A key and limiting step in the process of generating human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) for clinical applications is maturation. In the setting of immunotherapy, DC are matured ex vivo by culturing them with various agents that mimic the conditions encountered at a site of inflammation. This study examined whether the ex vivo DC maturation step could be replaced by maturing DC in situ by injecting immature DC into sites pre-exposed to agents that induce a microenvironment conducive to in situ maturation of the injected DC. The hypothesis was that recapitulation of the physiological conditions occurring during pathogen infection would lead to optimal conditions for DC maturation, migration, and function. Murine immature DC injected into adjuvant (Adjuprime, poly-arginine, or Imiquimod)-pretreated skin exhibited lymph node migratory capacity comparable to and immunostimulatory capacity equal to or exceeding that of ex vivo matured DC. Acquisition of migratory capacity did not always correlate with enhanced immunostimulatory capacity. Immunostimulatory capacity was not enhanced when mature DC were injected into adjuvant-pretreated sites and remained below that seen with immature DC matured in situ. Immature DC injected into adjuvant-pretreated sites were more effective than mature DC in stimulating antitumor immunity in mice. 111Indium-labeled human monocyte-derived immature DC injected into adjuvant (Imiquimod)-pretreated sites in cancer patients acquired lymph node migratory capacity comparable to ex vivo matured DC. This study shows that in situ maturation offers a simpler and potentially superior method to generate potent immunostimulatory DC for clinical immunotherapy.

SummaryArc is an activity-regulated neuronal protein, but little is known about its interactions, assembly into multiprotein complexes, and role in human disease and cognition. We applied an integrated proteomic and genetic strategy by targeting a tandem affinity purification (TAP) tag and Venus fluorescent protein into the endogenous Arc gene in mice. This allowed biochemical and proteomic characterization of native complexes in wild-type and knockout mice. We identified many Arc-interacting proteins, of which PSD95 was the most abundant. PSD95 was essential for Arc assembly into 1.5-MDa complexes and activity-dependent recruitment to excitatory synapses. Integrating human genetic data with proteomic data showed that Arc-PSD95 complexes are enriched in schizophrenia, intellectual disability, autism, and epilepsy mutations and normal variants in intelligence. We propose that Arc-PSD95 postsynaptic complexes potentially affect human cognitive function.

1. Glaucoma is a worldwide disease affecting approximately 1-2% of the population aged over 35 years in industrial countries and is a major cause of blindness. 2. Glaucoma is usually associated with an increased intraocular pressure reflecting an imbalance between the rate of production of fluid (the aqueous humor) by the ciliary epithelial cells and its drainage from the eye. Therefore, it is important to understand how this secretion is produced. This requires a knowledge of ciliary epithelial cell composition, which has, in the past, proved difficult to obtain in mammalian preparations. 3. We have recently used the technique of electron-probe X-ray microanalysis to determine this composition under a variety of in vitro conditions. 4. Our results have led to a new model for this secretion that emphasizes the potential secretory role of the Na+/K+/2Cl- cotransporter.

Coronary artery disease risk alleles downstream of CXCL12 are associated with plasma protein levels of CXCL12 and appear to be related to CXCL12 transcript levels in two human cell lines. This implicates CXCL12 as potentially causal and supports CXCL12 as a potential therapeutic target for CAD.

We conclude that as many as one third of patients presenting with shunt malfunction will not have the diagnosis of shunt malfunction supported by a prospective radiologic interpretation of brain imaging. Although the neurosurgical community can assess the clinical situation to determine the need for surgery, other clinicians can be easily reassured by a radiographic report that does not mention or diagnose shunt malfunction. Today, more than ever, nonneurosurgeons are being called on to evaluate complex clinical situations and may rely on radiographic reports.

In CKD, higher plasma CXCL12 was associated with CVD risk factors and prevalent CVD as well as the hazard of incident MI and death. Further studies are required to establish if plasma CXCL12 reflect causal actions at the vessel wall and is a tool for genomic and therapeutic trials.

Background Cardiometabolic disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Fractalkine (CX3CL1) is a potential mediator of both atherosclerosis and metabolic disease. Studies on the relationship of CX3CL1 with risk of CVD events and metabolic traits are lacking, particularly in the high-risk setting of CKD. Study Design Cross-sectional and longitudinal observational analysis. Setting & Participants Adults with CKD from 7 US sites participating in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study. Predictor Quartiles of plasma CX3CL1 levels at baseline. Outcomes Baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from a creatinine- and cystatin C–based equation, prevalent and incident CVD, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and its criteria, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, hemoglobin A1C, myocardial infarction, all-cause mortality, and the composite outcome of myocardial infarction/all-cause mortality. Results Among 3687 participants, baseline CX3CL1 levels were positively associated with several CVD risk factors and metabolic traits, lower eGFR, and higher levels of inflammatory cytokines as well as prevalent CVD (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01–1.19; p=0.03). Higher CX3CL1 was also associated with prevalent diabetes (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.16–1.38; p<0.001) in adjusted models. During a mean follow up of 6 years, there were 352 deaths, 176 myocardial infarctions, and 484 with composite outcomes. In fully-adjusted models, 1-SD higher CX3CL1 increased the hazard for all-cause mortality (1.11; 95% CI, 1.00–1.22; p=0.02) and the composite outcome (1.09; 95% CI, 1.00–1.19; p=0.04). Limitations Study design did not allow evaluation of changes over time, correlation with progression of phenotypes, or determination of causality of effect. Conclusions Circulating CX3CL1 may contribute to both atherosclerotic CVD and diabetes in a CKD cohort. Further studies are required to establish mechanisms through which CX3CL1 affects pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and diabetes.

PSD-95 is one of the most abundant proteins of the postsynaptic density of excitatory synapses. It functions as the backbone of protein supercomplexes that mediate signalling between membrane glutamate receptors and intracellular pathways. Homozygous deletion of the Dlg4 gene encoding PSD-95 was previously found to cause a profound impairment in operant and Pavlovian conditioning in Dlg4 mice studied in touch screen chambers that precluded evaluation of PSD-95's role in shaping more subtle forms of learning and memory. In this study, using a battery of touch screen tests, we investigated cognitive behaviour of mice with a heterozygous Dlg4 mutation. We found that in contrast to learning deficits of Dlg4 mice, Dlg4 animals demonstrated enhanced performance in the Visual Discrimination, Visual Discrimination Reversal and Paired-Associates Learning touch screen tasks. The divergent directions of learning phenotypes observed in Dlg4 and Dlg4 mice also contrasted with qualitatively similar changes in the amplitude and plasticity of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials recorded in the CA1 area of hippocampal slices from both mutants. Our results have important repercussions for the studies of genetic models of human diseases, because they demonstrate that reliance on phenotypes observed solely in homozygous mice may obscure qualitatively different changes in heterozygous animals and potentially weaken the validity of translational comparisons with symptoms seen in heterozygous human carriers.