Everett Meyer

All Publications

• Massively parallel interrogation and mining of natively paired human TCR alpha beta repertoires NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY Spindler, M. J., Nelson, A. L., Wagner, E. K., Oppermans, N., Bridgeman, J. S., Heather, J. M., Adler, A. S., Asensio, M. A., Edgar, R. C., Lim, Y., Meyer, E. H., Hawkins, R. E., Cobbold, M., Johnson, D. S. 2020

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41587-020-0438-y

  View details for Web of Science ID 000519842500002

• Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Significant Increase in Survival in the Post-Targeted Immunotherapy Era Muffly, L., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Lowsky, R., Meyer, E. H., Miklos, D. B., Negrin, R. S., Rezvani, A., Shiraz, P., Shizuru, J. A., Sidana, S., Weng, W., Cunanan, K. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2020: S106

  View details for Web of Science ID 000516887900144

• Analysis of Whole CDR3 TCR Repertoire after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Two Clinical Cohorts. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Shah, O., Tamaresis, J. S., Kenyon, L. J., Xu, L., Zheng, P., Gupta, P., RangarajanK, K., Lee, S., Spellman, S., Nikiforow, S., Zehnder, J., Meyer, E. H. 2020

  Abstract

  A major cause of morbidity and mortality for patients who undergo hematological stem cell transplantations (HSCT) is acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a mostly T cell mediated disease. The examination of the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of HSCT patients and through the use of next generation nucleotide sequencing leads to the question of whether features of TCR repertoire reconstitution might reproducibly associate with GVHD.HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that the peripheral blood TCR repertoire of patients with steroid non-responsive, acute GVHD would be less diverse. We also hypothesized that patients with GVHD who shared HLA might also share common clones at the time of GVHD diagnosis, thereby potentially providing potential clinical indicators for treatment stratification. We further hypothesized that HSCT recipients with the same HLA mismatch might share a more similar TCR repertoire based on a potentially shared focus of alloreactive responses.METHOD: We studied two separate patient cohorts and two separate platforms to measure TCR repertoire. The first cohort of patients are from a multicenter, phase III, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial of patients who developed acute GVHD (NCT01002742). The second are samples from biobanks from two centers and the CIBMTR of patients who mismatched HSCT.CONCLUSION: There were no statistically significant differences in the TCR diversity of steroid responders and non-responders among patients with acute GVHD on the day of diagnosis. Most clones in the repertoire were unique to each patient, but a small number of clones were found to be both exclusive to, and shared, amongst GVHD non-responders. We were also able to show a strong correlation between the presence of VSS 20 and VSS29 and steroid responsiveness. Using the Bhattacharya coefficient, those patients who shared the same HLA mismatch were shown to be no more similar to one another than to those who had a completely different mismatch. Using two separate clinical cohorts and two separate platforms for analyzing the TCR repertoire, we have shown that the sampled human TCR repertoire is largely unique to each patient but showed glimmers of common clones of subsets of clones based on responsiveness to steroids in aGVHD on the day of diagnosis. These studies are informative for future strategies to assess for reproducible TCR responses in human alloreactivity and possible markers of GVHD responsiveness to therapy.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2020.01.020

  View details for PubMedID 32081787

• High-Parametric Evaluation of Human Invariant Natural Killer T Cells to Delineate Heterogeneity in Allo- and Autoimmunity. Blood Erkers, T., Xie, B., Kenyon, L. J., Smith, B., Rieck, M., Jensen, K. P., Ji, X., Basina, M., Strober, S., Negrin, R. S., Maecker, H. T., Meyer, E. 2020

  Abstract

  Human invariant natural killer T cells (iNKTs) are a rare innate-like lymphocyte population that recognize glycolipids presented on CD1d. Studies in mice have shown that these cells are heterogenous and capable of enacting diverse functions, and the composition of iNKT subsets can alter disease outcomes. In contrast, far less is known about how heterogeneity in human iNKTs relates to disease. To address this, we use a high-dimensional, data-driven approach to devise a framework to parse human iNKT heterogeneity. Our data revealed novel and previously described iNKT phenotypes with distinct functions. In particular, we found two phenotypes of interest: 1) a population with Th1 function that was increased with iNKT activation characterized by HLA-II+CD161- expression, and 2) a population with enhanced cytotoxic function characterized by CD4-CD94+ expression. These populations, respectively, correlate with acute graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and with new onset type 1 diabetes. Our study identifies human iNKT phenotypes associated with human disease that could aid in the development of biomarkers or therapeutics targeting iNKTs.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood.2019001903

  View details for PubMedID 31935280

• Autologous tumor cell vaccine induces antitumor T cell immune responses in patients with mantle cell lymphoma: A phase I/II trial. The Journal of experimental medicine Frank, M. J., Khodadoust, M. S., Czerwinski, D. K., Haabeth, O. A., Chu, M. P., Miklos, D. B., Advani, R. H., Alizadeh, A. A., Gupta, N. K., Maeda, L. S., Reddy, S. A., Laport, G. G., Meyer, E. H., Negrin, R. S., Rezvani, A. R., Weng, W. K., Sheehan, K., Faham, M., Okada, A., Moore, A. H., Phillips, D. L., Wapnir, I. L., Brody, J. D., Levy, R. 2020; 217 (9)

  Abstract

  Here, we report on the results of a phase I/II trial (NCT00490529) for patients with mantle cell lymphoma who, having achieved remission after immunochemotherapy, were vaccinated with irradiated, CpG-activated tumor cells. Subsequently, vaccine-primed lymphocytes were collected and reinfused after a standard autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). The primary endpoint was detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) within 1 yr after ASCT at the previously validated threshold of ?1 malignant cell per 10,000 leukocyte equivalents. Of 45 evaluable patients, 40 (89%) were found to be MRD negative, and the MRD-positive patients experienced early subsequent relapse. The vaccination induced antitumor CD8 T cell immune responses in 40% of patients, and these were associated with favorable clinical outcomes. Patients with high tumor PD-L1 expression after in vitro exposure to CpG had inferior outcomes. Vaccination with CpG-stimulated autologous tumor cells followed by the adoptive transfer of vaccine-primed lymphocytes after ASCT is feasible and safe.

  View details for DOI 10.1084/jem.20191712

  View details for PubMedID 32558897

• Editorial: Immune Tolerance Post Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Frontiers in immunology Schneidawind, D., Meyer, E. 2020; 11: 523

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00523

  View details for PubMedID 32265940

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7105708

• Massively parallel interrogation and mining of natively paired human TCR?? repertoires. Nature biotechnology Spindler, M. J., Nelson, A. L., Wagner, E. K., Oppermans, N., Bridgeman, J. S., Heather, J. M., Adler, A. S., Asensio, M. A., Edgar, R. C., Lim, Y. W., Meyer, E. H., Hawkins, R. E., Cobbold, M., Johnson, D. S. 2020; 38 (5): 609?19

  Abstract

  T cells engineered to express antigen-specific T cell receptors (TCRs) are potent therapies for viral infections and cancer. However, efficient identification of clinical candidate TCRs is complicated by the size and complexity of T cell repertoires and the challenges of working with primary T cells. Here we present a high-throughput method to identify TCRs with high functional avidity from diverse human T cell repertoires. The approach used massively parallel microfluidics to generate libraries of natively paired, full-length TCR?? clones, from millions of primary T cells, which were then expressed in Jurkat cells. The TCR??-Jurkat libraries enabled repeated screening and panning for antigen-reactive TCRs using peptide major histocompatibility complex binding and cellular activation. We captured more than 2.9 million natively paired TCR?? clonotypes from six healthy human donors and identified rare (<0.001% frequency) viral-antigen-reactive TCRs. We also mined a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte sample from a patient with melanoma and identified several tumor-specific TCRs, which, after expression in primary T cells, led to tumor cell killing.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41587-020-0438-y

  View details for PubMedID 32393905

• Microtransplantation in Older Patients with AML: A Pilot Study of Safety, Efficacy and Immunologic Effects. American journal of hematology Sung, A. D., Jauhari, S., Siamakpour-Reihani, S., Rao, A. V., Staats, J., Chan, C., Meyer, E., Gadi, V. K., Nixon, A. B., Lyu, J., Xie, J., Bohannon, L., Li, Z., Hourigan, C. S., Dillon, L. W., Wong, H. Y., Shelby, R., Diehl, L., deCastro, C., LeBlanc, T., Brander, D., Erba, H., Galal, A., Stefanovic, A., Chao, N., Rizzieri, D. A. 2020

  Abstract

  Older AML patients have low remission rates and poor survival outcomes with standard chemotherapy. Microtransplantation (MST) refers to infusion of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells without substantial engraftment. MST has been shown to improve clinical outcomes compared with chemotherapy alone. This is the first trial reporting on broad correlative studies to define immunologic mechanisms of action of MST in older AML patients. Older patients with newly diagnosed AML were eligible for enrollment, receiving induction chemotherapy with cytarabine and idarubicin (7+3). MST was administered 24 hours later. Patients with CR were eligible for consolidation with high dose cytarabine and a second cycle of MST. Responses were evaluated according to standard criteria per NCCN. Immune correlative studies were performed. Sixteen patients were enrolled and received 7+3 and MST (median age 73?years). Nine (56%) had high-risk and seven (44%) had standard-risk cytogenetics. Ten episodes of CRS were observed. No cases of GVHD or treatment-related mortality were reported. EFS was 50% at 6 months and 19% at 1 year. OS was 63% at 6 months and 44% at 1 year. Donor microchimerism was not detected. Longitudinal changes were noted in NGS, TCR sequencing, and cytokine assays. Addition of MST to induction and consolidation chemotherapy was well tolerated in older AML patients. Inferior survival outcomes in our study may be attributed to a higher proportion of very elderly patients with high-risk features. Potential immunologic mechanisms of activity of MST include attenuation of inflammatory cytokines and emergence of tumor-specific T cell clones. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/ajh.25781

  View details for PubMedID 32162718

• Editorial: NKT Cells in Cancer Immunotherapy. Frontiers in immunology Webb, T. J., Yuan, W., Meyer, E., Dellabona, P. 2020; 11: 1314

