Chapter 2 Finding Data

2.1 Managing downloads

Let’s put all of our downloaded data into a single directory.

2.2 ImmuneSigDB

What’s in ImmuneSigDB? To find out, register with GSEA and download the “Current MSigDB xml file”; at the time of this writing, that’s msigdb_v6.2.xml.

We are only interested in the C7 gene set, also known as ImmuneSigDB. For now we are using XPath to extract the relevant data; perhaps we should show how to explore the XML file and construct this query.

Each row in c7_tib represents a gene set from ImmuneSigDB. We filter down to those gene sets we suspect relate to T cells.

We can now explore publications and GEO data sets used to build these gene sets. We are specifically interested in human, not mouse, T cells in this chapter.

Let’s get some metdata for these papers.

pmid n_genesets n_geoids geoids pubdate title
14607935 90 1 GSE2770 2003-11-15 Identification of novel genes regulated by IL-12, IL-4, or TGF-beta during the early polarization of CD4+ lymphocytes.
20620947 66 1 GSE17974 2010-06-25 Genome-wide profiling of interleukin-4 and STAT6 transcription factor regulation of human Th2 cell programming.
15789058 48 1 GSE22886 2005-06-01 Immune response in silico (IRIS): immune-specific genes identified from a compendium of microarray expression data.
16474395 48 1 GSE3982 2006-03-01 Positive regulation of immune cell function and inflammatory responses by phosphatase PAC-1.
15210650 24 1 GSE1460 2004-08-01 Gene expression profiles during human CD4+ T cell differentiation.
22434910 20 1 GSE36476 2012-04-10 Signal inhibition by the dual-specific phosphatase 4 impairs T cell-dependent B-cell responses with age.
15928199 18 1 GSE22601 2005-06-06 New insights on human T cell development by quantitative T cell receptor gene rearrangement studies and gene expression profiling.
16423401 18 1 GSE3720 2006-05-01 Distinct gene expression in human Vdelta1 and Vdelta2 gammadelta T cells following non-TCR agonist stimulation.
19464196 18 1 GSE15659 2009-06-19 Functional delineation and differentiation dynamics of human CD4+ T cells expressing the FoxP3 transcription factor.
19568420 16 1 GSE11057 2009-07-01 Deconvolution of blood microarray data identifies cellular activation patterns in systemic lupus erythematosus.
20190146 16 1 GSE19888 2010-04-01 Activation of mast cells by trimeric G protein Gi3; coupling to the A3 adenosine receptor directly and upon T cell contact.
21108462 16 1 GSE17301 2010-12-01 Effects of IFN-α as a signal-3 cytokine on human naïve and antigen-experienced CD8(+) T cells.
21347372 16 1 GSE24634 2011-02-09 Analysis of the transcriptional program of developing induced regulatory T cells.
22086415 16 3 GSE33374, GSE33424, GSE33425 2012-01-12 Human MAIT and CD8αα cells develop from a pool of type-17 precommitted CD8+ T cells.
21632718 14 1 GSE28726 2011-07-01 A naive-like population of human CD1d-restricted T cells expressing intermediate levels of promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger.
18281483 12 1 GSE8685 2008-02-15 Differential effects of interleukin-2 and interleukin-15 versus interleukin-21 on CD4+ cutaneous T-cell lymphoma cells.
20304822 12 1 GSE20198 2010-05-01 Activating transcription factor 3 is a positive regulator of human IFNG gene expression.
21471443 12 1 GSE26928 2011-05-15 CXCR5 expressing human central memory CD4 T cells and their relevance for humoral immune responses.
21926977 12 1 GSE23321 2011-09-18 A human memory T cell subset with stem cell-like properties.
22715389 12 1 GSE32901 2012-01-01 Effector CD4+ T cell expression signatures and immune-mediated disease associated genes.
18275831 10 1 GSE10325 2008-02-01 Combined deficiency of proapoptotic regulators Bim and Fas results in the early onset of systemic autoimmunity.
21768398 10 1 GSE22025 2011-08-15 Progesterone promotes differentiation of human cord blood fetal T cells into T regulatory cells but suppresses their differentiation into Th17 cells.
15965501 8 1 GSE8835 2005-07-01 Chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells induce changes in gene expression of CD4 and CD8 T cells.
19201859 8 1 GSE13887 2009-02-15 Activation of mammalian target of rapamycin controls the loss of TCRzeta in lupus T cells through HRES-1/Rab4-regulated lysosomal degradation.
19414752 8 1 GSE14908 2009-05-15 A network modeling approach to analysis of the Th2 memory responses underlying human atopic disease.
18024188 6 1 GSE7460 2007-11-01 Foxp3 transcription-factor-dependent and -independent regulation of the regulatory T cell transcriptional signature.
19050264 6 1 GSE12963 2008-12-15 Tat-induced FOXO3a is a key mediator of apoptosis in HIV-1-infected human CD4+ T lymphocytes.
19201849 6 1 GSE13738 2009-02-15 Human CD4+ memory T cells are preferential targets for bystander activation and apoptosis.
19698979 6 1 GSE15735 2009-09-04 Genome-wide mapping of HATs and HDACs reveals distinct functions in active and inactive genes.
21383243 6 1 GSE26495 2011-04-01 Phenotype, function, and gene expression profiles of programmed death-1(hi) CD8 T cells in healthy human adults.
21968650 6 1 GSE27291 2012-01-01 The gene expression profile of phosphoantigen-specific human γδ T lymphocytes is a blend of αβ T-cell and NK-cell signatures.
22941246 6 1 GSE35685 2012-10-01 Lymphoid priming in human bone marrow begins before expression of CD10 with upregulation of L-selectin.
16951325 4 1 GSE5142 2006-09-15 Mechanisms regulating the proliferative potential of human CD8+ T lymphocytes overexpressing telomerase.
20890291 4 2 GSE24026, GSE24081 2010-10-01 Transcriptional analysis of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells shows that PD-1 inhibits T cell function by upregulating BATF.
18081042 2 1 GSE6566 2008-01-01 The strength of T cell stimulation determines IL-7 responsiveness, secondary expansion, and lineage commitment of primed human CD4+IL-7Rhi T cells.
18270326 2 1 GSE10463 2008-08-15 Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor is essential for mediating the anti-inflammatory effects of a novel low-molecular-weight compound.
21131424 2 1 GSE23984 2011-01-01 The vitamin D analog, TX527, promotes a human CD4+CD25highCD127low regulatory T cell profile and induces a migratory signature specific for homing to sites of inflammation.
21551231 2 1 GSE26156 2011-06-30 Modulation of microRNA expression in human T-cell development: targeting of NOTCH3 by miR-150.
22174157 2 1 GSE26890 2012-02-09 Functional heterogeneity of human effector CD8+ T cells.
23169781 2 1 GSE41087 2013-02-21 A novel function for FOXP3 in humans: intrinsic regulation of conventional T cells.
26405566 2 1 GSE43260 2015-08-01 BTLA marks a less-differentiated tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte subset in melanoma with enhanced survival properties.

We’re most interested in the expression profile of common T cell subsets in healthy subjects without an intervention.

