scholarly journals The Complexity of Microglial Interactions With Innate and Adaptive Immune Cells in Alzheimer’s Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Season K. Wyatt-Johnson ◽  
Randy R. Brutkiewicz

In the naïve mouse brain, microglia and astrocytes are the most abundant immune cells; however, there is a complexity of other immune cells present including monocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytic cells, such as natural killer (NK) cells, T cells, and B cells. In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), there is high inflammation, reactive microglia, and astrocytes, leaky blood–brain barrier, the buildup of amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles which attract infiltrating peripheral immune cells that are interacting with the resident microglia. Limited studies have analyzed how these infiltrating immune cells contribute to the neuropathology of AD and even fewer have analyzed their interactions with the resident microglia. Understanding the complexity and dynamics of how these immune cells interact in AD will be important for identifying new and novel therapeutic targets. Thus, this review will focus on discussing our current understanding of how macrophages, neutrophils, NK cells, T cells, and B cells, alongside astrocytes, are altered in AD and what this means for the disorder, as well as how these cells are affected relative to the resident microglia.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 7517-7517
Author(s):  
Joshua W. Keegan ◽  
Frank Borriello ◽  
Stacey M. Fernandes ◽  
Jennifer R. Brown ◽  
James A. Lederer

7517 Background: Alloplex Biotherapeutics has developed a cellular therapeutic that uses ENgineered Leukocyte ImmunoSTimulatory cell lines called ENLIST cells to activate and expand populations of tumor killing effector cells from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). This process leads to a 300-fold expansion of NK cells, CD8+ T cells, NKT cells, and TCRγδ T cells that are called SUPLEXA cells, which will be cryopreserved and transferred back into patients as an autologous immune cell therapy for cancer. In this study, PBMCs from CLL patients were used to generate SUPLEXA cells as a first approach to comparatively profile SUPLEXA cells from cancer patients and normal healthy volunteers (NHVs). Methods: ENLIST cell lines were engineered by expressing curated immunomodulatory proteins in the SK-MEL-2 melanoma cell line. Two million (M) PBMCs from 10 CLL patients or 2 NHVs were incubated with 0.4 M freeze/thaw killed ENLIST cells for 5 days in XVIVO-15 medium with 2% heat-inactivated human AB serum (XAB2) and then split 1:15 in XAB2 containing IL-7 and IL-15 to expand. After 9 days, SUPLEXA cells were harvested and cryopreserved. Results: Original PBMCs and matched SUPLEXA cells from each donor were thawed and characterized by mass cytometry (CyTOF) using a 47-marker antibody panel. CyTOF staining results of PBMCs from CLL patients demonstrated approximately 95% leukemia cells and few T cells, NK cells, B cells, and monocytes. CyTOF staining of SUPLEXA cells from all 10 CLL patients showed expansion of NK cells (17%), CD8 T cells (11%), and CD4 T cells (7.5%) that were similar in phenotype to SUPLEXA cells from NHVs showing high expression of granzymes and perforin that are indicative of potent tumor cell killing activity. Cancer cells in the original CLL PBMC samples were reduced to 0.78%. However, a population of non-T/non-B cells (60% ± 9.5%) was detected in SUPLEXA cells from all CLL patients that require further characterization. Next, SUPLEXA cells from CLL and NHV patients were comparatively tested for tumor cell killing activity at 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2 effector to target cell (MEL-14 melanoma cells expressing RFP) ratios. Percent killing of tumor cells by SUPLEXA cells prepared from CLL patients (77.8% ± 2.6% at 2:1) and NHVs (81.5% ± 0.3% at 2:1) were nearly identical at all effector to target ratios. Conclusions: We demonstrate for the first time that PBMCs from CLL patients can be converted into SUPLEXA cells despite low numbers of normal immune cells at baseline and the known immunologic impairment present in CLL patients. Importantly, SUPLEXA cells derived from CLL patients acquire potent tumor killing activity that is indistinguishable from SUPLEXA cells prepared from NHVs. Taken together, these findings support the feasibility of converting PBMCs from CLL patients with low percentages of NK and T cells into an autologous cellular therapy for cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee Young Na ◽  
Yujun Park ◽  
Soo Kyung Nam ◽  
Jiwon Koh ◽  
Yoonjin Kwak ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Natural killer (NK) cells mediate the anti-tumoral immune response as an important component of innate immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance and functional implication of NK cell-associated surface receptors in gastric cancer (GC) by using multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC). Methods We performed an mIHC on tissue microarray slides, including 55 GC tissue samples. A total of 11 antibodies including CD57, NKG2A, CD16, HLA-E, CD3, CD20, CD45, CD68, CK, SMA, and ki-67 were used. CD45 + CD3-CD57 + cells were considered as CD57 + NK cells. Results Among CD45 + immune cells, the proportion of CD57 + NK cell was the lowest (3.8%), whereas that of CD57 + and CD57- T cells (65.5%) was the highest, followed by macrophages (25.4%), and B cells (5.3%). CD57 + NK cells constituted 20% of CD45 + CD57 + immune cells while the remaining 80% were CD57 + T cells. The expression of HLA-E in tumor cells correlated with that in tumoral T cells, B cells, and macrophages, but not CD57 + NK cells. The higher density of tumoral CD57 + NK cells and tumoral CD57 + NKG2A + NK cells was associated with inferior survival. Conclusions Although the number of CD57 + NK cells was lower than that of other immune cells, CD57 + NK cells and CD57 + NKG2A + NK cells were significantly associated with poor outcomes, suggesting that NK cell subsets play a critical role in GC progression. NK cells and their inhibitory receptor, NKG2A, may be potential targets in GC.