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01314

  View details for PubMedID 32655576

• Mixed chimerism and acceptance of kidney transplants after immunosuppressive drug withdrawal. Science translational medicine Busque, S., Scandling, J. D., Lowsky, R., Shizuru, J., Jensen, K., Waters, J., Wu, H. H., Sheehan, K., Shori, A., Choi, O., Pham, T., Fernandez Vina, M. A., Hoppe, R., Tamaresis, J., Lavori, P., Engleman, E. G., Meyer, E., Strober, S. 2020; 12 (528)

  Abstract

  Preclinical studies have shown that persistent mixed chimerism is linked to acceptance of organ allografts without immunosuppressive (IS) drugs. Mixed chimerism refers to continued mixing of donor and recipient hematopoietic cells in recipient tissues after transplantation of donor cells. To determine whether persistent mixed chimerism and tolerance can be established in patients undergoing living donor kidney transplantation, we infused allograft recipients with donor T cells and hematopoietic progenitors after posttransplant lymphoid irradiation. In 24 of 29 fully human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched patients who had persistent mixed chimerism for at least 6 months, complete IS drug withdrawal was achieved without subsequent evidence of rejection for at least 2 years. In 10 of 22 HLA haplotype-matched patients with persistent mixed chimerism for at least 12 months, reduction of IS drugs to tacrolimus monotherapy was achieved. Withdrawal of tacrolimus during the second year resulted in loss of detectable chimerism and subsequent rejection episodes, unless tacrolimus therapy was reinstituted. Posttransplant immune reconstitution of naïve B cells and B cell precursors was more rapid than the reconstitution of naïve T cells and thymic T cell precursors. Robust chimerism was observed only among naïve T and B cells but not among memory T cells. No evidence of rejection was observed in all surveillance graft biopsies obtained from mixed chimeric patients withdrawn from IS drugs, and none developed graft-versus-host disease. In conclusion, persistent mixed chimerism established in fully HLA- or haplotype-matched patients allowed for complete or partial IS drug withdrawal without rejection.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/scitranslmed.aax8863

  View details for PubMedID 31996467

• A novel antibody-cell conjugation method to enhance and characterize cytokine-induced killer cells. Cytotherapy Frank, M. J., Olsson, N., Huang, A., Tang, S. W., Negrin, R. S., Elias, J. E., Meyer, E. H. 2020; 22 (3): 135?43

  Abstract

  Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are an ex vivo-expanded cellular therapy product with potent anti-tumor activity in a subset of patients with solid and hematologic malignancies. We hypothesize that directing CIK cells to a specific tumor antigen will enhance CIK cell anti-tumor cytotoxicity.We present a newly developed method for affixing antibodies directly to cell surface proteins. First, we evaluated the anti-tumor potential of CIK cells after affixing tumor-antigen targeting monoclonal antibodies. Second, we evaluated whether this antibody-conjugation method can profile the surface proteome of CIK cells.We demonstrated that affixing rituximab or daratumumab to CIK cells enhances cytotoxic killing of multiple lymphoma cell lines in vitro. These 'armed' CIK cells exhibited enhanced intracellular signaling after engaging tumor targets. Cell surface proteome profiling suggested mechanisms by which antibody-armed CIK cells concurrently activated multiple surface proteins, leading to enhanced cytolytic activity. Our surface proteome analysis indicated that CIK cells display enhanced protein signatures indicative of immune responses, cellular activation and leukocyte migration.Here, we characterize the cell surface proteome of CIK cells using a novel methodology that can be rapidly applied to other cell types. Our study also demonstrates that without genetic modification CIK cells can be rapidly armed with monoclonal antibodies, which endows them with high specificity to kill tumor targets.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jcyt.2020.01.003

  View details for PubMedID 32171435

• Clonal Evolution and Changes in Two AML Patients Detected with A Novel Single-Cell DNA Sequencing Platform. Scientific reports Xu, L., Durruthy-Durruthy, R., Eastburn, D. J., Pellegrino, M., Shah, O., Meyer, E., Zehnder, J. 2019; 9 (1): 11119

  Abstract

  Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is used to detect gene variants in genetically complex cell populations of cancer patient samples. Traditional bulk analysis can only provide average variant allele frequencies of the targeted genes across all sampled cells. It fails to resolve mutational co-occurrences and may miss rare cancer cells. Genome analysis at the single cell level offers the opportunity to more fully resolve clonal architecture. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were sampled from acute myeloid leukemia patients longitudinally and single-cell DNA sequencing libraries were generated with a novel droplet-based microfluidics approach. Molecular profiling of single nucleotide variants across thousands of cells revealed genetic chimerism in patients after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Importantly, hierarchical clustering analysis of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) uncovered a distinct oncogenic clone of cells carrying mutated tumor-suppressor and/or oncogene(s). This novel single-cell DNA sequencing approach enabled precise monitoring of engraftment and revealed clonal evolution of oncogenic cells during the progression and treatment of the disease.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-47297-z

  View details for PubMedID 31366893

• Comprehensive Immune Monitoring of Clinical Trials to Advance Human Immunotherapy. Cell reports Hartmann, F. J., Babdor, J., Gherardini, P. F., Amir, E. D., Jones, K., Sahaf, B., Marquez, D. M., Krutzik, P., O'Donnell, E., Sigal, N., Maecker, H. T., Meyer, E., Spitzer, M. H., Bendall, S. C. 2019; 28 (3): 819

  Abstract

  The success of immunotherapy has led to a myriad of clinical trials accompanied by efforts to gain mechanistic insight and identify predictive signatures for personalization. However, many immune monitoring technologies face investigator bias, missing unanticipated cellular responses in limited clinical material. We present here a mass cytometry (CyTOF) workflow for standardized, systems-level biomarker discovery in immunotherapy trials. To broadly enumerate immune cell identity and activity, we established and extensively assessed a reference panel of 33 antibodies to cover major cell subsets, simultaneously quantifying activation and immune checkpoint molecules in a single assay. This assay enumerates ?98% of peripheral immune cells with ?4 positively identifying antigens. Robustness and reproducibility are demonstrated on multiple samples types, across two research centers and by orthogonal measurements. Using automated analysis, we identify stratifying immune signatures in bone marrow transplantation-associated graft-versus-host disease. Together, this validated workflow ensures comprehensive immunophenotypic analysis and data comparability and will accelerate biomarker discovery.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.06.049

  View details for PubMedID 31315057

• Donor-Derived Cytokine-Induced Killer Cell Infusion as Consolidation after Nonmyeloablative Allogeneic Transplantation for Myeloid Neoplasms BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Narayan, R., Benjamin, J. E., Shah, O., Tian, L., Tate, K., Armstrong, R., Xie, B. J., Lowsky, R., Laport, G., Negrin, R. S., Meyer, E. H. 2019; 25 (7): 1293?1303

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbmt.2019.03.027

  View details for Web of Science ID 000477092400003

• Transplantation of donor grafts with defined ratio of conventional and regulatory T cells in HLA-matched recipients JCI INSIGHT Meyer, E. H., Laport, G., Xie, B. J., MacDonald, K., Heydari, K., Sahaf, B., Tang, S., Baker, J., Armstrong, R., Tate, K., Tadisco, C., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Lowsky, R., Muffly, L., Rezvani, A. R., Shizuru, J., Weng, W., Sheehan, K., Miklos, D., Negrin, R. S. 2019; 4 (10)

  View details for DOI 10.1172/jci.insight.127244

  View details for Web of Science ID 000468146300016

• Acute myeloid leukemia immunopeptidome reveals HLA presentation of mutated nucleophosmin. PloS one Narayan, R., Olsson, N., Wagar, L. E., Medeiros, B. C., Meyer, E., Czerwinski, D., Khodadoust, M. S., Zhang, L., Schultz, L., Davis, M. M., Elias, J. E., Levy, R. 2019; 14 (7): e0219547

  Abstract

  Somatic mutations in cancer are a potential source of cancer specific neoantigens. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has common recurrent mutations shared between patients in addition to private mutations specific to individuals. We hypothesized that neoantigens derived from recurrent shared mutations would be attractive targets for future immunotherapeutic approaches. Here we sought to study the HLA Class I and II immunopeptidome of thirteen primary AML tumor samples and two AML cell lines (OCI-AML3 and MV4-11) using mass spectrometry to evaluate for endogenous mutation-bearing HLA ligands from common shared AML mutations. We identified two endogenous, mutation-bearing HLA Class I ligands from nucleophosmin (NPM1). The ligands, AVEEVSLRK from two patient samples and C(cys)LAVEEVSL from OCI-AML3, are predicted to bind the common HLA haplotypes, HLA-A*03:01 and HLA-A*02:01 respectively. Since NPM1 is mutated in approximately one-third of patients with AML, the finding of endogenous HLA ligands from mutated NPM1 supports future studies evaluating immunotherapeutic approaches against this shared target, for this subset of patients with AML.

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0219547

  View details for PubMedID 31291378

• Blockade of TIM-1 on the donor graft ameliorates graft-versus-host disease following hematopoietic cell transplantation. Blood advances Iliopoulou, B. P., Hsu, K., Pérez-Cruz, M., Tang, S. W., Pang, W. W., Erkers, T., Kambham, N., Freeman, G. J., Dekruyff, R. H., Meyer, E. H. 2019; 3 (21): 3419?31

  Abstract

  Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a leading cause of mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) mediated by dysregulated T-cell immune reconstitution. Given the role of the T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin 1 (TIM-1) surface protein in many immune processes, including organ transplantation tolerance, we asked if TIM-1 might drive post-transplant inflammation and acute GVHD. TIM-1 binds to phosphatidylserine (PtdSer), and agonism of TIM1 on immune cells is proinflammatory. HCT conditioning results in a significant supply of PtdSer from apoptosis and cellular debris. Using murine models, treatment with an antagonistic anti-TIM-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) protects against acute GVHD while maintaining graft-versus-tumor effects. In contrast, the addition of exogenous free PtdSer worsened GVHD in a TIM-1-dependent manner. Importantly, TIM-1 blockade did not alter the expansion of donor T cells in vitro or in vivo. Instead, TIM-1 blockade reduces proinflammatory cytokines and promotes anti-inflammatory factors like carbonic anhydrase 1 and serum amyloid A1 in the gut tissue. This is mediated by TIM-1 on donor cells, as HCT of wild-type (WT) bone marrow (BM) and conventional T (Tcon) cells into TIM-1-/- knockout (KO) recipient mice showed little survival advantage compared with WT recipients, whereas WT recipients of TIM-1-/- KO Tcon cells or TIM1-/- KO BM had improved survival, in part due to the expression of TIM-1 on donor invariant natural killer T cells, which drives inflammation. Finally, in a humanized mouse xenograft GVHD model, treatment with anti-human TIM-1 antagonist mAb reduced GVHD disease burden and mortality. This supports TIM-1 as important for GVHD pathogenesis and as a target for the prevention of GVHD.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000286

