@article{RaselliHearnWyssetal.2019, author = {Raselli, Tina and Hearn, Tom and Wyss, Annika and Atrott, Kirstin and Peter, Alain and Frey-Wagner, Isabelle and Spalinger, Marianne R. and Maggio, Ewerton M. and Sailer, Andreas W. and Schmitt, Johannes and Schreiner, Philipp and Moncsek, Anja and Mertens, Joachim and Scharl, Michael and Griffiths, William J. and Bueter, Marco and Geier, Andreas and Rogler, Gerhard and Wang, Yuqin and Misselwitz, Benjamin}, title = {Elevated oxysterol levels in human and mouse livers reflect nonalcoholic steatohepatitis}, series = {Journal of Lipid Research}, volume = {60}, journal = {Journal of Lipid Research}, number = {7}, doi = {10.1194/jlr.M093229}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-225004}, pages = {1270-1283}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a primary cause of liver disease, leads to complications such as fibrosis, cirrhosis, and carcinoma, but the pathophysiology of NASH is incompletely understood. Epstein-Barr virus-induced G protein-coupled receptor 2 (EBI2) and its oxysterol ligand 7 alpha,25-dihydroxycholesterol (7 alpha,25-diHC) are recently discovered immune regulators. Several lines of evidence suggest a role of oxysterols in NASH pathogenesis, but rigorous testing has not been performed. We measured oxysterol levels in the livers of NASH patients by LC-MS and tested the role of the EBI2-7 alpha,25-diHC system in a murine feeding model of NASH. Free oxysterol profiling in livers from NASH patients revealed a pronounced increase in 24- and 7-hydroxylated oxysterols in NASH compared with controls. Levels of 24- and 7-hydroxylated oxysterols correlated with histological NASH activity. Histological analysis of murine liver samples demonstrated ballooning and liver inflammation. No significant genotype-related differences were observed in Ebi2(-/-) mice and mice with defects in the 7 alpha,25-diHC synthesizing enzymes CH25H and CYP7B1 compared with wild-type littermate controls, arguing against an essential role of these genes in NASH pathogenesis. Elevated 24- and 7-hydroxylated oxysterol levels were confirmed in murine NASH liver samples. Our results suggest increased bile acid synthesis in NASH samples, as judged by the enhanced level of 7 alpha-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one and impaired 24S-hydroxycholesterol metabolism as characteristic biochemical changes in livers affected by NASH.}, language = {en} } @article{KalledaAmichArslanetal.2016, author = {Kalleda, Natarajaswamy and Amich, Jorge and Arslan, Berkan and Poreddy, Spoorthi and Mattenheimer, Katharina and Mokhtari, Zeinab and Einsele, Hermann and Brock, Matthias and Heinze, Katrin Gertrud and Beilhack, Andreas}, title = {Dynamic Immune Cell Recruitment After Murine Pulmonary Aspergillus fumigatus Infection under Different Immunosuppressive Regimens}, series = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, volume = {7}, journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, number = {1107}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2016.01107}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-165368}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Humans are continuously exposed to airborne spores of the saprophytic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. However, in healthy individuals pulmonary host defense mechanisms efficiently eliminate the fungus. In contrast, A. fumigatus causes devastating infections in immunocompromised patients. Host immune responses against A. fumigatus lung infections in immunocompromised conditions have remained largely elusive. Given the dynamic changes in immune cell subsets within tissues upon immunosuppressive therapy, we dissected the spatiotemporal pulmonary immune response after A. fumigatus infection to reveal basic immunological events that fail to effectively control invasive fungal disease. In different immunocompromised murine models, myeloid, notably neutrophils, and macrophages, but not lymphoid cells were strongly recruited to the lungs upon infection. Other myeloid cells, particularly dendritic cells and monocytes, were only recruited to lungs of corticosteroid treated mice, which developed a strong pulmonary inflammation after infection. Lymphoid cells, particularly CD4\(^+\) or CD8\(^+\) T-cells and NK cells were highly reduced upon immunosuppression and not recruited after A. fumigatus infection. Moreover, adoptive CD11b\(^+\) myeloid cell transfer rescued cyclophosphamide immunosuppressed mice from lethal A. fumigatus infection but not cortisone and cyclophosphamide immunosuppressed mice. Our findings illustrate that CD11b\(^+\) myeloid cells are critical for anti-A. fumigatus defense under cyclophosphamide immunosuppressed conditions.}, language = {en} } @article{StegnervanEeuwijkAngayetal.2017, author = {Stegner, David and van Eeuwijk, Judith M.M. and Angay, Oğuzhan and Gorelashvili, Maximilian G. and Semeniak, Daniela and Pinnecker, J{\"u}rgen and Schmithausen, Patrick and Meyer, Imke and Friedrich, Mike and D{\"u}tting, Sebastian and Brede, Christian and Beilhack, Andreas and Schulze, Harald and Nieswandt, Bernhard and Heinze, Katrin G.}, title = {Thrombopoiesis is spatially regulated by the bone marrow vasculature}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {8}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {127}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-017-00201-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170591}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In mammals, megakaryocytes (MKs) in the bone marrow (BM) produce blood platelets, required for hemostasis and thrombosis. MKs originate from hematopoietic stem cells and are thought to migrate from an endosteal niche towards the vascular sinusoids during their maturation. Through imaging of MKs in the intact BM, here we show that MKs can be found within the entire BM, without a bias towards bone-distant regions. By combining in vivo two-photon microscopy and in situ light-sheet fluorescence microscopy with computational simulations, we reveal surprisingly slow MK migration, limited intervascular space, and a vessel-biased MK pool. These data challenge the current thrombopoiesis model of MK migration and support a modified model, where MKs at sinusoids are replenished by sinusoidal precursors rather than cells from a distant periostic niche. As MKs do not need to migrate to reach the vessel, therapies to increase MK numbers might be sufficient to raise platelet counts.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Laesker2023, author = {L{\"a}sker, Katharina}, title = {The influence of the short-chain fatty acid butyrate on "Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3" (STAT3) and selected inflammatory genes in the colon carcinoma cell line CACO-2 cultured in 2D and 3D}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-30038}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300389}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {A disturbance in the symbiotic mutualism between the intestinal microbiome and the human host's organism (syn. dysbiosis) accompanies the development of a variety of inflammatory and metabolic diseases that comprise the Metabolic Syndrome, chronic inflammatory gut diseases like Crohn's disease, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular diseases, among others. The changed uptake and effectiveness of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as well as an increase of the intestinal permeability are common, interdependent disease elements in this regard. Short chain fatty acids are end-products of intestinal bacterial fermentation and affect the mucosal barrier integrity via numerous molecular mechanisms. There is evidence to suggest, that SCFAs have a modulating influence on Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in intestinal epithelial cells. STAT3 is a central gene-transcription factor in signaling pathways of proliferation and inflammation. It can be activated by growth factors and other intercellular signaling molecules like the cytokine Oncostatin M (OSM). The mode of STAT3's activation exhibits, finally, a decisive influence on the immunological balance at the intestinal mucosa. Therefore, the posttranslational modification of STAT3 under the influence of SCFAs is likely to be a very important factor within the development and -progression of dysbiosis-associated diseases. In this study, a clear positive in vitro-effect of the short chain fatty acid butyrate on the posttranslational serine727-phosphorylation of STAT3 and its total protein amount in the human adenocarcinoma cell line CACO2 is verified. Moreover, an increased gene expression of the OSM-receptor subunit OSMRβ can be observed after butyrate incubation. Histone deacetylase inhibition is shown to have a predominant role in these effects. Furthermore, a subsequent p38 MAPK-activation by Butyrate is found to be a key molecular mechanism regarding the STAT3-phosphorylation at serine727-residues. To consider the portion of butyrate receptor signaling in this context in future assays, a CACO-2 cell 3D-culture model is introduced in which an improvement of the GPR109A-receptor expression in CACO-2 cells is accomplished.}, subject = {Butyrate }, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Zoran2022, author = {Zoran, Tamara}, title = {Multilevel analysis of the human immune response to \(Aspergillus\) \(fumigatus\) infection: Characteristic molecular signatures and individual risk factors}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-29851}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-298512}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Although the field of fungal infections advanced tremendously, diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in immunocompromised patients continues to be a challenge. Since IPA is a multifactorial disease, investigation from different aspects may provide new insights, helpful for improving IPA diagnosis. This work aimed to characterize the human immune response to Aspergillus fumigatus in a multilevel manner to identify characteristic molecular candidates and risk factors indicating IPA, which may in the future support already established diagnostic assays. We combined in vitro studies using myeloid cells infected with A. fumigatus and longitudinal case-control studies investigating patients post allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) suffering from IPA and their match controls. Characteristic miRNA and mRNA signatures indicating A. fumigatus-infected monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) demonstrated the potential to differentiate between A. fumigatus and Escherichia coli infection. Transcriptome and protein profiling of alloSCT patients suffering from IPA and their matched controls revealed a distinctive IPA signature consisting of MMP1 induction and LGAL2 repression in combination with elevated IL-8 and caspase-3 levels. Both, in vitro and case-control studies, suggested cytokines, matrix-metallopeptidases and galectins are important in the immune response to A. fumigatus. Identified IPA characteristic molecular candidates are involved in numerous processes, thus a combination of these in a distinctive signature may increase the specificity. Finally, low monocyte counts, severe GvHD of the gut (grade ≥ 2) and etanercept administration were significantly associated with IPA diagnosis post alloSCT. Etanercept in monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) infected with A. fumigatus downregulates genes involved in the NF-κB and TNF-α pathway and affects the secretion of CXCL10. Taken together, identified characteristic molecular signatures and risk factors indicating IPA may in the future in combination with established fungal biomarkers overcome current diagnostic challenges and help to establish tailored antifungal therapy. Therefore, further multicentre studies are encouraged to evaluate reported findings.}, subject = {Aspergillus fumigatus}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hellmann2022, author = {Hellmann, Anna-Maria}, title = {Vergleichende Untersuchung der Interaktion humaner und muriner Immunzellen mit \(Aspergillus\) \(fumigatus\)}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-26564}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265642}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) ist der h{\"a}ufigste Erreger der invasiven Aspergillose, welche vornehmlich immunsupprimierte Patientinnen und Patienten betrifft und mit einer hohen Letalit{\"a}t einhergeht. Zur Entwicklung neuer diagnostischer sowie therapeutischer Ans{\"a}tze ist ein besseres Verst{\"a}ndnis der Interaktion von A. fumigatus mit dem humanen Immunsystem zwingend erforderlich. Zur Erforschung dieser Interaktion werden h{\"a}ufig Mausmodelle herangezogen, welche aufgrund der unterschiedlichen Biologie des Wirts jedoch nicht direkt {\"u}bertragbar sind. Ziel dieser Studie war es, einen funktionellen in vitro Vergleich zwischen humanen und murinen Makrophagen, neutrophilen Granulozyten (PMNs) und dendritischen Zellen (DCs) in ihrer Interaktion mit A. fumigatus Konidien, Keimschl{\"a}uchen sowie depletiertem Zymosan zu erstellen, um eine bessere Beurteilung und {\"U}bertragbarkeit des Mausmodells bei der invasiven Aspergillose zu erm{\"o}glichen. Dabei wurden die verschiedenen Zellen des Immunsystems auf standardisierte und reproduzierbare Weise generiert und Stimulationsversuche durchgef{\"u}hrt. Hierbei zeigten humane und murine Zellen in vitro eine unterschiedliche Antwort auf die Stimulation mit A. fumigatus: Murine Makrophagen und neutrophile Granulozyten zeigten im Vergleich zu den humanen Zellen eine st{\"a}rkere prim{\"a}re Immunantwort mit einer vermehrten Aussch{\"u}ttung reaktiver Sauerstoffspezies (ROS). Humane DCs hingegen, welche als Bindeglied zwischen angeborenem und adaptivem Immunsystem fungieren, zeigten nach Stimulation mit A. fumigatus eine vermehrte Oberfl{\"a}chenexpression von Maturationsmarkern sowie eine h{\"o}here Phagozytoserate als die murinen DCs. Weiterhin konnte eine inverse Dectin-1-Expression auf humanen und murinen DCs nach Stimulation mit A. fumigatus nachgewiesen werden. