Autoimmune glomerulonephritis is a common manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study, we show that mice lacking macrophage expression of the heterodimeric nuclear receptors PPARγ or RXRα develop glomerulonephritis and autoantibodies to nuclear Ags, resembling the nephritis seen in SLE. These mice show deficiencies in phagocytosis and clearance of apoptotic cells, and they are unable to acquire an anti-inflammatory phenotype upon feeding of apoptotic cells, which is critical for the maintenance of self-tolerance. These results demonstrate that stimulation of PPARγ and RXRα in macrophages facilitates apoptotic cell engulfment, and they provide a potential strategy to avoid autoimmunity against dying cells and to attenuate SLE.

Abstract Granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSCs) promote tumor growth and immunosuppression in multiple myeloma (MM). However, their phenotype is not well established for accurate monitoring or clinical translation. We aimed to provide the phenotypic profile of G-MDSCs based on their prognostic significance in MM, immunosuppressive potential, and molecular program. The preestablished phenotype of G-MDSCs was evaluated in bone marrow samples from controls and MM patients using multidimensional flow cytometry; surprisingly, we found that CD11b+CD14−CD15+CD33+HLADR− cells overlapped with common eosinophils and neutrophils, which were not expanded in MM patients. Therefore, we relied on automated clustering to unbiasedly identify all granulocytic subsets in the tumor microenvironment: basophils, eosinophils, and immature, intermediate, and mature neutrophils. In a series of 267 newly diagnosed MM patients (GEM2012MENOS65 trial), only the frequency of mature neutrophils at diagnosis was significantly associated with patient outcome, and a high mature neutrophil/T-cell ratio resulted in inferior progression-free survival (P < .001). Upon fluorescence-activated cell sorting of each neutrophil subset, T-cell proliferation decreased in the presence of mature neutrophils (0.5-fold; P = .016), and the cytotoxic potential of T cells engaged by a BCMA×CD3-bispecific antibody increased notably with the depletion of mature neutrophils (fourfold; P = .0007). Most interestingly, RNA sequencing of the 3 subsets revealed that G-MDSC–related genes were specifically upregulated in mature neutrophils from MM patients vs controls because of differential chromatin accessibility. Taken together, our results establish a correlation between the clinical significance, immunosuppressive potential, and transcriptional network of well-defined neutrophil subsets, providing for the first time a set of optimal markers (CD11b/CD13/CD16) for accurate monitoring of G-MDSCs in MM.

The retinoid X receptor α (RXRα) plays a central role in the regulation of many intracellular receptor signaling pathways and can mediate ligand-dependent transcription by forming homodimers or heterodimers with other nuclear receptors. Although several members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily have emerged as important regulators of macrophage gene expression, the existence in vivo of an RXR signaling pathway in macrophages has not been established. Here, we provide evidence that RXRα regulates the transcription of the chemokines Ccl6 and Ccl9 in macrophages independently of heterodimeric partners. Mice lacking RXRα in myeloid cells exhibit reduced levels of CCL6 and CCL9, impaired recruitment of leukocytes to sites of inflammation, and lower susceptibility to sepsis. These studies demonstrate that macrophage RXRα plays key roles in the regulation of innate immunity and represents a potential target for immunotherapy of sepsis.nuclear hormone receptors | macrophages | innate immunity | sepsis

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) carrying high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities (CA) have inferior outcome despite achieving similar complete response (CR) rates when compared to cases with standard-risk CA. This questions the legitimacy of CR as treatment endpoint for high-risk MM, and represents a biological conundrum regarding the nature of tumor reservoirs persisting after therapy in patients with standard- and high-risk CA. Here, we used next-generation flow (NGF) to evaluate measurable residual disease (MRD) in MM patients with standard- (N=300) vs high-risk CA (N=90) enrolled in the PETHEMA/GEM2012MENOS65 trial (NCT01916252), and to identify mechanisms determining MRD resistance in both patient subgroups (N=40). The 36-month progression-free and overall survival rates were higher than 90% in patients with undetectable MRD, with no significant differences (P≥0.202) between cases having standard- vs high-risk CA. Persistent MRD resulted in median progression-free survival of approximately three and two years in patients with standard- and high-risk CA, respectively (P<0.001). Further use of NGF to isolate MRD followed by whole-exome sequencing of paired diagnostic and MRD tumor cells, revealed greater clonal selection in patients with standard-risk CA, higher genomic instability with acquisition of new mutations in high-risk MM, and no unifying lost or acquired genetic abnormalities driving MRD resistance. Conversely, RNA sequencing of diagnostic and MRD tumor cells uncovered the selection of MRD clones with singular transcriptional programs and ROS-mediated MRD resistance in high-risk MM. Our study supports undetectable MRD as treatment endpoint for MM patients with high-risk CA and proposes characterizing MRD clones to understand and overcome MRD resistance.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is associated with a high risk of cardiovascular events and death and is postulated to be a critical socioeconomic cost in the future. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as potential candidates for new biomarker discovery related to their protein and nucleic acid cargo. In search of new prognostic and therapeutic targets in PAD, we determined the prothrombotic activity, the cellular origin and the transcriptomic profile of circulating EVs. This prospective study included control and PAD patients. Coagulation time (Procoag-PPL kit), EVs cellular origin and phosphatidylserine exposure were determined by flow cytometry in plateletfree plasma (n = 45 PAD). Transcriptomic profiles of medium/large EVs were generated using the MARS-Seq RNA-Seq protocol (n = 12/group). The serum concentration of the differentially expressed gene S100A9, in serum calprotectin (S100A8/A9), was validated by ELISA in control (n = 100) and PAD patients (n = 317). S100A9 was also determined in EVs and tissues of human atherosclerotic plaques (n = 3). Circulating EVs of PAD patients were mainly of platelet origin, predominantly Annexin V positive and were associated with the procoagulant activity of plateletfree plasma. Transcriptomic analysis of EVs identified 15 differentially expressed genes. Among them, serum calprotectin was elevated in PAD patients (p < 0.05) and associated with increased amputation risk before and after covariate adjustment (mean follow-up 3.6 years, p < 0.01). The combination of calprotectin with hs-CRP in the multivariate analysis further improved risk stratification (p < 0.01). Furthermore, S100A9 was also expressed in femoral plaque derived EVs and tissues. In summary, we found that PAD patients release EVs, mainly of platelet origin, highly positive for AnnexinV and rich in transcripts related to platelet biology and immune responses. Amputation risk prediction improved with calprotectin and was significantly higher when combined with hs-CRP. Our results suggest that EVs can be a promising component of liquid biopsy to identify the molecular signature of PAD patients.

