Project description:Lethally irradiated C57Bl/6 Act-mOVA mice receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) from C57Bl/6 OT-I animals develop acute graft versus host disease (aGvHD) in a CD8+ T cell-dependent, reproducible manner, and succumb to the disease within 4-7 days. Tracking of UBC-GFP/OT-I graft CD8+ T cells discloses heavy infiltration of the GI tract, liver and lungs at the onset of the disease, and hallmark histologic features of acute gastrointestinal and hepatic GvHD, and aGVHD-associated lymphocytic bronchitis. This dataset describes gene expression patterns of CD45.1/OT-1 CD8+ T cells retrieved from the graft before (aHSCT + Day 0), and from various target organs of the host after (aHSCT + Day 4) grafting them into Act-mOVA recipients.
Project description:Patients diagnosed with cutaneous and/or gastrointestinal aGvHD provide a unique opportunity to perform an in-depth comparison of activated human CD8+ T cells homing to the gut and skin, in some cases even within the same host, at the same time, acting as key players in the same human disease, and exerting their effector functions in these two tissue environments. This study aims at the identification of novel biomarkers associated with skin- and gut-homing CD8+ T cells in general, and CD8+ T cell markers possibly linked to CTL-mediated skin- and gut damage in aGvHD in particular.
Project description:Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) have recently emerged as crucial cellular players for murine acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) development. However, the role of distinct subsets of CD8+TRM cells in human intestinal aGVHD is not well known yet. Herein,we combined multiplex immunohistochemical staining with single-cell RNA sequencing to elucidate the differentiation trajectory, lineage commitment, clonal expansion and functional properties of distinct CD8+TRM cell subsets in human intestinal aGVHD. We revealed seven functionally distinct CD8+TRM subsets and innovatively uncovered a significant GZMK+CD8+TRM subset. GZMK+CD8+TRM subset mediated human intestinal aGVHD by exhibiting enhanced clonal expansion, IFN signaling pathway-associated proinflammatory, and lineage bifurcation differentiation properties. High GZMK+CD8+TRM subset infiltration is correlated with human intestinal aGVHD severity and poor prognosis. Therefore, we demonstrated that human intestinal aGVHD is in good part mediated by pivotal GZMK+CD8+TRM subset. Targeting key CD8+TRM cell subsets could be a new treatment approach in the human intestinal aGVHD.
Project description:Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) have recently emerged as crucial cellular players for murine acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) development. However, the role of distinct subsets of CD8+TRM cells in human intestinal aGVHD is not well known yet. Herein,we combined multiplex immunohistochemical staining with single-cell RNA sequencing to elucidate the differentiation trajectory, lineage commitment, clonal expansion and functional properties of distinct CD8+TRM cell subsets in human intestinal aGVHD. We revealed seven functionally distinct CD8+TRM subsets and innovatively uncovered a significant GZMK+CD8+TRM subset. GZMK+CD8+TRM subset mediated human intestinal aGVHD by exhibiting enhanced clonal expansion, IFN signaling pathway-associated proinflammatory, and lineage bifurcation differentiation properties. High GZMK+CD8+TRM subset infiltration is correlated with human intestinal aGVHD severity and poor prognosis. Therefore, we demonstrated that human intestinal aGVHD is in good part mediated by pivotal GZMK+CD8+TRM subset. Targeting key CD8+TRM cell subsets could be a new treatment approach in the human intestinal aGVHD.
Project description:CD4+ and CD8+ T cells can reciprocally differentiate into Th/Tc1, Th/Tc17 and Th/Tc22. Although alloreactive Th/Tc1 cells play a critical role in initiating pathogenesis of gut acute graft-versus-host disease (Gut-aGVHD), the pathogenic T cells in steroid-resistant Gut-aGVHD (SR-Gut-aGVHD) remains unclear. Here, we show that in murine models of SR-Gut-aGVHD, the pathogenesis is associated with reduction of IFN-g+ Th/Tc1 and IL-17A+IL-22- Th/Tc17 cells but expansion of IL-17-IL-22+ Th/Tc22, particularly Tc22 cells. The IL-22 from Th/Tc22 cells causes dysbiosis.
Project description:Main Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of vedolizumab when added to background aGvHD prophylaxis regimen compared to placebo and background aGvHD prophylaxis regimen on intestinal aGvHD-free survival by Day +180 in subjects who receive allo-HSCT as treatment for a hematologic malignancy or myeloproliferative disorder.
Primary end point(s): The primary endpoint is intestinal aGvHD-free survival by Day +180 after allo HSCT. Intestinal aGvHD is defined as Stage 1-4 intestinal involvement per Acute Graft versus-Host Disease Clinical Stage criteria.
Project description:Skin acute graft-vs-host disease (aGVHD) is often the first manifestation of GVHD, yet very few preclinical and clinical studies have focused on this target organ, leaving a critical information gap in the pathophysiology of GVHD. We hypothesized that analysis of host gene expression and microbiome profiling could yield novel insights into the molecular and immunologic mechanisms underlying skin GVHD. Our objectives were to determine the differential host gene expression and microbiome profile of human skin aGVHD samples compared to normal skin, and aGVHD corticosteroid responders to non-responders. We performed RNA-Sequencing on lower arm biopsies from 45 patients compared to 10 healthy controls. Our findings suggest a distinctive transcriptional signature of cutaneous aGVHD, that could identify potentially actionable targets for prevention or treatment of corticosteroid refractory disease. Our analysis suggests a key role of dendritic cells and macrophages, potentially mediated by differential expression of MIF, in the development of cutaneous aGVHD and corticosteroid responsiveness. Additionally, we describe a unique microbial signature in cutaneous aGVHD that includes skin microbes not previously described in this population.
Project description:Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a life-threatening complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Strategies to promote intestinal tissue tolerance during aGVHD may improve patient outcomes. Using single-cell RNA-sequencing, we identified a Lipocalin-2 (LCN2)-expressing neutrophil population in mice with intestinal aGVHD. Transfer of LCN2-overexpressing neutrophils or treatment with recombinant LCN2 reduced aGVHD-severity, while the lack of epithelial or hematopoietic LCN2 enhanced aGVHD severity and caused microbiome alterations. Mechanistically, LCN2 induced IGF-1R signaling in macrophages via the LCN2 receptor Slc22A17, which increased IL-10 production while reducing MHC-II expression. Transfer of LCN2-pretreated macrophages reduced aGVHD severity. LCN2-treatment did not reduce graft-versus-leukemia effects. In aGVHD patients LCN2 expression correlated with IL-10 expression in intestinal biopsies. We identified a novel intestinal LCN2+ neutrophil population that reduces aGVHD-severity by decreasing MHC-II expression while increasing IL-10 production in macrophages. Administration of LCN2 presents a novel approach against aGVHD to be tested in clinical trials.
Project description:To investigate gene expression profile of medullary thymic epithelial cells with high surface density of MHC class II (mTEChigh), a murine parent into F1 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation model was administered. As recipient mice (B6xDBA/2)F1 (B6D2F1) were used that received either a syngeneic transplant from a (B6xDBA/2)F1 mouse or an allogeneic transplant from a B6 mouse, which leads to acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD). mTEChigh (CD45-EpCAM+Ly51-UEA1+MHCIIhigh) are sorted by FACS.
