Project description:The presence of Donor-Specific anti-HLA Antibodies (DSA) is associated with an increased risk of both acute and chronic antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in kidney allografts. AMR has remained challenging in kidney transplantation and is the major cause of late allograft loss. However, not all patients with DSA develop AMR, leading to the question of whether this represents accommodation, if other protective mechanisms exist or if this is actually a state of pre-rejection. Clinical and histological features, and gene expression profiles of kidney biopsy and blood samples of donor-specific antibody (DSA)+ patients without rejection were compared to antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) patients to elucidate the mechanisms involved in prevention of AMR. Of the 71 DSA+ patients, 46 had diagnosis of AMR and 25 did not show rejection. 50 DSA- patients without rejection were used as control. A subgroup of patients with available biopsy (n=61) and blood samples (n=54) were analyzed by microarrays. Both, DSA+/AMR+ and DSA+/AMR- biopsies showed increased expression of gene transcripts associated with cytotoxic T, natural killer cells, macrophages, interferon-gamma and rejection compared to DSA- biopsies. Regulatory T cell transcripts were up-regulated in DSA+/AMR+ and B cell transcripts in DSA+/AMR- biopsies. Whole blood gene expression analysis showed increased immune activity in only DSA+/AMR+ patients. There were no differentially expressed tolerant genes studied (n=14) in the blood or biopsy specimens of DSA+/AMR- patients. During a median 36 months follow-up, 4 DSA+/AMR- patients developed AMR, 12 continued to have DSAs but 9 lost DSAs. Gene expression profiles did not predict the development of AMR or persistence of DSAs. These results indicate increased immune activity in DSA+/AMR- biopsies despite lack of histologic findings of rejection.
Project description:The presence of Donor-Specific anti-HLA Antibodies (DSA) is associated with an increased risk of both acute and chronic antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in kidney allografts. AMR has remained challenging in kidney transplantation and is the major cause of late allograft loss. However, not all patients with DSA develop AMR, leading to the question of whether this represents accommodation, if other protective mechanisms exist or if this is actually a state of pre-rejection. Clinical and histological features, and gene expression profiles of kidney biopsy and blood samples of donor-specific antibody (DSA)+ patients without rejection were compared to antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) patients to elucidate the mechanisms involved in prevention of AMR. Of the 71 DSA+ patients, 46 had diagnosis of AMR and 25 did not show rejection. 50 DSA- patients without rejection were used as control. A subgroup of patients with available biopsy (n=61) and blood samples (n=54) were analyzed by microarrays. Both, DSA+/AMR+ and DSA+/AMR- biopsies showed increased expression of gene transcripts associated with cytotoxic T, natural killer cells, macrophages, interferon-gamma and rejection compared to DSA- biopsies. Regulatory T cell transcripts were up-regulated in DSA+/AMR+ and B cell transcripts in DSA+/AMR- biopsies. Whole blood gene expression analysis showed increased immune activity in only DSA+/AMR+ patients. There were no differentially expressed tolerant genes studied (n=14) in the blood or biopsy specimens of DSA+/AMR- patients. During a median 36 months follow-up, 4 DSA+/AMR- patients developed AMR, 12 continued to have DSAs but 9 lost DSAs. Gene expression profiles did not predict the development of AMR or persistence of DSAs. These results indicate increased immune activity in DSA+/AMR- biopsies despite lack of histologic findings of rejection. All clinically indicated kidney transplant biopsies performed at our institution after January 2009 were reviewed and 263 patients with anti-HLA antibody testing at the time of biopsy were identified. There were 71 DSA+ and 192 DSA- patients (Figure 1). Of the 71 DSA+ patients, 46 had biopsy diagnosis of acute AMR (n=9) or chronic AMR (n=37), and 25 had normal histopathology or minimal non-specific interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (IFTA). Of the 192 DSA- patients, 50 patients with normal histology and/or mild non-specific IFTA were used as a control group. Clinical and histopathological findings of these 3 groups (DSA+/AMR+, DSA+/AMR- and DSA-) were analyzed. A subgroup of patients who were enrolled in the Institutional Review Board-approved âImmune Monitoring Studyâ who had clinically indicated biopsy (n=61) and whole blood samples (n=54) stored were used for genomic analysis. Twenty-eight biopsy and blood samples from DSA+/AMR+ patients, 13 biopsy and 14 blood samples from DSA+/AMR- patients, and 20 biopsy and 12 blood samples from DSA- patients, were available for microarray analysis.
