scholarly journals Anti-Integrin Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiji Kawamoto ◽  
Susumu Nakahashi ◽  
Takayuki Okamoto ◽  
Hiroshi Imai ◽  
Motomu Shimaoka

Integrins are the foremost family of cell adhesion molecules that regulate immune cell trafficking in health and diseases. Integrin alpha4 mediates organ-specific migration of immune cells to the inflamed brain, thereby playing the critical role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. Anti-alpha4 integrin therapy aiming to block infiltration of autoreactive lymphocytes to the inflamed brain has been validated in several clinical trials for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. This paper provides readers with an overview of the molecular and structural bases of integrin activation as well as rationale for using anti-alpha4 integrin therapy for multiple sclerosis and then chronicles the rise and fall of this treatment strategy using natalizumab, a humanized anti-alpha4 integrin.

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 759-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey A.L. Baeyens ◽  
Susan R. Schwab

The signaling lipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) plays critical roles in an immune response. Drugs targeting S1P signaling have been remarkably successful in treatment of multiple sclerosis, and they have shown promise in clinical trials for colitis and psoriasis. One mechanism of these drugs is to block lymphocyte exit from lymph nodes, where lymphocytes are initially activated, into circulation, from which lymphocytes can reach sites of inflammation. Indeed, S1P can be considered a circulation marker, signaling to immune cells to help them find blood and lymphatic vessels, and to endothelial cells to stabilize the vasculature. That said, S1P plays pleiotropic roles in the immune response, and it will be important to build an integrated view of how S1P shapes inflammation. S1P can function so effectively because its distribution is exquisitely tightly controlled. Here we review how S1P gradients regulate immune cell exit from tissues, with particular attention to key outstanding questions in the field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (36) ◽  
pp. 4758-4784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Wilson ◽  
Magdalena Plebanski ◽  
Andrew N. Stephens

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and current research has focused on the discovery of novel approaches to effectively treat this disease. Recently, a considerable number of clinical trials have demonstrated the success of immunomodulatory therapies for the treatment of cancer. Monoclonal antibodies can target components of the immune system to either i) agonise co-stimulatory molecules, such as CD137, OX40 and CD40; or ii) inhibit immune checkpoints, such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and its corresponding ligand PD-L1. Although tumour regression is the outcome for some patients following immunotherapy, many patients still do not respond. Furthermore, chemotherapy has been the standard of care for most cancers, but the immunomodulatory capacity of these drugs has only recently been uncovered. The ability of chemotherapy to modulate the immune system through a variety of mechanisms, including immunogenic cell death (ICD), increased antigen presentation and depletion of regulatory immune cells, highlights the potential for synergism between conventional chemotherapy and novel immunotherapy. In addition, recent pre-clinical trials indicate dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) enzyme inhibition, an enzyme that can regulate immune cell trafficking to the tumour microenvironment, as a novel cancer therapy. The present review focuses on the current immunological approaches for the treatment of cancer, and summarizes clinical trials in the field of immunotherapy as a single treatment and in combination with chemotherapy.


Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Sun ◽  
Jack Goldberg ◽  
Dean P Jones ◽  
Viola Vaccarino

Introduction: Inflammation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation (DNAm), is critical in the regulation of inflammatory genes, and can be influenced by inflammation. The soluble form of cell adhesion molecules, including vascular adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM1), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM1), and P-selectin (sP-selectin), are established biomarkers for inflammation and endothelial function, and are linked to cardiovascular events. Methods: To identify epigenetic markers associated with inflammation and endothelial function, we conducted a methylome-wide association study and investigated over 480,000 DNAm sites of peripheral blood cells from 140 monozygotic (MZ) middle-aged male twins from the Emory Twin Study. Results: Using two randomly selected subsets consisting of unrelated subjects, we identified and replicated 69 and 23 DNAm sites significantly associated with sVCAM1, and sICAM1 respectively, adjusted for multiple testing, but none for sP-selectin. All 23 sICAM1-associated DNAm sites were also associated with sVCAM1, including sites on gene ANKRD11 (P=1.51х10-21, 2.62х10-20), KDM2B (P=1.52х10-21, 9.13х10-17), CAPS (P=2.81х10-20, 3.17х10-18), and CUX1 (P=7.63х10-20, 2.84х10-19). They jointly explained 54% and 40% of variance in sVCAM1 and sICAM1 respectively. Two DNAm sites, located on UNC5D and TMEM125, were also significant comparing MZ twins who were phenotypically discordant for both sICAM1 (P=1.79х10-7, 2.78х10-6) and sVCAM1 (P=1.70х10-9, 1.71х10-7). Conclusions: These results suggest that sVCAM1 and sICAM1, but not sP-selectin, may share common pathophysiology in inflammation and endothelial function via an epigenetic mechanism in leukocytes. In addition, the epigenetic association with inflammation may be driven by unshared environmental exposures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqi Mao ◽  
Jin Xu ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Chen Liang ◽  
Jie Hua ◽  
...  

AbstractCancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), a stromal cell population with cell-of-origin, phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, are the most essential components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Through multiple pathways, activated CAFs can promote tumor growth, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, along with extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and even chemoresistance. Numerous previous studies have confirmed the critical role of the interaction between CAFs and tumor cells in tumorigenesis and development. However, recently, the mutual effects of CAFs and the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) have been identified as another key factor in promoting tumor progression. The TIME mainly consists of distinct immune cell populations in tumor islets and is highly associated with the antitumor immunological state in the TME. CAFs interact with tumor-infiltrating immune cells as well as other immune components within the TIME via the secretion of various cytokines, growth factors, chemokines, exosomes and other effector molecules, consequently shaping an immunosuppressive TME that enables cancer cells to evade surveillance of the immune system. In-depth studies of CAFs and immune microenvironment interactions, particularly the complicated mechanisms connecting CAFs with immune cells, might provide novel strategies for subsequent targeted immunotherapies. Herein, we shed light on recent advances regarding the direct and indirect crosstalk between CAFs and infiltrating immune cells and further summarize the possible immunoinhibitory mechanisms induced by CAFs in the TME. In addition, we present current related CAF-targeting immunotherapies and briefly describe some future perspectives on CAF research in the end.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (18) ◽  
pp. 9804
Author(s):  
Pedro Bule ◽  
Sandra I. Aguiar ◽  
Frederico Aires-Da-Silva ◽  
Joana N. R. Dias

Chemokines are a large family of small chemotactic cytokines that coordinates immune cell trafficking. In cancer, they have a pivotal role in the migration pattern of immune cells into the tumor, thereby shaping the tumor microenvironment immune profile, often towards a pro-tumorigenic state. Furthermore, chemokines can directly target non-immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, including cancer, stromal and vascular endothelial cells. As such, chemokines participate in several cancer development processes such as angiogenesis, metastasis, cancer cell proliferation, stemness and invasiveness, and are therefore key determinants of disease progression, with a strong influence in patient prognosis and response to therapy. Due to their multifaceted role in the tumor immune response and tumor biology, the chemokine network has emerged as a potential immunotherapy target. Under the present review, we provide a general overview of chemokine effects on several tumoral processes, as well as a description of the currently available chemokine-directed therapies, highlighting their potential both as monotherapy or in combination with standard chemotherapy or other immunotherapies. Finally, we discuss the most critical challenges and prospects of developing targeted chemokines as therapeutic options.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 2691
Author(s):  
María Pia Lenza ◽  
Unai Atxabal ◽  
Iker Oyenarte ◽  
Jesús Jiménez-Barbero ◽  
June Ereño-Orbea

The sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-type of lectins (Siglecs) are receptors that recognize sialic acid-containing glycans. In the majority of the cases, Siglecs are expressed on immune cells and play a critical role in regulating immune cell signaling. Over the years, it has been shown that the sialic acid-Siglec axis participates in immunological homeostasis, and that any imbalance can trigger different pathologies, such as autoimmune diseases or cancer. For all this, different therapeutics have been developed that bind to Siglecs, either based on antibodies or being smaller molecules. In this review, we briefly introduce the Siglec family and we compile a description of glycan-based molecules and antibody-based therapies (including CAR-T and bispecific antibodies) that have been designed to therapeutically targeting Siglecs.


2016 ◽  
Vol 397 (12) ◽  
pp. 1277-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyesook Yoon ◽  
Isobel A. Scarisbrick

Abstract Kallikrein-related peptidase 6 (Klk6) is elevated in the serum of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and is hypothesized to participate in inflammatory and neuropathogenic aspects of the disease. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the impact of systemic administration of recombinant Klk6 on the development and progression of MOG35-55-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). First, we determined that Klk6 expression is elevated in the spinal cord of mice with EAE at the peak of clinical disease and in immune cells upon priming with the disease-initiating peptide in vitro. Systemic administration of recombinant Klk6 to mice during the priming phase of disease resulted in an exacerbation of clinical symptoms, including earlier onset of disease and higher levels of spinal cord inflammation and pathology. Treatment of MOG35-55-primed immune cells with Klk6 in culture enhanced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor, and interleukin-17, while reducing anti-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-4 and interleukin-5. Together these findings provide evidence that elevations in systemic Klk6 can bias the immune system towards pro-inflammatory responses capable of exacerbating the development of neuroinflammation and paralytic neurological deficits. We suggest that Klk6 represents an important target for conditions in which pro-inflammatory responses play a critical role in disease development, including MS.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (342) ◽  
pp. 342ra80-342ra80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik B. Sager ◽  
Partha Dutta ◽  
James E. Dahlman ◽  
Maarten Hulsmans ◽  
Gabriel Courties ◽  
...  

Biomedicines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 226
Author(s):  
Jehan Aram ◽  
Nanci Frakich ◽  
Elena Morandi ◽  
Mohammed Alrouji ◽  
Amal Samaraweera ◽  
...  

Granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine produced by immune cells. Recent evidence suggests that GM-CSF plays an important role in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. We investigated the expression and regulation of GM-CSF in different immune cells in MS. We also investigated the differentiation and frequency of GM-CSF-producing Th cells that do not co-express interferon (IFN)-γ or interleukin-17 (IL-17) (Th-GM cells) in MS. We found a significant increase in the percentage of GM-CSF-expressing Th cells, Th1 cells, Th-GM cells, cytotoxic T (Tc) cells, monocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, and B cells in PBMC from MS patients stimulated with T cell stimuli. Stimulated PBMC culture supernatants from MS patients contained significantly higher levels of IL-2, IL-12, IL-1β, and GM-CSF and significantly lower levels of transforming growth factor (TGF-)β. Blocking IL-2 reduced the frequency of Th-GM cells in PBMC from MS patients. The frequency of Th-GM cells differentiated in vitro from naïve CD4+ T cells was significantly higher in MS patients and was further increased in MS with IL-2 stimulation. These findings suggest that all main immune cell subsets produce more GM-CSF in MS after in vitro stimulation, which is associated with defective TGF-β and increased IL-2 and IL-12 production. Th-GM cells are increased in MS. GM-CSF may be a potential therapeutic target in MS.


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