Rationale: The characterization of new genetic alterations is essential to assign effective personalized therapies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Furthermore, finding stratification biomarkers is essential for successful personalized therapies. Molecular alterations of YES1, a member of the SRC (proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src) family kinases (SFKs), can be found in a significant subset of patients with lung cancer. Objectives: To evaluate YES1 (v-YES-1 Yamaguchi sarcoma viral oncogene homolog 1) genetic alteration as a therapeutic target and predictive biomarker of response to dasatinib in NSCLC. Methods: Functional significance was evaluated by in vivo models of NSCLC and metastasis and patient-derived xenografts. The efficacy of pharmacological and genetic (CRISPR [clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats]/Cas9 [CRISPR-associated protein 9]) YES1 abrogation was also evaluated. In vitro functional assays for signaling, survival, and invasion were also performed. The association between YES1 alterations and prognosis was evaluated in clinical samples. Measurements and Main Results: We demonstrated that YES1 is essential for NSCLC carcinogenesis. Furthermore, YES1 overexpression induced metastatic spread in preclinical in vivo models. YES1 genetic depletion by CRISPR/Cas9 technology significantly reduced tumor growth and metastasis. YES1 effects were mainly driven by mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signaling. Interestingly, cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models with YES1 gene amplifications presented a high sensitivity to dasatinib, an SFK inhibitor, pointing out YES1 status as a stratification biomarker for dasatinib response. Moreover, high YES1 protein expression was an independent predictor for poor prognosis in patients with lung cancer. Conclusions: YES1 is a promising therapeutic target in lung cancer. Our results provide support for the clinical evaluation of dasatinib treatment in a selected subset of patients using YES1 status as predictive biomarker for therapy.

Background: The etiology and the molecular basis of lung adenocarcinomas (LuADs) in nonsmokers are currently unknown. Furthermore, the scarcity of available primary cultures continues to hamper our biological understanding of non-smoking-related lung adenocarcinomas (NSK-LuADs). Patients and methods: We established patient-derived cancer cell (PDC) cultures from metastatic NSK-LuADs, including two pairs of matched EGFR-mutant PDCs before and after resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), and then performed whole-exome and RNA sequencing to delineate their genomic architecture. For validation, we analyzed independent cohorts of primary LuADs. Results: In addition to known non-smoker-associated alterations (e.g. RET, ALK, EGFR, and ERBB2), we discovered novel fusions and recurrently mutated genes, including ATF7IP, a regulator of gene expression, that was inactivated in 5% of primary LuAD cases. We also found germline mutations at dominant familiar-cancer genes, highlighting the importance of genetic predisposition in the origin of a subset of NSK-LuADs. Furthermore, there was an over-representation of inactivating alterations at RB1, mostly through complex intragenic rearrangements, in treatment-naive EGFR-mutant LuADs. Three EGFR-mutant and one EGFR-wild-type tumors acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs and chemotherapy, respectively, and histology on re-biopsies revealed the development of small-cell lung cancer/squamous cell carcinoma (SCLC/LuSCC) transformation. These features were consistent with RB1 inactivation and acquired EGFR-T790M mutation or FGFR3eTACC3 fusion in EGFR-mutant tumors. Conclusions: We found recurrent alterations in LuADs that deserve further exploration. Our work also demonstrates that a subset of NSK-LuADs arises within cancer-predisposition syndromes. The preferential occurrence of RB1 inactivation, via complex rearrangements, found in EGFR-mutant tumors appears to favor SCLC/LuSCC transformation under growthinhibition pressures. Thus RB1 inactivation may predict the risk of LuAD transformation to a more aggressive type of lung cancer, and may need to be considered as a part of the clinical management of NSK-LuADs patients.

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