Human Immunology News Volume 4.36 | Sep 13 2016

TOP STORY

Evidence of Innate Lymphoid Cell Redundancy in Humans

The authors investigated the presence of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in a cohort of patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). All ILC subsets were absent in patients with SCID who had mutation of the gene encoding the common γ-chain cytokine receptor subunit IL-2Rγ or the gene encoding the tyrosine kinase JAK3. [Nat Immunol] Abstract

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Immunotherapy of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma with a Defined Ratio of CD8⁺ and CD4⁺ CD19-Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor–Modified T Cells

Researchers conducted a clinical trial in which CD19 CAR-T cells were manufactured from defined T cell subsets and administered in a 1:1 CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio of CAR-T cells to 32 adults with relapsed and/or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after cyclophosphamide–based lymphodepletion chemotherapy with or without fludarabine. [Sci Transl Med] Abstract | Press Release

ABC Transporters and NR4A1 Identify a Quiescent Subset of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells

Investigators characterized a subset of side population T cells (Tsp cells) that exhibit a quiescent (G₀) phenotype in humans and mice. Human Trm cells in the gut and BM were enriched in Tsp cells that were predominantly in the G₀ stage of the cell cycle. [J Clin Invest] Full Article | Press Release

Autologous T Cells Expressing CD30 Chimeric Antigen Receptors for Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: An Open-Label Phase I Trial

Scientists aimed to assess the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of CD30-targeting CAR T cells in patients with progressive relapsed or refractory HL. Patients with relapsed or refractory HL received a conditioning chemotherapy followed by the CART-30 cell infusion. [Clin Cancer Res] Abstract

DEPTOR Is a Direct NOTCH1 Target that Promotes Cell Proliferation and Survival in T-Cell Leukemia

Researchers demonstrated NOTCH1 directly bound to and activated the human DEP-domain containing mTOR-interacting protein (DEPTOR) promoter in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. DEPTOR depletion abolished cellular proliferation, attenuated glycolytic metabolism and enhanced cell death, while ectopically expressed DEPTOR significantly promoted cell growth and glycolysis. [Oncogene] Abstract

Exposures to the Environmental Toxicants Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Modify Secretion of Interleukin 1-Beta (IL-1β) from Human Immune Cells

PCP and DDT were examined for their ability to alter secretion of IL-1β from immune cell preparations of various complexity: natural killer cells; monocyte-depleted peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCS); and PBMCs. [Arch Toxicol] Abstract

Antigen-Specific T Cell Redirectors: A Nanoparticle Based Approach for Redirecting T Cells

The authors present a novel, nanoparticle-based approach to selectively bind antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells and redirect them to kill tumors, termed antigen-specific T cell redirectors. [Oncotarget] Full Article

Propagating Humanized BLT Mice for the Study of Human Immunology and Immunotherapy

Through secondary transfer of bone marrow cells and human thymus implants from BLT mice into NOD/SCID/IL-2Rγ^-/- recipient mice, investigators were able to expand one primary bone marrow-liver-thymus (BLT) mouse into a colony of 4-5 proBLT mice in 6-8 weeks. These proBLT mice reconstituted human immune cells, including T cells, at levels comparable to that of their primary BLT donor mouse. [Stem Cells Dev] Abstract

Co-Expansion of Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells and Vγ9Vδ2 T Cells for CAR T-Cell Therapy

Scientists described an efficient method to expand simultaneously both cytokine-induced killer and Vγ9Vδ2 T cells, termed as CIKZ cells, from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells using Zometa, interferon-gamma, interleukin 2, anti-CD3 antibody and engineered K562 feeder cells expressing CD64, CD137L and CD86. [PLoS One] Full Article

Tumor-Derived Immuno-Modulators Induce Overlapping Pro-Tolerogenic Gene Expression Signatures in Human Dendritic Cells

PBMC-derived monocytes were differentiated to dendritic cells (DCs) in the presence of established immuno-modulators as released by tumors. Most unstimulated pro-tolerogenic DC populations commonly over-expressed some tolerance-associated markers as compared with immature DCs. [Hum Immunol] Abstract

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T Cell Exhaustion: Understanding the Interface of Chronic Viral and Autoinflammatory Diseases

The authors summarize the mechanisms controlling T cell exhaustion and how they relate to the control of autoimmune responses, providing a future perspective on measuring or manipulating exhaustion to personalize therapy. [Immunol Cell Biol] Abstract

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Fate Therapeutics and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Launch Partnership for Development of Off-the-Shelf T-Cell Immunotherapies

Fate Therapeutics, Inc. announced a partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the development of off-the-shelf T-cell product candidates using engineered pluripotent cell lines. [Fate Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

AnTolRx, Inc. Announces Series A Equity Funding from Pfizer, JDRF and Orion Equity Partners, LLC to Develop Targeted Nanoparticle Tolerance Therapeutics

AnTolRx, Inc. announced that it has signed a Series A funding agreement with Pfizer Inc., Orion Equity Partners LLC and JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. [AnTolRx, Inc. (PR Newswise Association LLC.)] Press Release

Ebola Virus Lingers Longer than Scientists Thought

Long-term studies have revealed that the virus lasts longer in survivors’ bodies than previously suspected. The findings underscore the need for extended tracking of people who have beaten Ebola and other rare infections. [Nature News] Editorial

Workshop on Ethics of Monkey Research Earns Cheers and Boos

Depending on whom you ask, the U.S. government workshop on the state of nonhuman primate research was either a raging success or a complete fiasco. The event, held at the National Institutes of Health brought together dozens of scientists, veterinarians, and bioethicists to discuss how research on monkeys and related animals is contributing to human medicine and to review the welfare policies that surround this work. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW CHI’s Immunogenicity and Bioassay Summit 2016
October 26-28, 2016
Baltimore, United States

NEW Cell Culture & Downstream World Congress 2017
February 21-22, 2017
Munich, Germany

NEW World Advanced Therapies & Regenerative Medicine Congress 2017
May 17-19, 2017
London, United Kingdom

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NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Molecular Immunology (University of California San Diego School of Medicine)

NEW Chair – Medical Biology (Masaryk University)

Technical Sales Representative (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Research Technologist – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

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

Faculty Positions – Various Areas (Jackson Laboratory)

Postdoctoral Fellow Position – Stem Cell Biology & Immunology (Toronto General Research Institute & McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Translational Immunology (University of Eastern Finland)

Faculty Position – Immunology (Vanderbilt University Medical Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Mucosal Immunology (University of Utah)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Metastatic Breast Cancer (Purdue Center for Cancer Research)

Assistant Associate – Cancer Immunology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunomodulatory Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (NYU Langone Medical Center)

Principal Investigator – Cancer Immunology/Immunotherapy (Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer)

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

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