Author(s):  
Cláudia Serre-Miranda ◽  
Susana Roque ◽  
Palmira Barreira-Silva ◽  
Claudia Nobrega ◽  
Neide Vieira ◽  
...  

Abstract The study of immune system aging is of relevance, considering its myriad of interactions and role in protecting and maintaining body homeostasis. While mouse models have been extensively used to study immune system aging, little is known on how the main immune populations progress over time and what is the impact of sex. To contribute to filling this gap, male and female BALB/cByJ mice were longitudinally evaluated, from 3 to 18 months old, for the main blood populations, assessed by flow cytometry. Using linear mixed-effect models, we observed that the percentages of neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils and total natural killer (NK) cells increase with aging; while those of B cells, T cells (including CD4 + and CD8 + subsets) and Ly6C + NK cells, decrease. Males present higher percentages of neutrophils and classical monocytes Ly6C high over time, while females present higher percentages of total T cells, both CD4 + and CD8 +, eosinophils and NK cells. Males and females display similar percentages of B cells, even though with opposite accelerated progressions over time. This study revealed that mouse models recapitulate what is observed in humans during aging: an overall proportional decrease in the adaptive and an increase in the innate immune cells. Additionally, it uncovers an age-related sexual dimorphism in the proportion of immune cells in circulation, further strengthening the need to explore the impact of sex when addressing immune system aging using mouse models.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Rossi ◽  
Bruno Santos-Lima ◽  
Eleonora Terrabuio ◽  
Elena Zenaro ◽  
Gabriela Constantin

Neurodegenerative diseases are closely related to inflammatory and autoimmune events, suggesting that the dysregulation of the immune system is a key pathological factor. Both multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are characterized by infiltrating immune cells, activated microglia, astrocyte proliferation, and neuronal damage. Moreover, MS and AD share a common pro-inflammatory signature, characterized by peripheral leukocyte activation and transmigration to the central nervous system (CNS). MS and AD are both characterized by the accumulation of activated neutrophils in the blood, leading to progressive impairment of the blood–brain barrier. Having migrated to the CNS during the early phases of MS and AD, neutrophils promote local inflammation that contributes to pathogenesis and clinical progression. The role of circulating T cells in MS is well-established, whereas the contribution of adaptive immunity to AD pathogenesis and progression is a more recent discovery. Even so, blocking the transmigration of T cells to the CNS can benefit both MS and AD patients, suggesting that common adaptive immunity mechanisms play a detrimental role in each disease. There is also growing evidence that regulatory T cells are beneficial during the initial stages of MS and AD, supporting the link between the modulatory immune compartments and these neurodegenerative disorders. The number of resting regulatory T cells declines in both diseases, indicating a common pathogenic mechanism involving the dysregulation of these cells, although their precise role in the control of neuroinflammation remains unclear. The modulation of leukocyte functions can benefit MS patients, so more insight into the role of peripheral immune cells may reveal new targets for pharmacological intervention in other neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, including AD.


