Summary Unconventional secretion of exosome vesicles from multivesicular endosomes (MVE) occurs across a broad set of systems and is reported to be upregulated in cancer where it promotes aggressive behavior. However, regulatory control of exosome secretion is poorly understood. Using cancer cells, we identified specialized invasive actin structures called invadopodia as specific and critical docking and secretion sites for CD63- and Rab27a-positive MVE. Thus, inhibition of invadopodia formation greatly reduced exosome secretion into conditioned media. Functionally, addition of purified exosomes or inhibition of exosome biogenesis or secretion greatly affected multiple invadopodia lifecycle steps, including invadopodia formation, stabilization, and exocytosis of proteinases, indicating a key role for exosome cargoes in promoting invasive activity and providing in situ signaling feedback. Exosome secretion also controlled cellular invasion through 3-dimensional matrix. These data identify a synergistic interaction between invadopodia biogenesis and exosome secretion and reveal a fundamental role for exosomes in promoting cancer cell invasiveness.

A central and unresolved question in cancer is how deregulated signaling leads to acquisition of an invasive cellular phenotype. Here, we modeled the invasive transition as a theoretical switch between focal adhesions and extracellular matrix (ECM)-degrading invadopodia and built molecular interaction network models of each structure. To identify upstream regulatory hubs, we added first degree binding partners and applied graph theoretic analyses. Comparison of the results to clustered reverse phase protein array signaling data from head and neck carcinomas led us to choose phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase C alpha (PKCα) for further analysis. Consistent with a previous report, PI3K activity promoted both the formation and activity of invadopodia. Furthermore, PI3K induction of invadopodia was increased by overexpression of SH2 domain-containing inositol 5′-phosphatase 2 (SHIP2), suggesting that a major part of the mechanism is synthesis of PI(3,4,5)P3, a precursor for PI(3,4)P2, which promotes invadopodia formation. Knockdown of PKCα led to divergent effects on invadopodia formation, depending on the activation state of PI3K. Loss of PKCα inhibited invadopodia formation in cells with wild-type PI3K pathway status. Conversely, in cells with either activating PI3K mutants or lacking the endogenous opposing enzyme phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), PKCα knockdown increased invadopodia formation. Investigation of the mechanism revealed that a negative feedback loop from PKCα dampened PI3K activity and invasive behavior in cells with genetic overactivation of the PI3K pathway. These studies demonstrate the potential of network modeling as a discovery tool and identify PI3K and PKCα as critical interacting regulators of invasive behavior.

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that maternal plasma alpha-tocopherol levels are associated with protection from childhood wheeze, and that this protection is modified by gamma-tocopherol. Study eesign:We conducted a prospective nested study in the INSPIRE birth cohort of 652 children with postpartum maternal plasma vitamin E isoforms used as a surrogate for pregnancy concentrations. Our outcomes were wheezing and recurrent wheezing over a 2-year period, ascertained using validated questionnaires. We assessed the association of alpha-and gammatocopherol with wheezing outcomes using multivariable adjusted logistic regression, and tested for interaction between the isoforms with respect to the risk for wheezing outcomes.Results: Children with wheezing (N=547, n=167; 31%) and recurrent wheezing (N=545, n=55; 10.1%) over a 2-year period, were born to mothers with significantly lower postpartum maternal plasma concentrations of alpha-tocopherol, P = .016 and p=0.007, respectively. In analyses of interquartile range increases, alpha-tocopherol was associated with decreased risk of wheezing (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.70 [95% CI:0.53,0.92]); and recurrent wheezing (aOR 0.63 [95% CI: 0.42,0.95]). For gamma-tocopherol, the aOR for wheezing was 0.79 (95% CI:0.56-1.10) and the aOR for recurrent wheezing was 0.56 (95% CI:0.33-0.94, with non-monotonic association). The

Isoforms of vitamin E (specifically alpha-and gammatocopherol) have shown differential effects on in vivo mouse models of allergic inflammation and adult-onset asthma in humans. We hypothesized that maternal postpartum vitamin E isoforms would show differential associations with early life childhood respiratory outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a prospective nested study of the INSPIRE birth cohort of 651 children with maternal postpartum plasma vitamin E isoforms measured at study enrollment. We ascertained the outcome of recurrent wheezing requiring asthma medication at two years of life using validated questionnaires. We evaluated for association with, and for interaction between, alpha-and gamma-tocopherol concentrations and recurrent wheezing, while adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: Median age of the children at time of maternal sample collection was 50 days [IQR 16,81]; 47% were female and 61% were white. Children with two year wheezing (N5174; 27%) had mothers with significantly lower postpartum concentrations of plasma alpha-tocopherol (68 mmol/L [IQR:42,96]) compared to those who did not (75 mmol/L [IQR:50,106]), p50.021. In multivariable regression analysis for interaction, the relationship of alpha-tocopherol with wheezing was modified by gamma-tocopherol concentration in tertiles (main effect of alpha tocopherol p50.014, interaction p50.06). At the highest tertile of gamma tocopherol, the protective association of alpha tocopherol on child wheezing was modified. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, increasing maternal postpartum plasma alpha-tocopherol isoform concentration was associated with decreased likelihood of wheezing requiring asthma medications at two years. This protective association appeared to be attenuated at high concentrations of gamma-tocopherol.

