Purpose: Eliciting effective anti-tumor immune responses in patients who fail checkpoint inhibitor therapy is a critical challenge in cancer immunotherapy, and in such patients, tumor-associated myeloid cells and macrophages (TAMs) are promising therapeutic targets. We demonstrate in an autochthonous, poorly immunogenic mouse model of melanoma that combination therapy with an agonistic anti-CD40 mAb and CSF1R inhibitor potently suppressed tumor growth. Microwell assays to measure multiplex protein secretion by single cells identified that untreated tumors have distinct TAM subpopulations secreting MMP9 or co-secreting CCL17/22, characteristic of an M2-like state. Combination therapy reduced the frequency of these subsets, while simultaneously inducing a separate polyfunctional inflammatory TAM subset co-secreting TNF?, IL-6, and IL-12. Tumor suppression by this combined therapy was partially dependent on T cells, TNF? and IFN?. Together, this study demonstrates the potential for targeting TAMs to convert a “cold” into an “inflamed” tumor microenvironment capable of eliciting protective T cell responses. Methods: Total RNA was purified with the use of QIAzol and RNeasy Mini kit (QIAGEN), in which an on-column DNase treatment was included. Purified RNA was submitted to the Yale Center for Genomic Analysis where it was subjected to mRNA isolation and library preparation. Non-strand specific libraries were generated from 50ng total RNA using the SMARTer Ultra Low Input RNA for Illumina Sequencing kit. Libraries were pooled, six samples per lane, and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 (75-bp paired end reads), and aligned using STAR to the GRCm38 (mm10) reference genome. A count-based differential expression protocol was adapted for this analysis(Anders et al., 2013); mappable data were counted using HTSeq, and imported into R for differential expression analysis using the DESeq2.To find differentially regulated sets of genes for signature generation, a 1.5-Log2 fold-change difference between samples and p-adjusted (Holm-Sidak) = 0.01 was used. Results: To begin to understand how these treatments modulated T cells to control tumor growth, and to possibly illuminate additional biomarkers of response, we examined the transcriptomes of CD11b+ Ly6G- cells treated with CD40 or CSF1Ri, alone or in combination, relative to control, using high throughput RNA-sequencing. Principal components analysis (PCA) on the genome-wide dataset demonstrated that treating with CD40 and CSF1Ri individually caused largely non-overlapping changes in transcription, as indicated by their movement along orthogonal principal components (PC) relative to the control. Importantly, combination therapy was visualized as a systems-level combination of each individual treatment in PC space. We then examined the mRNAs most altered by either treatment alone or in combination relative to Controls (Log2FC>1.5, p<.01) by unsupervised hierarchical clustering. Five major gene patterns emerged from the clustering of genes. Cluster #1 comprises genes that are upregulated by CD40 and CSF1Ri+CD40 treatment but are mostly unaffected by CSF1Ri, suggesting that CD40 is the primary driver of this cluster in the combination treatment. Notable genes in this cluster include Tnfa, Ifng??Il12b and Cxcl9; interestingly, for Tnfa and Il12b, CSF1Ri+CD40 appears to have a synergistic effect on expression. In contrast to Cluster #1, Cluster #5 contains genes substantially downregulated by CSF1Ri and CSF1Ri+CD40 treatments, but are largely unaffected by CD40, suggesting that CSF1Ri is the driver of this cluster in the combination treatment. Cluster #5 genes include Cd36 and Fabp4, suggesting alterations in lipid homeostasis in the TAMs after treatment. Cluster #2 includes genes that are modestly upregulated by CD40 and CSF1Ri individually, leading to a stronger upregulation when combined. Finally, Clusters #3 and #4 include, for the most part, genes that are differentially affected by CD40 versus CSF1Ri and for which the combination treatment yields an intermediate response. In summary, these data show that CSF1Ri and CD40 agonism elicit predominantly distinct changes in gene expression in the CD11b+ cells, indicating they target different biological processes in myeloid cells. The net result of the changes in myeloid gene expression from the combination of CSF1Ri+CD40 treatment reveal additive effects by the individual treatments, but also synergy in the expression of several pro-inflammatory genes (e.g., Tnfa, Ifng, Il6 and Il12b). We further examined our dataset with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Although CSF1Ri and CD40 treatments did not closely match any immunological signatures in the immunological database of MSigDb, combined CSF1Ri+CD40 had a strikingly similar signature to myeloid cells exposed to a variety of inflammatory stimulants, most closely reflected by BMDMs treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This motivated us to look specifically at categories of NF-?B target genes that are significantly affected by LPS treatment, including transcription factors, cytokines and chemokines. Indeed, most of these NF-?B target genes associated with inflammation were strongly upregulated by CSF1Ri+CD40 treatment. Finally, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis identified TNFR1 and TNFR2 signaling and Acute phase response signaling among the top genetic signatures produced by the CSF1Ri+CD40 treatment combination, matching what we observed with GSEA. Thus, gene expression analysis not only revealed several biomarkers of response that may be relevant for assessing therapeutic activity in ongoing clinical trials using these drugs, but illuminated lead biological factors that may cause tumor regression. Conclusions: myeloid-targeted immunotherapies anti-CD40+CSF1R inhibition synergistically induce a pro-inflammatory microenviroment Overall design: mRNA profiles of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in mice were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina.
