Project description:Human lung tissue-resident NK cells (trNK cells) are likely to play important roles in viral infections, inflammation and cancer. However, knowledge about lung trNK cells is lacking but is fundamental for exploiting these cells in therapeutic approaches. Here we analysed the transcriptome of CD69+CD49a+CD103+CD16-CD56bright, CD69+CD49a+CD103-CD16-CD56bright, CD69+CD49a-CD103-CD16-CD56bright, CD69-CD49a-CD103-CD16-CD56bright, and CD56dimCD16+NKG2A+CD57- NK cells isolated from human lung.
Project description:Background Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) endows cancer cells with pro-metastatic properties, which appear most effective when cells enter an intermediate hybrid (H) state, characterized by integrated mesenchymal (M) and epithelial (E) traits. The reasons for this advantage are poorly known and, especially, it is totally unexplored whether the interplay between H-cells and NK cells could have a role. Here we characterize the pro-metastatic mechanics of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) H-cells and their subset of cancer-initiating cells (CICs), dissecting crucial interactions with NK cells. Methods Human lung cancer cell lines and sub-lines representative of E, M, or H states, assessed by proteomics, were analysed in vivo for their tumor-forming and disseminating capabilities. Interactions with NK cells were investigated in vitro using migration assays, cytotoxic degranulation assays and evaluation of CD133+ CICs modulation after co-culture, and validated in vivo through NK cell neutralization assays. Correlation between EMT status, NK cell infiltration, and survival data, was evaluated in a cohort of surgically resected NSCLC cases (n=79). Results We demonstrated that H-cells, have limited dissemination capability but show highest potential to initiate metastases in vivo. This property was related to their ability to escape NK cell surveillance. Mechanistically, H-cells expressed low levels of NK-attracting chemokines (CXCL1 and CXCL8), generating poorly infiltrated metastases. Accordingly, proteomics and GO enrichment analysis of E, H, M cell lines showed that the related secretory processes could change during EMT. Furthermore, H-CICs uniquely expressed high levels of the inhibitory ligand B7-H3, which protected H-CIC from NK cell-mediated clearance. In vivo neutralization assays confirmed that, indeed, the pro-metastatic properties of H-cells are poorly controlled by NK cells. Finally, the analysis of patients revealed that detection of hybrid phenotypes associated with low NK infiltration in NSCLC clinical specimens could identify a subset of patients with poor prognosis. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that H-cells play a central role in the metastatic spread in NSCLC. Such pro-metastatic advantage of H-cells is supported by their altered interaction with NK cells and by the critical role of B7H3 in preserving their H-CIC component, indicating B7H3 as a potential target in combined NK-based therapies.
Project description:Patterns of chemotactic receptors regulate the homing of leukocytes to tissues. Here we report that the CCRL2/chemerin/CMKLR1 axis represent a selective pathway for the homing of NK cells to the lung. CCRL2 is a non-signaling seven-transmembrane domain receptor able to control lung tumor growth. Total or endothelial cell targeted CCRL2 deletion or the deletion of its ligand chemerin were found to promote tumor progression in a KrasG12D/+;p53LoxP lung cancer model. This phenotype was dependent on the reduced recruitment of CD27-CD11b+ mature NK cells. Mining scRNA-seq databases identified CCRL2 expression as the hallmark of general alveolar lung capillary endothelial cells (gCaps). CCRL2 expression is epigenetically regulated in lung endothelium. In vivo administration of low doses of the demethylating agent 5-Aza induced CCRL2 upregulation, increased recruitment of NK cells and lung protection in a tumor model. These results identify CCRL2 as a NK cell lung homing molecule that might be exploited to promote NK cell-mediated lung immune surveillance.
Project description:Fragmented RNA cocktails from FACS sorted Human decidual NK cell, and peripheral blood CD56Bright and CD56Dim NK cells, previously hybridization to HGU95AV2 chips (Koopman et al J Exp Med. 2003 Oct 20;198(8):1201-1), were stored long term at -80C, thawed and hybridized to HG-U133A arrays. Transcriptome analysis of Human decidual NK cells and NK cells from peripheral blood using Affymetrix UGU133A arrays.
Project description:Fragmented RNA cocktails from FACS sorted Human decidual NK cell, and peripheral blood CD56Bright and CD56Dim NK cells, previously hybridization to HGU95AV2 chips (Koopman et al J Exp Med. 2003 Oct 20;198(8):1201-1), were stored long term at -80C, thawed and hybridized to HG-U133B arrays. Transcriptome analysis of Human decidual NK cells and NK cells from peripheral blood using Affymetrix UGU133B arrays.
Project description:NK cells are important cells of the innate immune system that respond to malaria infection in human. Howver, NK cell responses to malaria infection vary significantly in the human population. Base on their ability to kill infected red blood cells (iRBC), NK cells from malaria-naive individuals can be classified as responsive or non-responsive. NK cells used for microarray was obtained as follows: 10^6 NK cells were cocultured with either 10^5 iRBC at a starting parasitemia of 0.5% or with the same amount of RBC for 96 hours. Thereafter live NK cells were purified by FACS and RNA extracted via Trizol method. RNA quality was assessed by electrophoretic assay on the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer using a Nano chip (Agilent RNA 6000 Nano chip). RNA with a RIN value of >7.0 was used for genome-wide transcriptional analysis by microarray using HumanHT-12 v4 BeadChip (Illumina).
Project description:Checkpoint blockage has revolutionized cancer treatment. NKG2A is an inhibitory receptor expressed by cytotoxic lymphocytes, including NK cells. In contrast to other checkpoint inhibitory antibodies, anti-NKG2A antibodies have shown only limited success. Here, we designed a Cas9-based strategy to delete KLRC1 from human NK cells. Electroporation of KLRC1-targeting Cas9-RNP efficiently eliminated NKG2A expression from primary human NK cells. NKG2A-deficient NK cells showed normal proliferation, only minor transcriptional changes related to enhanced NK cell activation and maintained their phenotype and licensing status. Genetic deletion of NKG2A fully bypassed HLA-E inhibition and further enhanced NK cell activity against various tumor cell lines, thereby outperforming anti-NKG2A antibodies. In combination with antibody-coating of tumor cells to induce antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, genetic deletion of NKG2A independently promoted cytotoxicity. Thus, Cas9-mediated targeting of NKG2A is an effective way to target this important inhibitory checkpoint. This technique is easily amenable to adoptive cell therapy in the clinical setting, where NKG2A deletion will promote anti-tumor responses and may help NK cells to better infiltrate and persist in an inhibitory tumor microenvironment.