  View details for PubMedID 31714958

• Nonmyeloablative TLI-ATG conditioning for allogeneic transplantation: mature follow-up from a large single-center cohort. Blood advances Spinner, M. A., Kennedy, V. E., Tamaresis, J. S., Lavori, P. W., Arai, S., Johnston, L. J., Meyer, E. H., Miklos, D. B., Muffly, L. S., Negrin, R. S., Rezvani, A. R., Shizuru, J. A., Weng, W. K., Hoppe, R. T., Strober, S., Lowsky, R. 2019; 3 (16): 2454?64

  Abstract

  Nonmyeloablative total lymphoid irradiation and antithymocyte globulin (TLI-ATG) conditioning is protective against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), while retaining graft-versus-tumor activity across various hematologic malignancies. We report our comprehensive experience using TLI-ATG conditioning in 612 patients with hematologic malignancies who underwent allogeneic transplantation at Stanford University from 2001 to 2016. All patients received granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized peripheral blood grafts and cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil for GVHD prophylaxis. The median age was 60 years (range, 21-78), with a median follow-up of 6.0 years (range, 1.0-16.4). Common diagnoses included acute myeloid leukemia (AML; n = 193), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS; n = 94), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL; n = 80), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL; n = 175), and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL; n = 35). Thirty-four percent of patients had a comorbidity index ?3, 30% had a high to very high disease risk index, and 56% received unrelated donor grafts, including 15% with HLA-mismatched donors. Ninety-eight percent underwent transplant in the outpatient setting, and 57% were never hospitalized from days 0 through 100. The 1-year rates of nonrelapse mortality (NRM), grade II-IV acute GVHD, and extensive chronic GVHD were 9%, 14%, and 22%, respectively. The 4-year estimates for overall and progression-free survival were 42% and 32% for AML, 30% and 21% for MDS, 67% and 43% for CLL, 68% and 45% for NHL, and 78% and 49% for HL. Mixed chimerism correlated with the risk of relapse. TLI-ATG conditioning was well tolerated, with low rates of GVHD and NRM. Durable remissions were observed across hematologic malignancies, with particularly favorable outcomes for heavily pretreated lymphomas. Several efforts are underway to augment donor chimerism and reduce relapse rates while maintaining the favorable safety and tolerability profile of this regimen.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000297

  View details for PubMedID 31427277

• Optimization and characterization of calcium phosphate transfection in mesenchymal stem cells. Tissue engineering. Part C, Methods Lo, C. W., Lin, T. H., Ueno, M., Romero-Lopez, M., Maruyama, M., Kohno, Y., Rhee, C., Yao, Z., Pérez-Cruz, M., Meyer, E., Goodman, S. B. 2019

  Abstract

  Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used as a therapy to modulate diverse biological processes. To fulfill the requirements for different MSC therapies, safe and effective gene transfer methods for MSCs are critical. Calcium phosphate transfection is an inexpensive and well-described method without discernible biosafety issues; however, an optimal protocol has not been developed for MSCs. In this report, we optimized the protocol of calcium phosphate transfection for murine MSCs, and compared this protocol with other gene transfer methods in different strains of mice and in human cells. We found that transfection efficiency and cell viability showed an inverse relationship depending on serum concentration during the process of calcium phosphate transfection, in which 2% serum was chosen in the optimized protocol. The optimized protocol of calcium phosphate transfection showed a fine balance between efficiency (about 70-80%) and viability (doubling original cell number) compared to other methods. Human MSCs were more resistant to this protocol (about 30% efficiency) compared with murine MSCs. Moreover, MSC potential for osteogenesis, adipogenesis, and chondrogenesis was not affected by calcium phosphate transfection. Finally, MSCs transfected with the luciferase gene were injected into the murine distal femoral bone marrow cavity to monitor gene expression overtime in vivo. MSCs in the bone marrow environment showed extended expression of the luciferase that was transfected by calcium phosphate. This report provides an optimized protocol for calcium phosphate transfection for murine MSCs and characterizes gene over-expression in MSCs in the in vitro and in vivo environments.

  View details for DOI 10.1089/ten.TEC.2019.0147

  View details for PubMedID 31441373

• Transplantation of donor grafts with defined ratio of conventional and regulatory T cells in HLA-matched recipients. JCI insight Meyer, E. H., Laport, G., Xie, B. J., MacDonald, K., Heydari, K., Sahaf, B., Tang, S. W., Baker, J., Armstrong, R., Tate, K., Tadisco, C., Arai, S., Johnston, L., Lowsky, R., Muffly, L., Rezvani, A. R., Shizuru, J., Weng, W. K., Sheehan, K., Miklos, D., Negrin, R. S. 2019; 4 (10)

  Abstract

  BACKGROUNDIn preclinical murine and early clinical studies of hematopoietic cell transplantation, engineering of donor grafts with defined ratios of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Tregs to conventional T cells (Tcons) results in the prevention of graft-versus-host disease and improved immune reconstitution. The use of highly purified primary graft Tregs for direct cell infusion has potential advantages over impure immunomagnetic selection or culture expansion, but has not been tested clinically. We performed a phase I study of the timed addition of CD34-selected hematopoietic stem cells and Tregs, followed by Tcons for the treatment of patients with high-risk hematological malignancies.METHODSWe present interim evaluation of a single-center open phase I/II study of administration of human leukocyte-matched Tregs and CD34-selected hematopoietic cells, followed by infusion of an equal ratio of Tcons in adult patients undergoing myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) for high-risk or active hematological malignancies. Tregs were purified by immunomagnetic selection and high-speed cell sorting.RESULTSHere we report results for the first 12 patients who received Tregs of between 91% and 96% purity. Greater than grade II GVHD was noted in 2 patients in the first cohort of 5 patients, who received cryopreserved Tregs, but neither acute nor chronic GVHD was noted in the second cohort of 7 patients, who received fresh Tregs and single-agent GVHD prophylaxis. Patients in the second cohort appeared to have normal immune reconstitution compared with patients who underwent transplantation and did not develop GVHD.CONCLUSIONOur study shows that the use of highly purified fresh Tregs is clinically feasible and supports continued investigation of the strategy.TRIAL REGISTRATIONClinicalTrials.gov NCT01660607.FUNDINGNIH NHBLI R01 HL114591 and K08HL119590.

  View details for PubMedID 31092732

• Donor-derived CIK Cell Infusion as Consolidation after Non-myeloablative Allogeneic Transplant for Myeloid Neoplasms. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Narayan, R., Benjamin, J. E., Shah, O., Tian, L., Tate, K., Armstrong, R., Xie, B., Lowsky, R., Laport, G., Negrin, R. S., Meyer, E. H. 2019

  Abstract

  Non-myeloablative conditioning, such as with total lymphoid irradiation and anti-thymocyte globulin (TLI-ATG), has allowed hematopoietic allotransplantation with curative potential for older patients and those with comorbid medical conditions with myeloid neoplasms. However, early achievement of full donor chimerism (FDC) and relapse remain challenges. Cytokine induced killer (CIK) cells have been shown to have anti-tumor cytotoxicity. Infusion of donor-derived CIK cells has been studied for hematologic malignancies relapsed after allotransplant but has not been evaluated as post-transplant consolidation. In this phase II study, we prospectively studied whether a one-time infusion of 1?×?108/kg CD3+ donor-derived CIK cells administered between Days +21-35 after TLI-ATG conditioning, could improve FDC achievement by Day +90 and 2-year clinical outcomes in patients with myeloid neoplasms. CIK cells were infused in 31 of 44 patients treated on study and contained predominantly CD3+CD8+NKG2D+ cells along with significantly expanded CD3+CD56+ cells. Outcomes were compared to a retrospective historical cohort of 100 patients. We found that this one-time CIK infusion did not increase the rate of FDC by Day +90. On an intention-to-treat analysis, 2-year non-relapse mortality (6.8%, 95%CI: 0-14.5%), event-free survival (27.3%, 95%CI: 16.8-44.2%), and overall survival (50.6%, 95%CI: 37.5-68.2%) were similar to our historical cohort. Cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute graft versus host disease at 1-year was 25.1% (95%CI: 12-38.2%). On univariate analysis, the presence of monosomal or complex karyotype was adversely associated with relapse-free and overall survival. Given the favorable safety profile of CIK cell infusion, strategies such as repeat dosing or genetic modification are worth exploration. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01392989).

  View details for PubMedID 30951840

• A Proinflammatory Invariant Natural Killer T Cells Phenotypic State Associates with Human Graft-Versus-Host Disease Onset and Response Erkers, T., Xei, B., Kenyon, L., Rieck, M., Basina, M., Jensen, K., Strober, S., Negrin, R. S., Maecker, H. T., Meyer, E. H. AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. 2018

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2018-99-120358

  View details for Web of Science ID 000454837606099

• Relationship Between Mixed Chimerism and Acceptance of HLA-matched and -Mismatched Kidney Transplants after Withdrawal of Immunosuppressive Drugs Busque, S., Scandling, J., Lowsky, R., Shizuru, J., Jensen, K., Shori, A., Hoppe, R., Engleman, E., Meyer, E., Strober, S. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2018: S393

  View details for Web of Science ID 000444541200630

• ASBMT Practice Guidelines Committee Survey on Long-Term Follow-Up Clinics for Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Survivors BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Hashmi, S. K., Lee, S. J., Savani, B. N., Burns, L., Wingard, J. R., Perales, M., Palmer, J., Chow, E., Meyer, E., Marks, D., Mohty, M., Inamoto, Y., Rodriguez, C., Nagler, A., Sauter, C., Komanduri, K., Pidala, J., Hamadani, M., Johnston, L., Shah, N., Shaughnessy, P., Hamilton, B. K., Majhail, N., Kharfan-Dabaja, M. A., Schriber, J., DeFilipp, Z., Tarlock, K. G., Fanning, S., Curtin, P., Rizzo, J., Carpenter, P. A. 2018; 24 (6): 1119?24

  Abstract

  Significant advances in hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) have increased the long-term survivorship of its recipients, but because of unique complications arising from radiation and chemotherapy, recipients require lifelong follow-up. To evaluate current survivorship or long-term follow-up (LTFU) clinics specifically for HCT survivors and to evaluate the potential barriers in their establishment, the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) Practice Guidelines Committee electronically surveyed 200 HCT programs to gather quantitative and qualitative data about models of care. Among 77 programs (38.5%) that responded, 45% indicated presence of an LTFU clinic; however, LTFU care models varied with respect to services provided, specialist availability, type of patients served, and staffing. Among 55% of programs without an LTFU clinic, 100% agreed that allogeneic HCT survivors have unique needs separate from graft-versus-host disease and that complications could arise during the transition of care either from pediatric to adult settings or away from the HCT center. Lack of expertise, logistics, financial issues, and the observation that 84% of individual practitioners prefer to provide survivorship care were the identified obstacles to establishing new LTFU clinics. The ASBMT hopes that policymakers, HCT providers, and institutions will benefit from the results of this survey and recommends that delivering guidelines-driven screening and expert management of late effects is the goal of first-rate HCT survivorship care.

