The activation mechanism of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells may differ substantially from T cells carrying native T cell receptor, but this difference remains poorly understood. We present the first comprehensive portrait of single-cell level transcriptional and cytokine signatures of anti-CD19/4-1BB/CD28/CD3ζ CAR-T cells upon antigen-specific stimulation. Both CD4 helper T (T) cells and CD8 cytotoxic CAR-T cells are equally effective in directly killing target tumor cells and their cytotoxic activity is associated with the elevation of a range of T1 and T2 signature cytokines, e.g., interferon γ, tumor necrotic factor α, interleukin 5 (IL5), and IL13, as confirmed by the expression of master transcription factor genes TBX21 and GATA3. However, rather than conforming to stringent T1 or T2 subtypes, single-cell analysis reveals that the predominant response is a highly mixed T1/T2 function in the same cell. The regulatory T cell activity, although observed in a small fraction of activated cells, emerges from this hybrid T1/T2 population. Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is produced from the majority of cells regardless of the polarization states, further contrasting CAR-T to classic T cells. Surprisingly, the cytokine response is minimally associated with differentiation status, although all major differentiation subsets such as naïve, central memory, effector memory, and effector are detected. All these suggest that the activation of CAR-engineered T cells is a canonical process that leads to a highly mixed response combining both type 1 and type 2 cytokines together with GM-CSF, supporting the notion that polyfunctional CAR-T cells correlate with objective response of patients in clinical trials. This work provides new insights into the mechanism of CAR activation and implies the necessity for cellular function assays to characterize the quality of CAR-T infusion products and monitor therapeutic responses in patients.
Antigens ; metabolism ; CTLA-4 Antigen ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Line ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic ; drug effects ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Activation ; drug effects ; immunology ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Phenotype ; Proteomics ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen ; metabolism ; Single-Cell Analysis ; methods ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Th1 Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Th2 Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Transcription, Genetic ; drug effects ; Up-Regulation ; drug effects

OBJECTIVE: To identify differentially expressed genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells between patients with continuous mild-to-moderate asthma and healthy controls using mRNA microarray in order to explore the underlying signaling pathways and clarify the roles of CD4+ T cells in the pathogenesis of asthma. METHODS: Global transcriptomic profiles of the CD4+ T cells were defined by using Agilent Sure Print G3 Human GE 8×60K microarray. Enrichment pathways were analyzed with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software. RESULTS: Compared with controls, 805 genes were up-regulated, 192 were down-regulated in asthma patients. Among these, the expression of 38 annotated genes have varied by 4 times or more. Expression of CD300A was inversely proportional to the absolute value of eosinophils (r=-0.89, P=0.02) as well as the proportion of eosinophils (r=-0.94, P=0.004), while CSF1R was inversely proportional to PD20 (r=-0.83, P=0.04) and AQLQ (r=-0.88, P=0.02) by correlation analysis. CONCLUSION Numerous pathophysiological pathways may be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. Above findings have provided a basis for the delineation the pathogenesis of asthma.
Antigens, CD ; genetics ; Asthma ; immunology ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; Case-Control Studies ; Eosinophils ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Receptors, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; genetics ; Receptors, Immunologic ; genetics ; Transcriptome

No abstract available.
Adult ; Bone Marrow/pathology ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Chronic/*diagnosis/genetics/therapy ; Leukemia, Neutrophilic, Chronic/*diagnosis/genetics/therapy ; Leukocyte Disorders/diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Prognosis ; Receptors, Colony-Stimulating Factor/*genetics ; Recurrence ; *Stem Cell Transplantation ; Transplantation, Homologous

To explore the reasonable procedures and strategies of diagnosis and treatment of congenital neutropenia (CN), clinical data and laboratory examination results of a boy suspected of CN were collected; gene ELA2, GFI1, HAX1, and WASp of whom were sequenced, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor (G-CSFR) expression on neutrophil was analyzed, and cytoplasmic domain of G-CSFR was sequenced. The results showed that the diagnosis of non-syndromic variants of CN (NSVCN) was made on this patient according to the criteria; sequencing results revealed no mutation occurred in ELA2, GFI1, HAX1 and WASp; a normal expression level of G-CSFR on neutrophil from this patient was detected and no truncated mutation was found in the intracellular domain of G-CSFR. It is concluded that reasonable procedure of diagnosis and treatment of CN is established, and a sporadic NSVCN with no recognized pathogenic mutation is confirmed in this patient.
Child ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Humans ; Male ; Neutropenia ; congenital ; diagnosis ; genetics ; therapy ; Receptors, Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; metabolism

OBJECTIVESTo study the clinicopathologic features of Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD), expression of various antigens, human herpes virus type 8 (HHV8), human papillomavirus (HPV)-DNA and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-mRNA, and compare the findings with those in the literature.

