Multimodal nanoparticle-containing modified suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid polymer conjugates to mitigate immune dysfunction in severe inflammation.

Excessive immune activation and immunosuppression are opposing factors that contribute to the dysregulated innate and adaptive immune responses seen in severe inflammation and sepsis. Here, a novel analog of the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA-OH), was incorporated into immunomodulatory poly(lactic acid)-based nanoparticles (iNP-SAHA) by employing a prodrug approach through the covalent modification of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) with SAHA-OH. iNP-SAHA formulation allowed for controlled incorporation and delivery of SAHA-OH from iNP-SAHA and treatment led to multimodal biological responses including significant reductions in proinflammatory cytokine secretions and gene expression, while increasing the survival of primary macrophages under lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Using a lethal LPS-induced endotoxemia mouse model of sepsis, iNP-SAHA administration improved the survival of mice in a dose-dependent manner and tended to improve survival at the lowest doses compared to iNP control. Further, iNP-SAHA reduced the levels of plasma proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines associated with sepsis more significantly than iNP and similarly improved inflammation-induced spleen and liver toxicity as iNP, supporting its potential polypharmacological activity. Collectively, iNP-SAHA offers a potential drug delivery approach to modulate the multifaceted inflammatory responses observed in diseases such as sepsis.

Cell and biomaterial delivery strategies to induce immune tolerance.

The prevalence of immune-mediated disorders, including autoimmune conditions and allergies, is steadily increasing. However, current therapeutic approaches are often non-specific and do not address the underlying pathogenic condition, often resulting in impaired immunity and a state of generalized immunosuppression. The emergence of technologies capable of selectively inhibiting aberrant immune activation in a targeted, antigen (Ag)-specific manner by exploiting the body's intrinsic tolerance pathways, all without inducing adverse side effects, holds significant promise to enhance patient outcomes. In this review, we will describe the body's natural mechanisms of central and peripheral tolerance as well as innovative delivery strategies using cells and biomaterials targeting innate and adaptive immune cells to promote Ag-specific immune tolerance. Additionally, we will discuss the challenges and future opportunities that warrant consideration as we navigate the path toward clinical implementation of tolerogenic strategies to treat immune-mediated diseases.

Development of protein-polymer conjugate nanoparticles for modulation of dendritic cell phenotype and antigen-specific CD4 T cell responses.

Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) comprised of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) have found success in modulating antigen (Ag)-specific T cell responses for the treatment multiple immunological diseases. Common methods by which Ags are associated with NPs are through encapsulation and surface conjugation; however, these methods suffer from several limitations, including uncontrolled Ag loading, burst release, and potential immune recognition. To overcome these limitations and study the relationship between NP design parameters and modulation of innate and Ag-specific adaptive immune cell responses, we developed ovalbumin (OVA) protein-PLGA bioconjugate NPs (acNP-OVA). OVA was first modified by conjugation with multiple PLGA polymers to synthesize OVA-PLGA conjugates, followed by precise combination with unmodified PLGA to form acNP-OVA with well-defined Ag loadings, reduced burst release, and reduced antibody recognition. Expression of MHC II, CD80, and CD86 on bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) increased as a function of acNP-OVA Ag loading. NanoString studies using BMDCs showed that PLGA NPs generally induced anti-inflammatory gene expression profiles independent of the Ag delivery method, where S100a9, Sell, and Ppbp were most significantly reduced. Co-culture studies using acNP-OVA-treated BMDCs and OT-II CD4+ T cells revealed that Ag-specific T cell activation, expansion, and differentiation were dependent on Ag loading and formulation parameters. CD25 expression was induced using acNP-OVA with the lowest Ag loading; however, the induction of robust CD4+ T cell proliferative and cytokine responses required acNP-OVA formulations with higher Ag loading, which was supported using a regulatory T cell (Treg) induction assay. The distinct differences in Ag loading required to achieve various T cell responses supported the concept of an Ag loading threshold for Ag-specific immunotherapy. We anticipate this work will help guide NP designs and aid in the future development of NP-based immunotherapies for Ag-specific immunomodulation.

Immunomodulatory Nanoparticles Mitigate Macrophage Inflammation via Inhibition of PAMP Interactions and Lactate-Mediated Functional Reprogramming of NF-κB and p38 MAPK.

