Human Immunology News Volume 4.28 | Jul 19 2016

TOP STORY

A Proliferation Inducing Ligand (APRIL) Promotes IL-10 Production and Regulatory Functions of Human B Cells

Researchers aimed to explore the effect of APRIL on human B-cell interleukin 10 (IL-10) production, in healthy subjects and in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The IL-10 production of B-cell was greater with APRIL than with BLyS or control medium, in a dose dependent manner. [J Autoimmun] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Discoidin Domain Receptor 1 Promotes Th17 Cell Migration by Activating the RhoA/ROCK/MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathway

Scientists addressed the role of a collagen receptor, the discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1), in the migration of Th17 cells. They showed that the vast majority of human Th17 cells express DDR1 and that silencing DDR1 or using the blocking recombinant receptor DDR1:Fc significantly reduced their motility and invasion in three-dimensional collagen. [Oncotarget] Full Article

NK Cell Activation in the Antitumor Response Induced by IFN-α Dendritic Cells Loaded with Apoptotic Cells from Follicular Lymphoma Patients

Investigators showed that apoptotic tumor cell–loaded monocyte-derived dendritic cells generated in the presence of IFN-α and GM-CSF from follicular lymphoma (FL) patients, which were cultured for two weeks with autologous lymphocytes, led to Th1 response skewing, based on significantly higher levels of IFN-γ production and a remarkable increase in CD8⁺ and NK cell frequency, consistent with the detection of enhanced cytotoxic effector function toward autologous FL cells. [J Immunol] Abstract

Human Amnion Favors Tissue Repair by Inducing the M1-to-M2 Switch and Enhancing M2 Macrophage Features

Investigators found that human amniotic mesenchymal cells and conditioned medium induce the differentiation of myeloid cells towards macrophages. They then investigated their effects on monocytes differentiated toward pro-inflammatory M1 and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages. [J Tissue Eng Regen Med] Full Article

Engagement of Distinct Epitopes on CD43 Induces Different Co-Stimulatory Pathways in Human T Cells

Scientists demonstrated that co-stimulation of human peripheral blood T cell via two distinct CD43 epitopes recognized by mAbs CD43-6E5 and CD43-10G7 potently induced T cell proliferation. [Immunology] Abstract

Increased Frequency of BK Virus-Specific Polyfunctional CD8⁺ T Cells Predict Successful Control of BK Viremia after Kidney Transplantation

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected during episodes of BK viral replication were evaluated by multiparameter flow cytometry after stimulation by overlapping peptide pools of BK virus antigen to determine frequency of CD8⁺ and CD4⁺ T cells expressing 1 or more cytokines simultaneously, as well as markers of T-cell activation, exhaustion, and maturation. [Transplantation] Abstract

Hypermethylation of FOXP3 Promoter and Premature Aging of the Immune System in Female Patients with Panic Disorder?

T cell receptor excision circles, Forkhead-Box-Protein P3 gene (FOXP3) methylation of regulatory T cells and relative telomere lengths were investigated in a total and subsamples of 131 patients with panic disorder as compared to 131 age- and sex-matched healthy controls in order to test for a potential dysfunction and premature aging of the immune system in anxiety disorders. [PLoS One] Abstract

Molecular Signals Involved in Human B Cell Migration into the Retina: In Vitro Investigation of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and CXCL13

The authors examined the involvement of three molecular signals in retinal transendothelial migration of human B cells: ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and CXCL13. [Ocul Immunol Inflamm] Abstract

Expression of Human T Cell Immunoglobulin Domain and Mucin-3 (TIM-3) and TIM-3 Ligands in Peripheral Blood from Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

the authors examined whether TIM-3 and Galectin-9 contribute to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In total, 30 patients with SLE and 30 healthy controls were recruited, and their levels of TIM-3 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were examined via flow cytometry. [Arch Dermatol Res] Abstract

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A Guide to Immunometabolism for Immunologists

In recent years a substantial number of findings have been made in the area of immunometabolism, by which the authors mean the changes in intracellular metabolic pathways in immune cells that alter their function. They provide a brief refresher course on six of the major metabolic pathways involved, giving specific examples of how precise changes in the metabolites of these pathways shape the immune cell response. [Nat Rev Immunol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the human immunology research field.

Juno Therapeutics Reports Clinical Hold on the JCAR015 Phase II ROCKET Trial

Juno Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it has received notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that a clinical hold has been placed on the Phase II clinical trial of JCAR015 in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, known as the “ROCKET” trial. [Juno Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Kite Pharma Completes Enrollment of All Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) in Pivotal Multi-Center Phase II Study of KTE-C19 (ZUMA-1)

Kite Pharma, Inc. announced that it has completed enrollment of 72 patients in DLBCL cohort in the Phase II portion of ZUMA-1. [Kite Pharma, Inc.] Press Release

Kiadis Pharma and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Strengthen Partnership around the Development of ATIR101™ in ALL and AML Patients

Kiadis Pharma N.V. announced that its partnership with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has been strengthened with a second equity investment by LLS into the development of Kiadis Pharma’s lead product ATIR101™. [Kiadis Pharma N.V.] Press Release

Celyad Enters into License Agreement with ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD. to Develop Allogeneic NKR-2 T-Cell Immunotherapy

Celyad announced an exclusive license agreement with the leading Japanese immuno-oncology company, ONO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for the development and commercialization of Celyad’s allogeneic NKR-2 T-cell immunotherapy in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. [Celyad] Press Release

Sorrento and Servier Enter into Exclusive Worldwide License and Collaboration Agreement for Development and Commercialization of Anti-PD-1 Antibody

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. announced a license and collaboration agreement for the development, manufacture and commercialization of products using Sorrento’s fully human immuno-oncology anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody STI-A1110. [Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Beat It, Impact Factor! Publishing Elite Turns against Controversial Metric

A paper posted to the preprint server bioRxiv, authored by senior employees at several leading science publishers (including Nature’s owner, SpringerNature), calls on journals to downplay the figure in favour of a metric that captures the range of citations that a journal’s articles attract. [Nature News] Editorial | Article

Brexit Watch: Scientists Grapple with the Fallout

Two weeks after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, the future remains opaque. Concerns within the research community are particularly intense for those who rely on the EU for funding, or who have the right to work in the United Kingdom only because they are citizens of other EU countries. [Nature News] Editorial

The Past, Present and Future of the PhD Thesis

According to one of those often-quoted statistics that should be true but probably isn’t, the average number of people who read a PhD thesis all the way through is 1.6. And that includes the author. More interesting might be the average number of PhD theses that the typical scientist — and reader of Nature — has read from start to finish. [Nature News] Editorial

Major Funders Launch International Repository of Cutting-Edge Cancer Models

U.S. and European funding agencies are launching the Human Cancer Models Initiative, which aims to give the research community tumor cells that behave more like actual human tumors. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW 4^th Annual Immuno-Oncology Summit
August 29-September 2, 2016
Boston, United States

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Immunology (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität)

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Microbiology, Immunology, Biochemistry (The University of Tennessee Health Science Center)

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Biology and Cancer Immunology (Fox Chase Cancer Center)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Molecular/Cellular Immunology (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Research Associate – Immunology and Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Technical Sales Representative (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Research Technologist – T Cell Immunology (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Research Technologist – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Scientist – Bioengineering (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Senior Scientist – Immunology and Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Mucosal immunology (KU Leuven)

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuro-Immunology (UT Austin)

Tenure Track Positions – Chemical Immunology (Institute for Chemical Immunology)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine (Stanford University School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Scientist – Immune Focused In Vitro Research (Celentyx Ltd)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Thymic and Immune Regeneration (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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