Human Immunology News 5.16 April 25, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYIRCM Research Team Discovers How Immunotherapy Can Fight Some Cancers A researcher at the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM)/Montreal Clinical Research Institute and a professor of Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Medicine, and his team, have discovered why immunotherapy would work in some patients and not at all in others: the SLAMF7 molecule plays a predominant role. [Press release from the Université de Montréal discussing online prepublication in Nature] Press Release | Abstract | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)In Situ Programming of Leukemia-Specific T Cells Using Synthetic DNA Nanocarriers Scientists demonstrated that DNA-carrying nanoparticles can efficiently introduce leukemia-targeting chimeric antigen receptors genes into T-cell nuclei, thereby bringing about long-term disease remission. [Nat Nanotechnol] Abstract | Press Release Peptide-MHC-Based Nanomedicines for Autoimmunity Function as T-Cell Receptor Microclustering Devices Researchers defined the engineering principles impacting biological activity, detailed a synthesis process yielding safe and stable compounds, and visualized how nanomedicines interact with cognate T cells. They found that the triggering properties of peptide-major histocompatibility complexes (pMHC)-nanoparticles are a function of pMHC intermolecular distance and involve the sustained assembly of large antigen receptor microclusters on murine and human cognate T cells. [Nat Nanotechnol] Abstract Single-Cell RNA-Seq Reveals New Types of Human Blood Dendritic Cells, Monocytes, and Progenitors Investigators revealed a new dendritic cell (DC) subset that shares properties with plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) but potently activates T cells, thus redefining pDCs; a new subdivision within the CD1C+ subset of DCs; the relationship between blastic plasmacytoid DC neoplasia cells and healthy DCs; and circulating progenitor of conventional DCs. [Science] Abstract | Press Release PD-L1 Interacts with CD80 to Regulate Graft-versus-Leukemia Activity of Donor CD8+ T Cells Scientists demonstrated that temporary depletion of donor CD4+ T cells early after hematopoietic cell transplantation effectively prevents graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) while preserving strong graft-versus-leukemia effects in allogeneic and xenogeneic murine GVHD models. Depletion of donor CD4+ T cells increased serum IFN-γ but reduced IL-2 concentrations, leading to upregulation of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression by recipient tissues and donor CD8+ T cells. [J Clin Invest] Full Article | Press Release Researchers showed that thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP)-activated dendritic cells promote human T follicular helper cells (Tfh) differentiation from naive CD4 T cells. They identified a novel population, distinct from Th2 cells, expressing IL-21 and TNF, suggestive of inflammatory cells. TSLP-induced T cells expressed CXCR5, CXCL13, ICOS, PD1, BCL6, BTLA, and SAP, among other Tfh markers. [J Exp Med] Abstract The authors developed a novel microfluidic platform recreating tightly interconnected cancer and immune systems with specific 3D environmental properties, for tracking human dendritic cell behavior toward tumor cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article NOD1 Modulates IL-10 Signaling in Human Dendritic Cells Investigators describe a regulatory, peptidoglycan-independent function of NOD1 in anti-inflammatory immune responses. They report that, in human dendritic cells, NOD1 balances IL-10-induced STAT1 and STAT3 activation by a SOCS2-dependent mechanism, thereby suppressing the tolerogenic dendritic cell phenotype. [Sci Rep] Full Article Researchers previously showed that humanized mice immunized with long-lived induced–dendritic cells loaded with the pp65 viral antigen (iDCpp65) exhibited a faster development and maturation of T cells. Herein, they evaluated these effects in a long-term nonclinical model using two stem cell donors to assess efficacy and safety. Relative to baseline, iDCpp65 immunization boosted the output of effector memory CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood and lymph nodes. [Am J Pathol] Abstract The authors measured cluster of differentiation (CD)127 expression on CD56brightCD16dim/− (CD56bright), CD56dimCD16+, or CD56neg NK cell subsets of 25 uninfected donors; 34 chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected, treatment-naïve; 25 HIV-infected, virally suppressed on antiretroviral therapy (ART); and 42 HCV–HIV-coinfected subjects on ART. CD127 expression on CD56bright NK cells negatively correlated with HCV plasma levels in HCV monoinfection and HCV–HIV coinfection. [J Leukoc Biol] Abstract The PTPN22 encoded protein Lyp is a negative regulator of T cell antigen receptor signaling; R620W variant, leading to a gain of function with paradoxical reduced T cell activation, may represent a valid therapeutic target. Scientists aimed to develop novel wild type PTPN22 short interfering RNA duplexes and optimize their delivery into Jurkat T cells and PBMC by using liposomal carriers. [PLoS One] Full Article Subscribe to our sister publications: Immunology of Infectious Disease News & Immune Regulation News. | |
