Highlights  Monocyte-derived TAM gradually replace resident peritoneal macrophages in metastatic ovarian cancer  Ovarian cancer cells promote membrane-cholesterol efflux in TAM  Cholesterol-efflux depletes lipid rafts and increases IL-4 signaling in TAM  Inhibition of ABC transporters reverts the tumor-promoting functions of TAM in ovarian cancer eTOC blurb Goossens et al. show that cancer cells scavenge membrane cholesterol from macrophages in tumors which reprogrammes them towards an immune-suppressive and tumor-promoting phenotype and makes them resistant to activation by anti-tumor cytokines. SummaryTumor-associated macrophages (TAM) have been shown to have important roles in the malignant progression of various cancers. However, macrophages also posses intrinsic tumoricidal activity, but rapidly adopt an alternative phenotype within tumors associated with immune-suppression and trophic functions supporting tumor growth. The mechanisms that promote TAM polarization remain poorly understood, these mechanisms may represent important therapeutic targets to block the tumor-promoting functions of TAM and restore their anti-tumor potential. Here we have characterized TAM in a mouse model of metastatic ovarian cancer. We show that ovarian cancer cells promote membrane-cholesterol efflux and depletion of lipid rafts from macrophages. Increased cholesterol efflux promoted IL-4 mediated reprogramming while inhibiting IFN-induced gene expression. These studies reveal an unexpected role for membrane-cholesterol efflux in driving the tumor-promoting functions of TAM, while rendering them refractory to pro-inflammatory stimuli. Thus, preventing cholesterol efflux in TAM may represent a novel therapeutic strategy to block pro-tumor functions and restore anti-tumor immunity.

Gene targeting studies have shown that T cell receptor (TCR)-β gene expression and recombination are inhibited after deletion of an enhancer (Eβ) located at the 3′ end of the ∼500-kb TCR-β locus. Using knockout mouse models, we have measured, at different regions throughout the TCR-β locus, the effects of Eβ deletion on molecular parameters believed to reflect epigenetic changes associated with the control of gene activation, including restriction endonuclease access to chromosomal DNA, germline transcription, DNA methylation, and histone H3 acetylation. Our results demonstrate that, in early developing thymocytes, Eβ contributes to major chromatin remodeling directed to an ∼25-kb upstream domain comprised of the Dβ-Jβ locus regions. Accordingly, treatment of Eβ-deleted thymocytes with the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A relieved the block in TCR-β gene expression and promoted recombination within the Dβ-Jβ loci. Unexpectedly, however, epigenetic processes at distal Vβ genes on the 5′ side of the locus and at the 3′ proximal Vβ14 gene appear to be less dependent on Eβ, suggesting that Eβ activity is confined to a discrete region of the TCR-β locus. These findings have implications with respect to the developmental control of TCR-β gene recombination, and the process of allelic exclusion at this locus.

Deletion of the mouse T-cell receptor f3 gene enhancer blocks ac8 T-cell March 11, 1996) ABSTRACT Intrathymic T-cell development requires temporally regulated rearrangement and expression of T-cell receptor (TCR) genes. To assess the role of the TCR 13 gene transcriptional enhancer (E18) in this process, mouse strains in which E18 is deleted were generated using homologous recombination techniques. We report that mice homozygous for the Ej3 deletion, whether a selectable marker gene is present or not, show a block in 43] T-cell development at the CD4-CD8-double-negative cell stage, whereas the number of

Migratory non-lymphoid tissue dendritic cells (NLT-DCs) transport antigens to lymph nodes (LNs) and are required for protective immune responses in the context of inflammation and to promote tolerance to self-antigens in steady-state. However, the molecular mechanisms that elicit steady-state NLT-DC maturation and migration are unknown. By comparing the transcriptome of NLT-DCs in the skin with their migratory counterparts in draining LNs, we have identified a novel NF-κB-regulated gene network specific to migratory DCs. We show that targeted deletion of IKKβ in DCs, a major activator of NF-κB, prevents NLT-DC accumulation in LNs and compromises regulatory T cell conversion in vivo. This was associated with impaired tolerance and autoimmunity. NF-κB is generally considered the prototypical pro-inflammatory transcription factor, but this study describes a role for NF-κB signaling in DCs for immune homeostasis and tolerance that could have implications in autoimmune diseases and immunity.