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass es f{\"u}r alle untersuchten Zelltypen Unterschiede zwischen humanen und murinen Zellen in der basalen und der Zytokinaussch{\"u}ttung nach Stimulation mit A. fumigatus gab. In Zusammenschau der Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit zeigt das murine Immunsystem eine st{\"a}rkere angeborene Immunantwort mit vermehrter ROS-Aussch{\"u}ttung, jedoch auch eine anti-inflammatorische Zytokinantwort, um m{\"o}glicherweise eine {\"u}berschießende Inflammation zu verhindern. Dies k{\"o}nnte durch die st{\"a}rkere Exposition der Maus gegen{\"u}ber A. fumigatus durch den bodennahen Lebensraum sowie ihrer kurzen Lebensdauer bedingt sein. Im humanen System kommt hingegen der Aktivierung des adaptiven Immunsystems {\"u}ber die DCs eine {\"u}bergeordnete Rolle zu. So zeigen beide Spezies distinkte Unterschiede in ihrer in vitro Immunantwort gegen{\"u}ber A. fumigatus, welche bei der {\"U}bertragung von experimentellen Daten von der Maus auf den Menschen beachtet werden sollten.}, subject = {Aspergillus fumigatus}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Dresselhaus2022, author = {Dresselhaus, Lena Katharina}, title = {Die Rolle der gp130 Endozytose f{\"u}r die Hom{\"o}ostase der B- und T-Zellen}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-28902}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-289025}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {IL-6 spielt eine wichtige Rolle bei der Immunantwort, Entz{\"u}ndung und H{\"a}matopoese. Das Glykoprotein 130 (gp130) wird ubiquit{\"a}r exprimiert und bildet als Dimer die signaltransduzierende Rezeptoreinheit f{\"u}r das IL-6 Signal. Die biologische Wirkung des IL-6 ist abhängig von der Dauer und Stärke des induzierten Signals. Die gp130 Rezeptorexpression stellt einen bedeutenden Faktor zur Beeinflussung des IL-6 Signals dar. Die im Rahmen dieser Arbeit untersuchte gp130LLAA Maus weist eine Punktmutation im gp130 Rezeptor auf, bei der das Dileucin-Motiv (L874, L785) im zytoplasmatischen Bereich von gp130 zu Dialanin verändert wurde. F{\"u}r die Endozytose ist das intrazelluläre Dileucin-Motiv erforderlich, da das Adapterprotein AP-2 an dieses Motiv bindet und dadurch den Transport mittels Clathrin-umh{\"u}llter Vesikel beg{\"u}nstigt. Die beschriebene Punktmutation hat zur Folge, dass die veränderte Form von gp130 resistent gegen{\"u}ber der Liganden- und crosstalk-vermittelten Endozytose ist. Da IL-6 generell eine wichtige Rolle bei der Differenzierung hämatopoetischer Zellen spielt, so auch bei T- und B-Zellen, wurde der Einfluss der gp130LLAA Mutation auf die Homöostase dieser lymphoiden Zellen untersucht. F{\"u}r die Versuche wurden sowohl B- und T-Zellen und jeweilige Subpopulationen aus der Milz von WT Mäusen und gp130LLAA Mäusen untersucht.}, subject = {Endocytose}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Katz2022, author = {Katz, Beverly Vanessa}, title = {Rolle der gammadelta T-Zellen in der Immunantwort bei Patienten mit gastrointestinalen Tumoren}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-29014}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290140}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Zusammenfassend konnte im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit die Frage nach der F{\"a}higkeit der selektiven Stimulierung mittels des Phosphorantigens HMBPP und den beiden BTN3 Antik{\"o}rpern best{\"a}tigt werden. Es konnte zudem wie erwartet hierbei ein Unterschied zwischen den beiden Kohorten detektiert werden. Dabei zeigte die Kohorte der Normalspender erwartungsgem{\"a}ß eine st{\"a}rkere Aktivierungs- sowie Proliferations-f{\"a}higkeit. Normalspender ließen sich signifikant besser mit HMBPP aktivieren und bei bestimmter Konzentration signifikant besser proliferieren, bei BTN3A und sc20.1 konnten keine signifikanten Unterschiede ermittelt werden, allerdings anhand der Mittelwerte eine deutlich st{\"a}rkere Aktivierung und Proliferation aufgezeigt werden. Außerdem konnten interessante interindividuelle Unterschiede detektiert werden, die neue Erkenntnisse brachten. Mit Hilfe der untersuchten Oberfl{\"a}chenmolek{\"u}le CD45RA und CD27 und der Einteilung der gammadelta T-Zellen in unterschiedliche Subgruppen konnten so m{\"o}gliche Erkl{\"a}rungen f{\"u}r die Unterschiede zwischen den Kohorten aufgezeigt werden. Normalspender zeigten signifikant h{\"o}here Anteile an naiven gammadelta T-Zellen und nicht signifikant h{\"o}here Anteile an central memory T-Zellen, demnach eine deutliche Verschiebung in Richtung nicht differenzierter Subsets, wohingegen die Tumorkohorte signifikant h{\"o}here effector memory T-Zellen aufwiesen und somit eine deutliche Verschiebung in Richtung differenzierter Subsets. Dadurch kann erkl{\"a}rt werden, weshalb Normalspender besser aktiviert werden und besser proliferieren k{\"o}nnen. Auch die Einteilung in unterschiedliche Profile 1-6 anhand CD28, CD27 und CD16 lieferte Gr{\"u}nde f{\"u}r den Unterschied zwischen den Kohorten, wobei Normalspender der Gruppe 1 und 2, Tumorpatienten der Gruppe 3 und 4 angeh{\"o}rten. Durch Ermittlung weiterer signifikanter {\"A}nderungen einiger exprimierter Oberfl{\"a}chenmolek{\"u}le CD39, CD161 und PD1 wurde mit Hilfe der vorliegenden Arbeit bekr{\"a}ftigt, dass einige Faktoren betrachtet werden m{\"u}ssen, die die Proliferation und Aktivierung der gammadelta T-Zellen positiv und negativ beeinflussen k{\"o}nnen. Es konnte jedoch auch erneut verdeutlicht werden, wie komplex und weitgreifend der Aktivierungsmechanismus, die damit verbundene Expansion und die Ausl{\"o}sung der einzelnen Effektorfunktionen ist.}, subject = {T-Lymphozyt}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Wagner2020, author = {Wagner, Leonard}, title = {Zinc homeostasis in megakaryocytes}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-21452}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-214526}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Zinc is an essential trace element for all living organisms. In mammals, including humans and mice, it is required for normal growth, development, hematopoiesis and immune defense. This thesis investigates the influence of zinc on the development of megakaryocytes (MKs), the cells responsible for bone marrow-derived platelet production. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the expression of zinc import and export transporters (Slc39a/Slc30a genes) is carried out, firstly over the course of MK differentiation and secondly dependent on extracellular zinc.}, subject = {Zink}, language = {en} } @article{MarquardtSolimandoKerscheretal.2021, author = {Marquardt, Andr{\´e} and Solimando, Antonio Giovanni and Kerscher, Alexander and Bittrich, Max and Kalogirou, Charis and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Rosenwald, Andreas and Bargou, Ralf and Kollmannsberger, Philip and Schilling, Bastian and Meierjohann, Svenja and Krebs, Markus}, title = {Subgroup-Independent Mapping of Renal Cell Carcinoma — Machine Learning Reveals Prognostic Mitochondrial Gene Signature Beyond Histopathologic Boundaries}, series = {Frontiers in Oncology}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in Oncology}, issn = {2234-943X}, doi = {10.3389/fonc.2021.621278}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-232107}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is divided into three major histopathologic groups—clear cell (ccRCC), papillary (pRCC) and chromophobe RCC (chRCC). We performed a comprehensive re-analysis of publicly available RCC datasets from the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database, thereby combining samples from all three subgroups, for an exploratory transcriptome profiling of RCC subgroups. Materials and Methods: We used FPKM (fragments per kilobase per million) files derived from the ccRCC, pRCC and chRCC cohorts of the TCGA database, representing transcriptomic data of 891 patients. Using principal component analysis, we visualized datasets as t-SNE plot for cluster detection. Clusters were characterized by machine learning, resulting gene signatures were validated by correlation analyses in the TCGA dataset and three external datasets (ICGC RECA-EU, CPTAC-3-Kidney, and GSE157256). Results: Many RCC samples co-clustered according to histopathology. However, a substantial number of samples clustered independently from histopathologic origin (mixed subgroup)—demonstrating divergence between histopathology and transcriptomic data. Further analyses of mixed subgroup via machine learning revealed a predominant mitochondrial gene signature—a trait previously known for chRCC—across all histopathologic subgroups. Additionally, ccRCC samples from mixed subgroup presented an inverse correlation of mitochondrial and angiogenesis-related genes in the TCGA and in three external validation cohorts. Moreover, mixed subgroup affiliation was associated with a highly significant shorter overall survival for patients with ccRCC—and a highly significant longer overall survival for chRCC patients. Conclusions: Pan-RCC clustering according to RNA-sequencing data revealed a distinct histology-independent subgroup characterized by strengthened mitochondrial and weakened angiogenesis-related gene signatures. Moreover, affiliation to mixed subgroup went along with a significantly shorter overall survival for ccRCC and a longer overall survival for chRCC patients. Further research could offer a therapy stratification by specifically addressing the mitochondrial metabolism of such tumors and its microenvironment.}, language = {en} } @article{WagnerDrouetTeschnerWolschkeetal.2021, author = {Wagner-Drouet, Eva and Teschner, Daniel and Wolschke, Christine and Sch{\"a}fer-Eckart, Kerstin and G{\"a}rtner, Johannes and Mielke, Stephan and Schreder, Martin and Kobbe, Guido and Hilgendorf, Inken and Klein, Stefan and Verbeek, Mareike and Ditschkowski, Markus and Koch, Martina and Lindemann, Monika and Schmidt, Traudel and Rascle, Anne and Barabas, Sascha and Deml, Ludwig and Wagner, Ralf and Wolff, Daniel}, title = {Comparison of cytomegalovirus-specific immune cell response to proteins versus peptides using an IFN-γ ELISpot assay after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation}, series = {Diagnostics}, volume = {11}, journal = {Diagnostics}, number = {2}, issn = {2075-4418}, doi = {10.3390/diagnostics11020312}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228843}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Measuring CMV-specific cellular immunity may improve the risk stratification and management of patients. IFN-γ ELISpot assays, based on the stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with CMV pp65 and IE-1 proteins or peptides, have been validated in clinical settings. However, it remains unclear to which extend the T-cell response to synthetic peptides reflect that mediated by full-length proteins processed by antigen-presenting cells. We compared the stimulating ability of pp65 and IE-1 proteins and corresponding overlapping peptides in 16 HSCT recipients using a standardized IFN-γ ELISpot assay. Paired qualitative test results showed an overall 74.4\% concordance. Discordant results were mainly due to low-response tests, with one exception. One patient with early CMV reactivation and graft-versus-host disease, sustained CMV DNAemia and high CD8\(^+\) counts showed successive negative protein-based ELISpot results but a high and sustained response to IE-1 peptides. Our results suggest that the response to exogenous proteins, which involves their uptake and processing by antigen-presenting cells, more closely reflects the physiological response to CMV infection, while the response to exogenous peptides may lead to artificial in vitro T-cell responses, especially in strongly immunosuppressed patients.}, language = {en} } @article{MetznerHerzogHeckeletal.2022, author = {Metzner, Valentin and Herzog, Gloria and Heckel, Tobias and Bischler, Thorsten and Hasinger, Julia and Otto, Christoph and Fassnacht, Martin and Geier, Andreas and Seyfried, Florian and Dischinger, Ulrich}, title = {Liraglutide + PYY\(_{3-36}\) combination therapy mimics effects of Roux-en-Y bypass on early NAFLD whilst lacking-behind in metabolic improvements}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, volume = {11}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, number = {3}, issn = {2077-0383}, doi = {10.3390/jcm11030753}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-255244}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: Treatment options for NAFLD are still limited. Bariatric surgery, such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), has been shown to improve metabolic and histologic markers of NAFLD. Glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues lead to improvements in phase 2 clinical trials. We directly compared the effects of RYGB with a treatment using liraglutide and/or peptide tyrosine tyrosine 3-36 (PYY\(_{3-36}\)) in a rat model for early NAFLD. Methods: Obese male Wistar rats (high-fat diet (HFD)-induced) were randomized into the following treatment groups: RYGB, sham-operation (sham), liraglutide (0.4 mg/kg/day), PYY\(_{3-36}\) (0.1 mg/kg/day), liraglutide+PYY\(_{3-36}\), and saline. After an observation period of 4 weeks, liver samples were histologically evaluated, ELISAs and RNA sequencing + RT-qPCRs were performed. Results: RYGB and liraglutide+PYY\(_{3-36}\) induced a similar body weight loss and, compared to sham/saline, marked histological improvements with significantly less steatosis. However, only RYGB induced significant metabolic improvements (e.g., adiponectin/leptin ratio 18.8 ± 11.8 vs. 2.4 ± 1.2 in liraglutide+PYY\(_{3-36}\)- or 1.4 ± 0.9 in sham-treated rats). Furthermore, RNA sequencing revealed a high number of differentially regulated genes in RYGB treated animals only. Conclusions: The combination therapy of liraglutide+PYY\(_{3-36}\) partly mimics the positive effects of RYGB on weight reduction and on hepatic steatosis, while its effects on metabolic function lack behind RYGB.