Immune Regulation News Volume 10.10 | Mar 16 2018

TOP STORY

Tumor-Repopulating Cells Induce PD-1 Expression in CD8⁺ T Cells by Transferring Kynurenine and AhR Activation

Investigators showed that tumor-repopulating cells (TRCs) drive PD-1 upregulation in CD8⁺ T cells through a transcellular kynurenine (Kyn)-aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway. Interferon-γ produced by CD8⁺ T cells stimulated release of high levels of Kyn produced by TRCs, which was transferred into adjacent CD8⁺ T cells via the transporters SLC7A8 and PAT4. [Cancer Cell] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Apolipoprotein AI Prevents Regulatory to Follicular Helper T Cell Switching during Atherosclerosis

Scientists showed that during atherogenesis Treg cells lose Foxp3 expression and their immunosuppressive function, leading to the conversion of a fraction of these cells into T follicular helper cells. [Nat Commun] Full Article

The Oxidized Phospholipid oxPAPC Protects from Septic Shock by Targeting the Non-Canonical Inflammasome in Macrophages

Investigators showed that the oxidized phospholipid 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (oxPAPC) inhibited the non-canonical inflammasome in macrophages, but not in dendritic cells. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Chronic Stress Promotes Colitis by Disturbing the Gut Microbiota and Triggering Immune System Response

Researchers found chronic stress sensitized mice to dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis; increased the infiltration of B cells, neutrophils, and proinflammatory ly6C^hi macrophages in colonic lamina propria; and presented with decreased thymus and mesenteric lymph node coefficients. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract

Bimodal CD40/Fas-Dependent Crosstalk between iNKT Cells and Tumor-Associated Macrophages Impairs Prostate Cancer Progression

In a mouse prostate cancer model, invariant natural killer (iNKT) cells restrained the pro-angiogenic and immunosuppressive capabilities of tumor-infiltrating immune cells by reducing pro-angiogenic TIE2⁺, M2-like macrophages, and sustaining pro-inflammatory M1-like macrophages. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

The CDK4/6 Inhibitor Abemaciclib Induces a T Cell Inflamed Tumor Microenvironment and Enhances the Efficacy of PD-L1 Checkpoint Blockade

The authors used murine syngeneic tumor models and in vitro assays to investigate the impact of abemaciclib on T cells, the tumor immune microenvironment and the ability to combine with anti-PD-L1 blockade. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

A Phase I Study of the Novel Immunomodulatory Agent PG545 (Pixatimod) in Subjects with Advanced Solid Tumors

Researchers investigated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and preliminary efficacy of PG545 monotherapy. [Br J Cancer] Abstract

Inflammation Induces Two Types of Inflammatory Dendritic Cells in Inflamed Lymph Nodes

Scientists showed that the inflamed lymph nodes of Listeria-infected mice are characterized by the clustering of neutrophils and monocytes and IFN-γ production. [Exp Mol Med] Full Article

Dectin-1 Stimulates IL-33 Expression in Dendritic Cells via Upregulation of IRF4

Researchers found that dectin-1-induced IL-33 expression in dendritic cells relies on Syk and Raf-1 pathways. By using nuclear factor (NF)-κB inhibitors, they also found that dectin-1-induced IL-33 expression relies on NF-κB signaling. [Lab Invest] Abstract

T-Bet Promotes Potent Antitumor Activity of CD4⁺ CAR T Cells

A B7H6-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) was combined with different variants of T-bet, a transcription factor that acts as the master regulator to induce a Th1 phenotype in CD4⁺ T cells, to create more effective CAR T cells. [Cancer Gene Ther] Full Article

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Unmasking Fucosylation: From Cell Adhesion to Immune System Regulation and Diseases

From cellular adhesion to immune regulation, the authors discuss the use of gene knockout studies, competitive inhibitors of fucose-containing glycan, and metabolic inhibitors of fucose biosynthesis to probe fucosylated glycan biosynthesis and signaling and its functional consequences. [Cell Chem Biol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the immune regulation research field.

Seattle Genetics Initiates New Phase I Study in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced dosing of the first patient in a Phase I clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of SGN-CD48A for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. [Seattle Genetics, Inc.] Press Release

Inovio’s DNA Immunotherapy Demonstrates Immune Response Results Key in Treating Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that interim Phase I results show its DNA immunotherapy designed to treat hepatitis B virus infection was safe, well-tolerated and generated virus-specific T cells, including CD8⁺ killer T cells, meeting the objectives of the clinical study. [Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.] Press Release

Scientists Beware: The Price Is High, the Payoff Uncertain at Glossy Publications Aimed at Europe’s Decision-Makers

Van der Heyden isn’t the only European researcher to get a hard sell from Pan European Networks, a six-year-old publishing company with offices in Congleton, U.K., and Brussels that promises to provide opportunities for “leading figures from across Europe” to get attention for their work or ideas. Many other scientists had similar experiences, Van der Heyden discovered when he started poking around on blogs and Twitter, including the promise of attention from decision-makers and the warning about the imminent board meeting. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

‘Right-to-Try’ Bill Rejected by House, in Major Blow to GOP Efforts

In a major blow to the effort to pass a federal “right-to-try” law, House Republicans failed to muster the votes to pass a key compromise measure. [STAT News] Editorial

Springer Nature and VSNU Renew Agreement on Open Access Publishing

Springer Nature and the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) have renewed their agreement to secure open access publishing for Dutch universities up to 2021. [The Association of Universities in the Netherlands] Editorial

Science ‘Champion’ Dan Lipinski Faces Tough Race in Illinois Primary

Representative Daniel Lipinski—an anti-abortion Democrat who voted against the Affordable Care Act and who only recently has embraced a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants—knows that he’s out of step with progressives on many social issues. Lipinski will find out whether voters in Illinois’s third congressional district on Chicago’s southwest side feel there’s still room for him in the Democratic Party. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) EU 2018 Regional Meeting
September 12-14, 2018
Firenze, Italy

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

NEW Postdoctoral Positions – Immunology, Genetics and Precision Medicine (Ludwig Boltzmann Institute)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Cancer, Immunotherapy, and Fibrosis (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Tregs in the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Niche (Columbia Center for Translational Immunology)

NEW Scientist – Immune Tolerance (Moderna Therapeutics)

Research Technologist – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Tenure Track Assistant Professor – Immune Signaling (Technical University of Munich)

Scientist – Immunology (Bioverativ)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular and Immunology Research (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)

Professor – Translational Immunology (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunology and iPSCs (Stanford University)

Postdoctoral Associate Position – Tumor Immunology/Immunotherapy (Duke Cancer Institute)

Postdoctoral Scientist Opportunities – Biomedical Research (Cedars-Sinai)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Immune Checkpoint Therapy (Canadian Nuclear Laboratories)

Postdoctoral Training Opportunity – Infection and Immunity (Institut Pasteur of Shanghai – Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Assistant, Associate, or Full Member – Cancer Immunology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Research Fellow Position – Immunology Research (ShanghaiTech University)

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