Author(s):  
Bing Liu ◽  
Junyan Han ◽  
Xiaohuan Cheng ◽  
Long Yu ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundCOVID-19 has been widely spreading. We aim to examine adaptive immune cells in non-severe patients with persistent SARS-CoV-2 shedding.Methods37 non-severe patients with persistent SARS-CoV-2 presence transferred to Zhongnan hospital of Wuhan University were retrospectively recruited to PP (persistently positive) group, which was further allocated to PPP group (n=19) and PPN group (n=18), according to their testing results after 7 days (N=negative). Epidemiological, demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected and analyzed. Data from age- and sex-matched non-severe patients at disease onset (PA [positive on admission] patients, n=37), and lymphocyte subpopulation measurements from matched 54 healthy subjects were extracted for comparison.ResultsCompared with PA patients, PP patients had much improved laboratory findings, including WBCs, neutrophils, lymphocytes, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, albumin, AST, CRP, SAA, and IL-6. The absolute numbers of CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, and NK cells were significantly higher in PP group than that in PA group, and were comparable to that in healthy controls. PPP subgroup had markedly reduced B cells and T cells compared to PPN group and healthy subjects. Finally, paired results of these lymphocyte subpopulations from 10 PPN patients demonstrated that the number of T cells and B cells significantly increased when the SARS-CoV-2 tests turned negative.ConclusionPersistent SARS-CoV-2 presence in non-severe COVID-19 patients is associated with reduced numbers of adaptive immune cells. Monitoring lymphocyte subpopulations could be clinically meaningful in identifying fully recovered COVID-19 patients.SummaryDefects in adaptive immune system, including reduced T cells and B cells, were frequently observed in non-severe COVID-19 patients with persistent SARS-CoV-2 shedding. Assessment of immune system could be clinically relevant for discharge management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 317 (1) ◽  
pp. H190-H200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Alter ◽  
Zhaoping Ding ◽  
Ulrich Flögel ◽  
Jürgen Scheller ◽  
Jürgen Schrader