The best candidates based on manual inspection of this table:

Other interesting papers: - Gene expression profiles during human CD4+ T cell differentiation (2004): intrathymic T progenitor cells (ITTP), “double positive” thymocytes (DP), “single positive” thymocytes (SP4), naïve T cells from cord blood (CB4+), and naïve T cells from adult blood (AB4+) for 3 individuals profiled with Affy U133A and B arrays. Cool data for T cell development. - Functional heterogeneity of human effector CD8+ T cells (2012): CXCR1+ and CXCR1- subsets of human effector CD27-CD28-CD8+ T cells 5 individuals profiled with the Affy U133 Plus 2.0 Array. Could easily pool data from individuals to get a nice CD8+ Teff profile.

2.3 MCP-counter

The MCP-counter paper Estimating the population abundance of tissue-infiltrating immune and stromal cell populations using gene expression (2016) organizes expression data by cell type in their supplemental material.

I’ve combined data for T cells across tables S1, S4, and S5 in my curated version. They’ve catalogued data for 1,776 samples from 64 GEO series (not on GEO, but included: data from (Chtanova et al. 2005)) for 22 different T cell phenotypes across 4 (?) different array platforms. We should explore this data!

We can use rentrez to query the GEO DataSets (GDS) database. TODO(hammer): get the PMIDs associated with these GSEs, then make a table to compare to tcell_pubs.