METHODSThe clinicopathologic findings of 16 Rosai-Dorfman disease cases were retrospectively reviewed. Immunohistochemical study for S-100 protein, CD68 (PG-M1), CD163, CD21, CD1a, CD20, CD45RO, CD4, CD8, M-CSF and HHV8 was carried out in 9 of the 16 cases. In-situ hybridization for EBV-mRNA and HPV-DNA was also performed.

RESULTSThe male-to-female ratio of the patients was 4.33:1. Amongst the 16 cases studied, 62.5% (10/16) presented nodal RDD, with cervical lymph node predominantly involved. Half of these cases had affected lymph nodes in more than one anatomic site. Extranodal RDD represented 37.5% (6/16) of the cases. The relapse rate of extranodal RDD was higher than that of nodal RDD. Histologically, nodal RDD was characterized by dilated sinuses filled with large polygonal histiocytes which contained lymphocytes and plasma cells. For extranodal lesions, various degrees of stromal fibrosis were seen in association with mixed inflammatory cells (especially plasma cells). The large polygonal histiocytes varied in number and were distributed in clusters or patches. Immunohistochemical study showed that the abnormal histiocytes were strongly positive for S-100 protein. They also expressed CD68, CD163 and M-CSF, but were negative for CD1a, CD21 and HHV8. The lymphocytes in cytoplasm of these histiocytes were positive for both T and B cell markers (with T cell predominance, including a mixture of CD4- and CD8-positive cells). HPV-DNA and EBV-mRNA were not detected by in-situ hybridization. To date, 62 cases of RDD have been reported in mainland China, including 34 cases of nodal RDD and 18 cases of extranodal RDD. The remaining 10 cases involved both lymph nodes and extranodal sites. Compared with overseas reports, RDD occurring in China tended to affect older patients and with slight male predilection.

CONCLUSIONSRosai-Dorfman disease is relatively rare in China. Pathologic diagnosis of extranodal RDD may be difficult. The demographic data of RDD in China, including age and sex of patients, are different from those in the literature.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic ; metabolism ; Bone Diseases ; metabolism ; pathology ; virology ; Child ; DNA, Viral ; analysis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Herpesvirus 8, Human ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Histiocytosis, Sinus ; metabolism ; pathology ; virology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nose Diseases ; metabolism ; pathology ; virology ; RNA, Viral ; analysis ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; metabolism ; Retrospective Studies ; S100 Proteins ; metabolism ; Skin Diseases ; metabolism ; pathology ; virology ; Young Adult

In order to analyze the clinical characteristics and biological features of acute leukemia in elderly, 104 acute leukemia patients in elderly were retrospectively analyzed and compared with 71 acute leukemia patients below 60 years old. The results showed that: (1) the proportion of AML in the aged group (73%) was higher than that in the young group (54.9%), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05), but AML (M3) was absent in the aged group; (2) the median of bone marrow blast cell in the aged group was significantly lower than that in the young group (P < 0.05); (3) in AML, the frequently of CD14 expression was higher in the aged group (18.8%) than that in the young group (2.6%), while the expression frequencies of CD15 (37.5%), CD117 (62.5%), and CD38 (59.4%) were respectively lower in the aged group than that in the young group which were (69.2%) for CD15, (89.7%) for CD17, and (84.6%) for CD38 respectively, and the difference was also statistically significant (P < 0.05). (4) CD19 was most frequently expressed in ALL of the aged group and the positive rate was 100%; (5) there was no significant difference in expression of special lineage antigens and overlapping lineage antigens between the aged group and the young group (P > 0.05); (6) the expression frequency of unfavorable karyotypes in the aged group was higher than that in the young group, and the difference was statistically very significant (P < 0.01); (7) the complete remission rate (CR rate) in the aged group was 42.9%, 2-year survival rate in the aged group was 5.4%, and treatment-related mortality rate in the aged group was 26.8%, while the CR rate in the young group was 76.6%, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). It is concluded that the expression frequency of CD14 associated with unfavorable prognosis is higher in the aged group than that in the young group, while the expression frequency of CD15 associated with favorable prognosis is lower in the aged group than that in the young group. The expression frequency of unfavorable karyotypes in the aged group is higher than that in the young group. The CR rate of acute leukemia in elderly is low, thus the patients in elderly often have unfavorable prognosis.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Karyotyping ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; diagnosis ; immunology ; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors ; analysis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; diagnosis ; immunology ; Prognosis ; Receptor, Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; analysis ; Remission Induction ; Retrospective Studies