  View details for PubMedID 29608957

• Infusion of donor-derived CD8(+) memory T cells for relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation BLOOD ADVANCES Muffly, L., Sheehan, K., Armstrong, R., Jensen, K., Tate, K., Rezvani, A. R., Miklos, D., Arai, S., Shizuru, J., Johnston, L., Meyer, E., Weng, W., Laport, G. G., Negrin, R. S., Strober, S., Lowsky, R. 2018; 2 (6): 681?90

  Abstract

  Murine models showed that CD8+CD44hi memory T (TM) cells could eradicate malignant cells without inducing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We evaluated the feasibility and safety of infusing freshly isolated and purified donor-derived phenotypic CD8+ TM cells into adults with disease relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Phenotypic CD8 TM cells were isolated after unmobilized donor apheresis using a tandem immunomagnetic selection strategy of CD45RA depletion followed by CD8+ enrichment. Fifteen patients received CD8+ TM cells at escalating doses (1 × 106, 5 × 106, or 10 × 106 cells per kg). Thirteen received cytoreduction before CD8+ TM cell infusion, and 9 had active disease at the time of infusion. Mean yield and purity of the CD8+ TM infusion were 38.1% and 92.8%, respectively; >90% had CD8+ T effector memory phenotype, cytokine expression, and secretion profile. No adverse infusional events or dose-limiting toxicities occurred; GVHD developed in 1 patient (grade 2 liver). Ten patients (67%) maintained or achieved response (7 complete response, 1 partial response, 2 stable disease) for at least 3 months after infusion; 4 of the responders had active disease at the time of infusion. With a median follow-up from infusion of 328 days (range, 118-1328 days), median event-free survival and overall survival were 4.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1-19.3 months) and 19.6 months (95% CI, 5.6 months to not reached), respectively. Collection and enrichment of phenotypic CD8+ TM cells is feasible, well tolerated, and associated with a low incidence of GVHD when administered as a manipulated infusion of donor lymphocytes in patients who have relapsed after HCT. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01523223.

  View details for PubMedID 29572391

• IL-2 Plus IL-15 Leads to Enhanced Ex Vivo Expansion of Human Invariant Natural Killer T Cells Mayers, M., Simonetta, F., Lee, A. W., Hirai, T., Maas-Bauer, K., Alvarez, M., Turkoz, M., Baker, J., Meyer, E., Negrin, R. S. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2018: S166?S167

  View details for Web of Science ID 000425476000220

• Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling Pathway Modulation by Blocking Anti-Repulsive Guidance Molecule B Antibody Promotes Tolerance in Graft-Versus-Host Disease Cruz, M., Hsu, K., Iliopoulou, B. P., Erkers, T., Pang, W., Dekruyff, R. H., Freeman, G. J., Meyer, E. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2018: S324

  View details for Web of Science ID 000425476000469

• Quantifying genetic susceptibility in T1DM-implications for diagnosis after age 30 NATURE REVIEWS ENDOCRINOLOGY Meyer, E., Maahs, D. M. 2018; 14 (3): 134?35

  View details for PubMedID 29422635

• Validation of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Specific Comorbidity Index in Nonmyeloablative Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation BIOLOGY OF BLOOD AND MARROW TRANSPLANTATION Veeraputhiran, M., Yang, L., Sundaram, V., Arai, S., Lowsky, R., Miklos, D., Meyer, E., Muffly, L., Negrin, R., Rezvani, A., Shizuru, J., Weng, W., Johnston, L. 2017; 23 (10): 1744?48

  Abstract

  The Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT)-Specific Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) has been extensively studied in myeloablative and reduced-intensity conditioning regimens, with less data available regarding the validity of HCT-CI in nonmyeloablative (NMA) allogeneic transplantation. We conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate the association between HCT-CI and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) and all-cause mortality (ACM) in patients receiving the total lymphoid irradiation and antithymocyte globulin (TLI/ATG) NMA transplantation preparative regimen. We abstracted demographic and clinical data from consecutive patients, who received allogeneic HCT with the TLI/ATG regimen between January 2008 and September 2014, from the Stanford blood and marrow transplantation database. We conducted univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models to evaluate the association between HCT-CI and NRM and ACM. In all, 287 patients were included for analysis. The median age of the patients was 61 (range, 22 to 77) years. The median overall survival was 844 (range, 374 to 1484) days. Most patients had Karnofsky performance score of 90 or above (85%). Fifty-two (18%) patients relapsed within 3 months and 108 (38%) patients relapsed within 1 year, with a median time to relapse of 163 (range, 83 to 366) days. Among the comorbidities in the HCT-CI identified at the time of HCT, reduced pulmonary function was the most common (n?=?89), followed by prior history of malignancy (n?=?39), psychiatric condition (n?=?38), and diabetes (n?=?31). Patients with higher HCT-CI scores had higher mortality risks for ACM (hazard ratio [HR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22 to 3.14 for HCT-CI score 1 or 2 and HR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.11 to 3.08 for HCT-CI score ??3, compared with 0, respectively). Among individual HCT-CI variables, diabetes (HR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.79 to 2.89; P?=?.003) and prior solid tumors (HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.02 to 3.00; P?=?.043) were associated with a higher risk of ACM. Higher HCT-CI scores were significantly associated with higher risk of death. HCT-CI is a valid tool for predicting ACM in NMA TLI/ATG allogeneic HCT.

  View details for PubMedID 28668491

• Methodologic Considerations in the Application of Next-Generation Sequencing of Human TRB Repertoires for Clinical Use JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS Xu, L., You, X., Zheng, P., Zhang, B. M., Gupta, P. K., Lavori, P., Meyer, E., Zehnder, J. L. 2017; 19 (1): 72-83

  Abstract

  Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of immune receptors has become a standard tool to assess minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients treated for lymphoid malignancy, and it is being used to study the T-cell repertoire in many clinical settings. To better understanding the potential clinical utility and limitations of this application outside of MRD, we developed a BIOMED-2 primer-based NGS method and characterized its performance in controls and patients with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic transplant. For controls and patients with GVHD, replicate sequencing of the same T-cell receptor ? (TRB) libraries was highly reproducible. Higher variability was observed in sequencing of different TRB libraries made from the same DNA stock. Variability was increased in patients with GVHD compared with controls; patients with GVHD also had lower diversity than controls. In the T-cell repertoire of a healthy person, approximately 99.6% of the CDR3 clones were in low abundance, with frequency <10(-3). A single library could identify >93% of the clones with frequency ?10(-3) in the repertoire. Sequencing in duplicate increased the average detection rate to >97%. This work demonstrates that NGS reliably and robustly characterizes TRB populations in healthy individuals and patients with GVHD with frequency ?10(-3) and provides a methodologic framework for applying NGS immune repertoire methods to clinical testing applications beyond MRD.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2016.07.009

  View details for Web of Science ID 000390983100008

• T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptor promote immune tolerance. JCI insight Pierini, A., Iliopoulou, B. P., Peiris, H., Pérez-Cruz, M., Baker, J., Hsu, K., Gu, X., Zheng, P. P., Erkers, T., Tang, S. W., Strober, W., Alvarez, M., Ring, A., Velardi, A., Negrin, R. S., Kim, S. K., Meyer, E. H. 2017; 2 (20)

  Abstract

  Cellular therapies based on permanent genetic modification of conventional T cells have emerged as a promising strategy for cancer. However, it remains unknown if modification of T cell subsets, such as Tregs, could be useful in other settings, such as allograft transplantation. Here, we use a modular system based on a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that binds covalently modified mAbs to control Treg activation in vivo. Transient expression of this mAb-directed CAR (mAbCAR) in Tregs permitted Treg targeting to specific tissue sites and mitigated allograft responses, such as graft-versus-host disease. mAbCAR Tregs targeted to MHC class I proteins on allografts prolonged islet allograft survival and also prolonged the survival of secondary skin grafts specifically matched to the original islet allograft. Thus, transient genetic modification to produce mAbCAR T cells led to durable immune modulation, suggesting therapeutic targeting strategies for controlling alloreactivity in settings such as organ or tissue transplantation.

  View details for PubMedID 29046484

• HLA-mismatched unrelated donor transplantation using TLI-ATG conditioning has a low risk of GVHD and potent antitumor activity. Blood advances Spinner, M. A., Fernández-Viña, M., Creary, L. E., Quinn, O., Elder, L., Arai, S., Johnston, L. J., Meyer, E. H., Miklos, D. B., Muffly, L. S., Negrin, R. S., Shizuru, J. A., Weng, W. K., Laport, G. G., Strober, S., Lowsky, R., Rezvani, A. R. 2017; 1 (17): 1347?57

  Abstract

  Many patients lack a fully HLA-matched donor for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), and HLA mismatch is typically associated with inferior outcomes. Total lymphoid irradiation and antithymocyte globulin (TLI-ATG) is a nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen that is protective against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and we hypothesized that the protective effect would extend beyond HLA-matched donors. We report outcomes for all consecutively transplanted patients at Stanford University from December 2001 through May 2015 who received TLI-ATG conditioning and HCTs from 8 to 9 out of 10 HLA-mismatched unrelated donors (MMUDs, N = 72) compared with 10 out of 10 HLA-matched unrelated donors (MUDs, N = 193). The median age of the patients was 60 years with a median follow-up of 2 years, and there was a similar distribution of lymphoid and myeloid malignancies in both cohorts. There were no significant differences between MMUD and MUD cohorts in overall survival (46% vs 46% at 5 years, P = .86), disease-free survival (38% vs 28% at 5 years, P = .25), nonrelapse mortality (17% vs 12% at 2 years, P = .34), acute GVHD grades III-IV (6% vs 3% at day +100, P = .61), or chronic GVHD (39% vs 35% at 5 years, P = .49). There was a trend toward less relapse in the MMUD cohort (45% vs 60% at 5 years, hazard ratio: 0.71, P = .094), which was significant for patients with lymphoid malignancies (29% vs 57% at 5 years, hazard ratio: 0.55, P = .044). Achieving full donor chimerism was strongly associated with lower relapse rates. TLI-ATG conditioning may overcome the traditionally poorer outcome associated with HLA-mismatched donors and may be particularly well suited for patients with lymphoid malignancies who lack HLA-matched donors.

