Despite recent evidence on the involvement of CD81 in pathogen binding and Ag presentation by dendritic cells (DCs), the molecular mechanism of how CD81 regulates immunity during infection remains to be elucidated. To investigate the role of CD81 in the regulation of defense mechanisms against microbial infections, we have used the Listeria monocytogenes infection model to explore the impact of CD81 deficiency in the innate and adaptive immune response against this pathogenic bacteria. We show that CD81−/− mice are less susceptible than wild-type mice to systemic Listeria infection, which correlates with increased numbers of inflammatory monocytes and DCs in CD81−/− spleens, the main subsets controlling early bacterial burden. Additionally, our data reveal that CD81 inhibits Rac/STAT-1 activation, leading to a negative regulation of the production of TNF-α and NO by inflammatory DCs and the activation of cytotoxic T cells by splenic CD8α+ DCs. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that CD81–Rac interaction exerts an important regulatory role on the innate and adaptive immunity against bacterial infection and suggests a role for CD81 in the development of novel therapeutic targets during infectious diseases.

Objective: 18 F-sodium fluoride ( 18 F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is thought to visualize active atherosclerotic plaque calcification. This is supported by the binding of 18 F-NaF to plaque calcification ex vivo, but no prior studies have examined binding of 18 F-NaF to human-like plaque in vivo. Our aim was to validate the specificity of 18 F-NaF PET for plaque calcifications in atherosclerotic minipigs. Approach and Results: Gain-of-function PCSK9 D374Y (proprotein convertase/subtilisin kexin type 9) transgenic Yucatan minipigs (n=4) were fed high-fat diet for 2.5 years to develop atherosclerosis and then subjected to 18 F-NaF PET/computed tomography imaging. The heart, aorta, and iliac arteries were immediately re-scanned ex vivo after surgical extraction. Lesions from the abdominal aorta, iliac arteries, and coronary arteries were cryo-sectioned for autoradiography. Histological plaque characteristics, PET/computed tomography signal, and autoradiography were linked through regression and co-localization analysis. Arterial 18 F-NaF PET signal had intensities comparable to clinical scans and colocalized moderately with calcification detected by computed tomography. Histological analysis showed calcification spanning from microcalcifications near lipid pools and necrotic core to more homogenous macrocalcifications. Comparison with arteries from autopsy cases confirmed the resemblance in localization and appearance with early human plaque calcification. Regression analysis in the abdominal aorta showed correlations with calcified plaque but could not rule out contributions from noncalcified plaque. This was resolved by autoradiography, which showed specific accumulation in plaque calcifications in all examined arteries. In the context of porcine abdominal aorta, 18 F-NaF PET imaging was, however, less accurate than computed tomography for detecting small calcifications. Conclusions: 18 F-NaF accumulates specifically in calcifications of atherosclerotic plaques in vivo.

Cervical cancer is caused by persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection and represents the second most frequent gynecological malignancy in the world. The HPV-16 type accounts for up to 55% of all cervical cancers. The HPV-16 oncoproteins E6 and E7 are necessary for induction and maintenance of malignant transformation and represent tumor-specific antigens for targeted cytotoxic T lymphocyte–mediated immunotherapy. Therapeutic cancer vaccines have become a challenging area of oncology research in recent decades. Among current cancer immunotherapy strategies, virus-like particle (VLP)–based vaccines have emerged as a potent and safe approach. We generated a vaccine (VLP-E7) incorporating a long C-terminal fragment of HPV-16 E7 protein into the infectious bursal disease virus VLP and tested its therapeutic potential in HLA-A2 humanized transgenic mice grafted with TC1/A2 tumor cells. We performed a series of tumor challenge experiments demonstrating a strong immune response against already-formed tumors (complete eradication). Remarkably, therapeutic efficacy was obtained with a single dose without adjuvant and against two injections of tumor cells, indicating a potent and long-lasting immune response.