Project description:The present study investigated whether maternal periodontal disease modifies the microRNA expression profile in adult offspring. *************************************************************** This study was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) [grant #2019/04183-9; #2022/08872-6; #2023/03786-7; #2023/12488-0; #2023/01400-4] and CNPq [grant 151151/2023-7], São Paulo, SP, Brazil. The grants #2019/04183-9; #2023/12488-0; #2023/01400-4 and 151151/2023-7 were awarded to the author Maria Sara de Lima Coutinho Mattera. The grant #2022/08872-6 was awarded to Heloisa Macedo Sampaio. The grant #2023/03786-7 was awarded to Gabriele Fernandes Baliero. ***************************************************************
Project description:Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the major challenges that humans are facing this century. Understanding the mechanisms behind the rise of AMR is crucial to tackle this global threat. Among the triggers of phenotypic antimicrobial resistance, the contribution of transition metals has been understudied in Mycobacterium abscessus (Mabs), a fast-growing non-tuberculous mycobacterium known for its extreme AMR levels. Deeper understanding of the effects of transition metal ions will be beneficial for our knowledge in AMR and the discovery of potential therapeutic targets. Here, we investigated the impact of transition metal ions, nickel, cobalt and copper on the physiology and drug susceptibility of Mabs.
Project description:HEK293T cells were transfected with the Rbp1-amr or slow (R729H-amr) α-amanitin resistant subunit of RNA Pol II and selected with α-amanitin 24 hours after transfection for additional 24 hours. Total RNA was extracted and global changes in gene expression were determined using microarray chips. MiRNAs are transcribed by RNA pol II but the transcriptional features influencing their synthesis are poorly defined. Here we report that a TATA-box in miRNA and a subset of protein-coding genes is associated with increased sensitivity to a slow rate of transcription elongation. We also show that promoters driven by TATA-box or NF-κB elicit high transcription re-initiation rate, but paradoxically lower levels of miRNA. Interestingly, miRNA synthesis was converted to a more productive mode by decreasing initiation rate, but less productive when the re-initiation rate increased. This phenomenon was found to be associated with a delay in miR-146a induction by NF-κB. We also demonstrate that miRNAs are remarkably strong pause sites. Our findings suggest that lower efficiency of miRNA synthesis directed by the TATA-box or NF-κB is a consequence of frequent transcription initiation that lead to Pol II crowding at pause sites, thereby increasing the chance of collision and premature termination. These findings highlight the importance of the transcription initiation mechanism for miRNA synthesis, and have implications for TATA-box promoters in general. HEK293T cells were transfected with plasmids directing the expression of α-amanitin-resistant variants of Pol II (Rpb1-amr and R749H-amr). α-amanitin was added and RNA was prepared 24 and 48 h later, respectively. The data provided is from 3 Rpb1-amr vs 3 R749H-amr (6 samples).
Project description:Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) accounts for >50% of kidney allograft losses. AMR is caused by donor-specific antibodies (DSA) against HLA and non-HLA antigens in the glomeruli and the tubulointerstitium, which together with high interferon gamma (IFNɣ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), trigger graft injury. Unfortunately, the mechanisms governing cell-specific injury in AMR remain unclear. We studied 30 for-cause kidney biopsies with early AMR, acute cellular rejection or acute tubular necrosis (‘non-AMR’). We laser-captured microdissected glomeruli and tubulointerstitium and subjected them to unbiased proteome analysis. 120/2026 glomerular and 180/2399 tubulointerstitial proteins were significantly differentially expressed in AMR vs. non-AMR biopsies (p<0.05). Basement membrane and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins were significantly decreased in both AMR compartments. We verified decreased glomerular and tubulointerstitial LAMC1 expression, and decreased glomerular NPHS1 and PTPRO expression in AMR. Cathepsin-V (CTSV) was predicted to cleave ECM-proteins in the AMR glomeruli, and CTSL, CTSS and LGMN in the tubulointerstitium. We identified galectin-1, an immunomodulatory protein upregulated in AMR glomeruli and linked to the ECM. Anti-HLA class-I antibodies significantly increased CTSV expression, and galectin-1 expression and secretion, in human glomerular endothelial cells. We also studied glutathione S-transferase omega-1 (GSTO1), an ECM-modifying enzyme, increased in the AMR tubulointerstitium. GSTO1 expression was significantly increased in TNFα-treated proximal tubular epithelial cells. IFNɣ and TNFα significantly increased CTSS and LGMN expression in these cells. Basement membranes are often remodeled in chronic AMR, and we demonstrated that this remodeling begins early in glomeruli and tubulointerstitium. Targeting ECM-remodeling in AMR may represent a new therapeutic opportunity.
