by RNA sequencing revealed that inhibition of MMP9 resulted in elevated expression of genes associated with immune cell activation pathways (Hallmark Interferon Gamma Response, FDR p < 0.001). Treatment with anti-MMP9 and anti-PDL1 antibodies decreased TCR clonality, with evidence of a more diverse TCR repertoire (p = 0.005). Immunophenotyping of tumor-associated T cells by flow cytometry showed that anti-MMP9 and anti-PDL1 co-treatment promoted a 2.8-fold increase in CD3+ cells in tumors (p = 0.01), which was associated with an increase in CD4+ T cells (3.2-fold increase; p = 0.006) and CD8+ T cells (2.8-fold increase; p = 0.013). In contrast, anti-MMP9 and combination treatment resulted in a decrease in tumor-associated regulatory T cells (CD25+ FoxP3+ cells, p = 0.04). MMP9 cleavage of T cell chemoattractant ligands in vitro rendered them functionally inactive for recruitment of activated primary human effector T cells. Conclusions: Inhibition of MMP9 reduces tumor burden and promotes cytotoxic T cell infiltration in a PD1-axis refractory mouse model. The combination of nivolumab and GS-5745, a humanized anti-MMP9 inhibitory antibody, is currently being evaluated in gastric cancer (NCT02864381).


Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1111-1111
Author(s):  
Susanne Wingert ◽  
Uwe Reusch ◽  
Armin Beez ◽  
Jens Pahl ◽  
Adelheid Cerwenka ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Affimed has developed high affinity tetravalent bispecific immune cell engagers for redirected optimized cell killing (ROCK platform). Using anti-CD16A and anti-tumor target-specific antibody domains, the engagers activate NK cells to efficiently kill target cells. The most advanced ROCK-based immune cell engager, AFM13, targeting CD30 on tumor cells and CD16A on immune effectors, is currently being evaluated in several clinical trials to treat CD30-positive malignancies. Based on the fact that CD16A is not exclusively expressed on NK cells, but also on macrophages, we hypothesized that CD16A-specific immune cell engagers would also be able to activate CD16A expressing macrophages through antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) contributing to anti-tumor response. Macrophages are an essential component of the innate immune system and are a major constituent of normal tissues. They can be broadly classified into different subtypes including M1 (classically activated, generally characterized as pro-inflammatory and immuno-supportive) and M2 (alternatively activated, primarily of an anti-inflammatory profile) subtypes. Those subtypes greatly differ in their phenotype and function and appear to be highly plastic. While M1 macrophages are generally considered to be tumoricidal, M2 macrophages are mostly tumorigenic, depending on their context within the tumor microenvironment. Therapeutic agents focusing on macrophages such as the CD47/SIRPa axis, CSF-1R antibodies and elimination of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have recently come into focus in immuno-oncology. Methods Peripheral monocytes derived from primary human hematopoietic cells of healthy donors were used to generate various macrophage subtypes (unpolarized macrophages, M1, M2a, M2c) in vitro using well-defined cytokine cocktails. These subtypes were characterized phenotypically for their CD16A expression and a wide number of additional markers. Subsequently, they were used to investigate the ability of a number of different CD16A-specific immune cell engagers derived from Affimed´s ROCK platform and control antibodies in vitro to activate and induce ADCP of target cells by flow cytometry and microscopy. Results We demonstrated that all of the macrophage subtypes generated in this study expressed CD16A and mediated ADCP of tumor cells. In addition, we showed that ADCP of tumor cells by several CD16A-specific engagers was both fast and robust for all investigated macrophage subtypes. Specifically, ADCP was detected as early as 2 hours after co-incubation of tumor cells with M1 or M2 macrophages and CD16A-specific immune cell engagers. Using appropriate control antibodies, it was demonstrated that ADCP mediated by CD16A-specific immune cell engagers was selective and at least as potent as ADCP mediated by classical monoclonal antibodies pan-specific for Fc-gamma receptors. Summary and conclusion: We have demonstrated a new mechanism whereby Affimed´s CD16A-specific immune cell engaging antibodies eliminate tumor cells by ADCP, mediated by different subsets of macrophages. Our data suggest that these antibodies may have the potential to boost tumoricidal function within the tumor microenvironment. Future directions of leveraging innate immunity as a therapeutic option in immuno-oncology will be presented. Disclosures Wingert: Affimed: Employment. Reusch:Affimed: Employment. Beez:Affimed: Employment. Pahl:Affimed: Research Funding. Cerwenka:Affimed: Research Funding; Dragonfly Therapeutics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Koch:Affimed GmbH: Employment. Treder:Affimed GmbH: Employment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 201 (9) ◽  
pp. 2753-2766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kempaiah Rayavara ◽  
Alexander Kurosky ◽  
Susan J. Stafford ◽  
Nisha J. Garg ◽  
Allan R. Brasier ◽  
...  

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