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The balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs, which is governed by multiple synapse organizers, controls neural circuit functions and behaviors. Slit-and Trk-like proteins (Slitrks) are a family of synapse organizers, whose emerging synaptic roles are incompletely understood. Here, we report that Slitrks are enriched in postsynaptic densities in rat brains. Overexpression of Slitrks promoted synapse formation, whereas RNAi-mediated knockdown of Slitrks decreased synapse density. Intriguingly, Slitrks were required for both excitatory and inhibitory synapse formation in an isoform-dependent manner. Moreover, Slitrks required distinct members of the leukocyte antigen-related receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase (LAR-RPTP) family to trigger synapse formation. Protein tyrosine phosphatase σ (PTPσ), in particular, was specifically required for excitatory synaptic differentiation by Slitrks, whereas PTPδ was necessary for inhibitory synapse differentiation. Taken together, these data suggest that combinatorial interactions of Slitrks with LAR-RPTP family members maintain synapse formation to coordinate excitatory-inhibitory balance.leucine-rich repeat | neuropsychiatic disorder | synaptic cell-adhesion

Summary Animals are often confronted with the decision as to consume a diet that contains competing attractive and aversive compounds. Here, using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, we describe a mechanism that influences this decision. Addition of bitter compounds to sucrose suppressed feeding behavior, and this inhibition depended on the odorant binding protein, OBP49a. In wild-type flies, bitter compounds suppressed sucrose-induced action potentials, and the inhibition was impaired in Obp49a mutants. However, loss of OBP49a did not affect action potentials in sugar- or bitter-activated gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) when the GRNs were presented with just one type of tastant. OBP49a was expressed in accessory cells, and acted non-cell autonomously to attenuate nerve firings in sugar-activated GRNs when bitter compounds were combined with sucrose. These findings demonstrate an unexpected role for an OBP in taste, and identify a molecular player involved in the integration of opposing attractive and aversive gustatory inputs.

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A comprehensive evaluation of nasal and bronchial cytokines and chemokines following experimental rhinovirus infection in allergic asthma: increased interferons (IFN-g and IFN-l) and type 2 inflammation (IL-5 and IL-13).

BackgroundRegulatory T (Treg) cells have an immunosuppressive function in cancer, but the underlying mechanism of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is unclear.MethodsWe compared the phenotypes of T cell subsets, including Treg cells, obtained from peripheral blood, malignant effusion, and tumors of 103 cancer patients. Our primary focus was on the expression of immune checkpoint (IC)-molecules, such as programmed death (PD)-1, T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing (TIM)-3, T cell Ig and ITIM domain (TIGIT), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4, on Treg cells in paired lymphocytes from blood, peritumoral tissue, and tumors of 12 patients with lung cancer. To identify the immunosuppressive mechanisms acting on tumor-infiltrating Treg cells, we conducted immunosuppressive functional assays in a mouse model.ResultsCD8+, CD4+ T cells, and Treg cells exhibited a gradual upregulation of IC-molecules the closer they were to the tumor. Interestingly, PD-1 expression was more prominent in Treg cells than in conventional T (Tconv) cells. In lung cancer patients, higher levels of IC-molecules were expressed on Treg cells than on Tconv cells, and Treg cells were also more enriched in the tumor than in the peri-tumor and blood. In a mouse lung cancer model, IC-molecules were also preferentially upregulated on Treg cells, compared to Tconv cells. PD-1 showed the greatest increase on most cell types, especially Treg cells, and this increase occurred gradually over time after the cells entered the TME. PD-1 high-expressing tumor-infiltrating Treg cells displayed potent suppressive activity, which could be partially inhibited with a blocking anti-PD-1 antibody.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that the TME confers a suppressive function on Treg cells by upregulating IC-molecule expression. Targeting IC-molecules, including PD-1, on Treg cells may be effective for cancer treatment.

Purpose Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have shown marked responses in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in clinical trials. However, because such trials comprise cohorts selected based on specific criteria, it is unclear if their results represent routine clinical practice. Methods We examined 155 patients with advanced NSCLC who were administered either nivolumab or pembrolizumab at Yonsei Cancer Center, Korea between March 2014 and January 2019. Patient characteristics, EGFR / ALK mutation status, metastatic locations, response to ICIs, and adverse events were retrospectively analyzed. Results The median age was 64 years and 72.9% of patients were male; former or current smokers constituted 67.1% of the subjects. Adenocarcinoma was predominant (67.7%), and 50.3% of the patients underwent ≥ 2 previous treatments. Twenty-three patients (14.8%) were EGFR mutation- or ALK rearrangement-positive. The objective response rate (ORR) was 23.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 17.4–31.4%]; the median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 3.06 (95% CI 1.893–4.21) and 10.25 (95% CI 5.39–15.11) months, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified ECOG performance status, EGFR mutation/ ALK rearrangement status, liver metastasis and PD-L1 proportion as independent predictors of OS. Furthermore, 61.9% of the patients had adverse events of any grade; 38.1% had immune-related adverse events that were associated with PFS and OS on multivariate analysis. Conclusions The real-world ORR, PFS, OS, and adverse event profiles were comparable to previous clinical trials despite the patients’ different baseline characteristics. Our findings can aid in establishing effective immunotherapeutic management of NSCLC in routine clinical practice. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00432-019-02899-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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