Certain individuals are resistant to HIV-1 infection, despite repeated exposure to the virus. Although protection against HIV-1 infection in a small proportion of Caucasian individuals is associated with mutant alleles of the CCR5 HIV-1 coreceptor, the molecular mechanism underlying resistance in repeatedly HIV-1-exposed, uninfected individuals (EU) is unclear. In this study, we performed complementary transcriptome and proteome analyses on peripheral blood T cells, and plasma or serum from EU, their HIV-1-infected sexual partners, and healthy controls, all expressing wild-type CCR5. We report that activated T cells from EU overproduce several proteins involved in the innate immunity response, principally those including high levels of peroxiredoxin II, a NK-enhancing factor possessing strong anti-HIV activity, and IL-22, a cytokine involved in the production of acute-phase proteins such as the acute-phase serum amyloid A (A-SAA). Cell supernatants and serum levels of these proteins were up-regulated in EU. Moreover, a specific biomarker for EU detected in plasma was identified as an 8.6-kDa A-SAA cleavage product. Incubation of in vitro-generated myeloid immature dendritic cells with A-SAA resulted in CCR5 phosphorylation, down-regulation of CCR5 expression, and strongly decreased susceptibility of these cells to in vitro infection with a primary HIV-1 isolate. Taken together, these results suggest new correlates of EU protection and identify a cascade involving IL-22 and the acute phase protein pathway that is associated with innate host resistance to HIV infection.

We report that the IgH 3′ regulatory region (3′RR) has no role on μ chain transcription and pre-BCR expression in B cell progenitors. In contrast, analysis of heterozygous IgH aΔ3′RR/bwt mice indicated that the 3′RR controls μ chain transcripts in mature splenocytes and impacts membrane IgM density without obvious effect on BCR signals (colocalisation with lipid rafts and phosphorylation of Erk and Akt after BCR crosslinking). Deletion of the 3′RR modulates the B cell fate to less marginal zone B cells. In conclusion, the 3′RR is dispensable for pre-BCR expression and necessary for optimal commitments toward the marginal zone B cell fate. These results reinforce the concept of a dual regulation of the IgH locus transcription and accessibility by 5′ elements at immature B cell stages, and by the 3′RR as early as the resting mature B cell stage and then along further activation and differentiation.

Key Points• We created the first transgenic mouse model recapitulating the early pathologic features of Randall-type heavy chain deposition disease.• Production of a truncated immunoglobulin heavy chain heightens plasma cell sensitivity to bortezomib via a terminal unfolded protein response.Randall-type heavy chain deposition disease (HCDD) is a rare disorder characterized by glomerular and peritubular amorphous deposits of a truncated monoclonal immunoglobulin heavy chain (HC) bearing a deletion of the first constant domain (CH1). We created a transgenic mouse model of HCDD using targeted insertion in the immunoglobulin k locus of a human HC extracted from a HCDD patient. Our strategy allows the efficient expression of the human HC in mouse B and plasma cells, and conditional deletion of the CH1 domain reproduces the major event underlying HCDD. We show that the deletion of the CH1 domain dramatically reduced serum HC levels. Strikingly, even with very low serum level of truncated monoclonal HC, histologic studies revealed typical Randall-type renal lesions that were absent in mice expressing the complete human HC. Bortezomibbased treatment resulted in a strong decrease of renal deposits. We further demonstrated that this efficient response to proteasome inhibitors mostly relies on the presence of the isolated truncated HC that sensitizes plasma cells to bortezomib through an elevated unfolded protein response (UPR). This new transgenic model of HCDD efficiently recapitulates the pathophysiologic features of the disease and demonstrates that the renal damage in HCDD relies on the production of an isolated truncated HC, which, in the absence of a LC partner, displays a high propensity to aggregate even at very low concentration. It also brings new insights into the efficacy of proteasome inhibitor-based therapy in this pathology. (Blood. 2015;126(6):757-765) IntroductionTissue deposition of a monoclonal immunoglobulin fragment frequently complicates plasma cell disorders.1,2 Among the wide spectrum of renal diseases associated with monoclonal gammopathies, Randall-type monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease (MIDD) is a multisystemic disorder with prominent renal manifestations including glomerular proteinuria and renal failure. 1,[3][4][5] Kidney lesions in MIDD are characterized by nonamyloid amorphous linear deposits of a monoclonal immunoglobulin fragment along tubular, and in most cases, vascular and glomerular basement membranes (BMs). Nodular glomerulosclerosis and diffuse thickening of tubular BMs are commonly observed. 3,6 The most frequent type of MIDD is related to deposition of monoclonal light chain (LC) (LCDD), mostly of the k isotype, but deposits composed of monoclonal heavy chain (HC) only (HCDD) or of light and heavy chain (LHCDD) have been also described. 3,7 Most reported cases of HCDD were characterized by gHC deposits. 4,5,[8][9][10][11] The mechanisms involved in the deposition of monoclonal Ig fragments in MIDD remain poorly understood. Structural peculiarities of the V domains o...