Tumor stromal alternatively activated macrophages are important determinants of anti-tumor T lymphocyte responses, intratumoral neovascularization and metastatic dissemination. Our recent efforts to investigate the mechanism of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in antagonizing anti-melanoma immune responses reveal that macrophage-derived MIF participates in macrophage alternative activation in melanoma-bearing mice. Both peripheral and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) isolated from melanoma bearing MIF-deficient mice display elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and reduced anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and pro-angiogenic gene products compared to macrophages from tumor bearing MIF wildtype mice. Moreover, TAMs and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) from MIF-deficient mice exhibit reduced T lymphocyte immunosuppressive activities than do those from their wildtype littermates. Corresponding with reduced tumor immunosuppression and neoangiogenic potential by TAMs, MIF-deficiency confers protection against transplantable subcutaneous melanoma outgrowth and melanoma lung metastatic colonization. Finally, we report for the first time that our previously discovered MIF small molecule antagonist, 4-iodo-6-phenylpyrimidine (4-IPP), recapitulates MIF-deficiency in vitro and in vivo and attenuates tumor polarized macrophage alternative activation, immunosuppression, neoangiogenesis and melanoma tumor outgrowth. These studies describe an important functional contribution by MIF to tumor-associated macrophage alternative activation and provide justification for immunotherapeutic targeting of MIF in melanoma patients.

A syndrome of motoric and neuropsychiatric symptoms comprising various elements, including chorea, hyperactivity, tics, emotional lability, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, can occur in association with group A ␤-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infection. We tested the hypothesis that an immune response to GABHS can result in behavioral abnormalities. Female SJL/J mice were immunized and boosted with a GABHS homogenate in Freund's adjuvant, whereas controls received Freund's adjuvant alone. When sera from GABHSimmunized mice were tested for immunoreactivity to mouse brain, a subset was found to be immunoreactive to several brain regions, including deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN), globus pallidus, and thalamus. GABHS-immunized mice having serum immunoreactivity to DCN also had increased IgG deposits in DCN and exhibited increased rearing behavior in open-field and hole-board tests compared with controls and with GABHS-immunized mice lacking serum anti-DCN antibodies. Rearing and ambulatory behavior were correlated with IgG deposits in the DCN and with serum immunoreactivity to GABHS proteins in Western blot. In addition, serum from a GABHS mouse reacted with normal mouse cerebellum in nondenaturing Western blots and immunoprecipitated C4 complement protein and ␣-2-macroglobulin. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that immune response to GABHS can result in motoric and behavioral disturbances and suggest that anti-GABHS antibodies cross-reactive with brain components may play a role in their pathophysiology.

Streptococcal infections can induce obsessive-compulsive and tic disorders. In children, this syndrome, frequently associated with disturbances in attention, learning and mood, has been designated pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection (PANDAS). Autoantibodies recognizing central nervous system (CNS) epitopes are found in sera of most PANDAS subjects, but may not be unique to this neuropsychiatric subset. In support of a humoral immune mechanism, clinical improvement often follows plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulin. We recently described a PANDAS mouse model wherein repetitive behaviors correlate with peripheral anti-CNS antibodies and immune deposits in brain following streptococcal immunization. These antibodies are directed against group A b-hemolytic streptococcus matrix (M) protein and cross-react with molecular targets complement C4 protein and a-2-macroglobulin in brain. Here we show additional deficits in motor coordination, learning/memory and social interaction in PANDAS mice, replicating more complex aspects of human disease. Furthermore, we demonstrate for the first time that humoral immunity is necessary and sufficient to induce the syndrome through experiments wherein naive mice are transfused with immunoglobulin G (IgG) from PANDAS mice. Depletion of IgG from donor sera abrogates behavior changes. These functional disturbances link to the autoimmunity-related IgG1 subclass but are not attributable to differences in cytokine profiles. The mode of disrupting blood-brain barrier integrity differentially affects the ultimate CNS distribution of these antibodies and is shown to be an additional important determinant of neuropsychiatric outcomes. This work provides insights into PANDAS pathogenesis and may lead to new strategies for identification and treatment of children at risk for autoimmune brain disorders.

