Explore the vast range of titles available.

In a long-term (up to 11 years) follow-up of nine patients with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency treated with retroviral insertion of a normal common γ-chain gene into hematopoietic progenitors, seven had durable T-cell reconstitution and long-term survival. B-cell immunity was not corrected. Acute leukemia developed in four patients. In patients without a matched marrow donor, gene therapy may be an option but is associated with serious risks. The cytokine receptor common γ chain, which is encoded by the interleukin-2 receptor subunit gamma ( IL2RG ) gene, is a critical functional component of the receptors for interleukin-2, interleukin-4, interleukin-7, interleukin-9, interleukin-15, and interleukin-21. 1 Naturally occurring mutations in IL2RG are responsible for X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1) disease. This condition is characterized by the complete lack of T cells and natural killer cells, whereas B cells are present. 2 , 3 Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation is a lifesaving therapy. Despite associated improvements in the survival rate, however, non−HLA-identical hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation has a number of drawbacks. For example, reconstitution of T-cell function . . .

Bullous Pemphigoid is the most common auto-immune bullous skin disease. It is characterized by the production of auto-antibodies directed against 2 proteins of the hemi-desmosome (BP180 and BP230). We assessed the efficacy and mechanisms of action of rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, in 17 patients with severe and relapsing type of bullous pemphigoid. The phenotype, cytokine gene expression, and rearrangement of BP180-specific B-cell receptor genes were performed over 2 years following treatment. At the end of the study, 5 patients had died, 3 had withdrawn from the study, and 9 patients were in complete remission. The one- and two-year relapse rates were 44.1% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 21.0–76.0%) and 66.5%, (95% CI: 38.4–91.4%), respectively. Phenotypic analyses confirmed dramatic B-cell depletion, which lasted for 9 to 12 months. The ELISA values of serum anti-BP180 antibodies and the frequency of BP180-specific circulating B cells decreased dramatically following treatment, which paralleled the improvement of skin lesions. During B-cell reconstitution, a polyclonal IgM repertoire appeared and a shift in the rearrangement of the B-cell receptor genes of BP180-specific circulating B cells was observed. Concurrently, we observed a decrease of IL-15, IL-6 and TNFα expressing BP180-specific B cells, and the emergence of IL-10 and IL-1RA-expressing BP180-specific IgM+ B cells in patients in complete remission off therapy, suggesting the functional plasticity of BP180-specific auto-immune B cells after rituximab treatment.

Pemphigus are B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases affecting skin and mucous membranes. They are characterized by the production of pathogenic autoantibodies directed against desmogleins (Dsg). In this prospective study, we treated 21 pemphigus patients with rituximab and analyzed immunological modifications induced by anti-CD20 immunotherapy. The total depletion of peripheral B cells led to a significant decrease of total serum IgM but not IgG levels. The B-cell depletion was followed by a progressive re-emergence of naive blood B lymphocytes, with one-third of them expressing a transitional CD19+CD38highCD24high phenotype. In most patients, clinical response to rituximab was closely related to the evolution of anti-Dsg autoantibodies that decreased in patients who achieved complete remission, whereas they remained unchanged or reincreased in relapsing patients. In contrast, serum antimicrobial IgG remained stable after rituximab treatment. B-cell repertoire analysis of three patients using immunoscope showed distortions of VH-IgM and VH-IgG immunoscope profiles before treatment, particularly clonal and oligoclonal expansions in some VH families, which were not found after B-cell reconstitution, following anti-CD20 immunotherapy. The depletion of autoreactive B cells leading to the elimination of anti-Dsg autoantibodies in most remitted patients and the restoration of a diverse B-cell repertoire by naive B lymphocytes may provide an explanation for the long-lasting efficacy of rituximab in pemphigus patients. JID JOURNAL CLUB ARTICLE: For questions, answers, and open discussion about this article, please go to http://network.nature.com/group/jidclub

