Depletion of CD40 on CD11c(+) cells worsens the metabolic syndrome and ameliorates hepatic inflammation during NASH

The co-stimulatory CD40-CD40L dyad plays a central role in fine-tuning immune reactions, including obesity-induced inflammation. Genetic ablation of CD40L reduced adipose tissue inflammation, while absence of CD40 resulted in aggravated metabolic dysfunction in mice. During obesity, CD40 expressing CD11c(+) dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages accumulate in adipose tissue and liver. We investigated the role of CD40(+)CD11c(+) cells in the metabolic syndrome and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). DC-CD40-ko mice (CD40(fl/fl)CD11c(cre)) mice were subjected to obesity or NASH. Obesity and insulin resistance were induced by feeding mice a 54% high fat diet (HFD). NASH was induced by feeding mice a diet containing 40% fat, 20% fructose and 2% cholesterol. CD40(fl/fl)CD11c(cre )mice fed a HFD displayed increased weight gain, increased adipocyte size, and worsened insulin resistance. Moreover, CD40(fl/fl)CD11c(cre )mice had higher plasma and hepatic cholesterol levels and developed profound liver steatosis. Overall, regulatory T cell numbers were decreased in these mice. In NASH, absence of CD40 on CD11c(+) cells slightly decreased liver inflammation but did not affect liver lipid accumulation. Our experiments suggest that CD40 expressing CD11c(+) cells can act as a double-edged sword: CD40 expressing CD11c(+) cells contribute to liver inflammation during NASH but are protective against the metabolic syndrome via induction of regulatory T cells

First Observation of Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission in a Free-Electron Laser at 109 nm Wavelength

We present the first observation of Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE) in a free-electron laser (FEL) in the Vacuum Ultraviolet regime at 109 nm wavelength (11 eV). The observed free-electron laser gain (approx. 3000) and the radiation characteristics, such as dependency on bunch charge, angular distribution, spectral width and intensity fluctuations all corroborate the existing models for SASE FELs.Comment: 6 pages including 6 figures; e-mail: [email protected]

Novel strategies to assess cytokine release mediated by chimeric antigen receptor T cells based on the adverse outcome pathway concept

The success of cellular immunotherapies such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has led to their implementation as a revolutionary treatment option for cancer patients. However, the safe translation of such novel immunotherapies, from non-clinical assessment to first-in-human studies is still hampered by the lack of suitable in vitro and in vivo models recapitulating the complexity of the human immune system. Additionally, using cells derived from human healthy volunteers in such test systems may not adequately reflect the altered state of the patient's immune system thus potentially underestimating the risk of life-threatening conditions, such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) following CAR T cell therapy. The IMI2/EU project imSAVAR (immune safety avatar: non-clinical mimicking of the immune system effects of immunomodulatory therapies) aims at creating a platform for novel tools and models for enhanced non-clinical prediction of possible adverse events associated with immunomodulatory therapies. This platform shall in the future guide early non-clinical safety assessment of novel immune therapeutics thereby also reducing the costs of their development. Therefore, we review current opportunities and challenges associated with non-clinical in vitro and in vivo models for the safety assessment of CAR T cell therapy ranging from organ-on-chip models up to advanced biomarker screening.</p

Introducing PIONEER: a project to harness big data in prostate cancer research

Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Enhancement Through the Power of Big Data in Europe (PIONEER) is a European network of excellence for big data in prostate cancer, consisting of 32 private and public stakeholders from 9 countries across Europe. Launched by the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 and part of the Big Data for Better Outcomes Programme (BD4BO), the overarching goal of PIONEER is to provide high-quality evidence on prostate cancer management by unlocking the potential of big data. The project has identified critical evidence gaps in prostate cancer care, via a detailed prioritization exercise including all key stakeholders. By standardizing and integrating existing high-quality and multidisciplinary data sources from patients with prostate cancer across different stages of the disease, the resulting big data will be assembled into a single innovative data platform for research. Based on a unique set of methodologies, PIONEER aims to advance the field of prostate cancer care with a particular focus on improving prostate-cancer-related outcomes, health system efficiency by streamlining patient management, and the quality of health and social care delivered to all men with prostate cancer and their families worldwide.Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Enhancement Through the Power of Big Data in Europe (PIONEER) is a European network of excellence for big data in prostate cancer, consisting of 32 private and public stakeholders from 9 countries across Europe. In this Perspectives article, the authors introduce the PIONEER project and describe its aims and plans for ultimately improving prostate cancer care through the use of big data

Depletion of CD40 on CD11c+ cells worsens the metabolic syndrome and ameliorates hepatic inflammation during NASH

AbstractThe co-stimulatory CD40-CD40L dyad plays a central role in fine-tuning immune reactions, including obesity-induced inflammation. Genetic ablation of CD40L reduced adipose tissue inflammation, while absence of CD40 resulted in aggravated metabolic dysfunction in mice. During obesity, CD40 expressing CD11c+ dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages accumulate in adipose tissue and liver. We investigated the role of CD40+CD11c+ cells in the metabolic syndrome and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). DC-CD40-ko mice (CD40fl/flCD11ccre) mice were subjected to obesity or NASH. Obesity and insulin resistance were induced by feeding mice a 54% high fat diet (HFD). NASH was induced by feeding mice a diet containing 40% fat, 20% fructose and 2% cholesterol. CD40fl/flCD11ccre mice fed a HFD displayed increased weight gain, increased adipocyte size, and worsened insulin resistance. Moreover, CD40fl/flCD11ccre mice had higher plasma and hepatic cholesterol levels and developed profound liver steatosis. Overall, regulatory T cell numbers were decreased in these mice. In NASH, absence of CD40 on CD11c+ cells slightly decreased liver inflammation but did not affect liver lipid accumulation. Our experiments suggest that CD40 expressing CD11c+ cells can act as a double-edged sword: CD40 expressing CD11c+ cells contribute to liver inflammation during NASH but are protective against the metabolic syndrome via induction of regulatory T cells.</jats:p

Leveraging Multi-Sensor Time Series Datasets to Map Short- and Long-Term Tropical Forest Disturbances in the Colombian Andes

The spatial distribution of disturbances in Andean tropical forests and protected areas has commonly been calculated using bi or tri-temporal analysis because of persistent cloud cover and complex topography. Long-term trends of vegetative decline (browning) or improvement (greening) have thus not been evaluated despite their importance for assessing conservation strategy implementation in regions where field-based monitoring by environmental authorities is limited. Using Colombia’s Cordillera de los Picachos National Natural Park as a case study, we provide a temporally rigorous assessment of regional vegetation change from 2001–2015 with two remote sensing-based approaches using the Breaks For Additive Season and Trend (BFAST) algorithm. First, we measured long-term vegetation trends using a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) time series, and, second, we mapped short-term disturbances using all available Landsat images. MAIAC-derived trends indicate a net greening in 6% of the park, but in the surrounding 10 km area outside of the park, a net browning trend prevails at 2.5%. We also identified a 12,500 ha area within Picachos (4% of the park’s total area) that has shown at least 13 years of consecutive browning, a result that was corroborated with our Landsat-based approach that recorded a 12,642 ha (±1440 ha) area of disturbed forest within the park. Landsat vegetation disturbance results had user’s and producer’s accuracies of 0.95 ± 0.02 and 0.83 ± 0.18, respectively, and 75% of Landsat-detected dates of disturbance events were accurate within ±6 months. This study provides new insights into the contribution of short-term disturbance to long-term trends of vegetation change, and offers an unprecedented perspective on the distribution of small-scale disturbances over a 15-year period in one of the most inaccessible national parks in the Andes