  View details for PubMedID 29296777

• TNF-a priming enhances CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T-cell suppressive function in murine GVHD prevention and treatment. Blood Pierini, A., Strober, W., Moffett, C., Baker, J., Nishikii, H., Alvarez, M., Pan, Y., Schneidawind, D., Meyer, E., Negrin, R. S. 2016; 128 (6): 866-871

  Abstract

  CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been shown to effectively prevent graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) when adoptively transferred in murine models of hematopoietic cell transplantation and in phase 1/2 clinical trials. Critical limitations to Treg clinical application are the paucity of cells and limited knowledge of the mechanisms of in vivo function. We hypothesized that inflammatory conditions in GVHD modify Treg characteristics and activity. We found that peripheral blood of recipient animals during acute GVHD (aGVHD) induces Treg activation and enhances their function. The serum contains high levels of tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?) that selectively activates Tregs without impacting CD4(+)FoxP3(-) T cells. TNF-? priming induces Treg in vivo proliferation, whereas it limits the ability of CD4 and CD8 conventional T cells (Tcons) to proliferate and induce GVHD. TNF-?-primed Tregs prolong animal survival as compared with unprimed Tregs when used at an unfavorable Treg:Tcon ratio, demonstrating enhanced in vivo efficacy of TNF-?-primed Tregs. Because TNF-? is produced by several immune cells during inflammation, our work elucidates aspects of the physiologic mechanisms of Treg function. Furthermore, TNF-? priming of Tregs provides a new tool to optimize Treg cellular therapies for GVHD prevention and treatment.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2016-04-711275

  View details for PubMedID 27365424

• Freeze and Thaw of CD4(+) CD25(+) Foxp3(+) Regulatory T Cells Results in Loss of CD62L Expression and a Reduced Capacity to Protect against Graft-versus-Host Disease PLOS ONE Florek, M., Schneidawind, D., Pierini, A., Baker, J., Armstrong, R., Pan, Y., Leveson-Gower, D., Negrin, R., Meyer, E. 2015; 10 (12)

  Abstract

  The adoptive transfer of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in murine models of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has been shown to protect recipient mice from lethal acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and this approach is being actively investigated in human clinical trials. Here, we examined the effects of cryopreservation on Tregs. We found that freeze and thaw of murine and human Tregs is associated with reduced expression of L-selectin (CD62L), which was previously established to be an important factor that contributes to the in vivo protective effects of Tregs. Frozen and thawed murine Tregs showed a reduced capacity to bind to the CD62L binding partner MADCAM1 in vitro as well as an impaired homing to secondary lymphoid organs in vivo. Upon adoptive transfer frozen and thawed Tregs failed to protect against lethal GVHD compared with fresh Tregs in a murine model of allogeneic HCT across major histocompatibility barriers. In summary, the direct administration of adoptively transferred frozen and thawed Tregs adversely affects their immunosuppressive potential which is an important factor to consider in the clinical implementation of Treg immunotherapies.

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0145763

  View details for PubMedID 26693907

• Risks and benefits of sex-mismatched hematopoietic cell transplantation differ according to conditioning strategy. Haematologica Nakasone, H., Remberger, M., Tian, L., Brodin, P., Sahaf, B., Wu, F., Mattsson, J., Lowsky, R., Negrin, R., Miklos, D. B., Meyer, E. 2015; 100 (11): 1477-1485

  Abstract

  Sex-mismatched hematopoietic cell transplantation is linked to increased graft-versus-host disease and mortality in myeloablative conditioning. Here we evaluated outcomes of 1,041 adult transplant recipients at two centers between 2006 and 2013 and investigated how the effect of sex-mismatching differed in myeloablative, reduced-intensity, and non-myeloablative total lymphoid irradiation with anti-thymocyte globulin conditioning. Among patients who underwent myeloablative conditioning, male recipients with female donors had increased chronic graft-versus-host disease (hazard ratio 1.83, P<0.01), increased non-relapse mortality (hazard ratio 1.84, P=0.022) and inferior overall survival (hazard ratio 1.59, P=0.018). In contrast, among patients who received reduced-intensity conditioning, male recipients with female donors had increased acute graft-versus-host disease (hazard ratio 1.96, P<0.01) but no difference in non-relapse mortality or overall survival. Among the patients who underwent total lymphoid irradiation with anti-thymocyte globulin, male recipients with female donors showed no increase in graft-versus-host disease or non-relapse mortality. Notably, only in the cohort receiving total lymphoid irradiation with anti-thymocyte globulin were male recipients with female donors significantly associated with reduced relapse (hazard ratio 0.64, P<0.01), and allo-antibody responses against H-Y antigens were predictive of reduced relapse. In the cohort given total lymphoid irradiation with anti-thymocyte globulin, the graft-versus-leukemia effect resulted in superior overall survival in recipients of sex-mismatched grafts (HR 0.69, P=0.037). In addition, only in the cohort treated with total lymphoid irradiation with anti-thymocyte globulin were female recipients with male donors associated with reduced relapse (hazard ratio 0.59, P<0.01) and superior survival (hazard ratio 0.61, P=0.014) compared with sex-matched pairs. We conclude that the risks and benefits of sex-mismatched transplants appear to differ according to conditioning strategy and this could affect donor selection.

  View details for DOI 10.3324/haematol.2015.125294

  View details for PubMedID 26250581

• Third-party CD4(+) invariant natural killer T cells protect from murine GVHD lethality BLOOD Schneidawind, D., Baker, J., Pierini, A., Buechele, C., Luong, R. H., Meyer, E. H., Negrin, R. S. 2015; 125 (22): 3491-3500

  Abstract

  Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is driven by extensive activation and proliferation of alloreactive donor T cells causing significant morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a potent immunoregulatory T-cell subset in both humans and mice. Here, we explored the role of adoptively transferred third party CD4(+) iNKT cells for protection from lethal GVHD in a murine model of allogeneic HCT across major histocompatibility barriers. We found that low numbers of CD4(+) iNKT cells from third party mice resulted in a significant survival benefit with retained graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effects. In vivo expansion of alloreactive T cells was diminished while displaying a Th2-biased phenotype. Notably, CD4(+) iNKT cells from third party mice were as protective as CD4(+) iNKT cells from donor mice although third party CD4(+) iNKT cells were rejected early after allogeneic HCT. Adoptive transfer of third party CD4(+) iNKT cells resulted in a robust expansion of donor CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) that were required for protection from lethal GVHD. However, in vivo depletion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) abrogated both Treg expansion and protection from lethal GVHD. Despite the fact that iNKT cells are a rare cell population, the almost unlimited third party availability and feasibility of in vitro expansion provide the basis for clinical translation.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2014-11-612762

  View details for PubMedID 25795920

• CMV after transplant: T-cell repertoire crooks. Blood Meyer, E. 2015; 125 (25): 3827?28

  View details for PubMedID 26089376

• CD4+ invariant natural killer T cells protect from murine GVHD lethality through expansion of donor CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells. Blood Schneidawind, D., Pierini, A., Alvarez, M., Pan, Y., Baker, J., Buechele, C., Luong, R. H., Meyer, E. H., Negrin, R. S. 2014; 124 (22): 3320-3328

  Abstract

  Dysregulated donor T cells lead to destruction of host tissues resulting in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We investigated the impact of highly purified (>95%) donor CD4(+) invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells on GVHD in a murine model of allogeneic HCT. We found that low doses of adoptively transferred donor CD4(+) iNKT cells protect from GVHD morbidity and mortality through an expansion of donor CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg). These Treg express high levels of the Ikaros transcription factor Helios and expand from the Treg pool of the donor graft. Furthermore, CD4(+) iNKT cells preserve T cell-mediated graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effects. Our studies reveal new aspects of the cellular interplay between iNKT cells and Treg in the context of tolerance induction after allogeneic HCT and set the stage for clinical translation.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2014-05-576017

  View details for PubMedID 25293774

• Autologous apoptotic cells preceding transplantation enhance survival in lethal murine graft-versus-host models BLOOD Florek, M., Sega, E. I., Leveson-Gower, D. B., Baker, J., Mueller, A. M., Schneidawind, D., Meyer, E., Negrin, R. S. 2014; 124 (11): 1832-1842

  Abstract

  Acute GVHD is induced by allo-reactivity of donor T cells towards host antigens presented on antigen presenting cells (APCs). Apoptotic cells are capable of inducing tolerance by altering APC maturation. Apoptosis can be induced by extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP). We demonstrate that the use of ECP as a prophylaxis prior to conditioning significantly improves survival (p<0.0001) after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) by inhibiting the initiation phase of acute GVHD in a murine BMT model. ECP-treated autologous splenocytes resulted in immune tolerance in the host, including reduced dendritic cell activation with decreased NF-?B engagement, increased regulatory T cell numbers (Treg) with enhanced expression of CTLA4, potentiating their suppressive function. The protective effect required host-production of IL-10 and host Tregs. Conventional T cells that entered this tolerant environment experienced reduced proliferation, as well as a reduction of tissue homing and expression of activation markers. The induction of this tolerant state by ECP was obviated by co-treatment with LPS, suggesting that the inflammatory state of the recipient prior to treatment would play a role in potential clinical translation. The use of prophylactic ECP may provide an alternative and safe method for immunosuppression in the bone marrow transplant setting.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2014-02-555128