Cytokine immunothérapies targeting T lymphocytes are attractive clinical interventions against viruses and tumors. In the mouse, the homeostasis of memory α/β CD8⁺ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells is significantly improved with increased IL-15 bioavailability. In contrast the role of \"transpresented\" IL-15 on human T-cell development and homeostasis in vivo is unknown. We found that both CD8 and CD4 T cells in human immune system (HIS) mice are highly sensitive to transpresented IL-15 in vivo, with both naïve (CD62L⁺CD45RA⁺) and memory phenotype (CD62L⁻CD45RO⁺) subsets being significantly increased following IL-15 \"boosting.\" The unexpected global improvement in human T-cell homeostasis involved enhanced proliferation and survival of both naïve and memory phenotype peripheral T cells, which potentiated B-cell responses by increasing the frequency of antigen-specific responses following immunization. Transpresented IL-15 did not modify T-cell activation patterns or alter the global T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire diversity. Our results indicate an unexpected effect of IL-15 on human T cells in vivo, in particular on CD4⁺ T cells. As IL-15 promotes human peripheral T-cell homeostasis and increases the frequency of neutralizing antibody responses in HIS mice, IL-15 immunotherapy could be envisaged as a unique approach to improve vaccine responses in the clinical setting.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Chronic infection perturbs immune homeostasis. While prior studies have reported dysregulation of effector and memory cells, little is known about the effects on naïve T cell populations. We performed a cross-sectional study of chronic hepatitis C (cHCV) patients using tetramer-associated magnetic enrichment to study antigen-specific inexperienced CD8 + T cells (i.e., tumor or unrelated virus-specific populations in tumor-free and sero-negative individuals). cHCV showed normal precursor frequencies, but increased proportions of memory-phenotype inexperienced cells, as compared to healthy donors or cured HCV patients. These observations could be explained by low surface expression of CD5, a negative regulator of TCR signaling. Accordingly, we demonstrated TCR hyperactivation and generation of potent CD8 + T cell responses from the altered T cell repertoire of cHCV patients. In sum, we provide the first evidence that naïve CD8 + T cells are dysregulated during cHCV infection, and establish a new mechanism of immune perturbation secondary to chronic infection. Long-lasting or “chronic” infections massively perturb the immune system as a way to favor their own growth. In particular, they can stop T cells – a subtype of immune cells that help to destroy viruses – from working well. For example, HIV and hepatitis C viruses can overwork T cells and cause them to die. This can make individuals vulnerable to other infections. In healthy people, T cells that have participated in the fight against particular infections continue to live to provide a memory of those past infections. Groups of “naïve” T cells that have not yet encountered an infected cell also patrol the body, ready to respond to infections by a new virus. There are relatively few virus-specific naïve T cells in the body, so until recently it has been hard to study them. As a result, researchers know little about how these cells are affected by long-lasting infections, and whether chronic infection affects our capacity to fight unrelated infections. Alanio et al. have now used a highly sensitive technique to compare naïve T cells found in the blood of three groups of people: those with chronic hepatitis C infections, those who have been cured of a chronic hepatitis C infection, and healthy people. This revealed that the naïve T cells are negatively affected by chronic hepatitis C infections, and become hypersensitive: they get easily overexcited, which can lead to their death. This compromises the immune defenses at the moment they are most needed. Closer inspection showed that the naïve T cells of patients with hepatitis C are hypersensitive because they have less of a protein called CD5 on their surface. This protein acts as a natural brake for the T cells, and thus having less results in the T cells mounting stronger immune responses. Although this might be beneficial when fighting certain infections, this may also account for conditions where T cells attack healthy tissues. Finally, Alanio et al. found evidence that people who have been cured of a chronic hepatitis C infection recover a healthy set of naïve T cells within two years. Treating patients as soon as an infection is diagnosed therefore has several benefits: as well as clearing the virus, this will reset the immune system balance and reduce the damage that hyperactive immune cells cause to the body. The results also have implications for vaccinations, which work by pushing naïve T cells to arm themselves against a particular virus. The discovery that naïve T cells are hypersensitive in patients with hepatitis C suggests that we may need a distinct strategy for efficiently vaccinating these patients. It is indeed possible that standard vaccines – tested in groups of healthy people – may result in unexpected and unwanted immune responses in individuals with hepatitis C. These open questions will be addressed in further studies. It will also be of interest to know if other chronic viruses have the same ability to alter the activity of naïve T cells.