gse n_samples title summary
56035 984 Immune Variation Project (ImmVar) This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
22886 228 Expression profiles from a variety of resting and activated human immune cells Immune cell-specific expression is one indication of the importance of a gene’s role in the immune response. In order to identify such patterns, we set out to broadly profile gene expression in a variety of immune cells.
473 175 PGA Human CD4+ Lymphocytes This project is based on the hygiene hypothesis that exposure to TB provides a protective mechanism against asthma through specific cytokines and the balance of Th1, Th2 cells. Additionally, expression changes are examined in patients with and without atopy in combination with asthma and PPD status. Expression levels were evaluated in CD4+ cells isolated from peripheral blood of 30 patients. Each patient was evaluated on the entire U133 Affymetrix GeneChip set. Hypothesis: That CD4+ cells have specific diagnostic profiles based upon atopy and asthma state. Further information at http://www.hopkins-genomics.org/asthma/asthma001/index.html Specific Aim: To define diagnostic genes from purified CD4+ blood cells have specific diagnostic profiles based upon atopy and asthma state. Further information at http://www.hopkins-genomics.org/asthma/asthma001/index.html Keywords: other
48558 170 Expression data from normal and Malignant hematopoietic cells This data was used to determine levels of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in primary human leukemia samples. Samples were determined to be high BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 or low BRCA1 and/or BRAC2. This data was used to determine levels of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in primary human leukemia samples. Samples were determined to be high BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 or low BRCA1 and/or BRAC2.
19069 147 Molecular signatures in peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) Molecular signatures to improve diagnosis in PTCL and prognostication in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). Gene expression profiling of PTCL patient samples was performed to investigate whether molecular signatures can be used to identify distinct entities of PTCL.
2770 102 Transcriptional profiles of Th cells induced to polarize to Th1 or Th2 direction in the presence or absence of TGFbeta Th1 and Th2 cells arise from a common precursor cell in response to triggering through the TCR and cytokine receptors for IL-12 or IL-4. This leads to activation of complex signaling pathways, which are not known in detail. Disturbances in the balance between type 1 and type 2 responses can lead to certain immune-mediated diseases. Thus, it is important to understand how Th1 and Th2 cells are generated. To clarify the mechanisms as to how IL-12 and IL-4 induce Th1 and Th2 differentiation and how TGF-beta can inhibit this process, we have used oligonucleotide arrays to examine the early polarization of Th1 and Th2 cells in the presence and absence of TGF-beta after 0, 2, 6 and 48 hours of polarization. Keywords: time course, differentiation
14908 90 Global expression profiling of CD4 T-cell responses to house dust mite allergens in human atopics and nonatopics. The aim of this study was to employ a systems-level analysis to elucidate gene expression networks operating in the CD4 T-cell responses which underpin human atopic disease. Keywords: Disease state analysis; T-cell response
11292 81 High-time-resolution dynamic analysis of human regulatory T cell (Treg) / CD4+ T-effector cell (Teff) activation Human FOXP3+CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a dominant role in the maintenance of immune homeostasis. Several genes are known to be important for murine Tregs, but for human Tregs the genes and underlying molecular networks controlling the suppressor function still largely remain unclear. We here performed a high-time-resolution dynamic analysis of the transcriptome during the very early phase of human Treg/ CD4+ T-effector cell activation. After constructing a correlation network specific for Tregs based on these dynamic data, we described a strategy to identify key genes by directly analyzing the constructed undirected correlation network. Six out of the top 10 ranked key hubs are known to be important for Treg function or involved in autoimmune diseases. Surprisingly, PLAU (the plasminogen activator urokinase) was among the 4 new key hubs. We here show that PLAU was critical for expression regulation of FOXP3, EOS and several other important Treg genes and the suppressor function of human Tregs. Moreover, we found Plau inhibits murine Treg development and but promotes the suppressive function. Further analysis unveils that PLAU is particularly important for memory Tregs and that PLAU mediates Treg suppressor function via STAT5 and ERK signaling pathways. Our study shows the potential for identifying novel key genes for complex dynamic biological processes using a network strategy based on high-time-resolution data, and highlights a critical role of PLAU in both human and murine Tregs. The construction of a dynamic correlation network of human Tregs provides a useful resource for the understanding of Treg function and human autoimmune diseases. The high-time-resolution time-series transcriptomic data during the very early phase of human Treg/Teff activation could be generally used for further mechanistic analysis of human Treg function. These data could be further used for biological network analysis, dynamic analysis, modeling by experimental researchers, bioinformaticians, computational biologists and systems biologists.
60235 75 Expression data measured by microarray of CD4+ T cells from healthy individuals stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 This SubSeries in the ImmVar project investigates the response of selected genes in T cells from healthy human individuals to ascertain the impact of genetic or non-genetic variation on T cell activation parameters. We measured gene expression from resting and activated CD4+ T cells derived from the peripheral blood of healthy individuals. We activated the primary T cells with anti-CD3/CD28 beads alone or with IFNb or Th17 polarizing cytokines.
8835 66 Chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells induce changes in gene expression of CD4 and CD8 T cells. To examine the impact of tumors on the immune system, we compared global gene expression profiles of peripheral blood T cells from previously untreated patients with B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with those from age-matched healthy donors. Although the cells analyzed were not part of the malignant clone, analysis revealed differentially expressed genes, mainly involved in cell differentiation in CD4 cells and defects in cytoskeleton formation, vesicle trafficking, and cytotoxicity in CD8 cells of the CLL patients. In coculture experiments using CLL cells and T cells from healthy allogeneic donors, similar defects developed in both CD4 and CD8 cells. These changes were induced only with direct contact and were not cytokine mediated. Identification of the specific pathways perturbed in the T cells of cancer-bearing patients will allow us to assess steps to repair these defects, which will likely be required to enhance antitumor immunity. Gene expression profiling was performed to determine whether CLL cells induce changes in T cells in patients with CLL. Keywords: comparative gene expression profiling analysis.
36769 60 CD4+ TIL in human breast cancer This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
6338 60 Gene expression analysis of Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma/Unspecified Peripheral T-cell lymphoma unspecified (PTCL/U), the most common form of PTCL, displays heterogeneous morphology and phenotype, poor response to treatment, and dismal prognosis. We demonstrate that PTCL/U shows a gene expression profile clearly distinct from that of normal T-cells. Comparison with the profiles of purified T-cell subpopulations [CD4+, CD8+, resting (HLA-DR-), and activated (HLA-DR+)] reveals that PTCLs/U are most closely related to activated peripheral T-lymphocytes, either CD4+ or CD8+. Interestingly, the global gene expression profile cannot be surrogated by routine CD4/CD8 immunohistochemistry. When compared with normal T-cells, PTCLs/U display deregulation of functional programs often involved in tumorigenesis (e.g. apoptosis, proliferation, cell adhesion, and matrix remodeling). Products of deregulated genes can be detected in PTCLs/U by immunohistochemistry with an ectopic, paraphysiologic or stromal location. Among others, PTCLs/U aberrantly express PDGFRA, a tyrosine-kinase receptor, whose deregulation is often related to a malignant phenotype. Notably, both phosphorylation of PDGFRA and sensitivity of cultured PTCL cells to imatinib (as well as to an inhibitor of histone-deacetylase) are found. These results, which might be extended to other rarer PTCL categories, are provided with implications for tumor pathogenesis and clinical management. Keywords: Molecular pathogenesis, molecular classification