Despite being commonly used to collect upper airway epithelial lining fluid, nasal washes are poorly reproducible, not suitable for serial sampling, and limited by a dilution effect. In contrast, nasal filters lack these limitations and are an attractive alternative. To examine whether nasal filters are superior to nasal washes as a sampling method for the characterization of the upper airway microbiome and immune response, we collected paired nasal filters and washes from a group of 40 healthy children and adults. To characterize the upper airway microbiome, we used 16S ribosomal RNA and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. To characterize the immune response, we measured total protein using a BCA assay and 53 immune mediators using multiplex magnetic bead-based assays. We conducted statistical analyses to compare common microbial ecology indices and immune-mediator median fluorescence intensities (MFIs) between sample types. In general, nasal filters were more likely to pass quality control in both children and adults. There were no significant differences in microbiome community richness, α-diversity, or structure between pediatric samples types; however, these were all highly dissimilar between adult sample types. In addition, there were significant differences in the abundance of amplicon sequence variants between sample types in children and adults. In adults, total proteins were significantly higher in nasal filters than nasal washes; consequently, the immune-mediator MFIs were not well detected in nasal washes. Based on better quality control sequencing metrics and higher immunoassay sensitivity, our results suggest that nasal filters are a superior sampling method to characterize the upper airway microbiome and immune response in both children and adults.

Chemoattractants directly stimulate the enzyme activity that synthesizes phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), phosphoinositol-4-monophosphate (PIP) kinase. The present study determined whether stimulation of this enzyme correlates with actin assembly by assessing the calcium dependence of this reaction. Incubation of neutrophils with 5 to 100 micrograms/ml Con A caused a concentration-dependent increase in PIP kinase activity ranging from 1.38- to 3.4-fold. The effective concentration which stimulated PIP kinase by 50% (17 micrograms/ml, EC50) corresponded with the EC50 for Con A-induced superoxide production (32 micrograms/ml). Like chemoattractants, the increase in PIP kinase by Con A was characterized by a 2.6-fold increase in the maximum velocity (Vmax) of the enzyme, and no change in the Km for ATP. The kinetics of FMLP- and Con A-induced filamentous actin formation preceded stimulation of PIP kinase and was sustained over the same time period that this increased enzyme activity was noted. Although transmembrane signaling by FMLP and Con A requires an increase in intracellular calcium for some polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) functional responses, calcium depletion of PMN by incubation with 100 microM Quin 2 A/M and 5 mM EGTA did not prevent the stimulation of PIP kinase by FMLP or Con A. In addition, calcium depletion did not prevent the increase in filamentous actin formation by FMLP and Con A in PMN. These findings demonstrate that Con A increases PIP kinase activity in human PMN and that PIP kinase stimulation and maintenance of actin assembly are independent of calcium fluxes in these cells. Because PIP2 controls the function of the actin-regulatory proteins, profilin and gelsolin, changes in the synthetic rate of PIP2 through regulation of PIP kinase may provide a molecular basis for the prolonged stimulation of actin assembly in human PMN by agonists such as Con A and FMLP.

IL-8 is a neutrophil-specific chemoattractant and cellular activator which exists in at least three forms, 69, 72, and 77 amino acids. The predominant monocyte product has 72 amino acids, whereas endothelial cells secrete the 77-amino acid form. The 72-amino acid form has been shown to increase intracellular calcium in neutrophils, but the exact biochemical pathways involved in stimulation of these cells is unknown. N-formyl peptide chemoattractants in neutrophils stimulate the formation of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), a reservoir for second messenger molecules and regulator of actin assembly through its association with the actin-binding proteins, profilin, and gelsolin. The present study examined whether IL-8 altered the enzyme which synthesizes PIP2, phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PIP) kinase. Incubation of intact neutrophils with 10 nM IL-8 caused approximately a twofold increase in the activity of the enzyme. All forms of IL-8 stimulated PIP kinase activity in concentrations ranging from 1 to 50 nM, and the dose-response curves exactly correlated with the order of potency of these cytokines for interacting with the IL-8R on the surface of neutrophils. Lineweaver-Burk analysis of the kinetics of PIP kinase assayed in the presence of 0.03 to 0.7 mM ATP showed that 10 nM IL-8 increased the Vmax of the enzyme 38 to 70.5%, with no significant change in the apparent Km for ATP or for PIP. The stimulation of PIP kinase activity could not be explained by decreased degradation of PIP2 by phospholipase C or phosphomonoesterase activity in the membranes isolated from cells treated with IL-8 or by a decrease in the degradation of ATP. The microfilament disrupter, cytochalasin b, inhibited IL-8 induced stimulation of PIP kinase. These findings demonstrate that all forms of IL-8 stimulate PIP kinase in human neutrophils. This event may provide molecular signals to these cells that are necessary to maintain or change the state of microfilament assembly during cellular activation.