}, language = {en} } @article{KelmAngerEichlingeretal.2021, author = {Kelm, Matthias and Anger, Friedrich and Eichlinger, Robin and Brand, Markus and Kim, Mia and Reibetanz, Joachim and Krajinovic, Katica and Germer, Christoph-Thomas and Schlegel, Nicolas and Flemming, Sven}, title = {Early Ileocecal Resection Is an Effective Therapy in Isolated Crohn's Disease}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, volume = {10}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, number = {4}, issn = {2077-0383}, doi = {10.3390/jcm10040731}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228822}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Despite the increasing incidence and prevalence of Crohn's Disease (CD), no curative options exist and treatment remains complex. While therapy has mainly focused on medical approaches in the past, growing evidence reveals that in cases of limited inflammation, surgery can suffice as an alternative primary treatment. We retrospectively assessed the disease course and outcomes of 103 patients with terminal Ileitis who underwent primary surgery (n = 29) or received primary medical treatment followed by surgery (n = 74). Primary endpoint was the need for immunosuppressive medication after surgical treatment (ileocecal resection, ICR) during a two-years follow-up. Rates for laparoscopic ICR were enhanced in case of early surgery, but no differences were seen for postoperative complications. In case of immunosuppressive medication, patients with ICR at an early state of disease needed significantly less anti-inflammatory medication during the two-year postoperative follow-up compared to patients who were primarily treated medically. Furthermore, in a subgroup analysis for patients with localized ileocecal disease manifestation, early surgery consistently resulted in a decreased amount of medical therapy postoperatively. In conclusion primary ICR is safe and effective in patients with limited CD, and the need for immunosuppressive medication during the postoperative follow-up is low compared to patients receiving surgery at a later stage of disease.}, language = {en} } @article{WhiteWiederholdLoeffleretal.2016, author = {White, P. Lewis and Wiederhold, Nathan P. and Loeffler, Juergen and Najvar, Laura K. and Melchers, Willem and Herrera, Monica and Bretagne, Stephane and Wickes, Brian and Kirkpatrick, William R. and Barnes, Rosemary A. and Donnelly, J. Peter and Patterson, Thomas F.}, title = {Comparison of nonculture blood-based tests for diagnosing invasive aspergillosis in an animal model}, series = {Journal of Clinical Microbiology}, volume = {54}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Microbiology}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1128/JCM.03233-15}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189674}, pages = {960-966}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The European Aspergillus PCR Initiative (EAPCRI) has provided recommendations for the PCR testing of whole blood (WB) and serum/plasma. It is important to test these recommended protocols on nonsimulated "in vivo" specimens before full clinical evaluation. The testing of an animal model of invasive aspergillosis (IA) overcomes the low incidence of disease and provides experimental design and control that is not possible in the clinical setting. Inadequate performance of the recommended protocols at this stage would require reassessment of methods before clinical trials are performed and utility assessed. The manuscript describes the performance of EAPCRI protocols in an animal model of invasive aspergillosis. Blood samples taken from a guinea pig model of IA were used for WB and serum PCR. Galactomannan and beta-D-glucan detection were evaluated, with particular focus on the timing of positivity and on the interpretation of combination testing. The overall sensitivities for WB PCR, serum PCR, galactomannan, and beta-D-glucan were 73\%, 65\%, 68\%, and 46\%, respectively. The corresponding specificities were 92\%, 79\%, 80\%, and 100\%, respectively. PCR provided the earliest indicator of IA, and increasing galactomannan and beta-D-glucan values were indicators of disease progression. The combination of WB PCR with galactomannan and beta-D-glucan proved optimal (area under the curve AUC], 0.95), and IA was confidently diagnosed or excluded. The EAPRCI-recommended PCR protocols provide performance comparable to commercial antigen tests, and clinical trials are warranted. By combining multiple tests, IA can be excluded or confirmed, highlighting the need for a combined diagnostic strategy. However, this approach must be balanced against the practicality and cost of using multiple tests.}, language = {en} } @article{MajumderJugovicSauletal.2021, author = {Majumder, Snigdha and Jugovic, Isabelle and Saul, Domenica and Bell, Luisa and Hundhausen, Nadine and Seal, Rishav and Beilhack, Andreas and Rosenwald, Andreas and Mougiakakos, Dimitrios and Berberich-Siebelt, Friederike}, title = {Rapid and Efficient Gene Editing for Direct Transplantation of Naive Murine Cas9\(^+\) T Cells}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, issn = {1664-3224}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2021.683631}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-242896}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Gene editing of primary T cells is a difficult task. However, it is important for research and especially for clinical T-cell transfers. CRISPR/Cas9 is the most powerful gene-editing technique. It has to be applied to cells by either retroviral transduction or electroporation of ribonucleoprotein complexes. Only the latter is possible with resting T cells. Here, we make use of Cas9 transgenic mice and demonstrate nucleofection of pre-stimulated and, importantly, of naive CD3\(^+\) T cells with guideRNA only. This proved to be rapid and efficient with no need of further selection. In the mixture of Cas9\(^+\)CD3\(^+\) T cells, CD4\(^+\) and CD8\(^+\) conventional as well as regulatory T cells were targeted concurrently. IL-7 supported survival and naivety in vitro, but T cells were also transplantable immediately after nucleofection and elicited their function like unprocessed T cells. Accordingly, metabolic reprogramming reached normal levels within days. In a major mismatch model of GvHD, not only ablation of NFATc1 and/or NFATc2, but also of the NFAT-target gene IRF4 in na{\"i}ve primary murine Cas9\(^+\)CD3\(^+\) T cells by gRNA-only nucleofection ameliorated GvHD. However, pre-activated murine T cells could not achieve long-term protection from GvHD upon single NFATc1 or NFATc2 knockout. This emphasizes the necessity of gene-editing and transferring unstimulated human T cells during allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.}, language = {en} } @article{GernertTonySchwanecketal.2019, author = {Gernert, Michael and Tony, Hans-Peter and Schwaneck, Eva Christina and Gadeholt, Ottar and Schmalzing, Marc}, title = {Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in systemic sclerosis induces long-lasting changes in B cell homeostasis toward an anti-inflammatory B cell cytokine pattern}, series = {Arthritis Research \& Therapy}, volume = {21}, journal = {Arthritis Research \& Therapy}, doi = {10.1186/s13075-019-1889-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201004}, pages = {106}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) is performed in patients with aggressive forms of systemic sclerosis (SSc). The profile of B cell reconstitution after aHSCT is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate changes of B cell subsets and cytokine production of B cells in patients with SSc after aHSCT. Methods Peripheral blood of six patients with SSc was collected at defined intervals up to 16 months after aHSCT. Immunophenotyping was performed, and B cell function was determined by measuring cytokine secretion in supernatants of stimulated B cell cultures. Results Within 1 month after aHSCT, a peak in the percentage of CD38\(^{++}\)/CD10\(^+\)/IgD\(^+\) transitional B cells and CD38\(^{++}\)/CD27\(^{++}\)/IgD\(^-\) plasmablasts was detected. Long-term changes persisted up to 14 months after aHSCT and showed an increased percentage of total B cells; the absolute B cell number did not change significantly. Within the B cell compartment, an increased CD27/IgD\(^+\) na{\"i}ve B cell percentage was found whereas decreased percentages of CD27\(^+\)/IgD\(^+\) pre-switched memory, CD27\(^+\)/IgD\(^-\) post-switched memory, and CD27\(^-\) /IgD\(^-\) double-negative B cells were seen after aHSCT. Cytokine secretion in B cell cultures showed significantly increased IL-10 concentrations 13 to 16 months after aHSCT. Conclusion A changed composition of the B cell compartment is present for up to 14 months after aHSCT indicating positive persisting effects of aHSCT on B cell homeostasis. The cytokine secretion profile of B cells changes in the long term and shows an increased production of the immune regulatory cytokine IL-10 after aHSCT. These findings might promote the clinical improvements after aHSCT in SSc patients.}, language = {en} } @article{YuWolfThuseketal.2021, author = {Yu, Yidong and Wolf, Ann-Katrin and Thusek, Sina and Heinekamp, Thorsten and Bromley, Michael and Krappmann, Sven and Terpitz, Ulrich and Voigt, Kerstin and Brakhage, Axel A. and Beilhack, Andreas}, title = {Direct Visualization of Fungal Burden in Filamentous Fungus-Infected Silkworms}, series = {Journal of Fungi}, volume = {7}, journal = {Journal of Fungi}, number = {2}, issn = {2309-608X}, doi = {10.3390/jof7020136}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228855}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are difficult to diagnose and to treat and, despite several available antifungal drugs, cause high mortality rates. In the past decades, the incidence of IFIs has continuously increased. More recently, SARS-CoV-2-associated lethal IFIs have been reported worldwide in critically ill patients. Combating IFIs requires a more profound understanding of fungal pathogenicity to facilitate the development of novel antifungal strategies. Animal models are indispensable for studying fungal infections and to develop new antifungals. However, using mammalian animal models faces various hurdles including ethical issues and high costs, which makes large-scale infection experiments extremely challenging. To overcome these limitations, we optimized an invertebrate model and introduced a simple calcofluor white (CW) staining protocol to macroscopically and microscopically monitor disease progression in silkworms (Bombyx mori) infected with the human pathogenic filamentous fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Lichtheimia corymbifera. This advanced silkworm A. fumigatus infection model could validate knockout mutants with either attenuated, strongly attenuated or unchanged virulence. Finally, CW staining allowed us to efficiently visualize antifungal treatment outcomes in infected silkworms. Conclusively, we here present a powerful animal model combined with a straightforward staining protocol to expedite large-scale in vivo research of fungal pathogenicity and to investigate novel antifungal candidates.}, language = {en} } @article{PeissertSauerGrabarczyketal.2020, author = {Peissert, Stefan and Sauer, Florian and Grabarczyk, Daniel B. and Braun, Cathy and Sander, Gudrun and Poterszman, Arnaud and Egly, Jean-Marc and Kuper, Jochen and Kisker, Caroline}, title = {In TFIIH the Arch domain of XPD is mechanistically essential for transcription and DNA repair}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {11}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-020-15241-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229857}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The XPD helicase is a central component of the general transcription factor TFIIH which plays major roles in transcription and nucleotide excision repair (NER). Here we present the high-resolution crystal structure of the Arch domain of XPD with its interaction partner MAT1, a central component of the CDK activating kinase complex. The analysis of the interface led to the identification of amino acid residues that are crucial for the MAT1-XPD interaction. More importantly, mutagenesis of the Arch domain revealed that these residues are essential for the regulation of (i) NER activity by either impairing XPD helicase activity or the interaction of XPD with XPG; (ii) the phosphorylation of the RNA polymerase II and RNA synthesis. Our results reveal how MAT1 shields these functionally important residues thereby providing insights into how XPD is regulated by MAT1 and defining the Arch domain as a major mechanistic player within the XPD scaffold.}, language = {en} } @article{SteinhardtKrummenastRosenwaldetal.2022, author = {Steinhardt, Maximilian J. and Krummenast, Franziska C. and Rosenwald, Andreas and Gerhard-Hartmann, Elena and Heidemeier, Anke and Einsele, Hermann and Topp, Max S. and Duell, Johannes}, title = {R-CHOP intensification with mid-cycle methotrexate and consolidating AraC/TT with BCNU/aHSCT in primary aggressive lymphoma with CNS involvement}, series = {Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology}, volume = {148}, journal = {Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology}, number = {1}, issn = {1432-1335}, doi = {10.1007/s00432-021-03663-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-267731}, pages = {205-214}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Purpose Patients suffering from aggressive systemic peripheral lymphoma with primary central nervous system involvement (PCL) are a rare and sparsely investigated population. Recommended treatment regimens include a combination of intrathecal and systemic chemotherapy as well as whole brain radiotherapy while offering relatively poor survival. Methods We conducted a single-center retrospective study that analyzed safety and outcome of 4 + 4 cycles Rituximab (R)-CHOP and R-high-dose Methotrexate (HD-MTX) for newly diagnosed, transplant-eligible patients ("Ping-Pong"), followed by Cytarabine (AraC)/Thiotepa (TT), BCNU/TT, and autologous hematologic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT). We retrospectively analyzed a set of 16 patients with high-intermediate or high-risk IPI status. Results Overall response rate to Ping-Pong was 100\% measured by CT/MRI, including 93.75\% complete remissions after BCNU/TT followed by PBSCT. One patient failed to qualify for high-dose chemotherapy due to progression when receiving Cytarabine/TT. All patients experienced grade III adverse events, 3 of them a grade IV adverse event. Estimated progression-free survival is 93.75\% after a 4.8-year follow-up currently. Conclusion Our study suggests high effectivity of R-CHOP with mid-cycle MTX with aHSCT consolidation towards acceptable OS results in this challenging patient population.