28490 47 mRNA expression profiling of human immune cell subset (Roche) Blood consists of different cell populations with distinct functions and correspondingly, distinct gene expression profiles. In this study, global miRNA expression profiling was performed across a panel of nine human immune cell subsets (neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, B cells, NK cells, CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, mDCs and pDCs) to identify cell-type specific miRNAs. mRNA expression profiling was performed on the same samples, to determine if miRNAs specific to certain cell types down-regulated expression levels of their target genes. Six cell-type specific miRNAs (miR-143; neutrophil specific, miR-125; T cells and neutrophil specific, miR-500; monocytes and pDC specific, miR-150; lymphoid cells specific, miR-652 and miR-223; both myeloid cells specific) were negatively correlated with expression of their predicted target genes. These results were further validated using an independent cohort where similar immune cell subsets were isolated and profiled for both miRNA and mRNA expression. miRNAs negatively correlated with target gene expression in both cohorts were identified as candidates for miRNA-mRNA regulatory pairs and were used to construct a cell-type specific regulatory network. miRNA-mRNA pairs formed two distinct clusters in the network corresponding to myeloid (nine miRNAs) and lymphoid lineages (two miRNAs). Several myeloid specific miRNAs targeted common genes including ABL2, EIF4A2, EPC1 and INO80D; these common targets were enriched for genes involved in the regulation of gene expression (p < 9.0E-7). Those miRNA might therefore have significant further effect on gene expression by repressing the expression of genes involved in transcriptional regulation. The miRNA and mRNA expression profiles reported in this study form a comprehensive transcriptome database of various human blood cells and serve as a valuable resource for elucidating the role of miRNA mediated regulation in the establishment of immune cell identity.
58867 45 Transcriptional signature of Th17 cells expressing ICOS-based CARs Analysis of TH17 cells redirected with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) expressing various signaling domains (including CD28, 4-1BB and ICOS) after surrogate antigen stimulation. Our results showed that T cells redirected with an ICOS-based CAR specifically retained a genotype of TH17 cells with expression of Il17a, Il17f, Il1r1, Ccl20, Rorc, and in the absence of Foxp3
7497 44 Influence of TGFbeta on human resting CD4+ T cells Based on studies in knockout mice, several inhibitory factors such as TGF-beta, IL-10, or CTLA-4 have been implicated as gate keepers of adaptive immune responses. Lack of these inhibitory molecules leads to massive inflammatory responses mainly mediated by activated T cells. In humans, the integration of these inhibitory signals for keeping T cells at a resting state is less well understood. To elucidate this regulatory network we assessed early genome-wide transcriptional changes during serum deprivation in human mature CD4+ T cells. The most striking observation was a “TGF-beta loss signature” defined by downregulation of many known TGF-beta target genes. Moreover, numerous novel TGF-beta target genes were identified that are under the suppressive control of TGF-beta. Expression of these genes was upregulated once TGF-beta signaling was lost during serum deprivation and again suppressed upon TGF-beta reconstitution. Constitutive TGF-beta signaling was corroborated by demonstrating phosphorylated SMAD2/3 in resting human CD4+ T cells in situ, which were dephosphorylated during serum deprivation and re-phosphorylated by minute amounts of TGF-beta. Loss of TGF-beta signaling was particularly important for T cell proliferation induced by low-level T cell receptor and costimulatory signals. We suggest TGF-beta to be the most prominent factor actively keeping human CD4+ T cells at a resting state. Keywords: time course, dose response
5580 42 Cell Specific Expression & Pathway Analyses Reveal Novel Alterations in Trauma-Related Human T-Cell & Monocyte Pathways Monitoring genome-wide, cell-specific responses to human disease, although challenging, holds great promise for medicine’s future. Patients with injury severe enough to develop multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) are known to have multiple immune derangements, including T-cell apoptosis and anergy combined with depressed monocyte antigen presentation. Genome-wide expression analysis of highly-enriched circulating leukocyte subpopulations, combined with cell-specific pathway analyses, offers a previously unavailable opportunity to discover novel leukocyte regulatory networks in critically injured patients. Severe injury induced significant changes in the T-cell, monocyte, and total leukocyte transcriptome, with only 12% of these genomic changes common to all three cell populations. T-cell-specific pathway analyses identified increased gene expression of several novel inhibitory receptors (PD-1, CD152, NRP-1, Lag3), and concomitant decreases in stimulatory receptors (CD28, CD4, IL-2Ralpha). Functional analysis of T-cells and monocytes confirmed reduced T-cell proliferation and increased cell surface expression of negative signaling receptors paired with decreased monocyte costimulation ligands. Thus, genome-wide expression from highly-enriched cell populations combined with knowledge-based pathway analyses leads to the identification of novel regulatory networks differentially expressed in injured patients. Importantly, application of cell separation, genome-wide expression, and cell specific pathway analyses can be used to discover novel pathway alterations in human disease. Keywords: Gene expression profiling of circulating total blood leukocytes, T-Cells, and Monocytes in severe trauma patients and healthy subjects.
23293 41 Definition and characterization of the systemic T cell dysregulation in untreated indolent B cell lymphoma and very early CLL Epidemiological data show that the immune system may control or promote emergence and growth of a neoplastic lymphomatous clone. Conversely, systemic lymphomas, especially myeloma and CLL, are associated with clinical immunodeficiency. This prospective controlled study demonstrates substantially reduced circulating T helper cells, predominantly naive CD4+ cells, in patients with non-leukemic follicular and extranodal marginal zone lymphomas, but not in monoclonal gammopathy and early CLL. These numerical changes were correlated with a preactivated phenotype, hyperreactivity in vitro, presenescence, and a Th2 shift of peripheral T helper cells. No prominent alterations were found in the regulatory T cell compartment. Gene expression profiling of in vitro-stimulated CD4+ cells revealed an independent second alteration of T helper cell physiology which was most pronounced in early CLL but also detectable in FL/eMZL. This pattern consisted of downregulation of proximal and intermediate T-cell receptor signaling cascades and globally reduced cytokine secretion. Both types of T cell dysfunction may contribute to significant immunodeficiency in non-leukemic indolent B-cell lymphomas as demonstrated by refractoriness to hepatitis B vaccination. The precise definition of systemic T cell dysfunction serves as the basis to study its prognostic impact, its relationship to the established influence of the lymphoma microenvironment, and its therapeutic manipulation
14924 41 Characterisation of gene expression changes in T cells from patients presenting with AML compared with healthy T cells Work previously published by our group has demonstrated that T cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) show differentially regulated genes compared with healthy T cells. This study was initiated to examine if these gene expression changes were unique to CLL T cells or common to an alternative leukaemia, acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Keywords: Comparison of immune cells in health and disease
6740 40 Comparison of transcriptional profiles of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from HIV-infected pateints and uninfected control group We examined the gene expression profiles in ex vivo human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from untreated HIV-infected individuals at different clinical stages and rates of disease progression. Profiles of pure CD4+ and CD8+ T cells subsets from HIV-infected nonprogressors who controlled viremia were indistinguishable from HIV-uninfected individuals. Similarly, no gene clusters could distinguish T cells from individuals with early from chronic progressive HIV infection, whereas differences were observed between uninfected or nonprogressors versus early or chronic progressors. In early/chronic HIV infection, three characteristic gene expression signatures were observed: (1) CD4+ and CD8+ T cells showed increased expression of interferon stimulated genes (ISGs). However, some ISGs including CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11, and the IL15Rα in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and the anti-HIV ISG APOBEC3G in CD4+ T cells, were not upregulated. (2) CD4+ and CD8+ T cells showed a cluster similar to that observed in thymocytes, and (3) more genes were differentially regulated in CD8+ T cells than in CD4+ T cells, including a cluster of genes downregulated exclusively in CD8+ T cells. In conclusion, HIV infection induces a persistent T cell transcriptional profile, early in infection, characterized by a dramatic but potentially aberrant interferon response, and a profile suggesting an active thymic output. Keywords: disease state analysis
32959 37 An integrative computational systems biology approach identifies differentially regulated dynamic transcriptome signatures which drive the initiation of human T helper cell differentiation The aim of this dataset was to study in detail the transcription kinetics initiated by cytokines IL-12 and IL-4 in early differentiation of Th1 and Th2 cells, respectively.
49877 36 Human intestinal T cell and paired blood transcriptomes The intestinal mucosa harbors the largest accumulation of T lymphocytes in the body. While these T cells play an important role in immune homeostasis, they are also implicated in triggering and maintaining pathological intestinal inflammation. In humans they are poorly characterised, and even mouse transcriptomes have been reported for only a few individual cell types, many of which lack direct human equivalents. Using expression microarrays on T cells isolated from ileal biopsies and in silico analysis, we present here an unbiased, transcriptome-wide view of function in T cell subpopulations of the healthy human intestine and delineate signalling pathways that are distinct from those seen in peripheral blood T cells.
