Ceacam1 separates graft-versus-host-disease from graft-versus-tumor activity after experimental allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) is a potentially curative therapy for a variety of hematologic diseases, but benefits, including graft-versus-tumor (GVT) activity are limited by graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). Carcinoembryonic antigen related cell adhesion molecule 1 (Ceacam1) is a transmembrane glycoprotein found on epithelium, T cells, and many tumors. It regulates a variety of physiologic and pathological processes such as tumor biology, leukocyte activation, and energy homeostasis. Previous studies suggest that Ceacam1 negatively regulates inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease models. METHODS: We studied Ceacam1 as a regulator of GVHD and GVT after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) in mouse models. In vivo, Ceacam1(-/-) T cells caused increased GVHD mortality and GVHD of the colon, and greater numbers of donor T cells were positive for activation markers (CD25(hi), CD62L(lo)). Additionally, Ceacam1(-/-) CD8 T cells had greater expression of the gut-trafficking integrin α(4)β(7), though both CD4 and CD8 T cells were found increased numbers in the gut post-transplant. Ceacam1(-/-) recipients also experienced increased GVHD mortality and GVHD of the colon, and alloreactive T cells displayed increased activation. Additionally, Ceacam1(-/-) mice had increased mortality and decreased numbers of regenerating small intestinal crypts upon radiation exposure. Conversely, Ceacam1-overexpressing T cells caused attenuated target-organ and systemic GVHD, which correlated with decreased donor T cell numbers in target tissues, and mortality. Finally, graft-versus-tumor survival in a Ceacam1(+) lymphoma model was improved in animals receiving Ceacam1(-/-) vs. control T cells. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that Ceacam1 regulates T cell activation, GVHD target organ damage, and numbers of donor T cells in lymphoid organs and GVHD target tissues. In recipients of allo-BMT, Ceacam1 may also regulate tissue radiosensitivity. Because of its expression on both the donor graft and host tissues, this suggests that targeting Ceacam1 may represent a potent strategy for the regulation of GVHD and GVT after allogeneic transplantation

Tinman/Nkx2-5 acts via miR-1 and upstream of Cdc42 to regulate heart function across species

Cdc42 regulates cardiac function in mice and flies downstream of a conserved Tinman/Nkx2-5–miR-1 signaling network

Antibody Array-Generated Profiles of Cytokine Release from THP-1 Leukemic Monocytes Exposed to Different Amphotericin B Formulations

Cytokine antibody arrays were used to establish the profiles of cytokine release from THP-1 monocytes exposed to different amphotericin B (AMB) drug delivery systems. Fungizone (FZ) and Amphotec (ABCD) caused the release of significantly more inflammatory molecules and the release of inflammatory molecules at higher levels than either AmBisome (L-AMB) or Abelcet (ABLC) after 6 h of treatment. Specifically, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8), GRO-(αβγ), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), RANTES, IL-10, and IL-6 were detected and semiquantified with a chemiluminscence imaging system. TNF-α, IL-8, and MCP-1 were the most predominant; however, little if any TNF-α was present in ABLC- or L-AMB-treated cultures. The TNF- α and IL-8 levels determined by quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay correlated with the relative cytokine levels measured by using the antibody arrays. Although the viabilities of THP-l monocytes in all AMB-treated cultures were similar by trypan blue exclusion, the amount of lactic dehydrogenase released was significantly larger in FZ- and ABCD-treated cultures than in L-AMB- and ABLC-treated cultures, indicating more membrane perturbations with those formulations. Membrane cation channel formation was also measured in model cholesterol-containing large unilamellar vesicles to directly assess the ion channel formation ability of the system. Only FZ and ABCD induced significant ion currents at concentrations less than 1.5 × 10(−5) M. These results may help provide rationales for the immediate cytokine-mediated side effects observed with FZ and ABCD and the reduced side effects observed with L-AMB and ABLC