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REVIEWSMonocyte Differentiation and Antigen-Presenting Functions In this review, scientists discuss the newer concepts underlying the maturation of emigrating monocytes into different classes of tissue macrophages, as well as their potential functions, as monocyte-derived cells, in the tissues. In addition, they consider the emerging roles for monocytes in adaptive immunity as antigen-presenting cells. [Nat Rev Immunol] Abstract Do Memory CD4 T Cells Keep Their Cell-Type Programming: Plasticity versus Fate Commitment? The wide range of effector and memory T cells is instrumental for immune regulation and tailored mechanisms of protection against pathogens. The authors focus on human CD4 T cells and discuss T-cell plasticity and intraclonal diversification in the context of a progressive and selective model of CD4 T-cell differentiation. [Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the human immunology research field. | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSNYU Langone Research Leads to Accelerated Approval of Bladder Cancer Immunotherapy Drug Findings from a clinical trial led by a researcher at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center helped pave the way for the recent, accelerated approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration of a highly effective immunotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced bladder cancer who are not eligible for treatment with standard chemotherapy. The drug, atezolizumab, marketed as Tecentriq® and part of a class of drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors, was found to shrink bladder tumors by at least 30 percent and stall new tumor growth in 28 of 119 patients. [NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Medical Center] Press Release Tregitope Takes a Step Toward the Clinic EpiVax, Inc. has licensed its novel immune-modulating technology to an undisclosed global pharmaceutical company, for use in autoimmune disease and allergy. [EpiVax, Inc.] Press Release SillaJen, Inc. and Transgene have enrolled the first European patient in the ongoing multinational randomized Phase III open-label study of Pexa-Vec, in patients with advanced liver cancer, also known as hepatocellular carcinoma. [SillaJen, Inc.] Press Release La Jolla Institute Professor Klaus Ley Wins Prestigious National Award Professor Klaus Ley, M.D., has been selected as this year’s winner of the Eugene M. Landis Award, the Microcirculatory Society’s top honor, in recognition of his pioneering work in vascular biology and microcirculation. [La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSCancer Institute Reinstates Director after Uproar from Staff and Funder Eight days after learning via email that she was no longer the head of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, cell biologist Mary Beckerle has been invited to reassume her position. The announcement from University of Utah President David Pershing seeks to smooth a tense relationship between the semiautonomous center, its main philanthropic funder and the university that houses it. [ScienceInsider] Editorial ‘Boffins and Their VERY Academic Chants’: How the Media Covered the March for Science “What do we want? Evidence-based policy. When do we want it? After peer review.” That slogan was a source of amusement for the U.K. tabloid The Daily Mail. “Boffins’ VERY academic chant as Doctor Who joins thousands protesting against Brexit during global March for Science,” the paper headlined its story about the march. [ScienceInsider] Editorial The Broad Institute Is Testing the Limits of What ‘Nonprofit’ Means When a federal patent court ruled that the nonprofit Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard could legally license its version of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing system, it opened the door to millions of dollars of revenue for the institute. It also contributed to the seismic shift occurring in science whereby tax-exempt research institutes established under an emerging model of “free market philanthropy” can amass money to further their research and protect their commercial interests. [STAT News] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW ISSCR Annual Meeting 2017 NEW Signal Transduction in the Immune System Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Faculty Position – Cancer Immunology (Mayo Clinic) NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Innate Immunity and Neurodegeneration (Mount Sinai Health System) Postdoctoral Scholar – Multiple Sclerosis (University of Washington) Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Inflammation and Immuno-Oncology (Yale School of Medicine) Research Assistant – Immunology (University of Cambridge) Postdoctoral Fellow Position – Translational Immunology (The University of Utah) Postdoctoral Fellow – Immune-Oncology (Johnson and Johnson) Research Investigator – Immuno-Oncology (Bristol-Meyers Squibb) Assistant Associate – Cancer Immunology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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Home Human Immunology News Volume 5.16 | Apr 25 2017