53514 36 Coexpression of CD49b and LAG-3 identifies human and mouse T regulatory type 1 cells CD4(+) type 1 T regulatory (Tr1) cells are induced in the periphery and have a pivotal role in promoting and maintaining tolerance. The absence of surface markers that uniquely identify Tr1 cells has limited their study and clinical applications. By gene expression profiling of human Tr1 cell clones, we identified the surface markers CD49b and lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3) as being stably and selectively coexpressed on mouse and human Tr1 cells. We showed the specificity of these markers in mouse models of intestinal inflammation and helminth infection and in the peripheral blood of healthy volunteers. The coexpression of CD49b and LAG-3 enables the isolation of highly suppressive human Tr1 cells from in vitro anergized cultures and allows the tracking of Tr1 cells in the peripheral blood of subjects who developed tolerance after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The use of these markers makes it feasible to track Tr1 cells in vivo and purify Tr1 cells for cell therapy to induce or restore tolerance in subjects with immune-mediated diseases.
28491 33 mRNA expression profiling of human immune cell subsets (HUG) Blood consists of different cell populations with distinct functions and correspondingly, distinct gene expression profiles. In this study, global miRNA expression profiling was performed across a panel of nine human immune cell subsets (neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, B cells, NK cells, CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, mDCs and pDCs) to identify cell-type specific miRNAs. mRNA expression profiling was performed on the same samples, to determine if miRNAs specific to certain cell types down-regulated expression levels of their target genes. Six cell-type specific miRNAs (miR-143; neutrophil specific, miR-125; T cells and neutrophil specific, miR-500; monocytes and pDC specific, miR-150; lymphoid cells specific, miR-652 and miR-223; both myeloid cells specific) were negatively correlated with expression of their predicted target genes. These results were further validated using an independent cohort where similar immune cell subsets were isolated and profiled for both miRNA and mRNA expression. miRNAs negatively correlated with target gene expression in both cohorts were identified as candidates for miRNA-mRNA regulatory pairs and were used to construct a cell-type specific regulatory network. miRNA-mRNA pairs formed two distinct clusters in the network corresponding to myeloid (nine miRNAs) and lymphoid lineages (two miRNAs). Several myeloid specific miRNAs targeted common genes including ABL2, EIF4A2, EPC1 and INO80D; these common targets were enriched for genes involved in the regulation of gene expression (p < 9.0E-7). Those miRNA might therefore have significant further effect on gene expression by repressing the expression of genes involved in transcriptional regulation. The miRNA and mRNA expression profiles reported in this study form a comprehensive transcriptome database of various human blood cells and serve as a valuable resource for elucidating the role of miRNA mediated regulation in the establishment of immune cell identity.
36476 32 Gene expression in CD4 memory T cell responses with age With increasing age, the ability of the immune system to protect against recurring infections or to control chronic infections erodes. The objective of the current study was to identify gene expression signatures in elderly CD4 T cell responses
64914 30 Expression data from chimeric antigen receptor transduced (CAR) human CD4+ T cells during expansion In this data set we include expression data from human CD4+ T cells isolated on day 0, 6, 11 and 24 follow anti-CD3/anti-CD28 magnetic bead stimulation and chimeric antigen receptor transduction.
60234 29 Time course expression measured by microarray of fresh CD4+ response to activation from healthy individuals Variation in individuals’ adaptive immune response is believed to influence susceptibility to complex diseases in humans. The genetic basis of such variation is poorly understood. We measured gene expression from resting and activated CD4+ T cells derived from the peripheral blood of healthy individuals. We activated the primary T cells with anti-CD3/CD28 beads alone or with IFNb or Th17 polarizing cytokines.
10586 27 Expression data from recent-onset T1D patients and controls Naturally occurring FoxP3+CD4+CD25+high regulatory T cells (Tregs) play an important role in dominant tolerance, suppressing auto-reactive CD4+CD25- T cell activity. Although Tregs from T1D subjects are functionally deficient, there is little knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate this loss of Treg function. We observed increased apoptosis (by a novel YOPRO-1/7AAD dual staining protocol) and decreased suppression in polyclonal Tregs in the periphery from high at-risk and T1D subjects. We hypothesize that prior to and during the onset of disease, Tregs lack pro-survival signals and are caught up in a relatively deficient cytokine milieu whose effects may be detectable in the periphery. Microarray analysis was performed on un-stimulated Tregs from 12 subjects with newly diagnosed T1D and 15 healthy controls. Keywords: disease-state analysis
13017 24 Early-induced genes of human regulatory CD4+CD25hi Treg and CD4+CD25- Th cells Goals and objectives of this study: to identify genes preferentially induced in human CD4+CD25hi Treg cells following T-cell activation with potential role for stabililization & maintenance of the regulatory program. Keywords: T-cell receptor stimulation, gene-regulation, comparative gene expression profiling
44392 20 Expression data from stimulated or unstimulated human CD4+ T cells incubated with edelfosine The cytotoxic drug edelfosine is a synthetic analog of 2-lysophosphatidylcholine. Edelfosine is incorporated by highly proliferating cells, e.g. activated immune cells. It is unknown if the described mechanisms for edelfosine action attained by in vitro approaches exclusively contribute to the observed EAE-amelioration or if edelfosine may exert additional, probably more general and possibly immunoablative effects within the setting of autoimmunity. We used microarray analysis in order to confirm proposed mechanisms of edelfosine action, but also to discover novel effects of edelfosine in the context of immune cells.
53455 20 Expression profiling comparisons of human CD4+ T cells treated with RORgt inhibitors The aim of this study was to identify differential gene expression resulting from the inhibition of RORgt in human CD4+ T cells.
44621 20 Expression profiling comparisons of human PBMC treated with class I/IIb or class IIa HDAC inhibitors The aim of this study was to identify differential gene expression resulting from the inhibition of class IIa HDACs in human PBMC.
23294 20 An Association Between Gene Expression and Better Survival in Female Mice Following Myocardial Infarction Following myocardial infarction, the prognosis for females is better than males. Estrogen is thought to be protective, but clinical trials with hormone replacement failed to show protection. Here, we sought to identify novel mechanisms that might explain this sex-based difference. By diverging from the traditional focus on sex hormones, we employed a conceptually novel approach to this question by using a non-biased approach to measure global changes in gene expression following infarction.
43177 19 MicroRNA regulate immunological pathways in T-cells in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) [mRNA] MicroRNA are small non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression. To investigate the role of microRNA in ITP, we performed genome-wide expression analyses of mRNA and microRNA in T-cells from ITP patients and controls. We identified 1,915 regulated genes and 22 regulated microRNA that differed between ITP patients and controls. Seventeen of the 22 regulated microRNA were linked to changes in target gene expression; 57 of these target genes were associated with the immune system, e.g. T-cell activation and regulation of immunoglobulin production. CXCL13 and IL-21 were two microRNA target genes significantly increased in ITP. We could demonstrate increased plasma levels of CXCL13 and others have reported increased plasma levels of IL-21 in ITP. Thus, regulated microRNA were significantly associated with both gene and protein expression of molecules in immunological pathways. We suggest that microRNA may be important regulatory molecules involved in the loss of tolerance in ITP.
14926 19 Analysis of the impact of the method of cell selection on the gene expression profile of human CD4 and CD8 T cells Negative immunomagnetic selection has become the method of choice for isolating T cell subsets for functional studies due to concerns that directly binding antibody to the surface of a cell, as occurs with positive selection, results in cross-linking of surface antigens, altered gene transcription and subsequent cellular activation. However there is little data to support this. We therefore examined the impact of the method of immunomagnetic cell selection on the gene expression profile of healthy human CD4 and CD8 T cells in a total of 21 cases. Keywords: Methodology
51540 18 Effects of TNF-alpha blocking in sorted Th17 cells from co-cultures of human CD4-positive and CD14-positive cells Human CD4+ T cells and CD14+ monocytes from healthy donors were co-cultured with anti-CD3 for three days in the presence or absence of TNF-alpha mAb (Adalimumab). Classical Th17 cells (Th17) or those generated in the presence of the inhibitor (iTh17) were then sorted and analyzed by full transcriptome microarray analysis.