Project description:Kidney transplant biopsies showing transplant glomerulopathy (cg > 0) and microvascular inflammation (MVI) in the absence of C4d staining and DSAs do not fulfill the criteria for chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (CA-AMR) diagnosis or any other Banff category. In this multicenter intercontinental study including 36 cases, we compared, among other types of data, the transcriptomic profiles of 14 KTx biopsies classified as cg+MVI DSA-/C4d- with 22 classified as CA-AMR DSA+/C4d+ through novel transcriptomic analysis using the NanoString B-HOT panel. Due to lack of tissue, one sample was excluded from the transcriptomic analysis. In our analysis, nineteen genes were differentially expressed between the two study groups. Samples diagnosed with CA-AMR DSA+/C4d+ showed a higher transcriptomic cell type scores for macrophages in an environment characterized by increased expression of complement-related genes (i.e., C5AR1) and higher activity of angiogenesis, IFTA, CA-AMR, and DSA-related pathways when compared to samples diagnosed with cg+MVI DSA-/C4d-. Samples diagnosed with cg+MVI DSA-/C4d- displayed a higher activity of the T-cell receptor and B-cell associated transcripts. These results were coherent with those from our 5-plex immunofluorescence orthogonal analyses showing higher abundance of innate immune cells in the interstitium of CA-AMR DSA+/C4d+ samples when compared to cg+MVI DSA-/C4d- samples and a higher glomerular abundance of pan-T-cells in cg+MVI DSA-/C4d- samples when compared to CA-AMR DSA+/C4d+ samples. Here we show that using novel multiomic techniques, KTx biopsies with cg+MVI DSA-/C4d- have a prominent T-cell presence and activity, putting forward the possibility that these represent a more T-cell-dominant phenotype.
Project description:Background: Plasmapheresis/rituximab-based desensitization therapy has successfully reduced anti-ABO antibody levels and suppressed antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in ABO-incompatible (ABOi) kidney transplantation (KT). However, high titers of anti-ABO antibodies in some patients are refractory to standard desensitization, leading to loss of KT opportunities or AMR. Methods: Eculizumab-based desensitization was used to rescue high-titer ABOi KT patients refractory to plasmapheresis/rituximab-based desensitization. Results: The initial titers of anti-ABO IgG antibodies in the two patients were 1:512 and >1:1024; the final pre-transplant titers after desensitization were 1:128 and 1:64. Both patients received eculizumab from the day of KT to two or four weeks post-KT and maintained stable renal function up to one-year post-transplantation without overt infectious complications, despite early episodes of suspicious AMR or borderline T cell-mediated rejection. Molecular phenotype analysis of allograft biopsies using the Banff Human Organ Transplant gene panel revealed that gene expression patterns in the ABOi KT with eculizumab group overlapped with those in the ABOi KT with AMR group more than in the ABOi KT without AMR group, except for complement pathway-related gene expression. Anti-ABO antibody titers decreased to low levels 1–3 months post-transplant in the eculizumab group in parallel with decreasing anti-B-specific B cells at this time point. Conclusions: Short-term eculizumab-based desensitization therapy is promising for rescuing ABOi KT recipients with unacceptably high anti-ABO antibody titers refractory to plasmapheresis-based desensitization therapy.
Project description:Little is known about the lung microbiome dynamics and host-microbiome interactions in relation to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations and in patient subgroups based on smoking status and disease severity. Here we performed a 16S ribosomal RNA survey on sputum microbiome from 16 healthy and 43 COPD subjects. For COPD subjects, a longitudinal sampling was performed from stable state to exacerbations, at two and six weeks post-exacerbations and at six months from first stable visit. Host sputum transcriptome were characterized for a subset of COPD patient samples.