}, language = {en} } @article{GernertSchmalzingTonyetal.2022, author = {Gernert, Michael and Schmalzing, Marc and Tony, Hans-Peter and Strunz, Patrick-Pascal and Schwaneck, Eva Christina and Fr{\"o}hlich, Matthias}, title = {Calprotectin (S100A8/S100A9) detects inflammatory activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving tocilizumab therapy}, series = {Arthritis Research \& Therapy}, volume = {24}, journal = {Arthritis Research \& Therapy}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1186/s13075-022-02887-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300523}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Assessing serological inflammation is difficult in tocilizumab (TCZ)-treated rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, as standard inflammation parameters, like erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), are influenced by interleukin-6-receptor inhibition. Calprotectin in the serum, also named S100A8/S100A9, might be a more useful inflammation parameter in TCZ-treated patients. Methods Sixty-nine RA patients taking TCZ were included. Serum-calprotectin levels were assessed, as well as ESR, CRP, need for a change in disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs due to RA activity (= active RA), and the RA clinical disease activity score (CDAI). Forty-five RA patients taking tumor-necrosis factor-inhibitors (TNFi) were investigated for the same parameters. Results TCZ-treated patients with active RA had higher calprotectin values than not active RA patients (4155.5 [inter quartile range 1865.3-6068.3] vs 1040.0 [676.0-1638.0] ng/ml, P < 0.001). A calprotectin cut-off value of 1916.5 ng/ml resulted in a sensitivity and specificity of 80.0 \%, respectively, for the detection of RA disease activity. Calprotectin values correlated with CDAI-scores (r = 0.228; P = 0.011). ESR and CRP were less suitable to detect RA activity in TCZ-treated patients. Also TNFi-treated patients with active RA had higher calprotectin values compared to not active RA (5422.0 [3749.0-8150.8] vs 1845.0 [832.0-2569.0] ng/ml, P < 0.001). The calprotectin value with the best sensitivity and specificity for detecting RA activity was 3690.5 ng/ml among TNFi-treated patients. Conclusion Calprotectin in the serum can be a useful inflammation parameter despite TCZ-treatment.}, language = {en} } @article{ZhouRuckdeschelPeteretal.2022, author = {Zhou, Xiang and Ruckdeschel, Anna and Peter, Jessica and B{\"o}ckle, David and Hornburger, Hannah and Danhof, Sophia and Steinhardt, Maximilian Johannes and Heimeshoff, Larissa and Einsele, Hermann and Kort{\"u}m, Klaus Martin and Rasche, Leo}, title = {Salvage therapy with "Dara-KDT-P(A)CE" in heavily pretreated, high-risk, proliferative, relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma}, series = {Hematological Oncology}, volume = {40}, journal = {Hematological Oncology}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1002/hon.2949}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-257495}, pages = {202-211}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The multi-agent therapy "VDT-PACE" represents an established regimen in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Here, we report on our experience with a "modified VDT-PACE" incorporating new generation anti-MM agents daratumumab and carfilzomib ("Dara-KDT-P(A)CE"). We retrospectively analyzed 38 patients with RRMM treated with "Dara-KDT-P(A)CE". The median age was 62 (range 45-82) years, and the patients were heavily pretreated with a median of 5 (range 2-12) prior lines of therapy. Twenty-one (55\%) patients suffered from penta-refractory MM. High-risk cytogenetics was present in 31 (81\%) patients. The patients received a median of 2 (range 1-10) cycles of this therapy, and the overall response rate (ORR) was 70\%. Patients with penta-refractory MM and high-risk cytogenetics showed similar ORR of 65\% and 79\%, respectively. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 4.1 (95\% CI 2.7-5.4) and 8.4 (95\% CI 6.7-10.0) months, respectively. Patients with lactate dehydrogenase >250 IU/L showed significantly shorter PFS in comparison with others patients (p = 0.006). We used this regimen as bridging therapy prior to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell infusion in four patients. In conclusion, "Dara-KDT-P(A)CE" is an effective salvage therapy for patients with heavily pretreated, multi-refractory, high-risk RRMM lacking alternative options.}, language = {en} } @article{SolimandoDaViaBollietal.2022, author = {Solimando, Antonio Giovanni and Da Vi{\`a}, Matteo Claudio and Bolli, Niccol{\`o} and Steinbrunn, Torsten}, title = {The route of the malignant plasma cell in its survival niche: exploring "Multiple Myelomas"}, series = {Cancers}, volume = {14}, journal = {Cancers}, number = {13}, issn = {2072-6694}, doi = {10.3390/cancers14133271}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-281728}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Growing evidence points to multiple myeloma (MM) and its stromal microenvironment using several mechanisms to subvert effective immune and anti-tumor responses. Recent advances have uncovered the tumor-stromal cell influence in regulating the immune-microenvironment and have envisioned targeting these suppressive pathways to improve therapeutic outcomes. Nevertheless, some subgroups of patients include those with particularly unfavorable prognoses. Biological stratification can be used to categorize patient-, disease- or therapy-related factors, or alternatively, these biological determinants can be included in a dynamic model that customizes a given treatment to a specific patient. Genetic heterogeneity and current knowledge enforce a systematic and comprehensive bench-to-bedside approach. Given the increasing role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in better characterizing the pathogenesis of solid and hematological malignancies, disease relapse, and drug resistance, identifying and describing CSCs is of paramount importance in the management of MM. Even though the function of CSCs is well-known in other cancer types, their role in MM remains elusive. With this review, we aim to provide an update on MM homing and resilience in the bone marrow micro milieu. These data are particularly interesting for clinicians facing unmet medical needs while designing novel treatment approaches for MM.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Heinemann2023, author = {Heinemann, Hannes}, title = {Lebensqualit{\"a}t und Coping beim Multiplen Myelom}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-31322}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-313227}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Einf{\"u}hrung: Beim Multiplen Myleom handelt es sich um eine b{\"o}sartige Proliferation der Plasmazellen, wenn es auch nur 1\% aller b{\"o}sartigen Erkrankungen ausmacht, muss angesichts der steigenden Lebenserwartung von einer Zunahme der F{\"a}lle ausgegangen werden. Methoden: Diese Dissertation soll als {\"U}bersichtsarbeit zur QoL und Coping bei MM-Patienten und deren Angeh{\"o}rigen dienen. Es konnten 101 relevante Studien in der Literaturrecherche gefunden werden. Resultate: In allen Bereichen lag bei MM-Patienten, abgesehen von fr{\"u}hen Stadien oder bei Patienten mit CR, eine schlechtere QoL als bei der Referenzpopulation vor. Diese Ergebnisse waren unabh{\"a}ngig vom verwendeten QoL-Erhebungsinstrument. Vor allem die Tatsache, dass Multiples Myleom unheilbar ist, ist f{\"u}r die Patienten sehr belastend. Es lagen die unterschiedlichsten Coping-Mechanismen bei den Patienten und deren Angeh{\"o}rigen vor. Soziale Unterst{\"u}tzung war meistens der QoL f{\"o}rderlich, wenn es auch problematische Formen gab. Es konnten diverse, teils widerspr{\"u}chliche Korrelationen von QoL und demographischen Faktoren, wie Alter und Geschlecht gefunden werden. Diskussion: Auch wenn in den letzten Jahren vermehrt in diesem Gebiet geforscht wurde, gestaltete es sich als schwierig Studien zu dem Thema zu finden und es bleibt zu hoffen, dass zuk{\"u}nftig ein gr{\"o}ßerer Fokus hier gelegt wird.}, subject = {Plasmozytom}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{KlabouchgebKleinbach2021, author = {Klabouch [geb. Kleinbach], Stefanie}, title = {Pr{\"a}diktoren f{\"u}r die postinterventionelle Leberfunktion nach transarterieller Chemotherapie bei Patienten und Patientinnen mit hepatozellul{\"a}rem Karzinom}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-23707}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-237070}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Hintergrund: Die transarterielle Chemoembolisation (TACE) stellt eine Erstlinientherapie bei nicht resezierbarem HCC im intermedi{\"a}ren Stadium (BCLC B) dar. TACE induziert einen zytotoxischen und isch{\"a}mischen Gewebeeffekt, der m{\"o}glicherweise zu einer Leberfunktionsst{\"o}rung f{\"u}hrt. Der 13C-Methacetin-Atemtest (MBT) ist ein nichtinvasiver CYP1A2-Funktionstest zur Beurteilung der funktionellen Leberzellmasse. Ziel dieser prospektiven Studie war es, die Auswirkung der konventionellen TACE auf die hepatozellul{\"a}re Reserve, gemessen mittels 13C-MBT, statischen Leberfunktionstests und entz{\"u}ndlichen Parametern bewerten zu k{\"o}nnen. Methoden \& Ergebnisse: 27 Patient*innen mit nicht resezierbarem HCC (BCLC B, Child Pugh A) erhielten vor (d0), 24 Stunden (d1) und 72 Stunden (d3) nach 41 cTACE-Verfahren einen MBT. Das hepatische Lipiodol®-Verteilungsvolumen wurde aus CT-Daten berechnet. Statische Leberfunktionstests, entz{\"u}ndliche Parameter und klinische Ereignisse wurden an d0-3 analysiert. Es zeigte sich eine deutliche Verringerung der CYP1A2-Funktion nach cTACE an d1 und d3, was haupts{\"a}chlich durch die Entz{\"u}ndungsreaktion (CRP) und hepatozellul{\"a}re Schadensmarker (AST) und nur in geringem Maße durch das embolisierte Lebervolumen zu erkl{\"a}ren ist. Schlussfolgerung: Der MBT kann die kurzfristige Verringerung der Leberfunktionsreserve sensitiv abbilden und korreliert mit klinischen Komplikationen nach cTACE. Der MBT kann Anwendung in der fr{\"u}hen Identifizierung einer hepatischen Dysfunktion finden.}, subject = {Leberfunktion}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Breyer2021, author = {Breyer, Charles Pierre Paul}, title = {Putative Eisenregulation von Fractalkin (CX3CL1), pathophysiologische Rolle von CX3CL1 in Pl{\"a}ttchenmodellen und Eisenhaushalt in der Megakaryopoese}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-23792}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-237929}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In dieser Arbeit wird gezeigt, dass Fractalkin (CX3L1) keine Eisenregulation im Sinne des klassischen IRE/IRP-Systems aufweist. Zus{\"a}tzlich wird die pathophysiologische Rolle der CX3CL1/CX3CR1-Achse in Megakaryozyten untersucht. Ferner wird die Eisenhom{\"o}ostase w{\"a}hrend der megakaryopetischen Differenzierung erforscht.}, subject = {Fractalkin}, language = {de} } @article{GrebeMalzahnDonhauseretal.2020, author = {Grebe, S{\"o}ren Jendrik and Malzahn, Uwe and Donhauser, Julian and Liu, Dan and Wanner, Christoph and Krane, Vera and Hammer, Fabian}, title = {Quantification of left ventricular mass by echocardiography compared to cardiac magnet resonance imaging in hemodialysis patients}, series = {Cardiovascular Ultrasound}, volume = {18}, journal = {Cardiovascular Ultrasound}, doi = {10.1186/s12947-020-00217-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229282}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), defined by the left ventricular mass index (LVMI), is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients and a strong independent predictor of cardiovascular events. Compared to cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), echocardiography tends to overestimate the LVMI. Here, we evaluate the diagnostic performance of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) compared to CMR regarding the assessment of LVMI in hemodialysis patients. Methods: TTR and CMR data for 95 hemodialysis patients who participated in the MiREnDa trial were analyzed. The LVMI was calculated by two-dimensional (2D) TTE-guided M-mode measurements employing the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and Teichholz (Th) formulas, which were compared to the reference method, CMR. Results: LVH was present in 44\% of patients based on LVMI measured by CMR. LVMI measured by echocardiography correlated moderately with CMR, ASE: r = 0.44 (0.34-0.62); Th: r = 0.44 (0.32-0.62). Compared to CMR, both echocardiographic formulas overestimated LVMI (mean increment LVMI (ASE-CMR): 19.5 +/- 19.48 g/m(2),p < 0.001; mean increment LVMI (Th-CMR): 15.9 +/- 15.89 g/m(2),p < 0.001). We found greater LVMI overestimation in patients with LVH using the ASE formula compared to the Th formula. Stratification of patients into CMR LVMI quartiles showed a continuous decrease in increment LVMI with increasing CMR LVMI quartiles for the Th formula (p < 0.001) but not for the ASE formula (p = 0.772). Bland-Altman analysis showed that the Th formula had a constant bias independent of LVMI. Both methods had good discrimination ability for the detection of LVH (ROC-AUC: 0.819 (0.737-0.901) and 0.808 (0.723-0.892) for Th and ASE, respectively). Conclusions: The ASE and Th formulas overestimate LVMI in hemodialysis patients. However, the overestimation is less with the Th formula, particularly with increasing LVMI. The results suggest that the Th formula should be preferred for measurement of LVMI in chronic hemodialysis patients.