32901 18 Expression data for effector T cells In this study, we examined differential gene expression in naïve human CD4+ T cells, as well as in effector Th1, Th17-negative and Th17-enriched CD4- T cell subsets. We observed a marked enrichment for increased gene expression in effector CD4+ T cells compared to naive CD4+ among immune-mediated disease oci genes. Within effector T cells, expression of disease-associated genes was increased in Th17-enriched compared to Th17-negative cells. We used microarray to examine the gene expresssion profile and level of human naïve, Th1 and effector T cell subsets.
11057 17 Memory T Cell Subsets Microarray deconvolution is a technique for quantifying the relative abundance of constituent cells in a mixture based on that mixture’s microarray signature and the signatures of the purified constituents. It has been applied to yeast and other systems but not to blood samples. Here we test the ability of this technique to determine the fractions of subsets of memory T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples. Keywords: cell type comparison
17354 13 Gene expression profiling of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells from gene therapy treated ADA patients and from healthy controls Gene transfer into HSCs by gammaretroviral vectors (RV) is an effective treatment for inherited blood disorders, although potentially limited by the risk of insertional mutagenesis. We evaluated the genomic impact of RV integration in T-lymphocytes from adenosine deaminase (ADA)-Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) patients 10 to 30 months after infusion of autologous, genetically-corrected CD34+ cells. Expression profiling on ex vivo T-cell bulk population revealed no difference with respect to healthy controls. To assess the effect of vector integration on gene expression at the single cell level, primary T-cell clones were isolated from two patients. T-cell clones harboured either one or two vector copies per cell and displayed partial to full correction of ADA expression, purine metabolism and TCR-driven functions. Analysis of retroviral integration sites (RIS) indicated a high diversity in T-cell origin, consistent with the polyclonal TCR-Vbeta repertoire. Quantitative transcript analysis of 120 genes within a 200kb-window around RIS showed modest (2.8- to 5.2-fold) disregulation of 5.8% genes in 18.6% of the T-cell clones compared to controls. Nonetheless, affected clones maintained a stable phenotype and normal functions in vitro. These results confirm that RV-mediated gene transfer for ADA-SCID is safe, and provide crucial information for the development of future gene therapy protocols. Global gene expression profiling was performed on CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets purified ex vivo from three ADA-SCID patients at different times after gene therapy. The microarray analysis showed a substantial overlap with the expression patterns of T-cells from controls, indicating the absence of gross abnormalities in the development and function of T-cells derived from genetically corrected hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.
52129 12 Gene expression profile of activated CD4 T cells from adults and newborns Given their precipitous encounter with the environment, newborn infants might be expected to possess abundant immunoprotective mechanisms. Paradoxically, their T cells display grossly impaired Th1 anti-bacterial and anti-viral responses. This study identifies factors produced by neonatal CD4 T cells when compared with adult naive CD4 T cells and highlights CXCL8 as a pivotal effector molecule in neonatal T cells. Using Affimetrix microarray we compared gene expression in cord blood derived CD4 T cells with naive CD4 T cells from adults after polyclonal stimulation.
44460 12 Induction of IL-17+ T-cells by HIV-Tat protein is mediated via Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has transformed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection from a fatal illness to a chronic condition by controlling viral replication and restoring immune function. However, chronic T-cell activation can be observed in 20-35% of individuals on ART, resulting in an immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) [1-3]. IRIS involving the CNS can result in permanent disability and death [4]. Tat is a viral protein produced in HIV-infected cells and released into the extracellular space [5]. We show that the secreted-Tat protein activated uninfected T-cells in an antigen-independent manner without inducing proliferation. Notably, Tat induced the secretion of IL-17 from T-cells and increased the percentage of T-cells with a Th17 phenotype. T-cell activation was independent of the T-cell receptor but dependent on endocytosis of Tat and activation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Tat induced global changes in histone acetylation and increased HIV infection in non-replicating T-cells. Furthermore, in an individual with CNS IRIS, Tat expressing infiltrates and secretion of IL-17 was detected in the absence of viral replication in the brain. Thus Tat can induce T-cell activation in a paracrine and autocrine manner resulting in propagation of inflammation and increased virulence.
45535 12 The Plasma Cell Signature in Autoimmune Disease (I) Objective: Production of pathogenic autoantibodies by self-reactive plasma cells (PC) is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases. Investigating the prevalence of PC in autoimmune disease and their relationship with known pathogenic pathways may increase our understanding of the role of PC in disease progression and treatment response. Methods: We developed a sensitive gene expression based method to overcome the challenges of measuring PC using flow cytometry. Whole genome microarray analysis of sorted cellular fractions identified a panel of genes, IGHA, IGJ, IGKC, IGKV, and TNFRSF17, expressed predominantly in PC. The sensitivity of the PC signature score created from the combined expression levels of these genes was assessed through ex vivo experiments with sorted cells. This PC gene expression signature was used for monitoring changes in PC levels following anti-CD19 therapy; evaluating the relationship between PC and other autoimmune disease-related genes; and estimating PC levels in affected blood and tissue from multiple autoimmune diseases. Results: The PC signature was highly sensitive and capable of detecting as few as 300 PCs. The PC signature was reduced over 90% in scleroderma patients following anti-CD19 treatment and this reduction was highly correlated (r = 0.77) with inhibition of collagen gene expression. Evaluation of multiple autoimmune diseases revealed 30-35% of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and scleroderma patients with increased PC levels. Conclusion: This newly developed PC signature provides a robust and accurate method to measure PC levels in the clinic. Our results highlight subsets of patients across multiple autoimmune diseases that may benefit from PC depleting therapy.
41909 12 IL-7 and IL-15 instruct the generation of human memory stem T cells from naïve precursors The identification of the most appropriate T-cell subset to ensure optimal persistence and anti-tumor activity is a major goal of cancer immunotherapy. We identified a novel post-mitotic CD45RA+CD62L+ T cell subpopulation (TTN), generated in vitro upon activation of naïve T (TN) cells with beads conjugated to anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies. This cell population is highly proliferative, produces low levels of IFNg and cytotoxic molecules, and requires IL-7 and IL-15 for in vitro expansion. To investigate whether this cell population represents a novel T-cell subset, we compared the transcriptomic profile of TTN with that of other T-cell subsets, namely naturally occurring TN and central memory (TCM) and manipulated cells of TCM origin (TTCM).
27291 12 Expression data from human TCRVg9-positive gamma delta T lymphocytes We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression by circulating TCRVgamma9+ gamma delta T cells isolated from healthy individuals,tested either as resting cells or cells activated by phosphoantigen BrHPP and IL-2at an early(+6hrs) and a late (+7days) timepoint. We find that with more “NK cell” genes than alphabeta T cells and more “T cell” genes than NK cells, the circulating TCRVgamma9+ gamma delta T cells cells have a hybrid transcriptome. The gene signature of the activated cells recapitulates their physiological functions: Th1 cytokine, chemokine and cytotoxic activities at first and mitotic activity at later time points. The gene expression pattern of activated normal gamma delta T cells is nevertheless clearly distinctive from that of NK/T and peripheral T cell lymphomas of the gamma delta subtype.
25087 12 Human Fetal and Adult Peripheral Naïve CD4+ T cells and CD4+CD25+ Treg cells We compared differences in fetal and adult T cells by performing whole genome profiling on sort-purified T cells (naïve CD4+ and Treg cells) from human fetal specimens (18-22 gestational weeks) and adult specimens (age 25-40 years old). Fetal and Adult Naïve CD4+ T cells phenotype: CD3+CD4+CD45RA+CCR7+CD27+, Fetal and Adult CD4+CD25+ Treg phenotype: CD3+CD4+CD25bright
20198 12 ATF3 is a positive regulator of human IFN gene expression The aim of this study was to identify genes regulated by IL-12, IL-18 and IFN-alpha during early differentiation of human Th1 cells
