Identification and Characterisation of the Murine Homologue of the Gene Responsible for Cystinosis, Ctns

BACKGROUND: Cystinosis is an autosomal recessive disorder characterised by an intralysosomal accumulation of cystine, and affected individuals progress to end-stage renal failure before the age of ten. The causative gene, CTNS, was cloned in 1998 and the encoded protein, cystinosin, was predicted to be a lysosomal membrane protein. RESULTS: We have cloned the murine homologue of CTNS, Ctns, and the encoded amino acid sequence is 92.6% similar to cystinosin. We localised Ctns to mouse chromosome 11 in a region syntenic to human chromosome 17 containing CTNS. Ctns is widely expressed in all tissues tested with the exception of skeletal muscle, in contrast to CTNS. CONCLUSIONS: We have isolated, characterised and localised Ctns, the murine homologue of CTNS underlying cystinosis. Furthermore, our work has brought to light the existence of a differential pattern of expression between the human and murine homologues, providing critical information for the generation of a mouse model for cystinosis

HLA-G gene editing in tumor cell lines as a novel alternative in cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapies based mainly on the blockade of immune-checkpoint (IC) molecules by anti-IC antibodies offer new alternatives for treatment in oncological diseases. However, a considerable proportion of patients remain unresponsive to them. Hence, the development of novel clinical immunotherapeutic approaches and/or targets are crucial.W In this context, targeting the immune-checkpoint HLA-G/ILT2/ILT4 has caused great interest since it is abnormally expressed in several malignancies generating a tolerogenic microenvironment. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to block the HLA-G expression in two tumor cell lines expressing HLA-G, including a renal cell carcinoma (RCC7) and a choriocarcinoma (JEG-3). Different sgRNA/Cas9 plasmids targeting HLA-G exon 1 and 2 were transfected in both cell lines. Downregulation of HLA-G was reached to different degrees, including complete silencing. Most importantly, HLA-G − cells triggered a higher in vitro response of immune cells with respect to HLA-G + wild type cells. Altogether, we demonstrated for the first time the HLA-G downregulation through gene editing. We propose this approach as a first step to develop novel clinical immunotherapeutic approaches in cancer.Fil: Palma, Maria Belen. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Departamento de Ciencias Morfológicas. Cátedra de Citología y Embriología A; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Tronik Le Roux, Diana. Saint-Louis Hospital; Francia. Universite de Paris 1 - Pantheon Sorbonne.; FranciaFil: Amin, Guadalupe. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Castañeda, Sheila Lucia. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Möbbs, Alan Miqueas. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Scarafia, Maria Agustina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: la Greca, Alejandro Damián. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Daouya, Marina. Hôpital Saint-louis; Francia. Universite de Paris 1 - Pantheon Sorbonne.; FranciaFil: Poras, Isabelle. Hôpital Saint-louis; Francia. Universite de Paris 1 - Pantheon Sorbonne.; FranciaFil: Inda, Ana María. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Departamento de Ciencias Morfológicas. Cátedra de Citología y Embriología A; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Moro, Lucía Natalia. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Carosella, Edgardo Delfino. Hôpital Saint-louis; Francia. Universite de Paris 1 - Pantheon Sorbonne.; FranciaFil: García, Marcela Nilda. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Departamento de Ciencias Morfológicas. Cátedra de Citología y Embriología A; ArgentinaFil: Miriuka, Santiago Gabriel. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Hypoxia inducible factor-1 mediates the expression of the immune checkpoint HLA-G in glioma cells through hypoxia response element located in exon 2

International audienceHLA-G is an immune checkpoint molecule with specific relevance in cancer immunotherapy. It was first identified in cytotrophoblasts, protecting the fetus from maternal rejection. HLA-G tissue expression is very restricted but induced in numerous malignant tumors such as glioblastoma, contributing to their immune escape. Hypoxia occurs during placenta and tumor development and was shown to activate HLA-G. We aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of HLA-G activation under conditions combining hypoxia-mimicking treatment and 5-aza-2’deoxycytidine, a DNA demethylating agent used in anti-cancer therapy which also induces HLA-G. Both treatments enhanced the amount of HLA-G mRNA and protein in HLA-G negative U251MG glioma cells. Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assays and luciferase reporter gene assays revealed that HLA-G upregulation depends on Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 (HIF-1) and a hypoxia responsive element (HRE) located in exon 2. A polymorphic HRE at –966 bp in the 5’UT region may modulate the magnitude of the response mediated by the exon 2 HRE. We suggest that therapeutic strategies should take into account that HLA-G expression in response to hypoxic tumor environment is dependent on HLA-G gene polymorphism and DNA methylation state at the HLA-G locus

Haplotypes of the HLA-G 3' Untranslated Region Respond to Endogenous Factors of HLA-G+ and HLA-G- Cell Lines Differentially.

