Explore the vast range of titles available.

The growing insights in the complex interactions between metastatic cancer-cells and platelets have revealed that platelet tumor cell interactions in the blood stream are an important factor supporting tumor metastasis. An increased coagulability of platelets facilitates the vascular evasion and establishment of solid tumor metastasis. Furthermore, platelets can support an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment or shield tumor cells directly from engagement of cytotoxic lymphocytes as e.g., natural killer (NK) cells. Platelets are both in the tumor microenvironment and systemically the quantitatively most important source of TGF-β, which is a key cytokine for immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. If similar platelet-tumor interactions are of physiological relevance in hematological malignancies remains less well-studied. This might be important, as T- and NK cell mediated graft vs. leukemia effects (GvL) are well-documented and malignant hematological cells have a high exposure to platelets compared to solid tumors. As NK cell-based immunotherapies gain increasing attention as a therapeutic option for patients suffering from hematological and other malignancies, we review the known interactions between platelets and NK cells in the solid tumor setting and discuss how these could also apply to hematological cancers. We furthermore explore the possible implications for NK cell therapy in patients with solid tumors and patients who depend on frequent platelet transfusions. As platelets have a protective and supportive effect on cancer cells, the impact of platelet transfusion on immunotherapy and the combination of immunotherapy with platelet inhibitors needs to be evaluated.

Natural killer (NK) cells play roles in viral clearance and early surveillance against malignant transformation, yet our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms controlling their development and functions remain incomplete. To reveal cell fate-determining pathways in NK cell progenitors (NKP), we utilized an unbiased approach and generated comprehensive gene expression profiles of NK cell progenitors. We found that the NK cell program was gradually established in the CLP to preNKP and preNKP to rNKP transitions. In line with FOXO1 and FOXO3 being co-expressed through the NK developmental trajectory, the loss of both perturbed the establishment of the NK cell program and caused stalling in both NK cell development and maturation. In addition, we found that the combined loss of FOXO1 and FOXO3 caused specific changes to the composition of the non-cytotoxic innate lymphoid cell (ILC) subsets in bone marrow, spleen, and thymus. By combining transcriptome and chromatin profiling, we revealed that FOXO TFs ensure proper NK cell development at various lineage-commitment stages through orchestrating distinct molecular mechanisms. Combined FOXO1 and FOXO3 deficiency in common and innate lymphoid cell progenitors resulted in reduced expression of genes associated with NK cell development including ETS-1 and their downstream target genes. Lastly, we found that FOXO1 and FOXO3 controlled the survival of committed NK cells via gene regulation of IL-15Rβ (CD122) on rNKPs and bone marrow NK cells. Overall, we revealed that FOXO1 and FOXO3 function in a coordinated manner to regulate essential developmental genes at multiple stages during murine NK cell and ILC lineage commitment.

Acute stress drives a 'high-alert' response in the immune system. Psychoactive drugs induce distinct stress hormone profiles, offering a sought-after opportunity to dissect the in vivo immunological effects of acute stress in humans. 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methylphenidate (MPH), or both, were administered to healthy volunteers in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover-study. Lymphocyte subset frequencies, natural killer (NK) cell immune-phenotypes, and changes in effector function were assessed, and linked to stress hormone levels and expression of CD62L, CX3CR1, CD18, and stress hormone receptors on NK cells. MDMA/MPH > MDMA > MPH robustly induced an epinephrine-dominant stress response. Immunologically, rapid redistribution of peripheral blood lymphocyte-subsets towards phenotypically mature NK cells occurred. NK cytotoxicity was unaltered, but they expressed slightly reduced levels of the activating receptor NKG2D. Preferential circulation of mature NK cells was associated with high epinephrine receptor expression among this subset, as well as expression of integrin ligands previously linked to epinephrine-induced endothelial detachment. The acute epinephrine-induced stress response was characterized by rapid accumulation of mature and functional NK cells in the peripheral circulation. This is in line with studies using other acute stressors and supports the role of the acute stress response in rapidly mobilizing the innate immune system to counteract incoming threats.