17922 12 Immunomodulatory effect of 5-azacytidine (5-azaC): potential role in the transplantation setting. Cytokine genes are targets of multiple epigenetic mechanisms in T lymphocytes. 5-azacytidine (5-azaC) is a nucleoside-based DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) inhibitor which induces demethylation and gene reactivation. In the current study, we analyzed the effect of 5-azaC in T-cell function and observed that 5-azaC inhibits T-cell proliferation and activation, blocking cell cycle in G0-G1 phase and decreasing the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNFα and IFNγ. This effect was not due to a pro-apoptotic effect of the drug but to the down-regulation of genes involved in T-cell cycle progression and activation such as CCNG2, MTCP1, CD58, and ADK and up-regulation of genes which induce cell growth arrest, such as DCUN1D2, U2AF2, GADD45B or p53. In spite of being also up-regulated, we did not find any effect of 5-azaC on the methylation pattern of FOXP3. Finally, the administration of 5-azaC at 60 and 84 hours post-transplant prevented the development of GVHD leading to a significant increase in survival in a fully mismatched BMT mouse model. In conclusion, the current study shows the effect of 5-azaC in T-lymphocytes and illustrates its role in the allogeneic transplantation setting as an immunomodulatory drug, describing new pathways which must be explored in order to prevent graft-versus-host disease.
43260 10 Expression data from FACS-sorted CD8+BTLA+ vs CD8+BTLA- Human Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes in Metastatic Melanoma Adoptive T-cell Therapy (ACT) involves using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) isolated from metastatic melanoma and expanding them ex vivo prior to infusion into lympho-depleted patients. This is one of the most promising approaches to treat metastatic melanoma, with the rates of clinical response between 48-50% based on studies done at NCI, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX), and Sheba Medical Center (Tel Aviv, Israel). In the Phase II ACT Trial at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center , our group has uncovered an association between positive clinical response and the amount of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes expressing B and T Lymphocyte Attenuator (BTLA), a reported inhibitory receptor on T-cells. We used microarrays to detail the differences in the global programme of gene expression between CD8+BTLA+ vs CD8+BTLA- TILs in order to understand the molecular basis of the clinical association.
13906 10 NK-cell associated receptors expression in EBV-positive gamma-delta T cell lines. The contribution of chronic antigen stimulation to the occurrence of lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) with the gamma-delta T-cell lineage is unclear, despite the fact that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive T-cell LPD is derived from antigen-stimulated cytotoxic T-cells. Given the possible association of antigen stimulation with the development of cytotoxic T-cell LPD, we compared gene expression patterns in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive gamma-delta T-cell lines derived from patients with nasal T-cell lymphoma and chronic active EBV infection and those in gamma-delta T-cells from healthy volunteers. Three EBV-positive gamma-delta T-cells lines, SNT cells (SNT-8, SNT-13 and SNT-15), were used in this study. SNT-8 was established from patients with nasal T-cell lymphoma and SNT-13, -15 were established from patients with chronic active EBV infection (Zhang Y, et al., Br J Cancer 94:599-608, 2006). All the SNT cells exhibits common rearrangement of Vgamma9-JgammaP and Jdelta3 genes. The gamma-delta T-cells obtained from healthy volunteers were expanded ex vivo by 1 microM of zoledronate (ZOL) plus IL-2 for 14 days incubation.
29583 9 Circadian Clock Activity in Mouse and Human CD4+ T Cells Though it is well established that immunological functions of CD4+ T cells are time of day-dependent, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely obscure. To address the question whether T cells themselves harbor a functional clock driving circadian rhythms of immune function, we analyzed clock gene expression and immune responses of CD4+ T cells purified from blood of healthy subjects at different time points throughout the day. Circadian clock function as well as immune function was further analyzed in cultivated T cells and circadian clock reporter systems. We found robust rhythms of clock gene expression as well as, after stimulation, of IFN-g production and CD40L expression in both freshly isolated and in cultured CD4+ T cells. Moreover, circadian luciferase reporter activities in CD4+ T cells and in thymic sections from PER2::LUCIFERASE reporter mice suggest that endogenous T cell clock rhythms are self-sustained under constant culture conditions. Microarray analysis of stimulated CD4+ T cell cultures revealed a rhythmic regulation of the NF-kB pathway as a candidate mechanism regulating circadian immune responses. Collectively, these data demonstrate for the first time that CD4+ T cell responses are regulated by an intrinsic cellular circadian oscillator capable of driving rhythmic adaptive immune responses in vitro and in vivo.
28107 9 T-Cells from CLL patients T cells may have a role in sustaining the leukemic clone in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In this study, we have examined the ability of T cells from CLL patients to support the survival of the leukemic B cells in vitro. Additionally, we compared global gene expression of T cells from indolent CLL patients with healthy individuals and multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Apoptosis of purified CLL cells was inhibited in vitro when cocultured with increasing numbers of autologous T cells (p<0.01) but not with normal donors. The anti-apoptotic effect exceeded that of the antiapoptotic cytokine IL-4 (p=0.02) and was greater with CD8+ T cells than with CD4+ cells (p<0.05). The effect depended mainly on cell-cell contact although a significant effect was observed in transwell experiments (p<0.05). Additionally, about 356 genes involved in different cellular pathways were deregulated in T cells of CLL patients compared to healthy individuals and MM patients. The results of gene expression profiling was verified for 7 genes (KLF6, TRAF1, CCL4, CCL5, RANTES, XCL1 and XCL2) using qRT-PCR and immunoblotting. Our results demonstrate that CLL-derived T cells can prevent apoptosis of leukemic cells and have altered expression of genes that may facilitate survival of the leukemic clone.
49703 8 Transcriptional profiles of CCR7lo effector memory human T cell subsets The aim of this study was to identify differentially-expressed genes in CCR4hi/CXCR3- and CCR4lo CXCR3+ CCR6+ human Th17 cell subsets
50175 8 Expression data from human Th1 and Th1Th17 cells We previously demonstrated that Th1Th17 cells are highly permissive to HIV-1, whereas Th1 cells are relatively resistant. Here, we investigated molecular mechanisms underlying these differences. Superior HIV replication in Th1Th17 vs. Th1 cells was regulated by entry and post-entry mechanisms. We used microarrays to detail the gene expression signatures caracterizing Th1 cells from Th1Th17.
26928 8 Human peripheral blood CD4+ T cell subsets Cells were isolated from healthy human donors (n=2). Unstimulated cells. Cells were stained with CD4, CD45RA, CCR7 and CXCR7. Using flow cytometry, 4 CD4+ T cell populations were sorted: (1) Naïve (CD45RA+CCR7+CXCR5-), (2) Central memory (CD45RA-CCR7+CXCR5-), (3) Effector memory (CD45RA-CCR7-CXCR5-) and (4) CXCR5+ cells (CD45RA-CCR7-CXCR5+)
18893 8 TNF activates a distinct cellular program in human regulatory T cells Here we show that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) induced in human T-regulatory cells (Treg), as compared to conventional T cells (Tcon), a transcription program highly enriched for typical NF-κB target genes, such as: the cytokines LTA and TNF; the TNF-receptor super family members FAS, 4-1BB and OX-40; various anti-apoptotic genes; and other important immune-response genes. As an initial approach to examine the cellular program induced by TNF in Tregs versus Tcon cells, we employed microarray gene expression analysis at 2 and 24 hrs following TNF treatment.
37213 6 MiR-21 function in T-lymphocytes T-lymphocyte activation is efficiently mimicked in vitro by treatment with anti CD3 / anti CD28 antibodies. We report miR-21 induction upon CD3/CD28 stimulation of primary T-lymphocytes. In order to assess the function of miR-21 in T-lymphocytes we interfered with miR-21 function by lentiviral transduction of a miR-21 sponge construct. MRNA profile of miR-21 sponge and control transduced T-lymphocytes 48hrs after stimulation.
23332 6 Molecular plasticity of regulatory T cells in allogeneic stem cell transplantation Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is still one of the major complications following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) triggered by alloreactive donor T cells. Whereas murine data have clearly shown the beneficial effects of regulatory T cells (Tregs) on the development of GvHD, data from the human system are rare mainly due to low cell numbers of circulating or organ-infiltrating Tregs in lymphopenic patients. Here, we present a comparative analysis of Tregs from patients with and without acute/ chronic GvHD designed as a dynamical approach studying the whole genome profile over the first 6 months after SCT. For this purpose, blood samples were collected monthly for FACS-based isolation of CD4+CD25highCD127low/- Tregs. The Treg transcriptome showed a high stability in the first half year representing the most sensitive time window for tolerance induction. However, the comparison of the Treg transcriptome from patients with and without GvHD uncovered regulated gene transcripts that point to a reduced suppressive function of Tregs with diminished migration capacity to the target organs likely contributing to the development of GvHD. These findings highlight the critical role of human Tregs in the pathophysiology of GvHD and identify novel targets for the manipulation of Tregs to optimize cellular immune intervention strategies. Keywords: cell type comparison