}, language = {en} } @article{PageWallstabeLotheretal.2021, author = {Page, Lukas and Wallstabe, Julia and Lother, Jasmin and Bauser, Maximilian and Kniemeyer, Olaf and Strobel, Lea and Voltersen, Vera and Teutschbein, Janka and Hortschansky, Peter and Morton, Charles Oliver and Brakhage, Axel A. and Topp, Max and Einsele, Hermann and Wurster, Sebastian and Loeffler, Juergen}, title = {CcpA- and Shm2-Pulsed Myeloid Dendritic Cells Induce T-Cell Activation and Enhance the Neutrophilic Oxidative Burst Response to Aspergillus fumigatus}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, issn = {1664-3224}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2021.659752}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239493}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Aspergillus fumigatus causes life-threatening opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients. As therapeutic outcomes of invasive aspergillosis (IA) are often unsatisfactory, the development of targeted immunotherapy remains an important goal. Linking the innate and adaptive immune system, dendritic cells are pivotal in anti-Aspergillus defense and have generated interest as a potential immunotherapeutic approach in IA. While monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) require ex vivo differentiation, antigen-pulsed primary myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) may present a more immediate platform for immunotherapy. To that end, we compared the response patterns and cellular interactions of human primary mDCs and moDCs pulsed with an A. fumigatus lysate and two A. fumigatus proteins (CcpA and Shm2) in a serum-free, GMP-compliant medium. CcpA and Shm2 triggered significant upregulation of maturation markers in mDCs and, to a lesser extent, moDCs. Furthermore, both A. fumigatus proteins elicited the release of an array of key pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and CCL3 from both DC populations. Compared to moDCs, CcpA- and Shm2-pulsed mDCs exhibited greater expression of MHC class II antigens and stimulated stronger proliferation and IFN-γ secretion from autologous CD4\(^+\) and CD8\(^+\) T-cells. Moreover, supernatants of CcpA- and Shm2-pulsed mDCs significantly enhanced the oxidative burst in allogeneic neutrophils co-cultured with A. fumigatus germ tubes. Taken together, our in vitro data suggest that ex vivo CcpA- and Shm2-pulsed primary mDCs have the potential to be developed into an immunotherapeutic approach to tackle IA.}, language = {en} } @article{GroebnerWorstWeischenfeldtetal.2018, author = {Gr{\"o}bner, Susanne N. and Worst, Barbara C. and Weischenfeldt, Joachim and Buchhalter, Ivo and Kleinheinz, Kortine and Rudneva, Vasilisa A. and Johann, Pascal D. and Balasubramanian, Gnana Prakash and Segura-Wang, Maia and Brabetz, Sebastian and Bender, Sebastian and Hutter, Barbara and Sturm, Dominik and Pfaff, Elke and H{\"u}bschmann, Daniel and Zipprich, Gideon and Heinold, Michael and Eils, J{\"u}rgen and Lawerenz, Christian and Erkek, Serap and Lambo, Sander and Waszak, Sebastian and Blattmann, Claudia and Borkhardt, Arndt and Kuhlen, Michaela and Eggert, Angelika and Fulda, Simone and Gessler, Manfred and Wegert, Jenny and Kappler, Roland and Baumhoer, Daniel and Stefan, Burdach and Kirschner-Schwabe, Renate and Kontny, Udo and Kulozik, Andreas E. and Lohmann, Dietmar and Hettmer, Simone and Eckert, Cornelia and Bielack, Stefan and Nathrath, Michaela and Niemeyer, Charlotte and Richter, G{\"u}nther H. and Schulte, Johannes and Siebert, Reiner and Westermann, Frank and Molenaar, Jan J. and Vassal, Gilles and Witt, Hendrik and Burkhardt, Birgit and Kratz, Christian P. and Witt, Olaf and van Tilburg, Cornelis M. and Kramm, Christof M. and Fleischhack, Gudrun and Dirksen, Uta and Rutkowski, Stefan and Fr{\"u}hwald, Michael and Hoff, Katja von and Wolf, Stephan and Klingebeil, Thomas and Koscielniak, Ewa and Landgraf, Pablo and Koster, Jan and Resnick, Adam C. and Zhang, Jinghui and Liu, Yanling and Zhou, Xin and Waanders, Angela J. and Zwijnenburg, Danny A. and Raman, Pichai and Brors, Benedikt and Weber, Ursula D. and Northcott, Paul A. and Pajtler, Kristian W. and Kool, Marcel and Piro, Rosario M. and Korbel, Jan O. and Schlesner, Matthias and Eils, Roland and Jones, David T. W. and Lichter, Peter and Chavez, Lukas and Zapatka, Marc and Pfister, Stefan M.}, title = {The landscape of genomic alterations across childhood cancers}, series = {Nature}, volume = {555}, journal = {Nature}, organization = {ICGC PedBrain-Seq Project, ICGC MMML-Seq Project,}, doi = {10.1038/nature25480}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229579}, pages = {321-327}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Pan-cancer analyses that examine commonalities and differences among various cancer types have emerged as a powerful way to obtain novel insights into cancer biology. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of genetic alterations in a pan-cancer cohort including 961 tumours from children, adolescents, and young adults, comprising 24 distinct molecular types of cancer. Using a standardized workflow, we identified marked differences in terms of mutation frequency and significantly mutated genes in comparison to previously analysed adult cancers. Genetic alterations in 149 putative cancer driver genes separate the tumours into two classes: small mutation and structural/copy-number variant (correlating with germline variants). Structural variants, hyperdiploidy, and chromothripsis are linked to TP53 mutation status and mutational signatures. Our data suggest that 7-8\% of the children in this cohort carry an unambiguous predisposing germline variant and that nearly 50\% of paediatric neoplasms harbour a potentially druggable event, which is highly relevant for the design of future clinical trials.}, language = {en} } @article{BelicPageLazariotouetal.2019, author = {Belic, Stanislav and Page, Lukas and Lazariotou, Maria and Waaga-Gasser, Ana Maria and Dragan, Mariola and Springer, Jan and Loeffler, Juergen and Morton, Charles Oliver and Einsele, Hermann and Ullmann, Andrew J. and Wurster, Sebastian}, title = {Comparative Analysis of Inflammatory Cytokine Release and Alveolar Epithelial Barrier Invasion in a Transwell® Bilayer Model of Mucormycosis}, series = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2018.03204}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-252477}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Understanding the mechanisms of early invasion and epithelial defense in opportunistic mold infections is crucial for the evaluation of diagnostic biomarkers and novel treatment strategies. Recent studies revealed unique characteristics of the immunopathology of mucormycoses. We therefore adapted an alveolar Transwell® A549/HPAEC bilayer model for the assessment of epithelial barrier integrity and cytokine response to Rhizopus arrhizus, Rhizomucor pusillus, and Cunninghamella bertholletiae. Hyphal penetration of the alveolar barrier was validated by 18S ribosomal DNA detection in the endothelial compartment. Addition of dendritic cells (moDCs) to the alveolar compartment led to reduced fungal invasion and strongly enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokine response, whereas epithelial CCL2 and CCL5 release was reduced. Despite their phenotypic heterogeneity, the studied Mucorales species elicited the release of similar cytokine patterns by epithelial and dendritic cells. There were significantly elevated lactate dehydrogenase concentrations in the alveolar compartment and epithelial barrier permeability for dextran blue of different molecular weights in Mucorales-infected samples compared to Aspergillus fumigatus infection. Addition of monocyte-derived dendritic cells further aggravated LDH release and epithelial barrier permeability, highlighting the influence of the inflammatory response in mucormycosis-associated tissue damage. An important focus of this study was the evaluation of the reproducibility of readout parameters in independent experimental runs. Our results revealed consistently low coefficients of variation for cytokine concentrations and transcriptional levels of cytokine genes and cell integrity markers. As additional means of model validation, we confirmed that our bilayer model captures key principles of Mucorales biology such as accelerated growth in a hyperglycemic or ketoacidotic environment or reduced epithelial barrier invasion upon epithelial growth factor receptor blockade by gefitinib. Our findings indicate that the Transwell® bilayer model provides a reliable and reproducible tool for assessing host response in mucormycosis.}, language = {en} } @article{KnopSpilgiesRuflietal.2019, author = {Knop, Janin and Spilgies, Lisanne M. and Rufli, Stefanie and Reinhart, Ramona and Vasilikos, Lazaros and Yabal, Monica and Owsley, Erika and Jost, Philipp J. and Marsh, Rebecca A. and Wajant, Harald and Robinson, Mark D. and Kaufmann, Thomas and W. Wei-Lynn, Wong}, title = {TNFR2 induced priming of the inflammasome leads to a RIPK1-dependent cell death in the absence of XIAP}, series = {Cell Death \& Disease}, volume = {10}, journal = {Cell Death \& Disease}, doi = {10.1038/s41419-019-1938-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-325946}, year = {2019}, abstract = {The pediatric immune deficiency X-linked proliferative disease-2 (XLP-2) is a unique disease, with patients presenting with either hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) or intestinal bowel disease (IBD). Interestingly, XLP-2 patients display high levels of IL-18 in the serum even while in stable condition, presumably through spontaneous inflammasome activation. Recent data suggests that LPS stimulation can trigger inflammasome activation through a TNFR2/TNF/TNFR1 mediated loop in xiap-/- macrophages. Yet, the direct role TNFR2-specific activation plays in the absence of XIAP is unknown. We found TNFR2-specific activation leads to cell death in xiap-/- myeloid cells, particularly in the absence of the RING domain. RIPK1 kinase activity downstream of TNFR2 resulted in a TNF/TNFR1 cell death, independent of necroptosis. TNFR2-specific activation leads to a similar inflammatory NF-kB driven transcriptional profile as TNFR1 activation with the exception of upregulation of NLRP3 and caspase-11. Activation and upregulation of the canonical inflammasome upon loss of XIAP was mediated by RIPK1 kinase activity and ROS production. While both the inhibition of RIPK1 kinase activity and ROS production reduced cell death, as well as release of IL-1β, the release of IL-18 was not reduced to basal levels. This study supports targeting TNFR2 specifically to reduce IL-18 release in XLP-2 patients and to reduce priming of the inflammasome components.}, language = {en} } @article{KrausBrinkSiegel2019, author = {Kraus, Amelie J. and Brink, Benedikt G. and Siegel, T. Nicolai}, title = {Efficient and specific oligo-based depletion of rRNA}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {9}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-48692-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-224829}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In most organisms, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) contributes to >85\% of total RNA. Thus, to obtain useful information from RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses at reasonable sequencing depth, typically, mature polyadenylated transcripts are enriched or rRNA molecules are depleted. Targeted depletion of rRNA is particularly useful when studying transcripts lacking a poly(A) tail, such as some non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), most bacterial RNAs and partially degraded or immature transcripts. While several commercially available kits allow effective rRNA depletion, their efficiency relies on a high degree of sequence homology between oligonucleotide probes and the target RNA. This restricts the use of such kits to a limited number of organisms with conserved rRNA sequences. In this study we describe the use of biotinylated oligos and streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads for the efficient and specific depletion of trypanosomal rRNA. Our approach reduces the levels of the most abundant rRNA transcripts to less than 5\% with minimal off-target effects. By adjusting the sequence of the oligonucleotide probes, our approach can be used to deplete rRNAs or other abundant transcripts independent of species. Thus, our protocol provides a useful alternative for rRNA removal where enrichment of polyadenylated transcripts is not an option and commercial kits for rRNA are not available.}, language = {en} } @article{KnoedlerKoerferKunzmannetal.2018, author = {Kn{\"o}dler, Maren and K{\"o}rfer, Justus and Kunzmann, Volker and Trojan, J{\"o}rg and Daum, Severin and Schenk, Michael and Kullmann, Frank and Schroll, Sebastian and Behringer, Dirk and Stahl, Michael and Al-Batran, Salah-Eddin and Hacker, Ulrich and Ibach, Stefan and Lindhofer, Horst and Lordick, Florian}, title = {Randomised phase II trial to investigate catumaxomab (anti-EpCAM × anti-CD3) for treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis in patients with gastric cancer}, series = {British Journal of Cancer}, volume = {119}, journal = {British Journal of Cancer}, doi = {10.1038/s41416-018-0150-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-325938}, pages = {296-302}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) represents an unfavourable prognostic factor for patients with gastric cancer (GC). Intraperitoneal treatment with the bispecific and trifunctional antibody catumaxomab (EpCAM, CD3), in addition to systemic chemotherapy, could improve elimination of PC. Methods This prospective, randomised, phase II study investigated the efficacy of catumaxomab followed by chemotherapy (arm A, 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel, FLOT) or FLOT alone (arm B) in patients with GC and PC. Primary endpoint was the rate of macroscopic complete remission (mCR) of PC at the time of second diagnostic laparoscopy/laparotomy prior to optional surgery. Results Median follow-up was 52 months. Out of 35 patients screened, 15 were allocated to arm A and 16 to arm B. mCR rate was 27\% in arm A and 19\% in arm B (p = 0.69). Severe side effects associated with catumaxomab were nausea, infection, abdominal pain, and elevated liver enzymes. Median progression-free (6.7 vs. 5.4 months, p = 0.71) and overall survival (13.2 vs. 13.0 months, p = 0.97) were not significantly different in both treatment arms. Conclusions Addition of catumaxomab to systemic chemotherapy was feasible and tolerable in advanced GC. Although the primary endpoint could not be demonstrated, results are promising for future investigations integrating intraperitoneal immunotherapy into a multimodal treatment strategy.