This study was to explore the effect of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) on neutrophil morphology, function and phenotype in patients with acute leukemia undergoing chemotherapy. Neutrophil morphology was observed under microscope with oil immersion; phagocytotic function was examined by measuring the amount of hydrogen peroxide produced by neutrophil; chemotaxis was analyzed by agarose method; oxidative burst was analyzed by flow cytometry using immunofluorescence technique; neutrophil phenotype was analyzed by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence techniques. The results showed that after rhG-CSF administration, the increased "toxic" granulation, vacuoles and Döhle bodies were observed in neutrophils of patients with acute leukemia. Compared with normal control, the functions of phagocytosis, chemotaxis, oxidative burst of neutrophil were impaired after chemotherapy, while these functions were enhanced and returned to normal level or even to be exceeded after administration of rhG-CSF. In patients with acute leukemia the neutrophil presented significantly higher expression of CD64 and CD62L than that in normal control, and a mild increase of CD64 expression and significant increase of CD62L expression were found in patients after rhG-CSF treatment. No modifications of CD16, CD32, CD14 and CD11b expression were detected in these patients before or after G-CSF administration. It is concluded that rhG-CSF administration can modify the morphology, function and phenotype of neutrophils in the patients with acute leukemia undergoing chemotherapy, and these modifications of neutrophil behavior may be supposed to be a reason for the enhancement of organism anti-infection ability.
Acute Disease ; Adult ; Aged ; Chemotaxis ; drug effects ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; L-Selectin ; analysis ; Leukemia ; blood ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neutrophils ; drug effects ; immunology ; pathology ; Phagocytosis ; drug effects ; Receptors, IgG ; analysis ; Recombinant Proteins ; Respiratory Burst ; drug effects

To investigate the changes of donor's peripheral blood immunocytes after mobilization with medium-dose recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF), the amounts of immunocytes in peripheral blood cells and the immunocyte components of donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) in 12 healthy donors were detected by flow cytometry before and after mobilization with rhG-CSF 10 microg/(kg.day). The results showed that the median amounts of peripheral blood leukocytes before mobilization was 6.25 (4.7-7.8) x 10(9)/L, for lymphocytes it was 2.07 (1.63-3.10) x 10(9)/L, and for monocytes it was 0.163 (0.078-0.414) x 10(9)/L. In the fifth day after mobilization, the median amounts of peripheral blood leukocytes was 37.47 (24-72.57) x 10(9)/L, and for lymphocytes it was 3.22 (1.46-5.31) x 10(9)/L, and for monocytes, it was 1.2 (0.706-3.627) x 10(9)/L. The average amount of leukocytes after mobilization was 6.26 +/- 2.14 multiple of that before mobilization (P < 0.01), and the median amounts of lymphocytes after mobilization was 1.45 +/- 0.76 multiple of that before mobilization (P < 0.05), and the amount of monocytes after mobilization was 7.48 +/- 4.41 multiple of that before mobilization (P < 0.01). The median percentage of CD3(+) T lymphocytes before mobilization was 46.96% [(32.36-57.45)%], but 40.94% [(25.31-48.9)%] after mobilization. The ratio of CD4(+)/CD8(+) before mobilization was 1.27 +/- 0.46, while 1.36 +/- 0.51 after mobilization. The median percentage of CD4(+)CD8(+) T lymphocytes was 0.41% [(0.16-1.51)%], and 0.49% [(0.09-2.0)%] after mobilization. The median percentage of CD16(+)CD56(+) NK cells was 13.98% [(4.08-25.08)%] versus 16.65% [(12.06-33.05)%] after mobilization. The median percentage of CD3(+)CD16(+)CD56(+) NK-T cells was 2.75% [(0.37-6.38)%], but 3.13% [(0.46-5.95)%] after mobilization. The median percentage of CD20(+) B cells was 9.28% [(5.97-16.33)%], while 9.94% [(7.36-20.41)%] after mobilization. The median percentage of CD14(+) monocytes was 12.48% [(3.54-19.35)%] versus 29.52% [(16.51-36.76)%] after mobilization. The percentage of CD3(+) T lymphocytes, CD4(+)CD8(+) T lymphocytes, NK cells, NK-T cells and B lymphocytes in PBMNC did not change markedly before and after mobilization with middle-dose rhG-CSF. The ratio of CD4(+)/CD8(+) did not change significantly (P > 0.10). The percentages of CD14(+) monocytes in PBMNC after mobilization increased up to 2.87 +/- 1.51 higher than that before mobilization (P < 0.05). It is concluded that the changes of the CD14(+) monocytes after mobilization with rhG-CSF may be involved in graft rejection and graft versus host disease after allo-PBSCT.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Antigens, CD20 ; analysis ; Blood Donors ; CD3 Complex ; analysis ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; immunology ; CD56 Antigen ; analysis ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; immunology ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization ; methods ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; cytology ; drug effects ; immunology ; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors ; analysis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Monocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; immunology ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Receptors, IgG ; analysis ; Recombinant Proteins

