The Ustilago hordei-Barley Interaction Is a Versatile System for Characterization of Fungal Effectors.

Obligate biotrophic fungal pathogens, such as Blumeria graminis and Puccinia graminis, are amongst the most devastating plant pathogens, causing dramatic yield losses in many economically important crops worldwide. However, a lack of reliable tools for the efficient genetic transformation has hampered studies into the molecular basis of their virulence or pathogenicity. In this study, we present the Ustilago hordei-barley pathosystem as a model to characterize effectors from different plant pathogenic fungi. We generate U. hordei solopathogenic strains, which form infectious filaments without the presence of a compatible mating partner. Solopathogenic strains are suitable for heterologous expression system for fungal virulence factors. A highly efficient Crispr/Cas9 gene editing system is made available for U. hordei. In addition, U. hordei infection structures during barley colonization are analyzed using transmission electron microscopy, showing that U. hordei forms intracellular infection structures sharing high similarity to haustoria formed by obligate rust and powdery mildew fungi. Thus, U. hordei has high potential as a fungal expression platform for functional studies of heterologous effector proteins in barley.

Reptin drives tumour progression and resistance to chemotherapy in nonsmall cell lung cancer.

While targeted nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) therapies have improved the outcome of defined disease subtypes, prognosis for most patients remains poor. We found the AAA+ ATPase Reptin to be highly expressed in the vast majority of 278 NSCLC tumour samples. Thus, the objective of the study was to assess the role of Reptin in NSCLC.Survival analyses of 1145 NSCLC patients revealed that high RNA expression levels of Reptin are associated with adverse outcome. Knockdown of Reptin in human NSCLC cells impaired growth ex vivo and eliminated engraftment in a xenograft model. Reptin directly interacted with histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) as the critical mechanism driving NSCLC tumour progression. Pharmacological disruption of the Reptin/HDAC1 complex resulted in a substantial decrease in NSCLC cell proliferation and induced significant sensitisation to cisplatin.Our results identify Reptin as a novel independent prognostic factor and as a key regulator mediating proliferation and clonal growth of human NSCLC cells ex vivo and in vivo We unveil a Reptin/HDAC1 protein complex whose pharmacological disruption sensitises NSCLC cells to cisplatin, suggesting this approach for application in clinical trials.

Sensitivity to PI3K and AKT inhibitors is mediated by divergent molecular mechanisms in subtypes of DLBCL.

Activated B-cell-like (ABC) and germinal center B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represent the 2 major molecular DLBCL subtypes. They are characterized by differences in clinical course and by divergent addiction to oncogenic pathways. To determine activity of novel compounds in these 2 subtypes, we conducted an unbiased pharmacologic in vitro screen. The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) α/δ (PI3Kα/δ) inhibitor AZD8835 showed marked potency in ABC DLBCL models, whereas the protein kinase B (AKT) inhibitor AZD5363 induced apoptosis in PTEN-deficient DLBCLs irrespective of their molecular subtype. These in vitro results were confirmed in various cell line xenograft and patient-derived xenograft mouse models in vivo. Treatment with AZD8835 induced inhibition of nuclear factor κB signaling, prompting us to combine AZD8835 with the Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib. This combination was synergistic and effective both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, the AKT inhibitor AZD5363 was effective in PTEN-deficient DLBCLs through downregulation of the oncogenic transcription factor MYC. Collectively, our data suggest that patients should be stratified according to their oncogenic dependencies when treated with PI3K and AKT inhibitors.

Nicotinamide treatment ameliorates the course of experimental colitis mediated by enhanced neutrophil-specific antibacterial clearance.

SCOPE: In previous studies, we could show that the B vitamin nicotinamide (NAM) enhanced antimicrobial activity of neutrophils. Here, we assessed the effects of NAM in two models of experimental colitis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Colitis was induced in C57BL/6 mice either by oral infection with Citrobacter rodentium or by DSS (dextran sodium sulphate) administration, and animals were systemically treated with NAM. Ex vivo bacterial clearance was assessed in murine and human whole blood, as well as isolated human neutrophils. In C. rodentium-induced colitis, NAM treatment resulted in markedly decreased systemic bacterial invasion, histological damage and increased fecal clearance of C. rodentium by up to 600-fold. In contrast, NAM had no effect when administered to neutrophil-depleted mice. Ex vivo stimulation of isolated human neutrophils, as well as murine and human whole blood with NAM led to increased clearance of C. rodentium and enhanced expression of antimicrobial peptides in neutrophils. Moreover, NAM treatment significantly ameliorated the course of DSS colitis, as assessed by body weight, histological damage and myeloperoxidase activity. CONCLUSION: Pharmacological application of NAM mediates beneficial effects in bacterial and chemically induced colitis. Future studies are needed to explore the clinical potential of NAM in the context of intestinal bacterial infections and human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Alternative cell death mechanisms determine epidermal resistance in incompatible barley-Ustilago interactions.

