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Objective: The immune response initiated by SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy is poorly elucidated. We aimed to access and compare the antiviral cellular responses and lymphocytes activation between healthy pregnancies and pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2. Methods: We detected the immunological changes of lymphocytes in peripheral blood of healthy non-pregnant women, non-pregnant women with COVID-19, healthy pregnant women, pregnant women with COVID-19 and convalescent group by flow cytometry. In vitro blockade was used to identify NKT-like cell activation through ICOS-ICOSL pathway. Results: We found that CD3+CD56+ NKT-like cells decreased significantly in COVID-19 positive pregnant women compared to healthy pregnant women. NKT-like cells of pregnant women expressed higher level of activating receptors CD69 and NKp46 after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Particularly, they also increased the expression of the co-stimulatory molecule ICOS. NKT-like cells of pregnant women with COVID-19 up-regulated the expression of IFN-γ, CD107a and Ki67. Meanwhile, we found that ICOSL expression was significantly increased on pDCs in pregnant women with COVID-19. Blocking ICOS in vitro significantly decreased the antiviral activity of NKT-like cells in COVID-19 positive pregnant women, suggesting that ICOS-ICOSL may play an important role in the virus clearance by NKT-like cells. Conclusions: During SARS-CoV-2 infection, NKT-like cells of pregnant women activated through ICOS-ICOSL pathway and played an important role in the antiviral response.
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COVID-19 , Ligando Coestimulador de Linfocitos T Inducibles , Proteína Coestimuladora de Linfocitos T Inducibles , Células T Asesinas Naturales , Complicaciones Infecciosas del Embarazo , SARS-CoV-2 , Humanos , Femenino , Embarazo , Células T Asesinas Naturales/inmunología , Células T Asesinas Naturales/metabolismo , COVID-19/inmunología , COVID-19/virología , Proteína Coestimuladora de Linfocitos T Inducibles/metabolismo , Adulto , Ligando Coestimulador de Linfocitos T Inducibles/metabolismo , Complicaciones Infecciosas del Embarazo/inmunología , Complicaciones Infecciosas del Embarazo/virología , SARS-CoV-2/inmunología , Activación de Linfocitos/inmunología , Antígenos CD/metabolismo , Antígenos de Diferenciación de Linfocitos T/metabolismo , Transducción de Señal/inmunología , Interferón gamma/metabolismo , Receptor 1 Gatillante de la Citotoxidad Natural/metabolismo , Lectinas Tipo C/metabolismoRESUMEN
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection, which can be divided into immune-tolerant (IT), immune-active (IA), inactive carrier (IC) phases, and HBeAg-negative hepatitis (ENEG), can induce liver cirrhosis and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). CD3+CD56+ NKT-like cells play an important role in antiviral immune response. However, the mechanism of NKT-like cells to mediate immune tolerance remains largely elusive. In this study, we observed circulating NKT-like cells from IC and IT CHB patients were phenotypically and functionally impaired, manifested by increased expression of inhibitory receptor TIGIT and decreased capacity of secreting antiviral cytokines. Besides, TIGIT+ NKT-like cells of IC and IT CHB patients expressed lower levels of cytotoxic cytokines than the TIGIT- subset. Furthermore, increased expression of CD155, the ligand of TIGIT, on plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) was detected in IC and IT CHB patients. Importantly, the co-culture of NKT-like cells and pDCs showed that NKT-like cells restored their antiviral ability after TIGIT blockade upon HBV peptide stimulation in IC and IT CHB patients. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the TIGIT pathway may mediate immune tolerance in IT CHB patients and lead to functional impairment in IC patients, indicating that TIGIT may be a potential therapeutic checkpoint for immunotherapy of CHB patients.
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Complejo CD3 , Antígeno CD56 , Células Dendríticas , Virus de la Hepatitis B , Hepatitis B Crónica , Tolerancia Inmunológica , Células T Asesinas Naturales , Receptores Inmunológicos , Humanos , Receptores Inmunológicos/metabolismo , Hepatitis B Crónica/inmunología , Hepatitis B Crónica/tratamiento farmacológico , Hepatitis B Crónica/virología , Antígeno CD56/metabolismo , Masculino , Virus de la Hepatitis B/inmunología , Femenino , Células T Asesinas Naturales/inmunología , Adulto , Células Dendríticas/inmunología , Tolerancia Inmunológica/inmunología , Complejo CD3/inmunología , Complejo CD3/metabolismo , Persona de Mediana Edad , Receptores Virales/metabolismo , Receptores Virales/inmunología , Citocinas/metabolismo , Citocinas/inmunologíaRESUMEN
Objective: To explore the predictive value of single-index screening or multi-index combined screening for preeclampsia. Methods: From January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021, pregnant women with a singleton pregnancy who had been regularly checked in each center since the first trimester (between 11 and 14 weeks of gestation) were retrieved from multiple participating centers. The risk calculation software LifeCycle 7.0 was used to calculate the risk values before 32 weeks, 34 weeks, and 37 weeks of gestation, and through a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the predictive values of pregnancy-associated protein A (PAPP-A), the placental growth factor (PLGF), the mean arterial pressure (MAP), the uterine artery pulsatility index (UTPI), or a combined multi-index were calculated for preeclampsia. Results: Finally, 22 pregnant women developed preeclampsia, and the area under the ROC curve of the PAPP-A + PLGF + MAP + UTPI combined screening program was greater than that of other screening programs before 37 weeks of gestation (AUC = 0.975, 0.946, or 0.840 for <32 weeks, <34 weeks, or <37 weeks, respectively). At 32 weeks, the Youden index was at its maximum. Conclusion: PAPP-A + PLGF + MAP + UTPI combined screening is the optimal screening mode for preeclampsia screening before 37 weeks of gestation, and the combined prediction using multiple indicators in early pregnancy is more suitable for predicting the risk of early-onset preeclampsia.