The immune checkpoint HLA-G prevents maternal rejection of the fetus and contributes in cancer invasion and acceptance of allografts. The 5' and 3' regulatory regions of the HLA-G gene are polymorphic and balancing selection probably maintains this variability. It is proposed that nucleotide variations may affect the level of HLA-G expression. To investigate this issue we aimed to analyze how haplotypes of the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) with highest worldwide frequencies, namely UTR-1, UTR-2, UTR-3, UTR-4, UTR-5, UTR-18 and UTR-7, impact the expression of a luciferase reporter gene in vitro. Experiments performed with the HLA-G positive cell lines JEG-3 (choricarcinoma) and FON (melanoma), and with the HLA-G negative cell lines M8 (melanoma) and U251MG (glioblastoma) showed that the HLA-G 3'UTR polymorphism influences the response to endogenous cellular factors and may vary according to the cell type. UTR-5 and UTR-7 impact the activity of luciferase the most whereas UTR-2, UTR-3, UTR-4, and UTR-18 have intermediate impact, and UTR-1 has the lowest impact. These results corroborate the previous associations between amounts of plasma sHLA-G levels and 3'UTR haplotypes in healthy individuals and reinforce that 3'UTR typing may be a predictor of the genetic predisposition of an individual to express different levels of HLA-G

Are the Immune Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Wharton’s Jelly Maintained during Chondrogenic Differentiation?

International audienceBackground: Umbilical mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), and especially those derived from Wharton’s jelly (WJ), are a promising engineering tool for tissue repair in an allogeneic context. This is due to their differentiation capacity and immunological properties, like their immunomodulatory potential and paracrine activity. Hence, these cells may be considered an Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP). The purpose of this work was to differentiate MSCs from WJ (WJ-MSCs) into chondrocytes using a scaffold and to evaluate, in vitro, the immunomodulatory capacities of WJ-MSCs in an allogeneic and inflammatory context, mimicked by IFN-γ and TNF-α priming during the chondrogenic differentiation. Methods: Scaffolds were made from hydrogel composed by alginate enriched in hyaluronic acid (Alg/HA). Chondrogenic differentiation, immunological function, phenotype expression, but also secreted soluble factors were the different parameters followed during 28 days of culture. Results: During chondrocyte differentiation, even in an allogeneic context, WJ-MSCs remained unable to establish the immunological synapse or to induce T cell alloproliferation. Moreover, interestingly, paracrine activity and functional immunomodulation were maintained during cell differentiation. Conclusion: These results show that WJ-MSCs remained hypoimmunogenic and retained immunomodulatory properties even when they had undergone chondrocyte differentiation

Polymorphic Sites at the 3 ' Untranslated Region of the HLA-G Gene Are Associated with Differential hla-g Soluble Levels in the Brazilian and French Population

HLA-G molecule has well-recognized tolerogenic properties, and the encoding gene shows lower frequency of polymorphism at the coding region but higher variability at regulatory 5' and 3' untranslated (3' UTR) regions. At least three 3' UTR polymorphic sites have been associated with HLA-G mRNA regulation, including the 14 base pair (14bp) Insertion/Deletion, +3142C-G and +3187A-G. We studied the association of polymorphic sites at 3' UTR (sequencing analysis, encompassing the 14bp Ins-Del/+3003T-C/+3010C-G/+3027C-A/+3035C-T/+3142C-G/+3187A-G/+3196C-G polymorphic sites) with plasma soluble HLA-G levels (sHLA-G, detected by ELISA) in 187 French and 153 Brazilian healthy individuals. Allele and genotype frequencies were closely similar in both populations; however, Brazilians showed a higher HLA-G 3' UTR haplotype diversity. Considering sHLA-G levels in both populations altogether, individuals presenting 14bp Del/Del showed higher levels compared to 14bpIns/Ins genotype (P < 0.05); those presenting +3010C/G showed higher levels compared to the +3010C-C genotype (P<0.05); those presenting +3027C-C showed higher levels than the +3027A-A genotype (P<0.05); and those bearing +3035C-C showed higher levels compared to the +3035C-T (P < 0.01) and +3035T-T (P < 0.05) genotypes. The analyses of 3' UTR haplotypes showed that UTR-1 (DelTGCCCGC) was associated with higher expression of sHLA-G, whereas UTR-5 (InsTCCTGAC) and UTR-7 (InsTCATGAC) with lower expression and other UTRs (UTR-2/3/4/6) exhibited intermediate levels. Since the differential expression of HLA-G may be beneficial or harmful depending on the underlying condition, the identification of individuals genetically programmed to differentially express HLA-G may help on defining novel strategies to control the immune response against the underlying disorder.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

HLA-G gene editing: a novel therapeutic alternative in cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapies based mainly on the blockade of immune-checkpoint (IC) molecules by anti-IC antibodies offer new alternatives for treatment in oncological diseases. However, a considerable proportion of patients remain unresponsive to them. Hence, the development of novel clinical immunotherapeutic approaches and/or targets are crucial. In this context, targeting the immune-checkpoint HLA-G/ILT2/ILT4 has caused great interest since it is abnormally expressed in several malignancies generating a tolerogenic microenvironment. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to block the HLA-G expression in two tumor cell lines expressing HLA-G, including a renal cell carcinoma (RCC7) and a choriocarcinoma (JEG-3). Different sgRNA/Cas9 plasmids targeting HLA-G exon 1 and 2 were transfected in both cell lines. Downregulation of HLAG was reached to different degrees, including complete silencing. Most importantly, HLA-G – cells triggered a higher in vitro response of immune cells with respect to HLA-G + wild type cells. Altogether, we demonstrated for the first time the HLA-G downregulation through gene editing. We propose this approach as a first step to develop novel clinical immunotherapeutic approaches in cancer.Facultad de Ciencias MédicasComisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la provincia de Buenos Aire