Programmed cell death is a key feature of epidermal plant immunity, which is particularly effective against biotrophic microbes that depend on living host tissue. The covered smut fungus Ustilago hordei establishes a compatible biotrophic interaction with its host plant barley. The maize smut U. maydis triggers a nonhost response in barley, which results in epidermal cell death. Similarly, Ustilago mutants being deleted for pep1, a gene encoding a secreted effector, are blocked upon host penetration. We studied the epidermal responses of barley to incompatible Ustilago strains. Molecular and cellular analyses were used to test the impact of Bax inhibitor-1 (BI-1), a suppressor of programmed cell death, on the barley nonhost resistance to U. maydis as well as Ustilago Δpep1 mutants. Overexpression of BI-1 resulted in partial break of barley nonhost resistance to U. maydis. By contrast, the epidermal cell death response triggered by pep1 deletion mutants was not impaired by BI-1. Hypersensitive-response-like cell death caused by U. maydis wild-type infection showed features of necrotic cell death, while Δpep1 mutant-induced host responses involved hallmarks of autophagy. Therefore, we propose that the mechanisms of epidermal cell death in response to different types of incompatible pathogens depend on spatial and temporal appearance of cell-death-triggering stimuli.

Feasibility of azacitidine added to standard chemotherapy in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia--a randomised SAL pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) experience short survival despite intensive chemotherapy. Azacitidine has promising activity in patients with low proliferating AML. The aim of this dose-finding part of this trial was to evaluate feasibility and safety of azacitidine combined with a cytarabine- and daunorubicin-based chemotherapy in older patients with AML. TRIAL DESIGN: Prospective, randomised, open, phase II trial with parallel group design and fixed sample size. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients aged 61 years or older, with untreated acute myeloid leukemia with a leukocyte count of <20,000/µl at the time of study entry and adequate organ function were eligible. Patients were randomised to receive azacitidine either 37.5 (dose level 1) or 75 mg/sqm (dose level 2) for five days before each cycle of induction (7+3 cytarabine plus daunorubicine) and consolidation (intermediate-dose cytarabine) therapy. Dose-limiting toxicity was the primary endpoint. RESULTS: Six patients each were randomised into each dose level and evaluable for analysis. No dose-limiting toxicity occurred in either dose level. Nine serious adverse events occurred in five patients (three in the 37.5 mg, two in the 75 mg arm) with two fatal outcomes. Two patients at the 37.5 mg/sqm dose level and four patients at the 75 mg/sqm level achieved a complete remission after induction therapy. Median overall survival was 266 days and median event-free survival 215 days after a median follow up of 616 days. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of azacitidine 75 mg/sqm with standard induction therapy is feasible in older patients with AML and was selected as an investigational arm in the randomised controlled part of this phase-II study, which is currently halted due to an increased cardiac toxicity observed in the experimental arm. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered at clinical trials.gov (identifier: NCT00915252).

Pep1, a secreted effector protein of Ustilago maydis, is required for successful invasion of plant cells.

The basidiomycete Ustilago maydis causes smut disease in maize. Colonization of the host plant is initiated by direct penetration of cuticle and cell wall of maize epidermis cells. The invading hyphae are surrounded by the plant plasma membrane and proliferate within the plant tissue. We identified a novel secreted protein, termed Pep1, that is essential for penetration. Disruption mutants of pep1 are not affected in saprophytic growth and develop normal infection structures. However, Deltapep1 mutants arrest during penetration of the epidermal cell and elicit a strong plant defense response. Using Affymetrix maize arrays, we identified 116 plant genes which are differentially regulated in Deltapep1 compared to wild type infections. Most of these genes are related to plant defense. By in vivo immunolocalization, live-cell imaging and plasmolysis approaches, we detected Pep1 in the apoplastic space as well as its accumulation at sites of cell-to-cell passages. Site-directed mutagenesis identified two of the four cysteine residues in Pep1 as essential for function, suggesting that the formation of disulfide bridges is crucial for proper protein folding. The barley covered smut fungus Ustilago hordei contains an ortholog of pep1 which is needed for penetration of barley and which is able to complement the U. maydis Deltapep1 mutant. Based on these results, we conclude that Pep1 has a conserved function essential for establishing compatibility that is not restricted to the U. maydis / maize interaction.