Commentary
Abstract
Stressful situations provoke the fight-or-flight response, incurring rapid elevation of cardiac output via activation of protein kinase A (PKA). In this issue of the JCI, Yang et al. focus on the L-type calcium channel complex (LTCC), and their findings require reexamination of dogmatic principles. LTCC phosphorylation sites identified and studied to date are dispensable for PKA modulation of LTCC; however, a CaVβ2-CaV1.2 calcium channel interaction is now shown to be required. Yang et al. suggest a new hypothesis that LTCC modulation involves rearrangement of auxiliary proteins within the LTCC. However, we still do not know the targets of PKA that mediate LTCC modulation.
Authors
Brooke M. Ahern, Jonathan Satin
Abstract
Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a fatal disease characterized by premature aging in which young children fail to thrive and adolescents die from myocardial infarction or stroke. The pathogenesis of HGPS is studied intensively because the mechanisms of premature aging may lead to a better understanding of normal aging. In this issue of the JCI, Osmanagic-Myers and colleagues identify the cellular mechanisms that lead to vascular abnormalities and death in children with HGPS.
Authors
Charles J. Lowenstein, J. Allen Bennett
Abstract
Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) has emerged as an important cause of lung graft failure. In the current issue of the JCI, a study by Li et al. identifies a critical role of Foxp3+ T cells residing within lung allografts in the regulation of AMR. This study not only provides new insights into the nature of lung allografts as a primary site where T and B cell priming and immune regulation can occur, but also introduces the mouse orthotopic lung transplant as a model for studying the immunobiology of AMR. Because AMR can be so difficult to effectively treat in lung transplant recipients, the development of an animal model is a major advance in understanding the immunopathogenesis of AMR.
Authors
Elizabeth A. Lendermon, John F. McDyer
Abstract
Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare genetic disorder primarily caused by mutations in the SERPING1 gene encoding the C1 inhibitor (C1INH) that leads to plasma deficiency, resulting in recurrent attacks of severe swelling. In the current issue of the JCI, Haslund et al. show that in a subset of patients with type I HAE, mutated C1INH encoded by HAE-causing SERPING1 acts upon wildtype (WT) C1INH in a dominant-negative manner and forms intracellular C1INH aggregates. These aggregates lead to a reduction in the levels of secreted functional C1INH, thereby manifesting in the condition that allows the disease state. Interestingly, administration of WT SERPING1 gene is able to restore the levels of secreted C1INH, thereby opening up a novel mechanism justifying gene therapy for HAE.
Authors
Alvin H. Schmaier
Abstract
Hepcidin is the master regulator of iron metabolism. It plays a key role in the regulation of iron transport across the duodenal epithelium, which in turn is dependent on the oxygen-regulated transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α). In this issue of the JCI, Schwartz and colleagues show that duodenal HIF-2α is itself regulated by hepcidin, thereby indicating that this transcription factor is not only regulated by oxygen, but also by iron. This work indicates that the crosstalk between liver hepcidin and intestinal HIF-2α plays an important role during iron overload, systemic iron deficiency, and anemia.
Authors
Frank S. Lee
Abstract
Antibodies that target immune checkpoint molecules, such as CTLA4, provide robust antitumor effects in a subset of patients. Unfortunately, not all patients respond to immune checkpoint inhibition, and some develop life-threatening immune-related adverse events (irAEs). The mechanisms that underlie irAEs from immune checkpoint inhibition are not fully understood, and treatment strategies are currently limited to targeting inflammatory mediators. In this issue of the JCI, Pai et al. report on their development of a modified CTLA4 antibody that shields the inner CTLA4-binding domain until the antibody is within the protease-rich tumor microenvironment. In a lymphopenic murine model reconstituted with naive CD4+ T cells, adapted anti-CTLA4 reduced the occurrence of irAEs and enhanced antitumor effects. This thought-provoking study lays the groundwork for further exploration of this adapted antibody in immunocompetent hosts and introduction of this adaptation to other immune checkpoint molecules. It also suggests that this approach may reduce the incidence of irAEs.
Authors
Jarushka Naidoo, Arbor Dykema, Franco D’Alessio
Abstract
Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of engineered T cell receptors (TCRs) for cancer immunotherapy has evolved from simple gene transfer of isolated TCRs to various affinity enhancement techniques that overcome limitations imposed by central and peripheral tolerance on TCR affinity. In the current issue of the JCI, Poncette et al. used mice with human TCRαβ and HLA gene loci to discover CD4+ TCRs of optimal affinity for cancer testis antigen (CTA) NY-ESO-1. They combined this TCR with a previously discovered NY-ESO-1–specific CD8+ TCR in an ACT fibrosarcoma tumor model to demonstrate the importance of T cell help in mediating antitumor responses.
Authors
Ariel Isser, Jonathan P. Schneck
Abstract
The development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with sepsis causes significant morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of AKI in sepsis is incompletely understood. In this issue of the JCI, Hato et al. investigate the renal translatome during bacterial sepsis and identify the global shutdown of renal protein translation mediated by the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2-α kinase 2/eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (EIF2AK2/eIF2α) axis as a major pathway in mediating septic AKI. The results of this study suggest that inhibiting this pathway could be a potential therapeutic strategy for preventing septic AKI.
Authors
Sarah C. Huen
Abstract
Individuals with the rs671 SNP in the gene encoding aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, it has been unclear if this mutation contributes to CVD development. In this issue of the JCI, Zhong et al. perform an elegant set of experiments that reveal a pathway wherein the ALDH2 rs671 mutant is phosphorylated by AMPK and translocates to the nucleus where it represses the transcription of a lysosomal H+ pump subunit that is critical for lipid degradation and foam cell formation, as occurs in atherosclerosis. The discovery of this pathway may explain how subjects harboring ALDH2 rs671 are at a greater risk for numerous other disease states and thereby provide new targets for therapeutic intervention.
Authors
Andrew A. Gibb, John W. Elrod
Abstract
Lipins play important roles in adipogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and gene regulation, and mutations in these genes cause lipodystrophy, myoglobinuria, and inflammatory disorders. While all lipins (lipin 1, 2, and 3) act as phosphatidic acid phosphatase (PAP) enzymes, which are required for triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis from glycerol 3-phosphate, lipin 1 has been the focus of most of the lipin-related research. In the current issue of the JCI, Zhang et al. show that while lipin 2 and 3 are expendable for the incorporation of dietary fatty acids into triglycerides, lipin 2/3 PAP activity has a critical role in phospholipid homeostasis and chylomicron assembly in enterocytes.
Authors
Ira J. Goldberg, M. Mahmood Hussain
No posts were found with this tag.
Copyright © 2019 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)