Inflammation is a key homeostatic process involved in the body's response to a multitude of disease states including infection, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and other chronic conditions. When the initiating event is poorly controlled, severe inflammation and globally dysregulated immune responses can occur. To address the lack of therapies that efficaciously address the multiple aspects of the dysregulated immune response, we developed cargo-less immunomodulatory nanoparticles (iNPs) comprised of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with either poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) or poly(ethylene-alt-maleic acid) (PEMA) as stabilizing surfactants and investigated the mechanisms by which they exert their inherent anti-inflammatory effects. We identified that iNPs leverage a multimodal mechanism of action by physically interfering with the interactions between pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMΦs). Additionally, we showed that iNPs mitigate proinflammatory cytokine secretions induced by LPS via a time- and composition-dependent abrogation of NF-κB p65 and p38 MAPK activation. Lastly, inhibition studies were performed to establish the role of a pH-sensing G-protein-coupled receptor, GPR68, on contributing to the activity of iNPs. These data provide evidence for the multimodal mechanism of action of iNPs and establish their potential use as a novel therapeutic for the treatment of severe inflammation.

Biomaterial-Driven Immunomodulation: Cell Biology-Based Strategies to Mitigate Severe Inflammation and Sepsis.

Inflammation is an essential component of a wide variety of disease processes and oftentimes can increase the deleterious effects of a disease. Finding ways to modulate this essential immune process is the basis for many therapeutics under development and is a burgeoning area of research for both basic and translational immunology. In addition to developing therapeutics for cellular and molecular targets, the use of biomaterials to modify innate and adaptive immune responses is an area that has recently sparked significant interest. In particular, immunomodulatory activity can be engineered into biomaterials to elicit heightened or dampened immune responses for use in vaccines, immune tolerance, or anti-inflammatory applications. Importantly, the inherent physicochemical properties of the biomaterials play a significant role in determining the observed effects. Properties including composition, molecular weight, size, surface charge, and others affect interactions with immune cells (i.e., nano-bio interactions) and allow for differential biological responses such as activation or inhibition of inflammatory signaling pathways, surface molecule expression, and antigen presentation to be encoded. Numerous opportunities to open new avenues of research to understand the ways in which immune cells interact with and integrate information from their environment may provide critical solutions needed to treat a variety of disorders and diseases where immune dysregulation is a key inciting event. However, to elicit predictable immune responses there is a great need for a thorough understanding of how the biomaterial properties can be tuned to harness a designed immunological outcome. This review aims to systematically describe the biological effects of nanoparticle properties-separate from additional small molecule or biologic delivery-on modulating innate immune cell responses in the context of severe inflammation and sepsis. We propose that nanoparticles represent a potential polypharmacological strategy to simultaneously modify multiple aspects of dysregulated immune responses where single target therapies have fallen short for these applications. This review intends to serve as a resource for immunology labs and other associated fields that would like to apply the growing field of rationally designed biomaterials into their work.

Induction of IRAK-M in melanoma induces caspase-3 dependent apoptosis by reducing TRAF6 and calpastatin levels.

Melanoma represents the most serious type of skin cancer. Although recent years have seen advances using targeted and immunotherapies, most patients remain at high risk for tumor recurrence. Here we show that IRAK-M, a negative regulator of MyD88 signaling, is deficient or low in melanoma and expression levels correlate with patient survival. Inducing IRAK-M expression using genetic approaches or epigenetic modifiers initiates apoptosis by prompting its interaction with TRAF6 via IRAK-M's C-terminal domain. This complex recruits and degrades calpastatin which stimulates calpain activity and triggers caspase-3-dependent but caspase-8,-9-independent apoptosis. Using a drug screen, we identified compounds that induced IRAK-M expression. Administration of IRAK-M-inducing drugs reduced tumor growth in mice but was ineffective against IRAK-M knock-down tumors. These results uncover a previously uncharacterized apoptosis pathway, emphasize IRAK-M as a potential therapeutic target and suggest that the anticancer activity of certain drugs could do so through their ability to induce IRAK-M expression.

Serum-Independent Nonviral Gene Delivery to Innate and Adaptive Immune Cells Using Immunoplexes.