12875 6 Impaired T-cell function in patients with novel ICOS Interaction of ICOS - ICOS ligand is required for the germinal center formation, T-cell immune responses, and development of autoimmune diseases. Human ICOS deficiency with the identical ICOS mutation has been identified in nine patients worldwide. In vitro studies showed T-cell defect of the patients was mild, and in vivo autoimmunity was uncommon and mild. Here we report in-depth analysis of T-cell function in two siblings with novel ICOS deficiency. While the brother displayed mild skin infections, psoriasis-like skin region, and defective immunoglobulin class switching, the sister had more severe symptoms, which included immunodeficiency, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, interstitial pneumonitis, and psoriasis. Despite of normal CD3/CD28-induced proliferation and IL-2 production in vitro, peripheral blood T-cells from both patients demonstrated decreased percentage of CD4 central and effector memory T-cells and impaired production of Th1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines upon CD3/CD28 costimulation or upon PMA/ionophore stimulation. The defective polarization into effector cells were associated with impaired induction of T-bet, GATA3 and MAF and RORC. Reduced CTLA-4+CD45RO+ FoxP3+ regulatory T-cells and diminished induction of inhibitory cell surface molecules including CTLA-4 were also observed in the patients. Further analysis of the gene expression and immune functions of the patients demonstrated increased induction of RANKL, lack of IFN-g response, and loss of Itch expression upon activation in the female case with autoimmunity. Our study suggests extensive T-cell dysfunction and loss of balance between effector cells and regulatory cells in the ICOS-deficient patients may account for their immunodeficiency and/or autoimmune disorder.
15659 5 Microarray analysis of FoxP3-expressing or non-expressing subsets of human CD4+ T cells Gene expression profiles of subsets of CD4+ T cells according to their expression of FoxP3 and CD45RA were compared. Abstract: FoxP3 is a key transcription factor for the development and function of natural CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs). Here we show that human FoxP3+CD4+ T cells are composed of three phenotypically and functionally distinct subpopulations: CD45RA+FoxP3low resting Tregs (rTregs) and CD45RA-FoxP3high activated Tregs (aTregs), both of which are suppressive in vitro, and cytokine-secreting CD45RA-FoxP3low non-suppressive T cells. The proportion of the three subpopulations characteristically altered in cord blood, aged individuals, and patients with immunological diseases. Terminally differentiated aTregs rapidly die while rTregs proliferate and convert into aTregs in vitro and in vivo as shown by the transfer of rTregs into NOD-scid-common gamma-chain-knockout mice and by TCR sequence-based T cell clonotype tracing in peripheral blood of normal individuals. Taken together, the dissection of FoxP3+ cells into subsets enables one to analyze Treg differentiation dynamics and interactions in normal and disease states, and to control immune responses through manipulating particular FoxP3+ subpopulations.
42569 4 Gene expression analysis of human CD4+ T cells differentiated into Th17 cells in the presence of high-salt Th17 cells are believed to be a critical cell population for driving autoimmune diseases. However, environmental factors that are directly related to the development of Th17 cells are largely unknown. High-salt (NaCl) concentrations enhance Th17 differentiation of human naive CD4+ T cells in vitro. The aim of the study was to analyse the changes in gene expression induced by high-salt conditions during Th17 differentiation.
33670 4 Expression data from human memory CD4 T-cells stimulated with autologous monocytes pulsed with HCMV The present study reports an unbiased analysis of the genetic profile and regulation of NKG2D expressing CD4 T-cells.An Affymetrix microarray analysis was used to explore the genetic profile of NKG2D+ versus NKG2D- CD4 T-cells. The genetic profile was studied by single gene analysis and gene set enrichment analysis. I found that several immune regulatory receptors was regulated differently in NKG2D+ versus NKG2D- CD4 T-cells. Futhermore, I found that NKG2D+ CD4 T-cells display a genetic profile of cytotoxic T-cells. The gene set enrichment analysis revealed a change in 19 processes, including ARF GTPase activator activity; RNA splicing; Signal transduction; Interspecies interaction between organisms; Regulation of ARF GTPase activity; Cell motility; Mitosis; Cell cycle; Anaphase-promoting complex-dependent proteasomal ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolic process; Induction of apoptosis by extracellular signals; Negative regulation of apoptosis; mRNA export from nucleus; Positive regulation of ubiquitin-protein ligase activity involved in mitotic cell cycle; Cell division; Protein polymerization; Spliceosome assembly; Microtubule-based movement; Immune response; mRNA processing.
23295 4 Comparison of gene expression between CD133+ and CD133- SW620 human colon cancer cells CD133 has been widely used for identification and isolation of cancer stem cells in tumors although its role as a marker for cancer stem cell is still controversial . We isolated the CD133+ and CD133- cells from SW620 human colon cancer cell line and compared their biological characteristics, such as tumorigenicity,drug sensitivity, etc. Our study revealed that CD133+ SW620 cells were more tumorigenic and resistant to anti-cancer drugs. Correspondingly, they displayed different gene expression profile. However, it was observed that CD133- cells and CD133+ cells could mutually convert, indicating that CD133 expression was under dynamic and reversible regulations which might impose significant infulence on cells behaviors. Thus, our data challenge the role of CD133 as a marker for cancer stem cell.
22045 4 Gene expression profiling of human unstimulated regulatory T cells (Tregs) and naïve CD4+ T cells Human regulatory T cells (TR) cells have potential for the treatment of immune mediated diseases, such as graft versus host disease, but the anergic phenotype of these cells makes them difficult to expand in vitro. We have examined the requirements for growth and cytokine expression from highly purified human TR cells, and correlated these findings with the signal transduction events of these cells. We demonstrate that these cells do not proliferate or secrete IL-10 even in the presence of high doses of IL-2. Stimulation with a superagonistic anti-CD28 antibody (clone 9D4) and IL-2 partially reversed the proliferative defect, and this correlated with reversal of the defective calcium mobilization in these cells. Dendritic cells were effective at promoting TR cell proliferation, and under these conditions the proliferative capacity of TR cells was comparable to conventional CD4 lymphocytes. Blocking TGF-beta activity abrogated IL-10 expression from these cells, while addition of TGF-beta resulted in IL-10 production. These data demonstrate the ability of dendritic cells to provide proper costimulation to overcome the anergic phenotype of TR cells. In addition, these data demonstrate for the first time that TGF-beta is critical to enable TR cells to express IL-10.
11188 4 Gene-expression profiles of non-tumor-reactive CD8+ T cells Non-tumor-reactive T cells are characterized by the inabilitzy to lyse autologous tumor cells, low to intermediate avidity TCRs and lack of NY-ESO-1 peptide tetramer binding. However most strikingly, non-tumor-reactive T cells are characterized by a molecular program associated with ‘division arrest anergy’ with elevated expression of the inhibitory molecule p27kip1. This is accompanied by elevated expression of inhibitory molecules and reduced levels of transcription factors involved in T cell activation. Frequency analysis of the inhibited T cell population using the established molecular fingerprint as a novel biomarker might be applied for cancer vaccine development and optimization. Keywords: cell type comparison
6566 4 Strength of T cell stimulation The strength of T cell stimulation determines IL-7 responsiveness, recall potential and lineage commitment of primed human CD4+IL-7Rhi T cells We analyzed how the strength of antigenic stimulation - as determined by dendritic cell (DC) number, DC maturation state and antigen concentration - controls in human CD4+ T cells IL-7R? expression and responsiveness to IL-7, IL-15 and antigen. We found that T cells primed by different strengths of stimulation expressed IL-7R? in different proportions and preferentially on cells that maintained expression of the central memory marker CCR7. However, while CCR7+IL-7Rhi cells generated at high strength of stimulation proliferated vigorously in response to IL-7 or IL-15, CCR7+IL-7Rhi cells generated at low strength of stimulation responded poorly. High cytokine responsiveness was associated with reduced PTEN expression and enhanced s6-kinase activation, consistent with efficient receptor coupling to downstream signalling pathways. Interestingly, while intermediate-stimulated CCR7+IL-7Rhi cells were non-polarized, self-renewed with IL-7 and expanded with antigen, high-stimulated cells generated Th1 effector cells with cytokines but showed impaired IL-2 production and survival with antigen. Gene expression analysis suggested that high-stimulated cells represented pre-Th1 cells with low recall potential and high metabolic state. Taken together these results demonstrate that IL-7 receptor expression and coupling are instructed in T cells by the strength of stimulation and suggest that memory subsets may derive from CCR7+IL-7Rhi precursors that received different strengths of stimulation. Keywords: comparison

References

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