Passive transfer of antibodies not only provides immediate short-term protection against disease, but also can be exploited as a therapeutic tool. However, the 'humanization' of murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is a time-consuming and expensive process that has the inherent drawback of potentially altering antigenic specificity and/or affinity. The immortalization of human B cells represents an alternative for obtaining human mAbs, but relies on the availability of biological samples from vaccinated individuals or convalescent patients. In this work we describe a novel approach to generate fully human mAbs by combining a humanized mouse model with a new B cell immortalization technique. After transplantation with CD34+CD38⁻ human hematopoietic progenitor cells, BALB/c Rag2⁻/⁻IL-2Rγc⁻/⁻ mice acquire a human immune system and harbor B cells with a diverse IgM repertoire. \"Human Immune System\" mice were then immunized with two commercial vaccine antigens, tetanus toxoid and hepatitis B surface antigen. Sorted human CD19+CD27+ B cells were retrovirally transduced with the human B cell lymphoma (BCL)-6 and BCL-XL genes, and subsequently cultured in the presence of CD40-ligand and IL-21. This procedure allows generating stable B cell receptor-positive B cells that secrete immunoglobulins. We recovered stable B cell clones that produced IgM specific for tetanus toxoid and the hepatitis B surface antigen, respectively. This work provides the proof-of-concept for the usefulness of this novel method based on the immunization of humanized mice for the rapid generation of human mAbs against a wide range of antigens.

Several hurdles must be overcome in order to achieve efficient and safe immunotherapy against conformational neurodegenerative diseases. In prion diseases, the main difficulty is that the prion protein is tolerated as a self protein, which prevents powerful immune responses. Passive antibody therapy is effective only during early, asymptomatic disease, well before diagnosis is made. If efficient immunotherapy of prion diseases is to be achieved, it is crucial to understand precisely how immune tolerance against the prion protein can be overcome and which effector pathways may delay disease progression. To this end, we generated a transgenic mouse that expresses the ß-chain of a T cell receptor recognizing a PrP epitope presented by the class II major histocompatibility complex. The fact that the constraint is applied to only one TCR chain allows adaptation of the other chain according to the presence or absence of tolerogenic PrP. We first show that transgene-bearing T cells, pairing with rearranged α-chains conferring anti-PrP specificity, are systematically eliminated during ontogeny in PrP+ mice, suggesting that precursors with good functional avidity are rare in a normal individual. Second, we show that transgene-bearing T cells with anti-PrP specificity are not suppressed when transferred into PrP+ recipients and proliferate more extensively in a prion-infected host. Finally, such T cells provide protection through a cell-mediated pathway involving IL-4 production. These findings support the idea that cell-mediated immunity in neurodegenerative conditions may not be necessarily detrimental and may even contribute, when properly controlled, to the resolution of pathological processes.

Previously, several individuals with X-linked SCID (SCID-X1) were treated by gene therapy to restore the missing IL-2 receptor gamma (IL2RG) gene to CD34+ BM precursor cells using gammaretroviral vectors. While 9 of 10 patients were successfully treated, 4 of the 9 developed T cell leukemia 31-68 months after gene therapy. In 2 of these cases, blast cells contained activating vector insertions near the LIM domain-only 2 (LMO2) proto-oncogene. Here, we report data on the 2 most recent adverse events, which occurred in patients 7 and 10. In patient 10, blast cells contained an integrated vector near LMO2 and a second integrated vector near the proto-oncogene BMI1. In patient 7, blast cells contained an integrated vector near a third proto-oncogene,CCND2. Additional genetic abnormalities in the patients' blast cells included chromosomal translocations, gain-of-function mutations activating NOTCH1, and copy number changes, including deletion of tumor suppressor gene CDKN2A, 6q interstitial losses, and SIL-TAL1 rearrangement. These findings functionally specify a genetic network that controls growth in T cell progenitors. Chemotherapy led to sustained remission in 3 of the 4 cases of T cell leukemia, but failed in the fourth. Successful chemotherapy was associated with restoration of polyclonal transduced T cell populations. As a result, the treated patients continued to benefit from therapeutic gene transfer.