IL-15 priming of NK cells is a broadly accepted concept, but the dynamics and underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. We show that as little as 5 min of IL-15 treatment in vitro, followed by removal of excess cytokines, results in a long-lasting, but reversible, augmentation of NK cell responsiveness upon activating receptor cross-linking. In contrast to long-term stimulation, improved NK cell function after short-term IL-15 priming was not associated with enhanced metabolism but was based on the increased steady-state phosphorylation level of signalling molecules downstream of activating receptors. Inhibition of JAK3 eliminated this priming effect, suggesting a cross talk between the IL-15 receptor and ITAM-dependent activating receptors. Increased signalling molecule phosphorylation levels, calcium flux, and IFN-γ secretion lasted for up to 3 h after IL-15 stimulation before returning to baseline. We conclude that IL-15 rapidly and reversibly primes NK cell function by modulating activating receptor signalling. Our findings suggest a mechanism by which NK cell reactivity can potentially be maintained in vivo based on only brief encounters with IL-15 trans-presenting cells.

Natural killer (NK) cells require interaction of inhibitory surface receptors with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) ligands during development to acquire functional competence in a process termed “licensing.” The quantity of HLA required for this process is unknown. Two polymorphisms affecting HLA-C surface expression (rs9264942 and rs67384697) have recently been identified, and shown to influence progression of HIV infection. We typed a cohort of healthy donors for the two HLA-C-related polymorphisms, KIR2DL1 and KIR2DL3 , and their respective HLA-C ligands and analyzed how HLA ligands influenced licensing status of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR)+ NK cells in terms of degranulation and cytokine production in response to HLA-deficient target cells. The presence of respective HLA class I ligands increased the function of KIR2DL1+ and KIR2DL3+ NK cells in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, neither of the HLA-C-related polymorphisms nor the quantity of cell surface HLA-C had any significant effect on NK cell function. Interestingly, HLA-Cw7—an HLA-C allele with low surface expression—licensed KIR2DL3+ NK cells more strongly than any other KIR2DL3 ligand. The quantity of cell surface HLA-C does not appear to influence licensing of NK cells, and the HLA-C-related polymorphisms presumably influence HIV progression through factors unrelated to NK cell education.

Purpose: Telomere is a nucleoprotein complex at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes and its length is regulated by telomerase. The number of DNA repeat sequence (TTAGGG)n is reduced with each cell division in differentiated cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of SCF (Stem Cell Factor), Flt3 (Fms- Like tyrosine kinase-3), Interleukin-2, 7 and 15 on telomere length and hTERT gene expression in mononuclear and umbilical cord blood stem cells (CD34+ cells) during development to lymphoid cells. Methods: The mononuclear cells were isolated from umbilical cord blood by Ficoll-Paque density gradient. Then cells were cultured for 21 days in the presence of different cytokines. Telomere length and hTERT gene expression were evaluated in freshly isolated cells, 7, 14 and 21 days of culture by real-time PCR. The same condition had been done for CD34+ cells but telomere length and hTERT gene expression were measured at initial and day 21 of the experiment. Results: Highest hTERT gene expression and maximum telomere length were measured at day14 of MNCs in the presence of IL-7 and IL-15. Also, there was a significant correlation between telomere length and telomerase gene expression in MNCs at 14 days in a combination of IL-7 and IL-15 (r = 0.998, p =0.04). In contrast, IL-2 showed no distinct effect on telomere length and hTERT gene expression in cells. Conclusion: Taken together, IL-7 and IL-15 increased telomere length and hTERT gene expression at 14 day of the experiment. In conclusion, it seems likely that cells maintain naïve phenotype due to prolonged exposure of IL-7 and IL-15.