}, language = {en} } @article{ElHelouBiegnerBodeetal.2019, author = {El-Helou, Sabine M. and Biegner, Anika-Kerstin and Bode, Sebastian and Ehl, Stephan R. and Heeg, Maximilian and Maccari, Maria E. and Ritterbusch, Henrike and Speckmann, Carsten and Rusch, Stephan and Scheible, Raphael and Warnatz, Klaus and Atschekzei, Faranaz and Beider, Renata and Ernst, Diana and Gerschmann, Stev and Jablonka, Alexandra and Mielke, Gudrun and Schmidt, Reinhold E. and Sch{\"u}rmann, Gesine and Sogkas, Georgios and Baumann, Ulrich H. and Klemann, Christian and Viemann, Dorothee and Bernuth, Horst von and Kr{\"u}ger, Renate and Hanitsch, Leif G. and Scheibenbogen, Carmen M. and Wittke, Kirsten and Albert, Michael H. and Eichinger, Anna and Hauck, Fabian and Klein, Christoph and Rack-Hoch, Anita and Sollinger, Franz M. and Avila, Anne and Borte, Michael and Borte, Stephan and Fasshauer, Maria and Hauenherm, Anja and Kellner, Nils and M{\"u}ller, Anna H. and {\"U}lzen, Anett and Bader, Peter and Bakhtiar, Shahrzad and Lee, Jae-Yun and Heß, Ursula and Schubert, Ralf and W{\"o}lke, Sandra and Zielen, Stefan and Ghosh, Sujal and Laws, Hans-Juergen and Neubert, Jennifer and Oommen, Prasad T. and H{\"o}nig, Manfred and Schulz, Ansgar and Steinmann, Sandra and Klaus, Schwarz and D{\"u}ckers, Gregor and Lamers, Beate and Langemeyer, Vanessa and Niehues, Tim and Shai, Sonu and Graf, Dagmar and M{\"u}glich, Carmen and Schmalzing, Marc T. and Schwaneck, Eva C. and Tony, Hans-Peter and Dirks, Johannes and Haase, Gabriele and Liese, Johannes G. and Morbach, Henner and Foell, Dirk and Hellige, Antje and Wittkowski, Helmut and Masjosthusmann, Katja and Mohr, Michael and Geberzahn, Linda and Hedrich, Christian M. and M{\"u}ller, Christiane and R{\"o}sen-Wolff, Angela and Roesler, Joachim and Zimmermann, Antje and Behrends, Uta and Rieber, Nikolaus and Schauer, Uwe and Handgretinger, Rupert and Holzer, Ursula and Henes, J{\"o}rg and Kanz, Lothar and Boesecke, Christoph and Rockstroh, J{\"u}rgen K. and Schwarze-Zander, Carolynne and Wasmuth, Jan-Christian and Dilloo, Dagmar and H{\"u}lsmann, Brigitte and Sch{\"o}nberger, Stefan and Schreiber, Stefan and Zeuner, Rainald and Ankermann, Tobias and Bismarck, Philipp von and Huppertz, Hans-Iko and Kaiser-Labusch, Petra and Greil, Johann and Jakoby, Donate and Kulozik, Andreas E. and Metzler, Markus and Naumann-Bartsch, Nora and Sobik, Bettina and Graf, Norbert and Heine, Sabine and Kobbe, Robin and Lehmberg, Kai and M{\"u}ller, Ingo and Herrmann, Friedrich and Horneff, Gerd and Klein, Ariane and Peitz, Joachim and Schmidt, Nadine and Bielack, Stefan and Groß-Wieltsch, Ute and Classen, Carl F. and Klasen, Jessica and Deutz, Peter and Kamitz, Dirk and Lassy, Lisa and Tenbrock, Klaus and Wagner, Norbert and Bernbeck, Benedikt and Brummel, Bastian and Lara-Villacanas, Eusebia and M{\"u}nstermann, Esther and Schneider, Dominik T. and Tietsch, Nadine and Westkemper, Marco and Weiß, Michael and Kramm, Christof and K{\"u}hnle, Ingrid and Kullmann, Silke and Girschick, Hermann and Specker, Christof and Vinnemeier-Laubenthal, Elisabeth and Haenicke, Henriette and Schulz, Claudia and Schweigerer, Lothar and M{\"u}ller, Thomas G. and Stiefel, Martina and Belohradsky, Bernd H. and Soetedjo, Veronika and Kindle, Gerhard and Grimbacher, Bodo}, title = {The German national registry of primary immunodeficiencies (2012-2017)}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2019.01272}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-226629}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Introduction: The German PID-NET registry was founded in 2009, serving as the first national registry of patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) in Germany. It is part of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) registry. The primary purpose of the registry is to gather data on the epidemiology, diagnostic delay, diagnosis, and treatment of PIDs. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data was collected from 2,453 patients from 36 German PID centres in an online registry. Data was analysed with the software Stata® and Excel. Results: The minimum prevalence of PID in Germany is 2.72 per 100,000 inhabitants. Among patients aged 1-25, there was a clear predominance of males. The median age of living patients ranged between 7 and 40 years, depending on the respective PID. Predominantly antibody disorders were the most prevalent group with 57\% of all 2,453 PID patients (including 728 CVID patients). A gene defect was identified in 36\% of patients. Familial cases were observed in 21\% of patients. The age of onset for presenting symptoms ranged from birth to late adulthood (range 0-88 years). Presenting symptoms comprised infections (74\%) and immune dysregulation (22\%). Ninety-three patients were diagnosed without prior clinical symptoms. Regarding the general and clinical diagnostic delay, no PID had undergone a slight decrease within the last decade. However, both, SCID and hyper IgE-syndrome showed a substantial improvement in shortening the time between onset of symptoms and genetic diagnosis. Regarding treatment, 49\% of all patients received immunoglobulin G (IgG) substitution (70\%-subcutaneous; 29\%-intravenous; 1\%-unknown). Three-hundred patients underwent at least one hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Five patients had gene therapy. Conclusion: The German PID-NET registry is a precious tool for physicians, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, politicians, and ultimately the patients, for whom the outcomes will eventually lead to a more timely diagnosis and better treatment.}, language = {en} } @article{CookGeierSchmidetal.2019, author = {Cook, Nigel and Geier, Andreas and Schmid, Andreas and Hirschfeld, Gideon and Kautz, Achim and Schattenberg, J{\"o}rn M. and Balp, Maria-Magdalena}, title = {The patient perspectives on future therapeutic options in NASH and patient needs}, series = {Frontiers in Medicine}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in Medicine}, doi = {10.3389/fmed.2019.00061}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-223268}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic liver disease with severe complications and without approved therapies. Currently, there is limited data on the overall burden of the disease for patients or on patient needs and preferences. This study investigates patient preferences in relation to potential future therapies for NASH. In addition, the factors that are relevant to patients and their importance in relation to future treatment options are explored. Method: Telephone in-depth interviews (TDIs) preceded an online 30-min quantitative survey. The online survey included (1) multiple choice questions (MCQs) on NASH diagnosis and disease background. (2) An exercise to determine patients' satisfaction levels with information provided at diagnosis, and to explore symptomatology in detail. (3) Exercises to evaluate potential new products and product attributes, including a "drag and drop" ranking exercise, and an adaptive choice-based conjoint exercise (ACBC). (4) The EQ-5D-5L questionnaire and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), which measures patients' health status. (5) Collection of socio-demographic data, and (6) Questions to measure patient satisfaction with the survey. Results: There were 166 patients included in this study from Canada [n = 36], Germany [n = 50], the UK [n = 30], and USA [n = 50]. Fifty seven percent of patients [n = 94] had had a liver biopsy for confirmation of NASH. Patients were often unable to link their symptoms to NASH or other conditions. ACBC results showed that efficacy, defined as "impact on liver status" was the single most important attribute of a potential future NASH therapy. Other attributes considered to have secondary importance included impact on weight, symptom control and the presence of side effects. The EQ-5D utility score was 0.81 and VAS = 67.2. Conclusion: "Impact on liver status" is the primary outcome sought. Patients demonstrate a general lack of understanding of their disease and appeared to be unfamiliar with longer-term consequences of NASH. It is necessary to improve patient understanding of NASH and its progressive nature, and there is a need for improving confirmatory diagnosis and monitoring.}, language = {en} } @article{JarickMokhtariSchelleretal.2018, author = {Jarick, Katja J. and Mokhtari, Zeinab and Scheller, Lukas and Hartweg, Julia and Thusek, Sina and Le, Duc-Dung and Ranecky, Maria and Shaikh, Haroon and Qureischi, Musga and Heinze, Katrin G. and Beilhack, Andreas}, title = {Photoconversion of Alloreactive T Cells in Murine Peyer's Patches During Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Tracking the Homing Route of Highly Proliferative Cells In Vivo}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2018.01468}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-323309}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The regulation of immune cell migration throughout the body is essential to warrant immunosurveillance and to maintain immune homeostasis. Marking and tracking of these cells has proven important to study mechanisms of immune cell trafficking and cell interaction in vivo. Photoconversion is a well-suited technique for intravital application because it enables contactless time- and location-specific marking of cells in the tissue without surgically manipulating the microenvironment of the cells in question. However, in dividing cells the converted fluorescent protein may decline quickly. Here, we provide a detailed description of the photoconversion technique and its applicability to tracking highly proliferating T cells from the priming site of T cell activation to peripheral target organs of effector function in a preclinical model. Dendra2+ T cells were photoconverted in the Peyer's patches during the initiation phase of acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and tracked through the mesenteric lymph nodes and the peripheral blood to the small intestine with flow cytometry and intravital two-photon microscopy. Photoconverted alloreactive T cells preserved the full proliferative capacity, homing, and migration of alloreactive T cells in the intestinal lamina propria. We conclusively proved that photoconversion of highly proliferative alloreactive T cells in the Peyer's patches is an effective tool to study trafficking of alloreactive T cells under physiologic conditions and to GvHD target tissues. This technique can also be applied to the study of immune cell tracking under inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions.}, language = {en} } @article{GotruvanGeffenNagyetal.2019, author = {Gotru, Sanjeev Kiran and van Geffen, Johanna P. and Nagy, Magdolna and Mammadova-Bach, Elmina and Eilenberger, Julia and Volz, Julia and Manukjan, Georgi and Schulze, Harald and Wagner, Leonard and Eber, Stefan and Schambeck, Christian and Deppermann, Carsten and Brouns, Sanne and Nurden, Paquita and Greinacher, Andreas and Sachs, Ulrich and Nieswandt, Bernhard and Hermanns, Heike M. and Heemskerk, Johan W. M. and Braun, Attila}, title = {Defective Zn2+ homeostasis in mouse and human platelets with α- and δ-storage pool diseases}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {9}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-44751-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-227455}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Zinc (Zn2+) can modulate platelet and coagulation activation pathways, including fibrin formation. Here, we studied the (patho)physiological consequences of abnormal platelet Zn2+ storage and release. To visualize Zn2+ storage in human and mouse platelets, the Zn2+ specific fluorescent dye FluoZin3 was used. In resting platelets, the dye transiently accumulated into distinct cytosolic puncta, which were lost upon platelet activation. Platelets isolated from Unc13d-/- mice, characterized by combined defects of α/δ granular release, showed a markedly impaired Zn2+ release upon activation. Platelets from Nbeal2-/- mice mimicking Gray platelet syndrome (GPS), characterized by primarily loss of the α-granule content, had strongly reduced Zn2+ levels, which was also confirmed in primary megakaryocytes. In human platelets isolated from patients with GPS, Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (HPS) and Storage Pool Disease (SPD) altered Zn2+ homeostasis was detected. In turbidity and flow based assays, platelet-dependent fibrin formation was impaired in both Nbeal2-/- and Unc13d-/- mice, and the impairment could be partially restored by extracellular Zn2+. Altogether, we conclude that the release of ionic Zn2+ store from secretory granules upon platelet activation contributes to the procoagulant role of Zn2+ in platelet-dependent fibrin formation.}, language = {en} } @article{SteinKantarjianGoekbugetetal.2019, author = {Stein, Anthony S. and Kantarjian, Hagop and G{\"o}kbuget, Nicola and Bargou, Ralf and Litzow, Mark R. and Rambaldi, Alessandro and Ribera, Josep-Maria and Zhang, Alicia and Zimmerman, Zachary and Zugmaier, Gerhard and Topp, Max S.