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Highly aggressive cancers “entrain” innate and adaptive immune cells to suppress anti-tumor lymphocyte responses. Circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) constitute the bulk of monocytic immunosuppressive activity in late stage melanoma patients. Previous studies revealed that monocyte-derived macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is necessary for the immune suppressive function of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and MDSCs in mouse models of melanoma. In the current study we sought to determine whether MIF contributes to human melanoma MDSC induction and T-cell immunosuppression using melanoma patient-derived MDSCs and an ex vivo co-culture model of human melanoma-induced MDSC. We now report that circulating MDSCs isolated from late stage melanoma patients are reliant upon MIF for suppression of antigen-independent T-cell activation and that MIF is necessary for maximal reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in these cells. Moreover, inhibition of MIF results in a functional reversion from immune suppressive MDSC to an immunostimulatory dendritic cell (DC)-like phenotype that is at least partly due to reductions in MDSC prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). These findings indicate that monocyte-derived MIF is centrally involved in human monocytic MDSC induction/immune suppressive function and that therapeutic targeting of MIF may provide a novel means of inducing anti-tumor DC responses in late stage melanoma patients.

Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) is a component of a licensed oral cholera vaccine. However, CTB has pleiotropic immunomodulatory effects whose impacts on the gut are not fully understood. Here, we found that oral administration in mice of a plant-made recombinant CTB (CTBp) significantly increased several immune cell populations in the colon lamina propria. Global gene expression analysis revealed that CTBp had more pronounced impacts on the colon than the small intestine, with significant activation of TGFβ-mediated pathways in the colon epithelium. The clinical relevance of CTBp-induced impacts on colonic mucosa was examined. In a human colon epithelial model using Caco2 cells, CTBp, but not the non-GM1-binding mutant G33D-CTBp, induced TGFβ-mediated wound healing. In a dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) acute colitis mouse model, oral administration of CTBp protected against colon mucosal damage as manifested by mitigated body weight loss, decreased histopathological scores, and blunted escalation of inflammatory cytokine levels while inducing wound healing-related genes. Furthermore, biweekly oral administration of CTBp significantly reduced disease severity and tumorigenesis in the azoxymethane/DSS model of ulcerative colitis and colon cancer. Altogether, these results demonstrate CTBp's ability to enhance mucosal healing in the colon, highlighting its potential application in ulcerative colitis therapy besides cholera vaccination.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells that accumulate during pathologic conditions, such as cancer. Patients diagnosed with advanced metastatic cancers have an average survival of 12-24 mo, a survival time that hasn't changed significantly in the past 30 yr. Despite some encouraging improvements in response rates and overall survival in patients receiving immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, most patients will ultimately progress. MDSCs contribute to immunotherapeutic resistance by actively inhibiting antitumor T cell proliferation and cytotoxic activity as well as by promoting expansion of protumorigenic T regulatory cells, thereby, dampening the host immune responses against the tumor. In addition, MDSCs promote angiogenesis, tumor invasion, and metastasis. Thus, MDSCs are potential therapeutic targets in cases of multiple cancers. This review focuses on the phenotypic and functional characteristics of MDSCs and provides an overview of the mono- and combinatorial-therapeutic strategies that target MDSCs with an objective of enhancing the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies.

Maternal infection during pregnancy with a wide range of RNA and DNA viruses is associated with increased risk for schizophrenia and autism in their offspring. A common feature in these exposures is that virus replication induces innate immunity through interaction with Toll-like receptors (TLRs). We employed a mouse model wherein pregnant mice were exposed to polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I  ⋅  C)], a synthetic, double-stranded RNA molecular mimic of replicating virus. Poly(I ⋅ C) inhibited embryonic neuronal stem cell replication and population of the superficial layers of the neocortex by neurons. Poly(I ⋅ C) also led to impaired neonatal locomotor development and abnormal sensorimotor gating responses in adult offspring. Using Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3)-deficient mice, we established that these effects were dependent on TLR3. Inhibition of stem cell proliferation was also abrogated by pretreatment with the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) carprofen, a cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor. Our findings provide insights into mechanisms by which maternal infection can induce subtle neuropathology and behavioral dysfunction, and they may suggest strategies for reducing the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders subsequent to prenatal exposures to pathogens and other triggers of innate immunity.