bims-adipim 2023-06-04 papers

Issue of 2023–06–04
five papers selected by
Matthew C. Sinton, University of Glasgow

Nat Commun. 2023 Jun 02. 14(1): 3208

Senescent immune cells accumulation promotes brown adipose tissue dysfunction during aging.

Xu Feng, Liwen Wang, Ruoyu Zhou, Rui Zhou, Linyun Chen, Hui Peng, Yan Huang, Qi Guo, Xianghang Luo, Haiyan Zhou.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT)-mediated thermogenesis declines with age. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here we reveal that bone marrow-derived pro-inflammatory and senescent S100A8+ immune cells, mainly T cells and neutrophils, invade the BAT of male rats and mice during aging. These S100A8+ immune cells, coupled with adipocytes and sympathetic nerves, compromise axonal networks. Mechanistically, these senescent immune cells secrete abundant S100A8 to inhibit adipose RNA-binding motif protein 3 expression. This downregulation results in the dysregulation of axon guidance-related genes, leading to impaired sympathetic innervation and thermogenic function. Xenotransplantation experiments show that human S100A8+ immune cells infiltrate mice BAT and are sufficient to induce aging-like BAT dysfunction. Notably, treatment with S100A8 inhibitor paquinimod rejuvenates BAT axon networks and thermogenic function in aged male mice. Our study suggests that targeting the bone marrow-derived senescent immune cells presents an avenue to improve BAT aging and related metabolic disorders.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38842-6

Bio Protoc. 2023 May 20. 13(10): e4679

Determination of Interleukin-17A and Interferon-γ Production in γδ, CD4+, and CD8+ T Cells Isolated from Murine Lymphoid Organs, Perivascular Adipose Tissue, Kidney, and Lung.

Kevin Comeau, Antoine Caillon, Pierre Paradis, Ernesto L Schiffrin.

T cells localized to the kidneys and vasculature/perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) play an important role in hypertension and vascular injury. CD4+, CD8+, and γδ T-cell subtypes are programmed to produce interleukin (IL)-17 or interferon-γ (IFNγ), and naïve T cells can be induced to produce IL-17 via the IL-23 receptor. Importantly, both IL-17 and IFNγ have been demonstrated to contribute to hypertension. Therefore, profiling cytokine-producing T-cell subtypes in tissues relevant to hypertension provides useful information regarding immune activation. Here, we describe a protocol to obtain single-cell suspensions from the spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, mesenteric vessels and PVAT, lungs, and kidneys, and profile IL-17A- and IFNγ-producing T cells using flow cytometry. This protocol is different from cytokine assays such as ELISA or ELISpot in that no prior cell sorting is required, and various T-cell subsets can be identified and individually assessed for cytokine production simultaneously within an individual sample. This is advantageous as sample processing is kept to a minimum, yet many tissues and T-cell subsets can be screened for cytokine production in a single experiment. In brief, single-cell suspensions are activated in vitro with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and ionomycin, and Golgi cytokine export is inhibited with monensin. Cells are then stained for viability and extracellular marker expression. They are then fixed and permeabilized with paraformaldehyde and saponin. Finally, antibodies against IL-17 and IFNγ are incubated with the cell suspensions to report cytokine production. T-cell cytokine production and marker expression is then determined by running samples on a flow cytometer. While other groups have published methods to perform T-cell intracellular cytokine staining for flow cytometry, this protocol is the first to describe a highly reproducible method to activate, phenotype, and determine cytokine production by CD4, CD8, and γδ T cells isolated from PVAT. Additionally, this protocol can be easily modified to investigate other intracellular and extracellular markers of interest, allowing for efficient T-cell phenotyping.

Keywords: Cytokines; Flow cytometry; Hypertension; Intracellular staining; Phenotyping; T-cell activation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.4679

Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2023 Jun 01. pii: izad095. [Epub ahead of print]

Creeping Fat in the Pathogenesis of Crohn's Disease: An Orchestrator or a Silent Bystander?

Efthymios P Tsounis, Ioanna Aggeletopoulou, Athanasia Mouzaki, Christos Triantos.