  View details for Web of Science ID 000342762600019

• Memory regulatory T cells reside in human skin JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION Rodriguez, R. S., Pauli, M. L., Neuhaus, I. M., Yu, S. S., Arron, S. T., Harris, H. W., Yang, S. H., Anthony, B. A., Sverdrup, F. M., Krow-Lucal, E., MacKenzie, T. C., Johnson, D. S., Meyer, E. H., Loehr, A., Hsu, A., Koo, J., Liao, W., Gupta, R., Debbaneh, M. G., Butler, D., Huynh, M., Levin, E. C., Leon, A., Hoffman, W. Y., McGrath, M. H., Alvarado, M. D., Ludwig, C. H., Truong, H., Maurano, M. M., Gratz, I. K., Abbas, A. K., Rosenblum, M. D. 2014; 124 (3): 1027-1036

  View details for DOI 10.1172/JCI72932

  View details for Web of Science ID 000332347700023

• CD4+ invariant natural killer T cells protect from murine GVHD lethality through expansion of donor CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells BLOOD Schneidawind, D., Pierini, A., Alvarez, M., Pan, Y., Baker, J., Buechele, C., Luong, R. H., Meyer, E. H., Negrin, R. S. 2014

  Abstract

  Dysregulated donor T cells lead to destruction of host tissues resulting in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We investigated the impact of highly purified (>95%) donor CD4(+) invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells on GVHD in a murine model of allogeneic HCT. We found that low doses of adoptively transferred donor CD4(+) iNKT cells protect from GVHD morbidity and mortality through an expansion of donor CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg). These Treg express high levels of the Ikaros transcription factor Helios and expand from the Treg pool of the donor graft. Furthermore, CD4(+) iNKT cells preserve T cell-mediated graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effects. Our studies reveal new aspects of the cellular interplay between iNKT cells and Treg in the context of tolerance induction after allogeneic HCT and set the stage for clinical translation.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2014-05-576017

• Transplanted terminally differentiated induced pluripotent stem cells are accepted by immune mechanisms similar to self-tolerance. Nature communications de Almeida, P. E., Meyer, E. H., Kooreman, N. G., Diecke, S., Dey, D., Sanchez-Freire, V., Hu, S., Ebert, A., Odegaard, J., Mordwinkin, N. M., Brouwer, T. P., Lo, D., Montoro, D. T., Longaker, M. T., Negrin, R. S., Wu, J. C. 2014; 5: 3903-?

  Abstract

  The exact nature of the immune response elicited by autologous-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) progeny is still not well understood. Here we show in murine models that autologous iPSC-derived endothelial cells (iECs) elicit an immune response that resembles the one against a comparable somatic cell, the aortic endothelial cell (AEC). These cells exhibit long-term survival in vivo and prompt a tolerogenic immune response characterized by elevated IL-10 expression. In contrast, undifferentiated iPSCs elicit a very different immune response with high lymphocytic infiltration and elevated IFN-?, granzyme-B and perforin intragraft. Furthermore, the clonal structure of infiltrating T cells from iEC grafts is statistically indistinguishable from that of AECs, but is different from that of undifferentiated iPSC grafts. Taken together, our results indicate that the differentiation of iPSCs results in a loss of immunogenicity and leads to the induction of tolerance, despite expected antigen expression differences between iPSC-derived versus original somatic cells.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/ncomms4903

  View details for PubMedID 24875164

• Prevalence of graft versus host disease and cytomegalovirus infection in patients post-haematopoietic cell transplantation presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms. Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics Liu, A., Meyer, E., Johnston, L., Brown, J., Gerson, L. B. 2013; 38 (8): 955-966

  Abstract

  There is lack of consensus regarding whether both upper and lower endoscopic examinations are required for diagnosis of gastrointestinal acute graft versus host disease (GI-AGVHD).To evaluate the impact of endoscopic procedures on the diagnosis of GI-AGVHD.We performed a retrospective case-control study of recipients of allogeneic haematopoetic cell transplant (HCT) from 2000 to 2011, who presented with GI symptoms between 20 and 125 days post-HCT. GI-AGVHD status was based on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical grading system.One hundred and twenty-nine clinical GI-AGVHD cases and 184 controls underwent endoscopic examinations. Diarrhoea was present in 73% of cases and 38% of controls (P < 0.0001); 99% of patients with nausea ± vomiting and diarrhoea underwent bidirectional endoscopy. Histology had a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 91% compared to the clinical criteria. The sensitivity for GI-AGVHD was 80% or greater when upper endoscopy (EGD) was performed with either sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy, or if lower endoscopic examinations were performed alone. The sensitivity of EGD alone was only 48% (P = 0.003). Sensitivity was highest with biopsy of the terminal ileum (79%), followed by the ascending (74%), transverse/descending (73%) and sigmoid colons (69%). Diagnostic yield for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection was equivalent for biopsies from both upper and lower GI tracts. Patients found to have concurrent GI-AGVHD and CMV infection (N = 18) had a poorer overall prognosis.In patients post-HCT with GI symptoms, sigmoidoscopy alone had equivalent diagnostic yield for GI-AGVHD and CMV infection, compared with the addition of EGD or performance of full colonoscopy.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/apt.12468

  View details for PubMedID 24003975

• A distinct evolution of the T-cell repertoire categorizes treatment refractory gastrointestinal acute graft-versus-host disease. Blood Meyer, E. H., Hsu, A. R., Liliental, J., Löhr, A., Florek, M., Zehnder, J. L., Strober, S., Lavori, P., Miklos, D. B., Johnson, D. S., Negrin, R. S. 2013; 121 (24): 4955-4962

  Abstract

  Steroid refractory gastrointestinal (GI) acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) is a major cause of mortality in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) without immune markers to establish a diagnosis or guide therapy. We found that T cell receptor ? (TCR?) CDR3 repertoire sequencing reveals patterns that could eventually serve as a disease biomarker of T cell alloreactivity in aGVHD. We identified T cell clones in GI biopsies in a heterogeneous group of 15 allogeneic HCT patients with GI aGVHD symptoms. Seven steroid-refractory aGVHD patients showed a more conserved TCR? clonal structure between different biopsy sites in the GI tract than eight primary-therapy responsive patients. Tracking GI clones identified at endoscopy longitudinally in the blood also revealed an increased clonal expansion in patients with steroid-refractory disease. Immune repertoire sequencing-based methods could enable a novel personalized way to guide diagnosis and therapy in diseases where T cell activity is a major determinant.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2013-03-489757

  View details for PubMedID 23652802

• A distinct evolution of the T-cell repertoire categorizes treatment refractory gastrointestinal acute graft-versus-host disease BLOOD Meyer, E. H., Hsu, A. R., Liliental, J., Loehr, A., Florek, M., Zehnder, J. L., Strober, S., Lavori, P., Miklos, D. B., Johnson, D. S., Negrin, R. S. 2013; 121 (24): 4955-4962

  Abstract

  Steroid refractory gastrointestinal (GI) acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) is a major cause of mortality in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) without immune markers to establish a diagnosis or guide therapy. We found that T cell receptor ? (TCR?) CDR3 repertoire sequencing reveals patterns that could eventually serve as a disease biomarker of T cell alloreactivity in aGVHD. We identified T cell clones in GI biopsies in a heterogeneous group of 15 allogeneic HCT patients with GI aGVHD symptoms. Seven steroid-refractory aGVHD patients showed a more conserved TCR? clonal structure between different biopsy sites in the GI tract than eight primary-therapy responsive patients. Tracking GI clones identified at endoscopy longitudinally in the blood also revealed an increased clonal expansion in patients with steroid-refractory disease. Immune repertoire sequencing-based methods could enable a novel personalized way to guide diagnosis and therapy in diseases where T cell activity is a major determinant.

  View details for DOI 10.1182/blood-2013-03-489757

  View details for Web of Science ID 000321896300024

• Apoptotic Cells Activate NKT Cells through T Cell Ig-Like Mucin-Like-1 Resulting in Airway Hyperreactivity JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Lee, H., Meyer, E. H., Goya, S., Pichavant, M., Kim, H. Y., Bu, X., Umetsu, S. E., Jones, J. C., Savage, P. B., Iwakura, Y., Casasnovas, J. M., Kaplan, G., Freeman, G. J., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. 2010; 185 (9): 5225-5235

  Abstract

  T cell Ig-like mucin-like-1 (TIM-1) is an important asthma susceptibility gene, but the immunological mechanisms by which TIM-1 functions remain uncertain. TIM-1 is also a receptor for phosphatidylserine (PtdSer), an important marker of cells undergoing programmed cell death, or apoptosis. We now demonstrate that NKT cells constitutively express TIM-1 and become activated by apoptotic cells expressing PtdSer. TIM-1 recognition of PtdSer induced NKT cell activation, proliferation, and cytokine production. Moreover, the induction of apoptosis in airway epithelial cells activated pulmonary NKT cells and unexpectedly resulted in airway hyperreactivity, a cardinal feature of asthma, in an NKT cell-dependent and TIM-1-dependent fashion. These results suggest that TIM-1 serves as a pattern recognition receptor on NKT cells that senses PtdSer on apoptotic cells as a damage-associated molecular pattern. Furthermore, these results provide evidence for a novel innate pathway that results in airway hyperreactivity and may help to explain how TIM-1 and NKT cells regulate asthma.