OBJECTIVETo study the changes of adhesion molecules' expressions during the recombinant human granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) mobilization in peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT), and to confirm the influence of rhG-CSF on hematopoietic stem cells, which are proposed to guide mobilization in PBSCT.

METHODSMice were injected subcutaneously with diluted rhG-CSF or normal saline for 7 days. The blood Sca-1(+) stem cell count and bone marrow (BM) nucleated cell count were enumerated. The expressions of CD49d and CD44 and the adhesive ability of mononuclear cells to bone marrow matrix (fibronectin) were examined by flow cytometry and (51)Cr adhesive assay, respectively.

RESULTSThe mobilizing effect of rhG-CSF on mice was the same as on humans. The number of Sca-1(+) cells in peripheral blood reached the peak on the seventh day, the BM nucleated cell count was reduced, and the expressions of CD49d and the cells' adhesive ability in BM and PB declined.

CONCLUSIONSrhG-CSF can reduce some cell adhesion molecules' expressions and the adhesive ability of hematopoietic stem cells to BM matrix, therefore mobilizing hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) from the BM to the peripheral blood.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; drug effects ; physiology ; Female ; Fibronectins ; physiology ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; pharmacology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Hyaluronan Receptors ; analysis ; physiology ; Integrin alpha4 ; analysis ; physiology ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; physiology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Recombinant Proteins

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and GM-CSF/IL-3/IL-5 receptor common beta chain (beta c receptor) in an adult patient with idiopathic pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), so as to demonstrate the possible association of the GM-CSF and beta c receptor with the pathogenesis of human PAP.

METHODSThe GM-CSF levels were measured with a commercial ELISA kit (sensitivity 5 pg/ml) and the beta c receptor expression on the cell surface was detected by flow cytometry analysis. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was employed to detect the expression of the GM-CSF mRNA and the beta c receptor mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and alveolar macrophages. The entire coding regions of the GM-CSF cDNA and the beta c receptor cDNA were sequenced by the Sanger dideoxy-mediated chain termination method to detect possible mutations.

RESULTSThe patient with PAP failed to release the GM-CSF protein either from circulating mononuclear cells or from alveolar macrophages. The expression of the GM-CSF mRNA was normal after the stimulation of lipopolysaccharide, whereas a point mutation at position 382 of the GM-CSF cDNA from "T" to "C" was revealed by cDNA sequencing, which caused a change in amino acid 117 of the protein from isoleucine to threonine. The beta c receptor expression on the cell surface was normal, and the beta c receptor mRNA expression and the sequence of the entire coding region of the beta c receptor were also normal.

CONCLUSIONSThe decreased GM-CSF production is associated with the pathogenesis of human PAP. A point mutation of the GM-CSF cDNA may contribute to the decreased GM-CSF production in our adult PAP patient. The mutation of the beta c receptor in some of paediatric patients with PAP may not be a common problem in adult patients.

DNA, Complementary ; chemistry ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; analysis ; biosynthesis ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis ; etiology ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Receptors, Cytokine ; biosynthesis ; genetics