Background Acute stress drives a 'high-alert' response in the immune system. Psychoactive drugs induce distinct stress hormone profiles, offering a sought-after opportunity to dissect the in vivo immunological effects of acute stress in humans. Methods 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methylphenidate (MPH), or both, were administered to healthy volunteers in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover-study. Lymphocyte subset frequencies, natural killer (NK) cell immune-phenotypes, and changes in effector function were assessed, and linked to stress hormone levels and expression of CD62L, CX3CR1, CD18, and stress hormone receptors on NK cells. Results MDMA/MPH > MDMA > MPH robustly induced an epinephrine-dominant stress response. Immunologically, rapid redistribution of peripheral blood lymphocyte-subsets towards phenotypically mature NK cells occurred. NK cytotoxicity was unaltered, but they expressed slightly reduced levels of the activating receptor NKG2D. Preferential circulation of mature NK cells was associated with high epinephrine receptor expression among this subset, as well as expression of integrin ligands previously linked to epinephrine-induced endothelial detachment. Conclusion The acute epinephrine-induced stress response was characterized by rapid accumulation of mature and functional NK cells in the peripheral circulation. This is in line with studies using other acute stressors and supports the role of the acute stress response in rapidly mobilizing the innate immune system to counteract incoming threats.

Signaling via inhibitory KIR/Ly49 receptors preserves natural killer (NK) cell self-tolerance but also conveys NK cell reactivity towards MHC class-I low target cells in an education process. Here, we demonstrate that mouse NK cell education by H-2Dd regulates transcription of several genes in Ly49A+ NK cells including Ptpn6, encoding the phosphatase SHP-1. SHP-1 was highly expressed in uneducated NK cells, in which knock-out of Ptpn6 increased responsiveness. Following NKp46 triggering of uneducated NK cells, a higher synaptic abundance of phosphorylated SHP-1 was found relative to educated NK cells, concomitant with reduced phosphorylation of several signaling molecules, including PLC-y2, SLP-76, ZAP70/Syk and ERK1/2. SHP-1 overlapped extensively with F-actin and SLP-76 in the uneducated activating synapse of Ly49A+ NK cells, whereas a greater association between Ly49A and SHP-1 was observed in educated NK cells. Thus, our results indicate that in addition to transcriptional regulation, a distinct SHP-1 patterning in NK cell activating synapses can determine their tolerance. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

The natural killer (NK) and non-cytotoxic innate lymphoid cells (ILC) lineages play vital role in the regulation of the immune system. Yet understanding of mechanisms controlling NK/ILC development remains incomplete. The evolutionary conserved FOXO family of forkhead transcription factors are critical regulators of cellular processes. We found that the loss of FOXO1 and FOXO3 together caused impaired activation of the NK gene expression program and reduced ETS binding already at the common lymphoid progenitor (CLP) level and a block at the ILC progenitor (ILCP) to NK progenitor transition. FOXO controlled NK cell maturation in organ specific manner and their ability to respond to IL-15. At the ILCP level, disruption of the ILC lineage specific gene programs was associated with broad perturbation of the generation of the non-cytotoxic ILC subsets. We concluded that FOXO1 and FOXO3 cooperatively regulate ILC lineage specification at the progenitor level as well as the generation of mature ILCs.

Assessing reliability of global models is critical because of increasing reliance on these models to address past and projected future climate and human stresses on global water resources. Here, we evaluate model reliability based on a comprehensive comparison of decadal trends (2002–2014) in land water storage from seven global models (WGHM, PCR-GLOBWB, GLDAS NOAH,MOSAIC, VIC, CLM, and CLSM) to trends from three Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite solutions in 186 river basins (∼60% of global land area). Medians of modeled basin water storage trends greatly underestimate GRACE-derived large decreasing (≤−0.5 km³/y) and increasing (≥0.5 km³/y) trends. Decreasing trends from GRACE are mostly related to human use (irrigation) and climate variations, whereas increasing trends reflect climate variations. For example, in the Amazon, GRACE estimates a large increasing trend of ∼43 km³/y, whereas most models estimate decreasing trends (−71 to 11 km³/y). Land water storage trends, summed over all basins, are positive for GRACE (∼71–82 km³/y) but negative for models (−450 to −12 km³/y), contributing opposing trends to global mean sea level change. Impacts of climate forcing on decadal land water storage trends exceed those of modeled human intervention by about a factor of 2. The model-GRACE comparison highlights potential areas of future model development, particularly simulated water storage. The inability of models to capture large decadal water storage trends based on GRACE indicates that model projections of climate and humaninduced water storage changes may be underestimated.