  View details for DOI 10.4049/jimmunol.1001116

  View details for Web of Science ID 000283248700036

  View details for PubMedID 20889552

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3114419

• Activation of nonclassical CD1d-restricted NK T cells induces airway hyperreactivity in beta(2)-microglobulin-deficient mice JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Koh, Y. I., Kim, H. Y., Meyer, E. H., Pichavant, M., Akbari, O., Yasumi, T., Savage, P. B., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. 2008; 181 (7): 4560-4569

  Abstract

  Allergic asthma is characterized by Th2-driven eosinophilic airway inflammation and by a central feature called airway hyperreactivity (AHR), development of which requires the presence of classical type I invariant NK T (iNKT) cells. Allergen-induced AHR, however, develops in beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)m)(-/-) mice, which lack classical iNKT cells, suggesting that in some situations iNKT cells may be dispensable for the development of AHR. In contrast, our studies now suggest that a CD1d-restricted, NK1.1(+) noninvariant TCR NKT cell population is present in beta(2)m(-/-) mice and is responsible for the development of AHR but not for Th2 responses. Furthermore, treatment of beta(2)m(-/-) mice with anti-CD1d mAb or anti-NK1.1 mAb unexpectedly abolished allergen-induced AHR. The CD1-restricted NKT cells in these mice, which failed to respond to alpha-galactosylceramide and which therefore were not classical type I iNKT cells, appear to represent an NKT cell subset restricted by a beta(2)m-independent form of CD1d. These results indicate that, although classical type I iNKT cells are normally required for the development of AHR, under different circumstances other NKT cell subsets, including nonclassical NKT cells, may substitute for classical iNKT cells and induce AHR.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000259755700018

  View details for PubMedID 18802058

• ICOS/ICOSL interaction is required for CD4(+) invariant NKT cell function and homeostatic survival JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Akbari, O., Stock, P., Meyer, E. H., Freeman, G. J., Sharpe, A. H., Umetsu, D. T., DeKruyff, R. H. 2008; 180 (8): 5448-5456

  Abstract

  The development of airway hyperreactivity (AHR), a cardinal feature of asthma, requires the presence of invariant NKT (iNKT) cells. In a mouse model of asthma, we demonstrated that the induction of AHR required ICOS costimulation of iNKT cells. ICOS was highly expressed on both naive and activated iNKT cells, and expression of ICOS was greater on the CD4(+) iNKT than on CD4(-) iNKT cells. Furthermore, the number of CD4(+) iNKT cells was significantly lower in spleens and livers of ICOS(-/-) and ICOSL(-/-) mice, and the remaining iNKT cells in ICOS(-/-) mice were dysfunctional and failed to reconstitute AHR when adoptively transferred into iNKT cell-deficient Jalpha18(-/-) mice. In addition, direct activation of iNKT cells with alpha-GalCer, which induced AHR in wild-type mice, failed to induce AHR in ICOS(-/-) mice. The failure of ICOS(-/-) iNKT cells to induce AHR was due in part to an inability of the ICOS(-/-) iNKT cells to produce IL-4 and IL-13 on activation. Moreover, survival of wild-type iNKT cells transferred into ICOSL(-/-) mice was greatly reduced due to the induction of apoptosis. These results indicate that ICOS costimulation plays a major role in induction of AHR by iNKT cells and is required for CD4(+) iNKT cell function, homeostasis, and survival in the periphery.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000257506900033

  View details for PubMedID 18390727

• Ozone exposure in a mouse model induces airway hyperreactivity that requires the presence of natural killer T cells and IL-17 JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE Pichavant, M., Goya, S., Meyer, E. H., Johnston, R. A., Kim, H. Y., Matangkasombut, P., Zhu, M., Iwakura, Y., Savage, P. B., DeKruyff, R. H., Shore, S. A., Umetsu, D. T. 2008; 205 (2): 385-393

  Abstract

  Exposure to ozone, which is a major component of air pollution, induces a form of asthma that occurs in the absence of adaptive immunity. Although ozone-induced asthma is characterized by airway neutrophilia, and not eosinophilia, it is nevertheless associated with airway hyperreactivity (AHR), which is a cardinal feature of asthma. Because AHR induced by allergens requires the presence of natural killer T (NKT) cells, we asked whether ozone-induced AHR had similar requirements. We found that repeated exposure of wild-type (WT) mice to ozone induced severe AHR associated with an increase in airway NKT cells, neutrophils, and macrophages. Surprisingly, NKT cell-deficient (CD1d(-/-) and Jalpha18(-/-)) mice failed to develop ozone-induced AHR. Further, treatment of WT mice with an anti-CD1d mAb blocked NKT cell activation and prevented ozone-induced AHR. Moreover, ozone-induced, but not allergen-induced, AHR was associated with NKT cells producing interleukin (IL)-17, and failed to occur in IL-17(-/-) mice nor in WT mice treated with anti-IL-17 mAb. Thus, ozone exposure induces AHR that requires the presence of NKT cells and IL-17 production. Because NKT cells are required for the development of two very disparate forms of AHR (ozone- and allergen-induced), our results strongly suggest that NKT cells mediate a unifying pathogenic mechanism for several distinct forms of asthma, and represent a unique target for effective asthma therapy.

  View details for DOI 10.1084/jem.20071507

  View details for Web of Science ID 000253250300016

  View details for PubMedID 18250191

• T cells and NKT cells in the pathogenesis of asthma ANNUAL REVIEW OF MEDICINE Meyer, E. H., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. 2008; 59: 281-292

  Abstract

  Asthma is an immunological disease with multiple inflammatory and clinical phenotypes, characterized by symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing due to airway hyperreactivity (AHR) and reversible airway obstruction. In allergic asthma, the most common form of asthma, airway inflammation is mediated by adaptive immune recognition of protein allergens by Th2 cells, resulting in airway eosinophilia. However, in other forms of asthma, inflammation is associated with immune responses to respiratory infections and airway neutrophilia. A central feature common to all forms of asthma is AHR, the heightened responsiveness of the airways to nonspecific stimuli. AHR has been shown recently in animal models of asthma to require the presence of CD1d-restricted, invariant T cell receptor-positive, natural killer T (iNKT) cells. Although allergen-specific Th2 cells and iNKT cells have many phenotypic similarities (e.g., expression of CD4 and production of Th2 cytokines), they have complementary activities, such as production of Th2 cytokines under different conditions, differential sensitivity to corticosteroids, and responsiveness to different classes of antigen (proteins versus glycolipids). We hypothesize that Th2 cells and iNKT cells interact synergistically to induce asthma but that different forms of asthma result from distinct roles of CD4(+) iNKT cells versus Th2 cells.

  View details for DOI 10.1146/annurev.med.59.061506.154139

  View details for Web of Science ID 000253397600020

  View details for PubMedID 17937589

• Delirium following abrupt discontinuation of fluoxetine CLINICAL NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY Blum, D., Maldonado, J., Meyer, E., Lansberg, M. 2008; 110 (1): 69-70

  Abstract

  Sudden discontinuation of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRI) can lead to a number of psychological (e.g., nervousness, anxiety, crying spells, psychomotor agitation, irritability, depersonalization, decreased mood, memory disturbances, confusion, decreased concentration, and/or slowed thinking) and somatic (e.g., nausea, dizziness, headache) symptoms. Recent studies have shown that withdrawal symptoms are common with paroxetine, venlafaxine and fluvoxamine, but relatively rare and mild with fluoxetine cessation, likely as a result of its longer half-life. We report an unusual case of a patient who developed delirium after abrupt discontinuation of fluoxetine.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.clineuro.2007.08.016

  View details for Web of Science ID 000252799500013

  View details for PubMedID 17913343

• Ozone exposure in a mouse model induces airway hyperreactivity that requires the presence of natural killer T cells and IL-17 8th Annual Meeting of the Federation-of-Clinical-Immunology-Societies Pichavant, M., Goya, S., Meyer, E., Johnston, R., Kim, H., Matangkasombut, P., Zhu, M., Iwakura, Y., Savage, P., DeKruyff, R., Shore, S., Umetsu, D. ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. 2008: S38?S38

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.clim.2008.03.101

  View details for Web of Science ID 000255533200105

• INKT cells require CCR4 to localize to the airways and to induce airway hyperreactivity JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Meyer, E. H., Wurbel, M., Staton, T. L., Pichavant, M., Kan, M. J., Savage, P. B., DeKruyff, R. H., Butcher, E. C., Campbell, J. J., Umetsu, D. T. 2007; 179 (7): 4661-4671

  Abstract

  iNKT cells are required for the induction of airway hyperreactivity (AHR), a cardinal feature of asthma, but how iNKT cells traffic to the lungs to induce AHR has not been previously studied. Using several models of asthma, we demonstrated that iNKT cells required the chemokine receptor CCR4 for pulmonary localization and for the induction of AHR. In both allergen-induced and glycolipid-induced models of AHR, wild-type but not CCR4-/- mice developed AHR. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of wild-type but not CCR4-/- iNKT cells reconstituted AHR in iNKT cell-deficient mice. Moreover, we specifically tracked CCR4-/- vs wild-type iNKT cells in CCR4-/-:wild-type mixed BM chimeric mice in the resting state, and when AHR was induced by protein allergen or glycolipid. Using this unique model, we showed that both iNKT cells and conventional T cells required CCR4 for competitive localization into the bronchoalveolar lavage/airways compartment. These results establish for the first time that the pulmonary localization of iNKT cells critical for the induction of AHR requires CCR4 expression by iNKT cells.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000249752100043

  View details for PubMedID 17878364

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2564604

• iNKT cells in allergic disease T CELL ACTIVATION BY CD1 AND LIPID ANTIGENS Meyer, E. H., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. 2007; 314: 269-291

  Abstract

  Recent studies indicate that invariant TCR+ CD1d-restricted natural killer T (iNKT) cells play an important role in regulating the development of asthma and allergy. iNKT cells can function to skew adaptive immunity toward Th2 responses, or can act directly as effector cells at mucosal surfaces in diseases such as ulcerative colitis and bronchial asthma. In mouse models of asthma, NKT cell-deficient strains fail to develop allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity (AHR), a cardinal feature of asthma, and NKT cells are found in the lungs of patients with chronic asthma, suggesting a critical role for NKT cells in the development of AHR. However, much work remains in characterizing iNKT cells and their function in asthma, and in understanding the relationship between the iNKT cells and conventional CD4+ T cells.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000247882800011

  View details for PubMedID 17593665

• Natural killer T cells regulate the development of asthma INTERNATIONAL REVIEWS OF IMMUNOLOGY Umetsu, D. T., Meyer, E. H., DeKruyff, R. H. 2007; 26 (1-2): 121-140

  View details for DOI 10.1080/08830180601070237

  View details for Web of Science ID 000244119100007

  View details for PubMedID 17454267

• CD1d restricted natural killer T cells are not required for allergic skin inflammation JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY Elkhal, A., Pichavant, M., He, R., Scott, J., Meyer, E., Goya, S., Geha, R. S., Umetsu, D. T. 2006; 118 (6): 1363-1368