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BACKGROUND: To cause atherosclerosis, LDLs (low-density lipoproteins) must first pass through the endothelium and then become retained in the arterial matrix. Which of these two processes is rate-limiting and predicts the topography of plaque formation remains controversial. To investigate this issue, we performed high-resolution mapping of LDL entry and retention in murine aortic arches before and during atherosclerosis development. METHODS: Maps of LDL entry and retention were created by injecting fluorescently labeled LDL followed by near-infrared scanning and whole-mount confocal microscopy after 1 hour (entry) and 18 hours (retention). By comparing arches between normal mice and mice with short-term hypercholesterolemia, we analyzed changes in LDL entry and retention during the LDL accumulation phase that precedes plaque formation. Experiments were designed to secure equal plasma clearance of labeled LDL in both conditions. RESULTS: We found that LDL retention is the overall limiting factor for LDL accumulation but that the capacity for LDL retention varied substantially over surprisingly short distances. The inner curvature region, previously considered a homogenous atherosclerosis-prone region, consisted of dorsal and ventral zones with high capacity and a central zone with low capacity for continued LDL retention. These features predicted the temporal pattern of atherosclerosis, which first appeared in the border zones and later in the central zone. The limit to LDL retention in the central zone was intrinsic to the arterial wall, possibly caused by saturation of the binding mechanism, and was lost upon conversion to atherosclerotic lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Capacity for continued LDL retention varies over short distances and predicts where and when atherosclerosis develops in the mouse aortic arch.

Background and objectives: 18 FDG-PET imaging is used as clinical endpoint to monitor efficacy of drugs in atherosclerosis, but the link between disease activity and FDG uptake is not well understood. Previous studies in PCSK9 D374Y minipigs showed that FDG is taken up quantitatively in multiple plaque cell types. Here, we developed methods to alter disease activity of established atherosclerosis in PCSK9 D374Y minipigs and analyzed the ability of FDG-PET to monitor the changes and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Atherosclerosis was induced in PCSK9 D374Y minipigs by high-fat feeding for 12 months. Pigs were then either euthanized for analysis of baseline atherosclerosis (Baseline pigs, n=7) or subjected to a 3-months LDL- lowering intervention with low-fat diet (LF pigs, n=8) or low-fat diet supplemented with microsomal transfer protein inhibitor (BMS-212122, 0.5mg/kg/day, MTPi pigs, n=8). Wild-type pigs on low-fat diet provided non-atherosclerotic controls (n=5). 18 FDG-PET imaging was performed in all animals at the endpoint, and serial sections of the abdominal aorta, iliac and LAD arteries were analyzed for plaque morphology, lipid accumulation (Oil Red O), and macrophage content (CD68 and muramidase). In a separate experiment, abdominal plaques from Baseline (n= 5) and MTPi pigs (n=3) were analyzed by single-cell RNA sequencing. Results: MTPi pigs reached low LDL cholesterol levels (<1.8 mM) and had significant reductions in plaque lipid content (56%, p=0.002) and necrotic area (50%, p=0.002) compared with Baseline pigs. Macrophage content was numerically, but not significantly, altered. 18 FDG signal was substantially reduced in MTPi compared with Baseline pigs (SUVmean 1.04 vs 1.54, p=0.019) reaching levels similar to non-atherosclerotic wild-type pigs (SUVmean 1.11). Analysis of scRNA-seq data indicated that reduced FDG uptake was explained by lowered glycolytic activity across multiple cell types, including macrophages, lymphocytes, and smooth muscle cells. Conclusion: 18 FDG-PET imaging can monitor disease activity in atherosclerosis because disease activity is associated with increased glycolysis across all of the major cell types of plaques.

Respiratory disorders caused by allergy have been associated to bronchiolar inflammation leading to life-threatening airway narrowing. However, whether airway allergy causes alveolar dysfunction contributing to the pathology of allergic asthma remains unaddressed. To explore whether airway allergy causes alveolar dysfunction that might contribute to the pathology of allergic asthma, alveolar structural and functional alterations were analyzed during house dust mite (HDM)-induced airway allergy in mice, by flow cytometry, light and electron microscopy, monocyte transfer experiments, assessment of intra-alveolarly-located cells, analysis of alveolar macrophage regeneration in Cx3cr1cre:R26-yfp chimeras, analysis of surfactant-associated proteins, and study of lung surfactant biophysical properties by captive bubble surfactometry. Our results demonstrate that HDM-induced airway allergic reactions caused severe alveolar dysfunction, leading to alveolar macrophage death, pneumocyte hypertrophy and surfactant dysfunction. SP-B/C proteins were reduced in allergic lung surfactant, that displayed a reduced efficiency to form surface-active films, increasing the risk of atelectasis. Original alveolar macrophages were replaced by monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages, that persisted at least two months after the resolution of allergy. Monocyte to alveolar macrophage transition occurred through an intermediate stage of pre-alveolar macrophage and was paralleled with translocation into the alveolar space, Siglec-F upregulation, and downregulation of CX3CR1. These data support that the severe respiratory disorders caused by asthmatic reactions not only result from bronchiolar inflammation, but additionally from alveolar dysfunction compromising an efficient gas exchange.