The DNA methylation profile of activated human natural killer cells.

Natural killer (NK) cells are now recognized to exhibit characteristics akin to cells of the adaptive immune system. The generation of adaptive memory is linked to epigenetic reprogramming including alterations in DNA methylation. The study herein found reproducible genome wide DNA methylation changes associated with human NK cell activation. Activation led predominately to CpG hypomethylation (81% of significant loci). Bioinformatics analysis confirmed that non-coding and gene-associated differentially methylated sites (DMS) are enriched for immune related functions (i.e., immune cell activation). Known DNA methylation-regulated immune loci were also identified in activated NK cells (e.g., TNFA, LTA, IL13, CSF2). Twenty-one loci were designated high priority and further investigated as potential markers of NK activation. BHLHE40 was identified as a viable candidate for which a droplet digital PCR assay for demethylation was developed. The assay revealed high demethylation in activated NK cells and low demethylation in naïve NK, T- and B-cells. We conclude the NK cell methylome is plastic with potential for remodeling. The differentially methylated region signature of activated NKs revealed similarities with T cell activation, but also provided unique biomarker candidates of NK activation, which could be useful in epigenome-wide association studies to interrogate the role of NK subtypes in global methylation changes associated with exposures and/or disease states.

Development and validation of panoptic Meso scale discovery assay to quantify total systemic interleukin-6.

AIM: Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a multifunctional cytokine, exists in several forms ranging from a low molecular weight (MW 20-30 kDa) non-complexed form to high MW (200-450 kDa), complexes. Accurate baseline IL-6 assessment is pivotal to understand clinical responses to IL-6-targeted treatments. Existing assays measure only the low MW, non-complexed IL-6 form. The present work aimed to develop a validated assay to measure accurately total IL-6 (complexed and non-complexed) in serum or plasma as matrix in a high throughput and easily standardized format for clinical testing. METHODS: Commercial capture and detection antibodies were screened against humanized IL-6 and evaluated in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay format. The best antibody combinations were screened to identify an antibody pair that gave minimum background and maximum recovery of IL-6 in the presence of 100% serum matrix. A plate-based total IL-6 assay was developed and transferred to the Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) platform for large scale clinical testing. RESULTS: The top-performing antibody pair from 36 capture and four detection candidates was validated on the MSD platform. The lower limit of quantification in human serum samples (n = 6) was 9.77 pg l(-1) , recovery ranged from 93.13-113.27%, the overall pooled coefficients of variation were 20.12% (inter-assay) and 8.67% (intra-assay). High MW forms of IL-6, in size fractionated serum samples from myelodysplastic syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis patients, were detected by the assay but not by a commercial kit. CONCLUSION: This novel panoptic (sees all forms) IL-6 MSD assay that measures both high and low MW forms may have clinical utility.

Development of a rapid streptavidin capture-based assay for the tyrosine phosphorylated CSF-1R in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

A novel assay was developed to measure ratio of p-FMS (phospho FMS) to FMS using the Meso Scale Discovery(®) (MSD) technology and compared to the routinely used, IP-Western based approach. The existing IP-Western assay used lysed PBMCs (Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells) that were immunoprecipitated (IP) overnight, and assayed qualitatively by Western analysis. This procedure takes three days for completion. The novel IP-MSD method described in this paper employed immunoprecipitation of the samples for one hour, followed by assessment of the samples by a ruthenium labeled secondary antibody on a 96-well Streptavidin-coated MSD plate. This IP-MSD method was semi-quantitative, could be run in less than a day, required one-eighth the volume of sample, and compared well to the IP-Western method. In order to measure p-FMS/FMS, samples from healthy volunteers (HV) were first stimulated with CSF-1(Macrophage colony-stimulating factor) to initiate the changes in the phosphotyrosyl signaling complexes in FMS. The objective of the present work was to develop a high throughput assay that measured p-FMS/FMS semi-quantitatively, with minimal sample requirement, and most importantly compared well to the current IP-Western assay.