| 1. |
- Lövgren, Tanja, 1976-
(author)
-
Endogenous Type I Interferon Inducers in Systemic Autoimmune Diseases
- 2006
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have elevated levels of interferon (IFN)-α in blood and IFN-α-producing cells in tissues. In the present thesis, we investigate the mechanisms behind the upregulated IFN-α-production in SLE and also show that the IFN-α system is activated in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), with IFN-α-producing cells in the major affected organ, the salivary glands. The IFN-α is a type I IFN, a family of cytokines counteracting especially viral infections, by acting directly on infected cells, and via many immunomodulatory effects. The latter may also contribute to autoimmune processes.The type I IFNs are usually produced upon recognition of microbial structures. In SLE, however, DNA-containing immune complexes (ICs) that induce IFN-α production are found. Many autoantibodies in SLE and pSS are directed to nucleic acids or to DNA/RNA-binding proteins. We show that also RNA in complex with autoantibodies from SLE or pSS patients (RNA-IC) induces IFN-α-production. The RNA could be either in the form of RNA-containing material released from apoptotic or necrotic cells or as a pure RNA-containing autoantigen, the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle. The IFN-α-production induced by RNA-IC occurred in plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs), also termed natural IFN-producing cells (NIPCs), via binding to Fcγ-receptor IIa, endocytosis and triggering of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), probably TLR7 and TLR9. The RNA-IC may also have other effects, and we found that they induce prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in monocytes and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in both monocytes and NIPC/PDC. The PGE2 downregulated the IFN-α induction in NIPC/PDC, and the IFN-α induction was increased in monocyte-depleted cell cultures. The findings presented in this thesis aids in the understanding of the mechanisms behind the activated IFN-α system in SLE and other autoimmune diseases, and shows that also pSS is one of these diseases.
|
|
| 2. |
- Sarén, Tina, et al.
(author)
-
Single-Cell RNA Analysis Reveals Cell-Intrinsic Functions of CAR T Cells Correlating with Response in a Phase II Study of Lymphoma Patients
- 2023
-
In: Clinical Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research Inc.. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 29:20, s. 4139-4152
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Although CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) therapy has shown remarkable success in B-cell malignancies, a substantial fraction of patients do not obtain a long-term clinical response. This could be influenced by the quality of the individual CAR-T infusion product. To shed some light on this, clinical outcome was correlated to characteristics of CAR-T infusion products. Patients and Methods: In this phase II study, patients with B-cell lymphoma (n ¼ 23) or leukemia (n ¼ 1) received one or two infusions of third-generation CD19-directed CAR-Ts (2 × 108/m2). The clinical trial was registered at clinicaltrials. gov: NCT03068416. We investigated the transcriptional profile of individual CD19 CAR-T infusion products using targeted single-cell RNA sequencing and multicolor flow cytometry. Results: Two CAR-T infusions were not better than one in the settings used in this study. As for the CAR-T infusion products, we found that effector-like CD8þCAR-Ts with a high polyfunctionality, high cytotoxic and cytokine production profile, and low dysfunctional signature were associated with clinical response. An extended ex vivo expansion time during CAR-T manufacturing negatively influenced the proportion of effector CD8þCAR-Ts in the infusion product. Conclusions: We identified cell-intrinsic characteristics of effector CD8þCAR-Ts correlating with response that could be used as an indicator for clinical outcome. The results in the study also serve as a guide to CAR-T manufacturing practices.
|
|
| 3. |
- Sarén, Tina, et al.
(author)
-
Single-Cell RNA Analysis Reveals Cell-Intrinsic Functions of CAR T Cells Correlating with Response in a Phase II Study of Lymphoma Patients
- 2023
-
In: Clinical Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research Inc.. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 29:20, s. 4139-4152
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Although CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) therapy has shown remarkable success in B-cell malignancies, a substantial fraction of patients do not obtain a long-term clinical response. This could be influenced by the quality of the individual CAR-T infusion product. To shed some light on this, clinical outcome was correlated to characteristics of CAR-T infusion products. Patients and Methods: In this phase II study, patients with B-cell lymphoma (n ¼ 23) or leukemia (n ¼ 1) received one or two infusions of third-generation CD19-directed CAR-Ts (2 × 108/m2). The clinical trial was registered at clinicaltrials. gov: NCT03068416. We investigated the transcriptional profile of individual CD19 CAR-T infusion products using targeted single-cell RNA sequencing and multicolor flow cytometry. Results: Two CAR-T infusions were not better than one in the settings used in this study. As for the CAR-T infusion products, we found that effector-like CD8þCAR-Ts with a high polyfunctionality, high cytotoxic and cytokine production profile, and low dysfunctional signature were associated with clinical response. An extended ex vivo expansion time during CAR-T manufacturing negatively influenced the proportion of effector CD8þCAR-Ts in the infusion product. Conclusions: We identified cell-intrinsic characteristics of effector CD8þCAR-Ts correlating with response that could be used as an indicator for clinical outcome. The results in the study also serve as a guide to CAR-T manufacturing practices. ©2023 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.
|
|