Genetic engineering of innate and adaptive immune cells represents a potential solution to treat numerous immune-mediated pathologies. Current immune engineering methods to introduce nucleic acids into cells with high efficiency rely on physical mechanisms such as electroporation, viral vectors, or other chemical methods. Gene delivery using non-viral nanoparticles offers significant flexibility in biomaterial design to tune critical parameters such as nano-bio interactions, transfection efficiency, and toxicity profiles. However, their clinical utility has been limited due to complex synthetic procedures, high toxicity at increased polymer (nitrogen, N) to DNA ratios (phosphate, P) (N/P ratios), poor transfection efficiency and nanoparticle stability in the presence of serum, and short-term gene expression. Here, we describe the development of a simple, polymer-based non-viral gene delivery platform based on simple modifications of polyethylenimine (PEI) that displays potent and serum-independent transfection of innate and adaptive immune cells. Cationic acetylated PEI (Ac-PEI) was synthesized and complexed with plasmid DNA (pDNA) followed by enveloping with an anionic polyelectrolyte layer of poly(ethylene-alt-maleic acid) (PEMA) to form immunoplexes (IPs). Cellular interactions and gene expression could be precisely controlled in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages, murine DC2.4 dendritic cells, and human Jurkat T cells by altering the levels of PEMA envelopment, thus providing a strategy to engineer specific cell targeting into the IP platform. Optimally formulated IPs for immune cell transfection in the presence of serum utilized high N/P ratios to enable high stability, displayed reduced toxicity, high gene expression, and a lengthened duration of gene expression (>3 days) compared to non-enveloped controls. These results demonstrate the potential of engineered IPs to serve as simple, modular, targetable, and efficient non-viral gene delivery platform to efficiently alter gene expression within cells of the immune system.

A Synthetic CD8α:MyD88 Coreceptor Enhances CD8+ T-cell Responses to Weakly Immunogenic and Lowly Expressed Tumor Antigens.

T cell-based immunotherapies are a promising approach for patients with advanced cancers. However, various obstacles limit T-cell efficacy, including suboptimal T-cell receptor (TCR) activation and an immunosuppressive tumor environment. Here, we developed a fusion protein by linking CD8α and MyD88 (CD8α:MyD88) to enhance CD8+ T-cell responses to weakly immunogenic and poorly expressed tumor antigens. CD8α:MyD88-engineered T cells exhibited increased proliferation and expression of effector and costimulatory molecules in a tumor antigen-dependent manner. These effects were accompanied by elevated activation of TCR and Toll-like receptor signaling-related proteins. CD8α:MyD88-expressing T cells improved antitumor responses in mice. Enhanced antitumor activity was associated with a unique tumor cytokine/chemokine signature, improved T-cell infiltration, reduced markers of T-cell exhaustion, elevated levels of proteins associated with antigen presentation, and fewer macrophages with an immunosuppressive phenotype in tumors. Given these observations, CD8α:MyD88 represents a unique and versatile approach to help overcome immunosuppression and enhance T-cell responses to tumor antigens. Cancer Res; 77(24); 7049-58. ©2017 AACR.

Senior Center-Based Hepatitis C Screening in Baltimore.

Despite significant advancements in hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatments, the majority of individuals infected with HCV remain undiagnosed. We report on senior citizen center-based HCV testing in Baltimore, which revealed a 9.4% prevalence of infection. Our data suggest that community-based HCV testing and linkage to care in appropriate settings is feasible and high yield.

Phylogenetic and ecological relationships of the Hawaiian Drosophila inferred by mitochondrial DNA analysis.

The Hawaiian Drosophilidae are comprised of an estimated 1000 species, all arising from a single common ancestor in the last 25 million years. This group, because of its species diversity, marked sexual dimorphism and complex mating behavior, host plant specificity, and the well-known chronology of the Hawaiian Archipelago, is an excellent model system for evolutionary studies. Here we present a phylogeny of this group based on ~2.6 kb of mitochondrial DNA sequence. Our taxon sampling is the most extensive to date, with nearly 200 species representing all species groups and most subgroups from the larger clades. Our results suggest that the picture wing and modified mouthpart species, long believed to be derived within this radiation, may actually occupy a basal position in the phylogeny. The haleakale species group, in contrast, is strongly supported as sister to the AMC clade. We use the phylogenetic results to examine the evolution of two important ecological characters, the host family and type of substrate used for oviposition and larval development. Although both host and substrate transitions are common in the group, oviposition substrate is more conserved among species groups than host plant family. While the ancestral host plant family is equivocally reconstructed, our results suggest that the ancestor of this group may have used rotting bark as a primary oviposition substrate.