Expansion of CD16-Negative Natural Killer Cells in the Peripheral Blood of Patients with Metastatic Melanoma

Altered natural killer (NK) cell function is a component of the global immune dysregulation that occurs in advanced malignancies. Another condition associated with altered NK homeostasis is normal pregnancy, where robust infiltration with CD16− CD9+ NK cells can be identified in decidual tissues, along with a concomitant expansion of CD16− NK cells in the maternal peripheral blood. In metastatic melanoma, we identified a similar expansion of peripheral blood CD16− NK cells (median 7.4% in 41 patients with melanoma compared with 3.0% in 29 controls, P < .001). A subset of NK cells in melanoma patients also expresses CD9, which is characteristically expressed only on NK cells within the female reproductive tract. Expansion of CD16− NK cells was associated with elevated plasma transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β levels (median 20 ng/ml, Spearman's ρ = 0.81, P = .015)). These findings suggest the possibility of exploring anti-TGF-β therapy to restore NK function in melanoma

How to blow up a massive star

Unweighted UniFrac distance between benign, hyperplasia, and endometrial cancer cohorts. (PDF 8 kb

Rapid Discovery and Structure-Activity Relationships of Pyrazolopyrimidines that Potently Suppress Breast Cancer Cell Growth via SRC Kinase Inhibition with Exceptional Selectivity over ABL Kinase

Novel pyrazolopyrimidines displaying high potency and selectivity toward SRC family kinases have been developed by combining ligand-based design and phenotypic screening in an iterative manner. Compounds were derived from the promiscuous kinase inhibitor PP1 to search for analogs that could potentially target a broad spectrum of kinases involved in cancer. Phenotypic screening against MCF7 mammary adenocarcinoma cells generated target-agnostic structure–activity relationships that biased subsequent designs toward breast cancer treatment rather than to a particular target. This strategy led to the discovery of two potent antiproliferative leads with phenotypically distinct anticancer mode of actions. Kinase profiling and further optimization resulted in eCF506, the first small molecule with subnanomolar IC₅₀ for SRC that requires 3 orders of magnitude greater concentration to inhibit ABL. eCF506 exhibits excellent water solubility, an optimal DMPK profile and oral bioavailability, halts SRC-associated neuromast migration in zebrafish embryos without inducing life-threatening heart defects, and inhibits SRC phosphorylation in tumor xenografts in mice

Growth Modeling of the Maternal Cytokine Milieu throughout Normal Pregnancy: Macrophage-Derived Chemokine Decreases as Inflammation/Counterregulation Increases

Several recent studies have shown differences in the maternal immune milieu at different phases of pregnancy, but most studies have been cross-sectional or of relatively few time points. Levels of 42 cytokines were determined using a multiplex bead-based assay on archived serum from a cohort of pregnant women N=16 at median of 18 time points tested, from the first trimester through to parturition, per woman. Unconditional growth modeling was then used to determine time-dependent changes in levels of these cytokines. Macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC, aka CCL22) decreases as pregnancy progresses. IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-15, IP-10, and FLT3-ligand increase as a function of gestational weeks, and IFNα2, IL-1ra, IL-3, IL-9, IL-12p40, and soluble CD40 ligand increase as a function of trimester. As pregnancy normally progresses, a maternal shift away from a type 2-biased immune response and toward an inflammatory/counterregulatory response is observed

Persistent microbial dysbiosis in preterm premature rupture of membranes from onset until delivery

Background. Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes (PPROM) is a major leading cause of preterm births. While the cause for PPROM remains unidentified, it is anticipated to be due to subclinical infection, since a large proportion of PPROM patients display signs of chorioamnionitis. Since subclinical infections can be facilitated by dysbiosis, our goal was to characterize the vaginal microbiome and amniotic fluid discharge upon PPROM, through latency antibiotic treatment, and until delivery, to detect the presence of pathogens, microbiota alteration, and microbial response to treatment.Methods. Enrolled subjects (15) underwent routine institutional antenatal care for PPROM, including the administration of latency antibiotics. Serial vaginal swabs were obtained from diagnosis of PPROM through delivery and the sequencing of the V3–V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene was performed for all collected samples.Results. The results show that Lactobacilli species were markedly decreased when compared to vaginal swabs collected from uncomplicated pregnancy subjects with a matched gestational time. Prevotella and Peptoniphilus were the most prevalent taxa in PPROM subjects at presentation. The vaginal microbiome of the PPROM subjects varied substantially intra- and inter-subjects. Several taxa were found to be significantly reduced during and after the antibiotic treatment: Weeksella, Lachnospira, Achromobacter, and Pediococcus. In contrast, Peptostreptococcus and Tissierellaceae ph2 displayed a significant increase after the antibiotic treatment. However, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Prevotella, and Peptoniphilus was not substantially impacted during the hospitalization of the PPROM subjects. The deficiency of Lactobacillus, and constancy of known pathogenic species, such as Prevotella and Peptoniphilus during and after antibiotics, highlights the persistent dysbiosis and warrants further investigation into mitigating approaches.Discussion. PPROM is responsible for one third of all preterm births. It is thought that subclinical infection is a crucial factor in the pathophysiology of PPROM because 25–40% of patients present signs of chorioamnionitis on amniocentesis. Here we sought to directly assess the bacterial content of the vagina and leaking amniotic fluid of subjects at presentation, throughout treatment and up until delivery, in order to search for common pathogens, microbiota changes, and microbial response to latency antibiotic treatment. We have found that the vaginal microbiome of PPROM subjects is highly variable and displays significant changes to treatment. However, the unchanging deficiency of Lactobacillus, and persistence of known pathogenic species, such as Prevotella and Peptoniphilus from presentation, through antibiotic treatment and up until delivery, highlights the persistent dysbiosis and warrants further investigation into mitigating approaches