  Abstract

  Invariant T-cell receptor-positive natural killer (iNKT) cells have been shown to be essential for the development of allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity (AHR).We examined the role of iNKT cells in allergic skin inflammation using a murine model of atopic dermatitis (AD) elicited by epicutaneous sensitization with ovalbumin (OVA).Wild-type (WT) and natural killer T-cell-deficient CD1d-/- mice were epicutaneously sensitized with OVA or normal saline and challenged with aerosolized OVA. iNKT cells in skin and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were analyzed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and cytokine mRNA levels were measured by quantitative RT-PCR. AHR to methacholine was measured after OVA inhalation.Skin infiltration by eosinophils and CD4+ cells and expression of mRNA encoding IL-4 and IL-13 in OVA-sensitized skin were similar in WT and CD1d-/- mice. No significant increase in iNKT cells was detectable in epicutaneously sensitized skin. In contrast, iNKT cells were found in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from OVA-challenged epicutaneously sensitized WT mice, but not CD1d-/- mice. Epicutaneously sensitized CD1d-/- mice had an impaired expression of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 mRNA in the lung and failed to develop AHR in response to airway challenge with OVA.These results demonstrate that iNKT cells are not required for allergic skin inflammation in a murine model of AD, in contrast with airway inflammation, in which iNKT cells are essential.Understanding the potential role of iNKT cells in AD will allow us to have a more specific target for therapeutic use.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jaci.2006.08.010

  View details for Web of Science ID 000242880300025

  View details for PubMedID 17157667

• Medicine on a need-to-know basis NATURE IMMUNOLOGY Busch, R., Byrne, B., Gandrud, L., Sears, D., Meyer, E., Kattah, M., Kurihara, C., Haertel, E., Parnes, J. R., Mellins, E. D. 2006; 7 (6): 543-547

  Abstract

  Disease-oriented, introductory medical curricula can help overcome educational and institutional barriers that separate aspiring translational scientists in PhD programs from the world of medicine.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000237751200004

  View details for PubMedID 16715061

• Glycolipid activation of invariant T cell receptor(+) NK T cells is sufficient to induce airway hyperreactivity independent of conventional CD4(+) T cells PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Meyer, E. H., Goya, S., Akbari, O., Berry, G. J., Savage, P. B., Kronenberg, M., Nakayama, T., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. 2006; 103 (8): 2782-2787

  Abstract

  Asthma is an inflammatory lung disease, in which conventional CD4+ T cells producing IL-4/IL-13 appear to play an obligatory pathogenic role. Here we show, in a mouse model of asthma, that activation of pulmonary IL-4/IL-13 producing invariant TCR+ CD1d-restricted natural killer T (NKT) cells is sufficient for the development of airway hyperreactivity (AHR), a cardinal feature of asthma, in the absence of conventional CD4+ T cells and adaptive immunity. Respiratory administration of glycolipid antigens that specifically activate NKT cells (alpha-GalactosylCeramide and a Sphingomonas bacterial glycolipid) rapidly induced AHR and inflammation typically associated with protein allergen administration. Naïve MHC class II-deficient mice, which lack conventional CD4+ T but have NKT cells, showed exaggerated baseline AHR and, when challenged with alpha-GalactosylCeramide, demonstrated even greater AHR. These studies demonstrate an expanded role for NKT cells, in which NKT cells not only produce cytokines that influence adaptive immunity but also function as critical effector cells that can induce AHR. These results suggest that NKT cells responding to glycolipid antigens, as well as conventional CD4+ T cells responding to peptide antigens, may be synergistic in the induction of AHR, although in some cases, each may independently induce AHR.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0510282103

  View details for Web of Science ID 000235554900055

  View details for PubMedID 16478801

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC1413796

• iNKT-Cells require CCR4 binding of CCL17 to localize to the airways where they are necessary and sufficient for inducing airway hyperreactivity. 6th Annual Meeting of the Federation-of-Clinical-Immunology-Societies Meyer, E., Wurbel, M., Staton, T., Savage, P., DeKruyff, R., Campbell, J., Butcher, E., Umetsu, D. ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. 2006: S22?S22

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.clim.2006.04.205

  View details for Web of Science ID 000237924300050

• Glycolipid mediated activation of iNKT cells is sufficient to induce airway hyperreactivity independent of conventional CD4 T cells. 5th Annual Meeting of the Federation-of-Clinical-Immunology-Societies Meyer, E. H., Akbari, O., Berry, G., Savage, P., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. 2005: S14?S15

  View details for Web of Science ID 000229104400036

• Adaptation at specific loci. VII. Natural selection, dispersal and the diversity of molecular-functional variation patterns among butterfly species complexes (Colias : Lepidoptera, Pieridae) MOLECULAR ECOLOGY Watt, W. B., Wheat, C. W., Meyer, E. H., Martin, J. F. 2003; 12 (5): 1265-1275

  Abstract

  Natural genetic variants at the phosphoglucose isomerase, PGI, gene differ in spatial patterning of their polymorphism among species complexes of Colias butterflies in North America. In both lowland and alpine complexes, molecular-functional properties of the polymorphic genotypes can be used to predict genotype-specific adult flight performances and resulting large genotypic differences in adult fitness components. In the lowland species complex, there is striking uniformity of PGI polymorph frequencies at a number of sites across the American West; this fits with earlier findings of strong, similar differences in fitness components over this range. In an alpine complex, Colias meadii shows similar uniformity of PGI frequencies within habitat types, either montane steppe or alpine tundra, over several hundred kilometres in the absence of dispersal. At the same time, large shifts (10-20%) in frequency of the most common alleles occur between steppe and tundra populations, whether these are isolated or, as in some cases, are in contact and exchange many dispersing adults each generation. Data on male mating success of common C. meadii PGI genotypes in steppe and tundra show heterozygote advantage in both habitat types, with shifts in relative homozygote disadvantage between habitats which are consistent with observed frequency differences. Nonadaptive explanations for this situation are rejected, and alternative, thermal-ecology-based adaptive hypotheses are proposed for later experimental test. These findings show that strong local selection may dominate dispersal as an evolutionary agent, whether or not dispersal is present, and that selection may often be the major force promoting 'cohesion' of species over long distances. This case offers new opportunities for integrating studies of molecular structure and function with ecological aspects of natural selection in the wild, both within and among species.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000182261500015

  View details for PubMedID 12694289

• Essential role of NKT cells producing IL-4 and IL-13 in the development of allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity NATURE MEDICINE Akbari, O., Stock, P., Meyer, E., Kronenberg, M., Sidobre, S., Nakayama, T., Taniguchi, M., Grusby, M. J., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. 2003; 9 (5): 582-588

  Abstract

  Using natural killer T (NKT) cell-deficient mice, we show here that allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity (AHR), a cardinal feature of asthma, does not develop in the absence of V(alpha)14i NKT cells. The failure of NKT cell-deficient mice to develop AHR is not due to an inability of these mice to produce type 2 T-helper (Th2) responses because NKT cell-deficient mice that are immunized subcutaneously at non-mucosal sites produce normal Th2-biased responses. The failure to develop AHR can be reversed by the adoptive transfer of tetramer-purified NKT cells producing interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 to Ja281(-/-) mice, which lack the invariant T-cell receptor (TCR) of NKT cells, or by the administration to Cd1d(-/-) mice of recombinant IL-13, which directly affects airway smooth muscle cells. Thus, pulmonary V(alpha)14i NKT cells crucially regulate the development of asthma and Th2-biased respiratory immunity against nominal exogenous antigens. Therapies that target V(alpha)14i NKT cells may be clinically effective in limiting the development of AHR and asthma.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/nm851

  View details for Web of Science ID 000182610600040

  View details for PubMedID 12669034

• CD4 T-helper cells engineered to produce IL-10 prevent allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity and inflammation JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY Oh, J. W., Seroogy, C. M., Meyer, E. H., Akbari, O., Berry, G., Fathman, C. G., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. 2002; 110 (3): 460-468

  Abstract

  T(H)2 cells play a critical role in the pathogenesis of asthma, but the precise immunologic mechanisms that inhibit T(H)2 cell function in vivo are not well understood.The purpose of our studies was to determine whether T cells producing IL-10 regulate the development of asthma.We used gene therapy to generate ovalbumin-specific CD4 T-helper cells to express IL-10, and we examined their capacity to regulate allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity.We demonstrated that the CD4 T-helper cells engineered to express IL-10 abolished airway hyperreactivity and airway eosinophilia in BALB/c mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin and in SCID mice reconstituted with ovalbumin-specific T(H)2 effector cells. The inhibitory effect of the IL-10-secreting T-helper cells was accompanied by the presence of increased quantities of IL-10 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, was antigen-specific, and was reversed by neutralization of IL-10. Moreover, neutralization of IL-10 by administration of anti-IL-10 mAb in mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin seriously exacerbated airway hyperreactivity and airway inflammation.Our results demonstrate that T cells secreting IL-10 in the respiratory mucosa can indeed regulate T(H)2-induced airway hyperreactivity and inflammation, and they strongly suggest that IL-10 plays an important inhibitory role in allergic asthma.

  View details for DOI 10.1067/mai.2002.127512

  View details for Web of Science ID 000177936900018

  View details for PubMedID 12209095

• Antigen-specific regulatory T cells develop via the ICOS-ICOS-ligand pathway and inhibit allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity NATURE MEDICINE Akbari, O., Freeman, G. J., Meyer, E. H., Greenfield, E. A., Chang, T. T., Sharpe, A. H., Berry, G., DeKruyff, R. H., Umetsu, D. T. 2002; 8 (9): 1024-1032

  Abstract

  Asthma is caused by T-helper cell 2 (Th2)-driven immune responses, but the immunological mechanisms that protect against asthma development are poorly understood. T-cell tolerance, induced by respiratory exposure to allergen, can inhibit the development of airway hyperreactivity (AHR), a cardinal feature of asthma, and we show here that regulatory T (T(R)) cells can mediate this protective effect. Mature pulmonary dendritic cells in the bronchial lymph nodes of mice exposed to respiratory allergen induced the development of T(R) cells, in a process that required T-cell costimulation via the inducible costimulator (ICOS-ICOS-ligand pathway. The T(R) cells produced IL-10, and had potent inhibitory activity; when adoptively transferred into sensitized mice, T(R) cells blocked the development of AHR. Both the development and the inhibitory function of regulatory cells were dependent on the presence of IL-10 and on ICOS-ICOS-ligand interactions. These studies demonstrate that T(R) cells and the ICOS-ICOS-ligand signaling pathway are critically involved in respiratory tolerance and in downregulating pulmonary inflammation in asthma.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/nm745

  View details for Web of Science ID 000177757900039

  View details for PubMedID 12145647