Although the phenomenon of hypertrophied adipose tissue surrounding inflamed bowel segments in Crohn's disease has been described since 1932, the mechanisms mediating the creeping fat formation and its role in the pathogenesis of the disease have not been fully unraveled. Recent advances demonstrating the multiple actions of adipose tissue beyond energy storage have brought creeping fat to the forefront of scientific research. In Crohn's disease, dysbiosis and transmural injury compromise the integrity of the intestinal barrier, resulting in an excessive influx of intraluminal microbiota and xenobiotics. The gut and peri-intestinal fat are in close anatomic relationship, implying a direct reciprocal immunologic relationship, whereas adipocytes are equipped with an arsenal of innate immunity sensors that respond to invading stimuli. As a result, adipocytes and their progenitor cells undergo profound immunophenotypic changes, leading to adipose tissue remodeling and eventual formation of creeping fat. Indeed, creeping fat is an immunologically active organ that synthesizes various pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, profibrotic mediators, and adipokines that serve as paracrine/autocrine signals and regulate immune responses. Therefore, creeping fat appears to be involved in inflammatory signaling, which explains why it has been associated with a higher severity or complicated phenotype of Crohn's disease. Interestingly, there is growing evidence for an alternative immunomodulatory function of creeping fat as a second barrier that prevents an abnormal systemic inflammatory response at the expense of an increasingly proliferating profibrotic environment. Further studies are needed to clarify how this modified adipose tissue exerts its antithetic effect during the course of Crohn's disease.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; creeping fat; mesenteric adipose tissue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izad095

Cell Rep. 2023 Jun 01. pii: S2211-1247(23)00594-6. [Epub ahead of print]42(6): 112583

Pyruvate metabolism controls chromatin remodeling during CD4+ T cell activation.

Upon antigen-specific T cell receptor (TCR) engagement, human CD4+ T cells proliferate and differentiate, a process associated with rapid transcriptional changes and metabolic reprogramming. Here, we show that the generation of extramitochondrial pyruvate is an important step for acetyl-CoA production and subsequent H3K27ac-mediated remodeling of histone acetylation. Histone modification, transcriptomic, and carbon tracing analyses of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH)-deficient T cells show PDH-dependent acetyl-CoA generation as a rate-limiting step during T activation. Furthermore, T cell activation results in the nuclear translocation of PDH and its association with both the p300 acetyltransferase and histone H3K27ac. These data support the tight integration of metabolic and histone-modifying enzymes, allowing metabolic reprogramming to fuel CD4+ T cell activation. Targeting this pathway may provide a therapeutic approach to specifically regulate antigen-driven T cell activation.

Keywords: CP: Metabolism; T cell; citrate; epigenetics; epigenome remodeling; glucose metabolism; glycolysis; histone acetylation; nuclear metabolism; pyruvate; pyruvate dehydrogenase

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112583

J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023 May 25. pii: S0091-6749(23)00664-4. [Epub ahead of print]

Differential regulation of IL-17A and IL-17F via STAT5 contributes to psoriatic disease.

Suzanne Cole, Avneet Manghera, Lachrissa Burns, Janine Barrett, Nicole Yager, Hefin Rhys, Andrew Skelton, John Cole, Carl S Goodyear, Meryn Griffiths, Dominique Baeten, Marta Bertolini, Stevan Shaw, Hussein Al-Mossawi, Asher Maroof.

BACKGROUND: IL-17A has a pivotal pathogenic role in several immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Despite sharing 50% sequence homology with IL-17A, the role of IL-17F remains less clear. Recent clinical findings suggest that dual inhibition of IL-17A and IL-17F in psoriatic disease is more efficacious than IL-17A inhibition alone, positing a pathogenic role for IL-17F.
OBJECTIVE: To characterize the regulation of IL-17A and IL-17F in psoriatic disease.
METHODS: Using both in vitro systems and lesional skin tissue from patients, we interrogated the chromosomal, transcriptional and protein expression landscape of IL-17A+ and IL-17F+ Th17 cells. Alongside established assays such as single-cell RNA sequencing, we developed a novel cytokine-capture technique that was combined with ChIP-seq and RNA-seq.
RESULTS: We confirm a preferential elevation of IL-17F over IL-17A in psoriatic disease, and show that expression of each isoform predominantly occurs in distinct cell populations. The expression of both IL-17A and IL-17F exhibited a high degree of plasticity, with the balance between the two isoforms influenced by pro-inflammatory signaling and by anti-inflammatory drugs such as methylprednisolone. This plasticity was reflected in a broad H3K4me3 region at the IL17A-F locus, while opposing effects of STAT5/IL-2 signaling were observed for each of the two genes. Functionally, higher IL17F expression was linked to greater cell proliferation.
CONCLUSION: Our data suggest there are key differences in the regulation of IL-17A and IL-17F in psoriatic disease, leading to distinct inflammatory cell populations. As such, we propose that both IL-17A and IL-17F neutralization may be required to maximally inhibit IL-17-driven pathology.

Keywords: Autoimmunity; Bimekizumab; IL-17A; IL-17F; Psoriasis; Psoriatic arthritis; STAT5; inflammation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2023.03.035