Although the cardioprotective effect of adenosine is undisputed, the role of the adenosine A2breceptor (A2bR) in ischemic cardiac remodeling is not defined. In this study we aimed to unravel the role A2bR plays in modulating the immune response and the healing mechanisms after myocardial infarction. Genetic and pharmacological (PSB603) inactivation of A2bR as well as activation of A2bR with BAY60-6583 does not alter cardiac remodeling of the infarcted (50-min left anterior descending artery occlusion/reperfusion) murine heart. Flow cytometry of immune cell subsets identified a significant increase in B cells, NK cells, CD8 and CD4 T cells, as well as FoxP3-expressing regulatory T cells in the injured heart in A2bR-deficient mice. Analysis of T-cell function revealed that expression and secretion of interleukin (IL)-2, interferon (IFN)γ, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α by T cells is under A2bR control. In addition, we found substantial cellular heterogeneity in the response of immune cells and cardiomyocytes to A2bR deficiency: while in the absence of A2bR, expression of IL-6 was greatly reduced in cardiomyocytes and immune cells except T cells, and expression of IL-1β was strongly reduced in cardiomyocytes, granulocytes, and B cells as determined by quantitative PCR. Our findings indicate that A2bR signaling in the ischemic heart triggers substantial changes in cardiac immune cell composition of the lymphoid lineage and induces a profound cell type-specific downregulation of IL-6 and IL-1β. This suggests the presence of a targetable adenosine–A2bR–IL-6-axis triggered by adenosine formed by the ischemic heart.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Genetic deletion and pharmacological inactivation/activation of A2bR does not alter cardiac remodeling after MI but is associated by compensatory upregulation of various pro- and anti-inflammatory immune cell subsets (B cells, NK cells, CD8 and CD4 T cells, regulatory T cells). In the inflamed heart, A2bR modulates the expression of IL-2, IFNγ, TNFα in T cells and of IL-6 in cardiomyocytes, monocytes, granulocytes and B cells. This suggests an important adenosine–IL-6 axis, which is controlled by A2bR via local adenosine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Nikolaou ◽  
Kerstin Muehle ◽  
Stephan Schlickeiser ◽  
Alberto Sada Japp ◽  
Nadine Matzmohr ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Immune ageing is a result of repetitive microbial challenges along with cell intrinsic or systemic changes occurring during ageing. Mice under ‘specific-pathogen-free’ (SPF) conditions are frequently used to assess immune ageing in long-term experiments. However, physiological pathogenic challenges are reduced in SPF mice. The question arises to what extent murine experiments performed under SPF conditions are suited to analyze immune ageing in mice and serve as models for human immune ageing. Our previous comparisons of same aged mice with different microbial exposures, unambiguously identified distinct clusters of immune cells characteristic for numerous previous pathogen encounters in particular in pet shop mice. Results We here performed single cell mass cytometry assessing splenic as secondary and bone marrow as primary lymphoid organ-derived leukocytes isolated from young versus aged SPF mice in order to delineate alterations of the murine hematopoietic system induced during ageing. We then compared immune clusters from young and aged SPF mice to pet shop mice in order to delineate alterations of the murine hematopoietic system induced by physiological pathogenic challenges and those caused by cell intrinsic or systemic changes during ageing. Notably, distinct immune signatures were similarly altered in both pet shop and aged SPF mice in comparison to young SPF mice, including increased frequencies of memory T lymphocytes, effector-cytokine producing T cells, plasma cells and mature NK cells. However, elevated frequencies of CD4+ T cells, total NK cells, granulocytes, pDCs, cDCs and decreased frequencies of naïve B cells were specifically identified only in pet shop mice. In aged SPF mice specifically the frequencies of splenic IgM+ plasma cells, CD8+ T cells and CD4+ CD25+ Treg were increased as compared to pet shop mice and young mice. Conclusions Our study dissects firstly how ageing impacts both innate and adaptive immune cells in primary and secondary lymphoid organs. Secondly, it partly distinguishes murine intrinsic immune ageing alterations from those induced by physiological pathogen challenges highlighting the importance of designing mouse models for their use in preclinical research including vaccines and immunotherapies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Xiaojiao Zeng ◽  
Xianghu Jiang ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
Yunbao Pan ◽  
Yirong Li