BackgroundThe INK4/ARF locus encodes three tumor suppressor genes (p15Ink4b, Arf and p16Ink4a) and is frequently inactivated in a large number of human cancers. Mechanisms regulating INK4/ARF expression are not fully characterized.Principal FindingsHere we show that in young proliferating embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) member EZH2 together with PRC1 members BMI1 and M33 are strongly expressed and localized at the INK4/ARF regulatory domain (RD) identified as a DNA replication origin. When cells enter senescence the binding to RD of both PRC1 and PRC2 complexes is lost leading to a decreased level of histone H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3). This loss is accompanied with an increased expression of the histone demethylase Jmjd3 and with the recruitment of the MLL1 protein, and correlates with the expression of the Ink4a/Arf genes. Moreover, we show that the Polycomb protein BMI1 interacts with CDC6, an essential regulator of DNA replication in eukaryotic cells. Finally, we demonstrate that Polycomb proteins and associated epigenetic marks are crucial for the control of the replication timing of the INK4a/ARF locus during senescence.ConclusionsWe identified the replication licencing factor CDC6 as a new partner of the Polycomb group member BMI1. Our results suggest that in young cells Polycomb proteins are recruited to the INK4/ARF locus through CDC6 and the resulting silent locus is replicated during late S-phase. Upon senescence, Jmjd3 is overexpressed and the MLL1 protein is recruited to the locus provoking the dissociation of Polycomb from the INK4/ARF locus, its transcriptional activation and its replication during early S-phase. Together, these results provide a unified model that integrates replication, transcription and epigenetics at the INK4/ARF locus.

Actin polymerization plays a critical role in activated T lymphocytes both in regulating T cell receptor (TCR)-induced immunological synapse (IS) formation and signaling. Using gene targeting, we demonstrate that the hematopoietic specific, actin- and Arp2/3 complex-binding protein coronin-1A contributes to both processes. Coronin-1A-deficient mice specifically showed alterations in terminal development and the survival of αβT cells, together with defects in cell activation and cytokine production following TCR triggering. The mutant T cells further displayed excessive accumulation yet reduced dynamics of F-actin and the WASP-Arp2/3 machinery at the IS, correlating with extended cell-cell contact. Cell signaling was also affected with the basal activation of the stress kinases sAPK/JNK1/2; and deficits in TCR-induced Ca2+ influx and phosphorylation and degradation of the inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB). Coronin-1A therefore links cytoskeleton plasticity with the functioning of discrete TCR signaling components. This function may be required to adjust TCR responses to selecting ligands accounting in part for the homeostasis defect that impacts αβT cells in coronin-1A deficient mice, with the exclusion of other lympho/hematopoietic lineages.

Conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s) are critical for antitumor immunity. They acquire antigens from dying tumor cells and cross-present them to CD8+ T cells, promoting the expansion of tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells. However, the signaling pathways that govern the antitumor functions of cDC1s in immunogenic tumors are poorly understood. Using single-cell transcriptomics to examine the molecular pathways regulating intratumoral cDC1 maturation, we found nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and interferon (IFN) pathways to be highly enriched in a subset of functionally mature cDC1s. We identified an NF-κB–dependent and IFN-γ–regulated gene network in cDC1s, including cytokines and chemokines specialized in the recruitment and activation of cytotoxic T cells. By mapping the trajectory of intratumoral cDC1 maturation, we demonstrated the dynamic reprogramming of tumor-infiltrating cDC1s by NF-κB and IFN signaling pathways. This maturation process was perturbed by specific inactivation of either NF-κB or IFN regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) in cDC1s, resulting in impaired expression of IFN-γ–responsive genes and consequently a failure to efficiently recruit and activate antitumoral CD8+ T cells. Last, we demonstrate the relevance of these findings to patients with melanoma, showing that activation of the NF-κB/IRF1 axis in association with cDC1s is linked with improved clinical outcome. The NF-κB/IRF1 axis in cDC1s may therefore represent an important focal point for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to improve cancer immunotherapy.

The TCR a enhancer (Ea) has served as a paradigm for studying how enhancers organize trans-activators into nucleo-protein complexes thought to recruit and synergistically stimulate the transcriptional machinery. Little is known, however, of either the extent or dynamics of Ea occupancy by nuclear factors during T cell development. Using dimethyl sulfate (DMS) in vivo footprinting, we demonstrate extensive Ea occupancy, encompassing both previously identi®ed and novel sites, not only in T cells representing a developmental stage where Ea is known to be active (CD4 + CD8 + ±DP cells), but surprisingly, also in cells at an earlier developmental stage where Ea is not active (CD4 ± CD8 ± ±DN cells). Partial occupancy was also established in B-lymphoid but not non-lymphoid cells. In vivo DNase I footprinting, however, implied developmentally induced changes in nucleo-protein complex topography. Stage-speci®c differences in factor composition at Ea sequences were also suggested by EMSA analysis. These results, which indicate that alterations in the structure of a pre-assembled nucleo-protein complex correlate with the onset of Ea activity, may exemplify one mechanism by which enhancers can rapidly respond to incoming stimuli.