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We and others have found that the functions of hepatic natural killer (NK) cells are inhibited but invariant NKT (iNKT) cells become activated after alcohol drinking, leaving a possibility that there exists interplay between NK cells and iNKT cells during alcoholic liver disease. Here, in a chronic plus single-binge ethanol consumption mouse model, we observed that NK cells and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) protected against ethanol-induced liver steatosis, as both wild-type (WT) mice treated with anti-asialo GM1 antibody and IFN-γ-deficient GKO mice developed more severe alcoholic fatty livers. As expected, IFN-γ could directly downregulate lipogenesis in primary hepatocytes in vitro. On the contrary, iNKT cell-deficient Jα18-/- or interleukin-10 (IL-10)-/- mice showed fewer alcoholic steatosis, along with the recovered number and IFN-γ release of hepatic NK cells, and exogenous IL-10 injection was sufficient to compensate for iNKT cell deficiency. Furthermore, NK cell depletion in Jα18-/- or IL-10-/- mice caused more severe hepatosteatosis, implying NK cells are the direct effector cells to inhibit liver steatosis. Importantly, adoptive transfer of iNKT cells purified from normal but not IL-10-/- mice resulted in suppression of the number and functions of NK cells and aggravated alcoholic liver injury in Jα18-/- mice, indicating that IL-10-producing iNKT (NKT10) cells are the regulators on NK cells. Conclusion: Ethanol exposure-triggered NKT10 cells antagonize the protective roles of NK cells in alcoholic hepatosteatosis.
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Chronic alcohol consumption increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, little is known about the potential immunological mechanisms by which ethanol affects tumor progression. Here, adult male mice were administered multiple doses of diethylnitrosamine (DEN). Four and a half months later, the DEN-treated mice were placed on a liquid Lieber-DeCarli control diet or diet containing 5% ethanol for 2.5 months. At the end of the study, liver tissue samples were obtained to analyze pathology, gene expression, and hepatic mononuclear cells (MNCs). Results showed that ethanol feeding exacerbates the progression of hepatic tumors (characterized by the ratio of liver weight to body weight, and the tumor volume and diameter) in DEN-treated mice. Mechanistically, chronic alcohol consumption decreased the number of antitumor CD8+ T cells but increased the number of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in the liver in DEN-initiated tumorigenesis. Besides, TAMs were prone to be M2 phenotype after alcohol consumption. Moreover, chronic alcohol consumption aggravated inflammation, fibrosis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the pathological process of HCC. These data demonstrate that chronic alcohol consumption exacerbates DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis by enhancing protumor immunity, impairing antitumor immunity and aggravating hepatic pathological injury. Targeting the immune system is a potential therapeutic regimen for alcohol-promoted HCC.
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Carcinogénesis/inducido químicamente , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/inmunología , Neoplasias Hepáticas/inmunología , Hígado/efectos de los fármacos , Consumo de Bebidas Alcohólicas/efectos adversos , Consumo de Bebidas Alcohólicas/inmunología , Animales , Carcinogénesis/patología , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/inducido químicamente , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patología , Dietilnitrosamina/inmunología , Dietilnitrosamina/toxicidad , Progresión de la Enfermedad , Etanol/inmunología , Etanol/toxicidad , Hepatocitos/efectos de los fármacos , Hepatocitos/inmunología , Hepatocitos/patología , Humanos , Hígado/patología , Neoplasias Hepáticas/inducido químicamente , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patología , Neoplasias Hepáticas Experimentales/inducido químicamente , Neoplasias Hepáticas Experimentales/inmunología , Neoplasias Hepáticas Experimentales/patología , RatonesRESUMEN
BACKGROUND & AIMS: It was reported that alcohol consumption activated the NLRP3 inflammasome in Kupffer cells, leading to mature interleukin (IL)-1ß release in alcoholic liver injury; however, how IL-1ß promotes liver injury remains unclear. METHODS: We investigated the role of IL-1ß in alcoholic steatohepatitis by using a chronic plus single-binge ethanol consumption mouse model. RESULTS: Here, liver steatosis was accompanied by notably increased invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell numbers and activation, and iNKT-deficient Jα18(-/-) mice developed less alcohol-induced steatosis, with reduced liver inflammation and neutrophil infiltration. Kupffer cells and IL-1ß were required for the hepatic iNKT accumulation, as either blocking IL-1ß signaling with a recombinant IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), depleting Kupffer cells by clodronate liposomes, or specifically silencing IL-1ß in Kupffer cells by nanoparticle-encapsulated siRNA, resulted in inhibited hepatic iNKT cell accumulation and activation, as well as amelioration of alcoholic fatty liver. In addition, IL-1ß overexpression in hepatocytes was sufficient to compensate for Kupffer cell depletion. Increased gene and protein expression of mature IL-1ß correlated with elevated expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome components NLRP3, ASC, and cleaved caspase-1 in Kupffer cells from ethanol-exposed wild-type mice. NLRP3 deficiency led to the attenuation of alcoholic steatosis, similarly as Kupffer cell depletion, almost without hepatic NKT cells. CONCLUSIONS: After alcohol-exposure Kupffer cell-derived IL-1ß triggered by NLRP3 activation, recruits and activates hepatic iNKT cells, subsequently promoting liver inflammation and neutrophil infiltration, and inducing alcoholic liver injury.