}, title = {Blinatumomab for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Relapse after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation}, series = {Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation}, volume = {25}, journal = {Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation}, doi = {10.1016/j.bbmt.2019.04.010}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239510}, pages = {1498-1504}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) have a poor prognosis, and alternative therapies are needed for this patient population. Blinatumomab, a bispecific T cell engager immunotherapy, was evaluated in an open-label, single-arm, phase II study of adults with R/R Philadelphia chromosome-negative B cell precursor ALL and resulted in a rate of complete remission (CR) or CR with partial hematologic recovery of peripheral blood counts (CRh) of 43\% within 2 treatment cycles. We conducted an exploratory analysis to determine the efficacy and safety of blinatumomab in 64 patients who had relapsed following alloHSCT before enrollment in the phase II study. Forty-five percent of the patients (29 of 64) achieved a CR/CRh within the first 2 cycles of treatment, 22 of whom had a minimal residual disease (MRD) response (including 19 with a complete MRD response). After 1 year and 3 years of follow-up, the median relapse-free survival was 7.4 months for patients who achieved CR/CRh in the first 2 cycles, and the median overall survival was 8.5 months; overall survival rate (Kaplan-Meier estimate) was 36\% at 1 year and 18\% at 3 years. Grade 3 and 4 adverse events were reported in 20 patients (31\%) and 28 patients (44\%), respectively, with grade 3 and 4 neurologic events in 8 and 2 patients, respectively, and grade 3 cytokine release syndrome in 2 patients. Eight patients had fatal adverse events, including 5 due to infections. Seven patients had grade ≤ 3 graft-versus-host disease during the study, none of which resulted in the discontinuation of blinatumomab or hospitalization. Our data suggest that blinatumomab is an effective salvage therapy in this patient population.}, language = {en} } @article{NerreterLetschertGoetzetal.2019, author = {Nerreter, Thomas and Letschert, Sebastian and G{\"o}tz, Ralph and Doose, S{\"o}ren and Danhof, Sophia and Einsele, Hermann and Sauer, Markus and Hudecek, Michael}, title = {Super-resolution microscopy reveals ultra-low CD19 expression on myeloma cells that triggers elimination by CD19 CAR-T}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {10}, journal = {Nature Communications}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-10948-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-232258}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T-cells (CAR-T) is under investigation in multiple myeloma. There are reports of myeloma remission after CD19 CAR-T therapy, although CD19 is hardly detectable on myeloma cells by flow cytometry (FC). We apply single molecule-sensitive direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM), and demonstrate CD19 expression on a fraction of myeloma cells (10.3-80\%) in 10 out of 14 patients (density: 13-5,000 molecules per cell). In contrast, FC detects CD19 in only 2 of these 10 patients, on a smaller fraction of cells. Treatment with CD19 CAR-T in vitro results in elimination of CD19-positive myeloma cells, including those with <100 CD19 molecules per cell. Similar data are obtained by dSTORM analyses of CD20 expression on myeloma cells and CD20 CAR-T. These data establish a sensitivity threshold for CAR-T and illustrate how super-resolution microscopy can guide patient selection in immunotherapy to exploit ultra-low density antigens.}, language = {en} } @article{LudwigDelforgeFaconetal.2018, author = {Ludwig, Heinz and Delforge, Michel and Facon, Thierry and Einsele, Hermann and Gay, Francesca and Moreau, Philippe and Avet-Loiseau, Herv{\´e} and Boccadoro, Mario and Hajek, Roman and Mohty, Mohamad and Cavo, Michele and Dimopoulos, Meletios A and San-Miguel, Jes{\´u}s F and Terpos, Evangelos and Zweegman, Sonja and Garderet, Laurent and Mateos, Mar{\´i}a-Victoria and Cook, Gordon and Leleu, Xavier and Goldschmidt, Hartmut and Jackson, Graham and Kaiser, Martin and Weisel, Katja and van de Donk, Niels W. C. J. and Waage, Anders and Beksac, Meral and Mellqvist, Ulf H. and Engelhardt, Monika and Caers, Jo and Driessen, Christoph and Blad{\´e}, Joan and Sonneveld, Pieter}, title = {Prevention and management of adverse events of novel agents in multiple myeloma: a consensus of the European Myeloma Network}, series = {Leukemia}, volume = {32}, journal = {Leukemia}, doi = {10.1038/s41375-018-0040-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-237338}, pages = {1542-1560}, year = {2018}, abstract = {During the last few years, several new drugs have been introduced for treatment of patients with multiple myeloma, which have significantly improved the treatment outcome. All of these novel substances differ at least in part in their mode of action from similar drugs of the same drug class, or are representatives of new drug classes, and as such present with very specific side effect profiles. In this review, we summarize these adverse events, provide information on their prevention, and give practical guidance for monitoring of patients and for management of adverse events.}, language = {en} } @article{TichaMoosWajantetal.2018, author = {Ticha, Olga and Moos, Lukas and Wajant, Harald and Bekeredjian-Ding, Isabelle}, title = {Expression of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor 2 Characterizes TLR9-Driven Formation of Interleukin-10-Producing B Cells}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2017.01951}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-241323}, year = {2018}, abstract = {B cell-derived interleukin-10 (IL-10) production has been described as a hallmark for regulatory function in B lymphocytes. However, there is an ongoing debate on the origin of IL-10-secreting B cells and lack of specific surface markers has turned into an important obstacle for studying human B regulatory cells. In this study, we propose that tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) expression can be used for enrichment of IL-10-secreting B cells. Our data confirm that IL-10 production can be induced by TLR9 stimulation with CpG ODN and that IL-10 secretion accompanies differentiation of peripheral blood B cells into plasma blasts. We further show that CpG ODN stimulation induces TNFR2 expression, which correlates with IL-10 secretion and terminal differentiation. Indeed, flow cytometric sorting of TNFR2+ B cells revealed that TNFR2+ and TNFR2- fractions correspond to IL-10+ and IL-10- fractions, respectively. Furthermore, CpG-induced TNFR2+ B cells were predominantly found in the IgM+ CD27+ B cell subset and spontaneously released immunoglobulin. Finally, our data corroborate the functional impact of TNFR2 by demonstrating that stimulation with a TNFR2 agonist significantly augments IL-10 and IL-6 production in B cells. Altogether, our data highlight a new role for TNFR2 in IL-10-secreting human B lymphocytes along with the potential to exploit this finding for sorting and isolation of this currently ill-defined B cell subset.}, language = {en} } @article{LangFuellsackWajant2018, author = {Lang, Isabell and F{\"u}llsack, Simone and Wajant, Harald}, title = {Lack of Evidence for a Direct Interaction of Progranulin and Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-2 From Cellular Binding Studies}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2018.00793}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236373}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Progranulin (PGRN) is a secreted anti-inflammatory protein which can be processed by neutrophil proteases to various granulins. It has been reported that at least a significant portion of the anti-inflammatory effects of PGRN is due to direct high affinity binding to tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (TNFR1) and TNFR2 and inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced TNFR1/2 signaling. Two studies failed to reproduce the interaction of TNFR1 and TNFR2 with PGRN, but follow up reports speculated that this was due to varying experimental circumstances and/or the use of PGRN from different sources. However, even under consideration of these speculations, there is still a striking discrepancy in the literature between the concentrations of PGRN needed to inhibit TNF signaling and the concentrations required to block TNF binding to TNFR1 and TNFR2. While signaling events induced by 0.2-2 nM of TNF have been efficiently inhibited by low, near to equimolar concentrations (0.5-2.5 nM) of PGRN in various studies, the reported inhibitory effects of PGRN on TNF-binding to TNFR1/2 required a huge excess of PGRN (100-1,000-fold). Therefore, we investigated the effect of PGRN on TNF binding to TNFR1 and TNFR2 in highly sensitive cellular binding studies. Unlabeled TNF inhibited >95\% of the specific binding of a Gaussia princeps luciferase (GpL) fusion protein of TNF to TNFR1 and TNFR2 and blocked binding of soluble GpL fusion proteins of TNFR1 and TNFR2 to membrane TNF expressing cells to >95\%, too. Purified PGRN, however, showed in both assays no effect on TNF-TNFR1/2 interaction even when applied in huge excess. To rule out that tags and purification- or storage-related effects compromise the potential ability of PGRN to bind TNF receptors, we directly co-expressed PGRN, and as control TNF, in TNFR1- and TNFR2-expressing cells and looked for binding of GpL-TNF. While expression of TNF strongly inhibited binding of GpL-TNF to TNFR1/2, co-expression of PGRN had not effect on the ability of the TNFR1/2-expressing cells to bind TNF.}, language = {en} } @article{WeissZieglerFliesseretal.2018, author = {Weiss, Esther and Ziegler, Sabrina and Fliesser, Mirjam and Schmitt, Anna-Lena and H{\"u}nniger, Kerstin and Kurzai, Oliver and Morton, Charles-Oliver and Einsele, Hermann and Loeffler, Juergen}, title = {First Insights in NK—DC Cross-Talk and the Importance of Soluble Factors During Infection With Aspergillus fumigatus}, series = {Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology}, doi = {10.3389/fcimb.2018.00288}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-233565}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is an infectious disease caused by the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus that mainly affects immunocompromised hosts. To investigate immune cell cross-talk during infection with A. fumigatus, we co-cultured natural killer (NK) cells and dendritic cells (DC) after stimulation with whole fungal structures, components of the fungal cell wall, fungal lysate or ligands for distinct fungal receptors. Both cell types showed activation after stimulation with fungal components and were able to transfer activation signals to the counterpart not stimulated cell type. Interestingly, DCs recognized a broader spectrum of fungal components and thereby initiated NK cell activation when those did not recognize fungal structures. These experiments highlighted the supportive function of DCs in NK cell activation. Furthermore, we focused on soluble DC mediated NK cell activation and showed that DCs stimulated with the TLR2/Dectin-1 ligand zymosan could maximally stimulate the expression of CD69 on NK cells. Thus, we investigated the influence of both receptors for zymosan, Dectin-1 and TLR2, which are highly expressed on DCs but show only minimal expression on NK cells. Specific focus was laid on the question whether Dectin-1 or TLR2 signaling in DCs is important for the secretion of soluble factors leading to NK cell activation. Our results show that Dectin-1 and TLR2 are negligible for NK cell activation. We conclude that besides Dectin-1 and TLR2 other receptors on DCs are able to compensate for the missing signal.}, language = {en} } @article{SirtlKnollDieuThuyetal.2018, author = {Sirtl, Simon and Knoll, Gertrud and Dieu Thuy, Trinh and Lang, Isabell and Siegmund, Daniela and Gross, Stefanie and Schuler-Thurner, Beatrice and Neubert, Patrick and Jantsch, Jonathan and Wajant, Harald and Ehrenschwender, Martin}, title = {Hypertonicity-enforced BCL-2 addiction unleashes the cytotoxic potential of death receptors}, series = {Oncogene}, volume = {37}, journal = {Oncogene}, doi = {10.1038/s41388-018-0265-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238327}, pages = {4122-4136}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Attempts to exploit the cytotoxic activity of death receptors (DR) for treating cancer have thus far been disappointing. DR activation in most malignant cells fails to trigger cell death and may even promote tumor growth by activating cell death-independent DR-associated signaling pathways. Overcoming apoptosis resistance is consequently a prerequisite for successful clinical exploitation of DR stimulation. Here we show that hyperosmotic stress in the tumor microenvironment unleashes the deadly potential of DRs by enforcing BCL-2 addiction of cancer cells. Hypertonicity robustly enhanced cytotoxicity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and other DR ligands in various cancer entities. Initial events in TRAIL DR signaling remained unaffected, but hypertonic conditions unlocked activation of the mitochondrial death pathway and thus amplified the apoptotic signal. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that hyperosmotic stress imposed a BCL-2-addiction on cancer cells to safeguard the integrity of the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM), essentially exhausting the protective capacity of BCL-2-like pro-survival proteins. Deprivation of these mitochondrial safeguards licensed DR-generated truncated BH3-interacting domain death agonist (tBID) to activate BCL-2-associated X protein (BAX) and initiated mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP). Our work highlights that hyperosmotic stress in the tumor environment primes mitochondria for death and lowers the threshold for DR-induced apoptosis. Beyond TRAIL-based therapies, our findings could help to strengthen the efficacy of other apoptosis-inducing cancer treatment regimens.