Journal of Cellular Immunology

Review Article Open Access

The Hippo Pathway, Immunity, and Cancer: An update

Helena J. Janse van Rensbur, Zaid Taha

The Hippo pathway has well-established roles in physiology and pathology. However, functions for the Hippo pathway in modulating interactions with the immune system have only recently been elucidated. In this review, we provide a brief update on our previous summary of the field. More specifically, we highlight literature that demonstrates a role for the Hippo pathway in modulating the antitumour immune response, primarily through acting on PD-L₁.

Commentary Open Access

Influenza A Virus Infection Induces White Adipose Tissue Browning: A Metabolic Adaptation to Infection?

Johanna Barthelemy, Isabelle Wolowczuk

We recently reported that influenza infection is associated with drastic, depot-specific changes in white adipose tissue (WAT), notably the occurrence of thermogenic brown-like adipocytes within the subcutaneous depot, a process referred to as WAT browning. In mammals, induction of the thermogenic circuit increases heat production and consumes energy, consequently improving host’s metabolism.

Mini Review Open Access

Single-cell Approach to Generate Functional TCR-Ts: A Potential Accelerator of TCR-T Cell Therapy for Infectious Diseases

Qumiao Xu, Ziyi Li, Fei Wang, Zhenkun Zhuang, Yanling Liang, Qianqian Gao, Xuan Dong, Linnan Zhu

T cell-mediated immune response is essential for host defense against viruses, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which has caused a global pandemic. Genetically engineered T cells with antigen-specific T cell receptors (TCR-Ts) are redirected to eliminate target cells via TCRs recognizing peptides bound with major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs).

Commentary Open Access

Use of Sysmex Hematology Analyzer based Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell (XN-HPC) Count in Allogeneic Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant Setting; Is It Substantially Reliable?

Aisha Jamal, Ali Salim, Tahir Shamsi

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation remains the only curative option for various benign and malignant hematological disorders. The procedure of allogeneic stem cell transplantation entails the administration of adequate doses of hematopoietic progenitor cells, aiming for complete and sustained hematopoietic reconstitution. Hematopoietic progenitors are obtained either through a bone marrow harvest or from GCSF-mobilized peripheral blood of the identified donor.

Mini Review Open Access

The Mammalian Gut Microbiome, Immune Responses and Disease: From Observational to Causal Relationships

Ulrich Desselberge

The gut is a major organ for the production of immune responses and is colonized by a large variety of microbes. The composition of microbes in the gut influences immune responses qualitatively and quantitatively and is also observationally correlated with enteric and extra-intestinal infectious and non-infectious diseases. Animal models have been extremely useful to unravel the relationships of the gut microbiome with immune responses and various diseases.

Research Article Open Access

A Native 51 kDa Leishmania Membrane Protein Revealed as a Novel Antigenic Candidate for Immuno-Diagnosis of Human VL and PKDL diseases

Mohd Kamran, Sarfaraz Ahmad Ejazi, Anirban Bhattacharyya, Nicky Didwania, Nadia Ali

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a potentially devastating neglected tropical disease is a major health concern. Despite recent advances made in diagnosis of VL, an accurate and a reliable diagnostic biomarker is still needed.

Commentary Open Access

Role of Irreversible Post-Translational Modifications of Autoantigens in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: LL₃₇ as a Model Autoantigen

Loredana Frasca, Roberto Lande

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a devastating disease, which affects several organs and with poor therapeutic options. Cathelicin LL37 is an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) with pleiotropic functions on immune cells and parenchymal cells, which can be implicated in inflammatory pathways and in immune regulation. LL37, a stimulator of both the innate and the adaptive immune responses in psoriasis and related psoriatic arthritis (PsA), can represent a relevant model autoantigen to study the effect of irreversible post-translational modifications (PTM) in SLE, as compared to psoriasis and PsA

Review Article Open Access

Maternal Diet Alters Trained Immunity in the Pathogenesis of Pediatric NAFLD

Karen R. Jonscher, Jesse Abrams, Jacob E. Friedman

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a spectrum of pathologies ranging from simple steatosis to fibrosis and cirrhosis, is the most common cause of chronic liver disease, affecting over 80% of adults with obesity, one third of obese children ages 3-18 in North America [2] and ~10% of the general pediatric population.

Short Communication Open Access

High Throughput Image Analysis for Cardiotoxicity Study using Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Lu Cao, Andries van der Meer, Robert Passier, Fons J. Verbeek

Cardiotoxicity is a well-known side-effect for the patients who are treated with different classes of anticancer drugs. In order to prevent potential drug-induced adverse effects, it is crucial to develop predictable human-based models and assays for drug screening. To that end, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are becoming promising and important for disease modeling and drug-induced toxicity screening.

Review Article Open Access

Potentials of Interferons and Hydroxychloroquine for the Prophylaxis and Early Treatment of COVID-19

Alexander Yang, Lakshmi S. Guduguntla, Bing Yang

The symptoms of the COVID-19 range from asymptomatic or mild disease to severe disease that results in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and eventually death. Understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for the progression from mild to severe disease is the key to decreasing the mortality of COVID-19. Compared to mild cases, severe cases of the COVID-19 have decreased interferon (IFN) a, ß, λ production. Type I (IFN a/ß) and III IFNs (λ) work coordinately to induce inhibition of viral reproduction through the stimulation of interferon stimulated genes (ISGs).

Commentary Open Access

Newly Identified Function of Caspase-6 in ZBP₁-mediated Innate Immune Responses, NLRP₃ Inflammasome Activation, PANoptosis, and Host Defense

Min Zheng, Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti

Caspase-6 was discovered decades ago, but its roles in biological processes remain largely unknown. Recently, we have demonstrated that caspase-6 plays a critical role in influenza A virus (IAV)-induced cell death and innate immune responses. During IAV infection, Z-DNA binding protein 1 (ZBP₁) initiates ZBP₁-PANoptosome assembly to drive inflammasome activation and cell death, and we showed that caspase-6 interacts with RIPK₃ to enhance the interaction between RIPK₃ and ZBP₁, thus promoting PANoptosome assembly.

Commentary Open Access

Cancer Immunoediting in Gliomas: Recent Advances and Implications for Immunotherapy

Parth V. Shah, Víctor A. Arrieta, Catalina Lee-Chang, Adam M Sonabend

Gliomas are an aggressive class of primary brain tumors with high rates of recurrence and a dismal overall survival. While existing therapeutic strategies provide some benefit, their effects are variable, and no curative modalities exist. The poor prognosis of these patients largely stems from the heterogenous molecular profile of these tumors and their tumor immune microenvironment (TIME).

Commentary Open Access

Molecular Tools for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Characterization

Radhashree Maitra, Elisha Fogel, Ruwan Parakrama, Sanjay Goel

In our recent publication, we have explored at the molecular level the consequences of reovirus administration to patients with KRAS mutated colorectal cancer (CRC). This was the first reported study where transcriptome assay was performed on KRAS mutated CRC patients receiving reovirus (pelareorep) therapy. Using peripheral mononuclear cells as a tumor surrogate, we have identified several hundred genes that were significantly altered in a transcriptome assay of patients receiving pelareorep serving as their own controls (pre and post reovirus administration) and compared to untreated controls.