Myeloid-targeted immunotherapies act in synergy to induce inflammation and antitumor immunity.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesZebrafish (Danio rerio) gutGFP transgenic embryos [Tg(XlEef1a1:GFP)s854] were collected at 4 time points: 2 days post fertilization (dpf), 3, dpf, 4 dpf, 6 dpf. Embryos were dissociated into single cells and sorted by FACS based on GFP expression.
FACS-assisted microarray profiling implicates novel genes and pathways in zebrafish gastrointestinal tract development.
Age
View SamplesWe used microarray to characterize interferon stimulated genes in dendritic cells
Comparative analysis of anti-viral transcriptomics reveals novel effects of influenza immune antagonism.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe objective of this study was to determine the effects of LANA on the expressions of the cellular genes. Overall design: BJAB cells were transduced with lentiviral vector expressing LANA or the control vector, total RNA was extracted for the detection of relative expression of cellular genes in LANA expressing cells.
KSHV LANA upregulates the expression of epidermal growth factor like domain 7 to promote angiogenesis.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Diversity in Compartmental Dynamics of Gene Regulatory Networks: The Immune Response in Primary Influenza A Infection in Mice.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment, Subject, Time
View SamplesCRISPR-Cas9 transcriptional repressors have emerged as robust tools for disrupting gene regulation in vitro but have not yet been adapted for delivery in adult animal models. Here we created an S. aureus Cas9-based transcriptional repressor (dSaCas9KRAB) compatible with adeno-associated viral (AAV) delivery. To evaluate dSaCas9KRAB efficacy for targeting an endogenous gene in vivo, we silenced transcription of Pcsk9, a regulator of cholesterol levels, in the liver of adult mice. Systemic administration of a dual-vector AAV8 system expressing dSaCas9KRAB and a Pcsk9-targeting guide RNA (gRNA) resulted in significant reductions of serum PCSK9 and cholesterol levels. Despite a moderate host response to dSaCas9KRAB expression, PCSK9 repression was maintained for 24 weeks after a single treatment, demonstrating the potential for long-term gene silencing in post-mitotic tissues with dSaCas9KRAB. In vivo programmable gene silencing enables studies that link gene regulation to complex phenotypes and expands the CRISPR-Cas9 genetic perturbation toolbox for basic research and gene therapy applications. Overall design: C57Bl/6 wild-type mice were treated with AAVs expressing dSaCas9-KRAB and/or a Pcsk9-targeting gRNA by tail-vein injection. Six weeks after treatment, we harvested the livers of treated mice and performed mRNA-sequencing.
RNA-guided transcriptional silencing in vivo with S. aureus CRISPR-Cas9 repressors.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesEpigenetic modifications determine the structure and regulation of eukaryotic genomes and define key signatures of cell lineage specification. Technologies that facilitate the targeted manipulation of epigenetic marks could be used to precisely control cell phenotype or interrogate the relationship between the epigenome and transcriptional control. Here we have generated a programmable acetyltransferase based on the CRISPR/Cas9 gene regulation system, consisting of the nuclease-null dCas9 protein fused to the catalytic core of the human acetyltransferase p300. This fusion protein catalyzes acetylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) at its target sites, leading to robust transcriptional activation of target genes from promoters, proximal enhancers, and distal enhancers. In contrast to conventional dCas9-based activators, the acetyltransferase fusion effectively activated genes from enhancer regions and with individual guide RNAs. The core p300 domain was also portable to other programmable DNA-binding proteins. This technology enables the targeted perturbation of native epigenetic architecture and will be useful for reprogramming the epigenome for applications in genomics, genetics, disease modeling, and manipulating cell fate. Overall design: HEK293T cells were transfected in triplicate with plasmids expressing synthetic transcription factors. The synthetic TFs were either (a) dCas9-VP64 fusion protein and a targeting guide RNA (gRNA), or (b)dCas9-p300 fusion protein containing the catalytic domain of p300 and a targeting guide RNA (gRNA). As a control, cells were transfected with plasmids expressing dCas9 alone and dCas9 fused with a aceryltransferase null mutatnt form of the p300 catalytic domain (D1399Y, as in text). After transfection, RNA-seq was used to identify differential expressin at on-target and off-target sites.
Epigenome editing by a CRISPR-Cas9-based acetyltransferase activates genes from promoters and enhancers.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesMaternal obesity during pregnancy leads to a pro-inflammatory milieu in the placenta. We conducted a global transcriptomic profiling in BeWo cells following palmitic acid (PA, 500 uM) and/or TNF-alpha (10 ng/ml) treatment for 24 h. Microarray analysis revealed that placental cytotrophoblasts increased expression of genes related to inflammation, stress response and immediate-early factors in response to plamitic acid, TNF-alpha or a combination of both. Our results suggest that fatty acids and inflammatory cytokines induce inflammation in placental cells via activation of JNK-Egr-1 signaling.
Early growth response protein-1 mediates lipotoxicity-associated placental inflammation: role in maternal obesity.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesGene expression profiles of rescue with wild type or SUMO double mutant TRIM24 after shRNA mediated knockdown of TRIM24 in MCF7 cell line Overall design: Gene expression profiles of rescue with wild type TRIM24 and SUMO double mutant, 3 replicate each
Cross-talk between chromatin acetylation and SUMOylation of tripartite motif-containing protein 24 (TRIM24) impacts cell adhesion.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Mapping gene regulatory circuitry of Pax6 during neurogenesis.
Specimen part
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