}, language = {en} } @article{SolimandoBrandlMattenheimeretal.2018, author = {Solimando, A G and Brandl, A and Mattenheimer, K and Graf, C and Ritz, M and Ruckdeschel, A and St{\"u}hmer, T and Mokhtari, Z and Rudelius, M and Dotterweich, J and Bittrich, M and Desantis, V and Ebert, R and Trerotoli, P and Frassanito, M A and Rosenwald, A and Vacca, A and Einsele, H and Jakob, F and Beilhack, A}, title = {JAM-A as a prognostic factor and new therapeutic target in multiple myeloma}, series = {Leukemia}, volume = {32}, journal = {Leukemia}, doi = {10.1038/leu.2017.287}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239069}, pages = {736-743}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Cell adhesion in the multiple myeloma (MM) microenvironment has been recognized as a major mechanism of MM cell survival and the development of drug resistance. Here we addressed the hypothesis that the protein junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A) may represent a novel target and a clinical biomarker in MM. We evaluated JAM-A expression in MM cell lines and in 147 MM patient bone marrow aspirates and biopsies at different disease stages. Elevated JAM-A levels in patient-derived plasma cells were correlated with poor prognosis. Moreover, circulating soluble JAM-A (sJAM-A) levels were significantly increased in MM patients as compared with controls. Notably, in vitro JAM-A inhibition impaired MM migration, colony formation, chemotaxis, proliferation and viability. In vivo treatment with an anti-JAM-A monoclonal antibody (αJAM-A moAb) impaired tumor progression in a murine xenograft MM model. These results demonstrate that therapeutic targeting of JAM-A has the potential to prevent MM progression, and lead us to propose JAM-A as a biomarker in MM, and sJAM-A as a serum-based marker for clinical stratification.}, language = {en} } @article{SiegmundEhrenschwenderWajant2018, author = {Siegmund, Daniela and Ehrenschwender, Martin and Wajant, Harald}, title = {TNFR2 unlocks a RIPK1 kinase activity-dependent mode of proinflammatory TNFR1 signaling}, series = {Cell Death \& Disease}, volume = {9}, journal = {Cell Death \& Disease}, doi = {10.1038/s41419-018-0973-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238034}, year = {2018}, abstract = {TNF is not only a major effector molecule of PAMP/DAMP-activated macrophages, but also regulates macrophage function and viability. We recently demonstrated that TNFR2 triggers necroptosis in macrophages with compromised caspase activity by two cooperating mechanisms: induction of endogenous TNF with subsequent stimulation of TNFR1 and depletion of cytosolic TRAF2-cIAP complexes. Here we show that TNFR2 activation in caspase-inhibited macrophages results in the production of endogenous TNF and TNFR1 stimulation followed by upregulation of A20, TRAF1, IL-6, and IL-1β. Surprisingly, TNFR1-mediated induction of IL-6 and IL-1β was clearly evident in response to TNFR2 stimulation but occurred not or only weakly in macrophages selectively and directly stimulated via TNFR1. Moreover, TNFR2-induced TNFR1-mediated gene induction was largely inhibited by necrostatin-1, whereas upregulation of A20 and TRAF1 by direct and exclusive stimulation of TNFR1 remained unaffected by this compound. Thus, treatment with TNFR2/ZVAD enables TNFR1 in macrophages to stimulate gene induction via a pathway requiring RIPK1 kinase activity. TNFR2/ZVAD-induced production of IL-6 and IL-1β was largely blocked in necroptosis-resistant MLKL- and RIPK3-deficient macrophages, whereas induction of A20 and TRAF1 remained unaffected. In sum, our results show that in caspase-inhibited macrophages TNFR2 not only triggers TNF/TNFR1-mediated necroptosis but also TNF/TNFR1-mediated RIPK3/MLKL-dependent and -independent gene induction.}, language = {en} } @article{WentSudSpeedyetal.2018, author = {Went, Molly and Sud, Amit and Speedy, Helen and Sunter, Nicola J. and F{\"o}rsti, Asta and Law, Philip J. and Johnson, David C. and Mirabella, Fabio and Holroyd, Amy and Li, Ni and Orlando, Giulia and Weinhold, Niels and van Duin, Mark and Chen, Bowang and Mitchell, Jonathan S. and Mansouri, Larry and Juliusson, Gunnar and Smedby, Karin E and Jayne, Sandrine and Majid, Aneela and Dearden, Claire and Allsup, David J. and Bailey, James R. and Pratt, Guy and Pepper, Chris and Fegan, Chris and Rosenquist, Richard and Kuiper, Rowan and Stephens, Owen W. and Bertsch, Uta and Broderick, Peter and Einsele, Hermann and Gregory, Walter M. and Hillengass, Jens and Hoffmann, Per and Jackson, Graham H. and J{\"o}ckel, Karl-Heinz and Nickel, Jolanta and N{\"o}then, Markus M. and da Silva Filho, Miguel Inacio and Thomsen, Hauke and Walker, Brian A. and Broyl, Annemiek and Davies, Faith E. and Hansson, Markus and Goldschmidt, Hartmut and Dyer, Martin J. S. and Kaiser, Martin and Sonneveld, Pieter and Morgan, Gareth J. and Hemminki, Kari and Nilsson, Bj{\"o}rn and Catovsky, Daniel and Allan, James M. and Houlston, Richard S.}, title = {Genetic correlation between multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia provides evidence for shared aetiology}, series = {Blood Cancer Journal}, volume = {9}, journal = {Blood Cancer Journal}, doi = {10.1038/s41408-018-0162-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-233627}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The clustering of different types of B-cell malignancies in families raises the possibility of shared aetiology. To examine this, we performed cross-trait linkage disequilibrium (LD)-score regression of multiple myeloma (MM) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) genome-wide association study (GWAS) data sets, totalling 11,734 cases and 29,468 controls. A significant genetic correlation between these two B-cell malignancies was shown (Rg = 0.4, P = 0.0046). Furthermore, four of the 45 known CLL risk loci were shown to associate with MM risk and five of the 23 known MM risk loci associate with CLL risk. By integrating eQTL, Hi-C and ChIP-seq data, we show that these pleiotropic risk loci are enriched for B-cell regulatory elements and implicate B-cell developmental genes. These data identify shared biological pathways influencing the development of CLL and, MM and further our understanding of the aetiological basis of these B-cell malignancies.}, language = {en} } @article{WalkerMavrommatisWardelletal.2019, author = {Walker, Brian A. and Mavrommatis, Konstantinos and Wardell, Christopher P. and Ashby, T. Cody and Bauer, Michael and Davies, Faith and Rosenthal, Adam and Wang, Hongwei and Qu, Pingping and Hoering, Antje and Samur, Mehmet and Towfic, Fadi and Ortiz, Maria and Flynt, Erin and Yu, Zhinuan and Yang, Zhihong and Rozelle, Dan and Obenauer, John and Trotter, Matthew and Auclair, Daniel and Keats, Jonathan and Bolli, Niccolo and Fulciniti, Mariateresa and Szalat, Raphael and Moreau, Phillipe and Durie, Brian and Stewart, A. Keith and Goldschmidt, Hartmut and Raab, Marc S. and Einsele, Hermann and Sonneveld, Pieter and San Miguel, Jesus and Lonial, Sagar and Jackson, Graham H. and Anderson, Kenneth C. and Avet-Loiseau, Herve and Munshi, Nikhil and Thakurta, Anjan and Morgan, Gareth}, title = {A high-risk, Double-Hit, group of newly diagnosed myeloma identified by genomic analysis}, series = {Leukemia}, volume = {33}, journal = {Leukemia}, doi = {10.1038/s41375-018-0196-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-233299}, pages = {159-170}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) with high-risk disease are in need of new treatment strategies to improve the outcomes. Multiple clinical, cytogenetic, or gene expression features have been used to identify high-risk patients, each of which has significant weaknesses. Inclusion of molecular features into risk stratification could resolve the current challenges. In a genome-wide analysis of the largest set of molecular and clinical data established to date from NDMM, as part of the Myeloma Genome Project, we have defined DNA drivers of aggressive clinical behavior. Whole-genome and exome data from 1273 NDMM patients identified genetic factors that contribute significantly to progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) (cumulative R2 = 18.4\% and 25.2\%, respectively). Integrating DNA drivers and clinical data into a Cox model using 784 patients with ISS, age, PFS, OS, and genomic data, the model has a cumlative R2 of 34.3\% for PFS and 46.5\% for OS. A high-risk subgroup was defined by recursive partitioning using either a) bi-allelic TP53 inactivation or b) amplification (≥4 copies) of CKS1B (1q21) on the background of International Staging System III, comprising 6.1\% of the population (median PFS = 15.4 months; OS = 20.7 months) that was validated in an independent dataset. Double-Hit patients have a dire prognosis despite modern therapies and should be considered for novel therapeutic approaches.}, language = {en} } @article{AnanyKreckelFuellsacketal.2018, author = {Anany, Mohamed A. and Kreckel, Jennifer and F{\"u}llsack, Simone and Rosenthal, Alevtina and Otto, Christoph and Siegmund, Daniela and Wajant, Harald}, title = {Soluble TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) enhances poly(I:C)-induced RIPK1-mediated necroptosis}, series = {Cell Death \& Disease}, volume = {9}, journal = {Cell Death \& Disease}, doi = {10.1038/s41419-018-1137-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-221104}, year = {2018}, abstract = {TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and inhibition of protein synthesis with cycloheximide (CHX) sensitize for poly(I:C)-induced cell death. Notably, although CHX preferentially enhanced poly(I:C)-induced apoptosis, TWEAK enhanced primarily poly(I:C)-induced necroptosis. Both sensitizers of poly(I:C)-induced cell death, however, showed no major effect on proinflammatory poly(I:C) signaling. Analysis of a panel of HeLa-RIPK3 variants lacking TRADD, RIPK1, FADD, or caspase-8 expression revealed furthermore similarities and differences in the way how poly(I:C)/TWEAK, TNF, and TRAIL utilize these molecules for signaling. RIPK1 turned out to be essential for poly(I:C)/TWEAK-induced caspase-8-mediated apoptosis but was dispensable for this response in TNF and TRAIL signaling. TRADD-RIPK1-double deficiency differentially affected poly(I:C)-triggered gene induction but abrogated gene induction by TNF completely. FADD deficiency abrogated TRAIL- but not TNF- and poly(I:C)-induced necroptosis, whereas TRADD elicited protective activity against all three death inducers. A general protective activity against poly(I:C)-, TRAIL-, and TNF-induced cell death was also observed in FLIPL and FLIPS transfectrants.}, language = {en} } @article{LopezKleinheinzAukemaetal.2019, author = {L{\´o}pez, Cristina and Kleinheinz, Kortine and Aukema, Sietse M. and Rohde, Marius and Bernhart, Stephan H. and H{\"u}bschmann, Daniel and Wagener, Rabea and Toprak, Umut H. and Raimondi, Francesco and Kreuz, Markus and Waszak, Sebastian M. and Huang, Zhiqin and Sieverling, Lina and Paramasivam, Nagarajan and Seufert, Julian and Sungalee, Stephanie and Russell, Robert B. and Bausinger, Julia and Kretzmer, Helene and Ammerpohl, Ole and Bergmann, Anke K. and Binder, Hans and Borkhardt, Arndt and Brors, Benedikt and Claviez, Alexander and Doose, Gero and Feuerbach, Lars and Haake, Andrea and Hansmann, Martin-Leo and Hoell, Jessica and Hummel, Michael and Korbel, Jan O. and Lawerenz, Chris and Lenze, Dido and Radlwimmer, Bernhard and Richter, Julia and Rosenstiel, Philip and Rosenwald, Andreas and Schilhabel, Markus B. and Stein, Harald and Stilgenbauer, Stephan and Stadler, Peter F. and Szczepanowski, Monika and Weniger, Marc A. and Zapatka, Marc and Eils, Roland and Lichter, Peter and Loeffler, Markus and M{\"o}ller, Peter and Tr{\"u}mper, Lorenz and Klapper, Wolfram and Hoffmann, Steve and K{\"u}ppers, Ralf and Burkhardt, Birgit and Schlesner, Matthias and Siebert, Reiner}, title = {Genomic and transcriptomic changes complement each other in the pathogenesis of sporadic Burkitt lymphoma}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {10}, journal = {Nature Communications}, organization = {ICGC MMML-Seq Consortium}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-08578-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-237281}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is the most common B-cell lymphoma in children. Within the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), we performed whole genome and transcriptome sequencing of 39 sporadic BL. Here, we unravel interaction of structural, mutational, and transcriptional changes, which contribute to MYC oncogene dysregulation together with the pathognomonic IG-MYC translocation. Moreover, by mapping IGH translocation breakpoints, we provide evidence that the precursor of at least a subset of BL is a B-cell poised to express IGHA. We describe the landscape of mutations, structural variants, and mutational processes, and identified a series of driver genes in the pathogenesis of BL, which can be targeted by various mechanisms, including IG-non MYC translocations, germline and somatic mutations, fusion transcripts, and alternative splicing.}, language = {en} } @article{MedlerNelkeWeisenbergeretal.2019, author = {Medler, Juliane and Nelke, Johannes and Weisenberger, Daniela and Steinfatt, Tim and Rothaug, Moritz and Berr, Susanne and H{\"u}nig, Thomas and Beilhack, Andreas and Wajant, Harald}, title = {TNFRSF receptor-specific antibody fusion proteins with targeting controlled FcγR-independent agonistic activity}, series = {Cell Death \& Disease}, volume = {10}, journal = {Cell Death \& Disease}, doi = {10.1038/s41419-019-1456-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-223948}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Antibodies specific for TNFRSF receptors that bind soluble ligands without getting properly activated generally act as strong agonists upon FcγR binding. Systematic analyses revealed that the FcγR dependency of such antibodies to act as potent agonists is largely independent from isotype, FcγR type, and of the epitope recognized. This suggests that the sole cellular attachment, achieved by Fc domain-FcγR interaction, dominantly determines the agonistic activity of antibodies recognizing TNFRSF receptors poorly responsive to soluble ligands. In accordance with this hypothesis, we demonstrated that antibody fusion proteins harboring domains allowing FcγR-independent cell surface anchoring also act as strong agonist provided they have access to their target. This finding defines a general possibility to generate anti-TNFRSF receptor antibodies with FcγR-independent agonism. Moreover, anti-TNFRSF receptor antibody fusion proteins with an anchoring domain promise superior applicability to conventional systemically active agonists when an anchoring target with localized disease associated expression can be addressed.}, language = {en} }