Objective. This study explored the consistency and differences in the immune cells and cytokines between patients with COVID-19 or cancer. We further analyzed the correlations between the acute inflammation and cancer-related immune disorder. Methods. This retrospective study involved 167 COVID-19 patients and 218 cancer patients. COVID-19 and cancer were each further divided into two subgroups. Quantitative and qualitative variables were measured by one-way ANOVA and chi-square test, respectively. Herein, we carried out a correlation analysis between immune cells and cytokines and used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to discover the optimal diagnostic index. Results. COVID-19 and cancers were associated with lymphopenia and high levels of monocytes, neutrophils, IL-6, and IL-10. IL-2 was the optimal indicator to differentiate the two diseases. Compared with respiratory cancer patients, COVID-19 patients had lower levels of IL-2 and higher levels of CD3+CD4+ T cells and CD19+ B cells. In the subgroup analysis, IL-6 was the optimal differential diagnostic parameter that had the ability to identify if COVID-19 patients would be severely affected, and severe COVID-19 patients had lower levels of lymphocyte subsets (CD3+ T cells, CD3+CD4+ T cells, CD3+CD8+T cells, and CD19+ B cells) and CD16+CD56+ NK cells and higher level of neutrophils. There were significant differences in the levels of CD3+CD4+ T cells and CD19+ B cells between T1-2 and T3-4 stages as well as IL-2 and CD19+ B cells between N0-1 and N2-3 stages while no significant differences between the metastatic and nonmetastatic cancer patients. Additionally, there were higher correlations between IL-2 and IL-4, TNF-α and IL-2, TNF-α and IL-4, TNF-α and IFN-γ, and CD16+CD56+NK cells and various subsets of T cells in COVID-19 patients. There was a higher correlation between CD3+CD4+ T cells and CD19+ B cells in cancer patients. Conclusion. Inflammation associated with COVID-19 or cancer had effects on patients’ outcomes. Accompanied by changes in immune cells and cytokines, there were consistencies, differences, and satisfactory correlations between patients with COVID-19 and those with cancers.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1525
Author(s):  
Federica Angiulli ◽  
Elisa Conti ◽  
Chiara Paola Zoia ◽  
Fulvio Da Re ◽  
Ildebrando Appollonio ◽  
...  

Neuroinflammation represents a central feature in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The resident innate immune cells of the brain are the principal players in neuroinflammation, and their activation leads to a defensive response aimed at promoting β-amyloid (Aβ) clearance. However, it is now widely accepted that the peripheral immune system—by virtue of a dysfunctional blood–brain barrier (BBB)—is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of AD; microglial and astrocytic activation leads to the release of chemokines able to recruit peripheral immune cells into the central nervous system (CNS); at the same time, cytokines released by peripheral cells are able to cross the BBB and act upon glial cells, modifying their phenotype. To successfully fight this neurodegenerative disorder, accurate and sensitive biomarkers are required to be used for implementing an early diagnosis, monitoring the disease progression and treatment effectiveness. Interestingly, as a result of the bidirectional communication between the brain and the periphery, the blood compartment ends up reflecting several pathological changes occurring in the AD brain and can represent an accessible source for such biomarkers. In this review, we provide an overview on some of the most promising peripheral biomarkers of neuroinflammation, discussing their pathogenic role in AD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Ye ◽  
Chao Zhou ◽  
Sisi Li ◽  
Jingjing Wang ◽  
Fei Liu ◽  
...  

AbstractExisting research suggests that the human immune system and immune cells are involved in the pathogenesis of nephrotic syndrome, but there is still a lack of direct evidence. This study tried to analyze the profiling of immune cells in the peripheral blood of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) patients and steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) patients before and after standard steroid treatment to clarify the immunological mechanism of nephrotic syndrome patients. The number and proportion of CD4 + T cells in patients with nephrotic syndrome remained unchanged. However, there is an imbalance of Th1 and Th2 and an excessive increase of Th17 cells. The number of CD8 + T cells and the number of effector CD8 + T cells in them increased significantly, but only in SSNS, the number of activated CD8 + T cells increased, and the number of activated Treg cells decreased significantly. Nephrotic syndrome patients also have B cell disorder, and it is more prominent in SSNS patients. Compared with the normal control, only the number of B cells and plasmablast in SSNS patients increased significantly (Z = − 2.20, P = 0.028). This study also observed that transitional B cells decreased in both SSNS and SRNS patients, but SSNS patients' decrease was lower than in SRNS patients. Compared with normal controls, monocytes in patients with nephrotic syndrome decreased significantly. The main reason was that Non-classical Monocyte decreased, while Classical Monocyte increased slightly. The total number of NK cells did not change, but the internal cell subgroups' composition occurred. Changes, realized as CD56hi NK cells increased, CD56low NK cells decreased; and the above trend is more evident in SSNS patients. Patients with nephrotic syndrome have immune disorders, including T cells, B cells, Monocytes, and NK cells. It can be confirmed that immune factors are involved in the pathogenesis of the nephrotic syndrome.


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