Futtruppatrick1836

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is required during most cardiac surgeries. CBP drives systemic inflammation and multiorgan dysfunction that is especially severe in neonatal patients. Limited understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying CPB-associated inflammation presents a significant barrier to improve clinical outcomes. To better understand these clinical issues, we performed mRNA sequencing on total circulating leukocytes from neonatal patients undergoing CPB. Our data identify myeloid cells, particularly monocytes, as the major cell type driving transcriptional responses to CPB. Furthermore, IL-8 and TNF-α were inflammatory cytokines robustly upregulated in leukocytes from both patients and piglets exposed to CPB. To delineate the molecular mechanism, we exposed THP-1 human monocytic cells to CPB-like conditions, including artificial surfaces, high shear stress, and cooling/rewarming. Shear stress was found to drive cytokine upregulation via calcium-dependent signaling pathways. We also observed that a subpopulation of THP-1 cells died via TNF-α-mediated necroptosis, which we hypothesize contributes to post-CPB inflammation. Our study identifies a shear stress-modulated molecular mechanism that drives systemic inflammation in pediatric CPB patients. These are also the first data to our knowledge to demonstrate that shear stress causes necroptosis. Finally, we observe that calcium and TNF-α signaling are potentially novel targets to ameliorate post-CPB inflammation.The tumor microenvironment affects the outcome of radiotherapy against head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We recently found that tolerogenic myeloid cells accumulate in the circulation of HNSCC patients undergoing radiotherapy. Here, we analyzed tumor-containing lymph node biopsies collected from these patients. After 2 weeks of radiotherapy, we found an increase in tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) with activated STAT3, while CD8+ T cells were reduced as detected using multiplex IHC. Gene expression profiling indicated upregulation of M2 macrophage-related genes (CD163, CD206), immunosuppressive mediators (ARG1, LIF, TGFB1), and Th2 cytokines (IL4, IL5) in irradiated tumors. We next validated STAT3 as a potential target in human HNSCC-associated TAMs, using UM-SCC1 xenotransplants in humanized mice. Local injections of myeloid cell-targeted STAT3 antisense oligonucleotide (CpG-STAT3ASO) activated human DCs/macrophages and promoted CD8+ T cell recruitment, thereby arresting UM-SCC1 tumor growth. Furthermore, CpG-STAT3ASO synergized with tumor irradiation against syngeneic HPV+ mEERL and HPV- MOC2 HNSCC tumors in mice, triggering tumor regression and/or extending animal survival. The antitumor immune responses were CD8+ and CD4+ T cell dependent and associated with the activation of antigen-presenting cells (DCs/M1 macrophages) and increased CD8+ to regulatory T cell ratio. Our observations suggest that targeted inhibition of STAT3 in tumor-associated myeloid cells augments the efficacy of radiotherapy against HNSCC.Immune and inflammatory responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contribute to disease severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the utility of specific immune-based biomarkers to predict clinical outcome remains elusive. Here, we analyzed levels of 66 soluble biomarkers in 175 Italian patients with COVID-19 ranging from mild/moderate to critical severity and assessed type I IFN-, type II IFN-, and NF-κB-dependent whole-blood transcriptional signatures. A broad inflammatory signature was observed, implicating activation of various immune and nonhematopoietic cell subsets. Discordance between IFN-α2a protein and IFNA2 transcript levels in blood suggests that type I IFNs during COVID-19 may be primarily produced by tissue-resident cells. Multivariable analysis of patients' first samples revealed 12 biomarkers (CCL2, IL-15, soluble ST2 [sST2], NGAL, sTNFRSF1A, ferritin, IL-6, S100A9, MMP-9, IL-2, sVEGFR1, IL-10) that when increased were independently associated with mortality. Multivariate analyses of longitudinal biomarker trajectories identified 8 of the aforementioned biomarkers (IL-15, IL-2, NGAL, CCL2, MMP-9, sTNFRSF1A, sST2, IL-10) and 2 additional biomarkers (lactoferrin, CXCL9) that were substantially associated with mortality when increased, while IL-1α was associated with mortality when decreased. Among these, sST2, sTNFRSF1A, IL-10, and IL-15 were consistently higher throughout the hospitalization in patients who died versus those who recovered, suggesting that these biomarkers may provide an early warning of eventual disease outcome.Existing animal models of cystic fibrosis (CF) have provided key insights into CF pathogenesis but have been limited by short lifespans, absence of key phenotypes, and/or high maintenance costs. Here, we report the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated generation of CF rabbits, a model with a relatively long lifespan and affordable maintenance and care costs. CF rabbits supplemented solely with oral osmotic laxative had a median survival of approximately 40 days and died of gastrointestinal disease, but therapeutic regimens directed toward restoring gastrointestinal transit extended median survival to approximately 80 days. Surrogate markers of exocrine pancreas disorders were found in CF rabbits with declining health. CFTR expression patterns in WT rabbit airways mimicked humans, with widespread distribution in nasal respiratory and olfactory epithelia, as well as proximal and distal lower airways. CF rabbits exhibited human CF-like abnormalities in the bioelectric properties of the nasal and tracheal epithelia. No spontaneous respiratory disease was detected in young CF rabbits. However, abnormal phenotypes were observed in surviving 1-year-old CF rabbits as compared with WT littermates, and these were especially evident in the nasal respiratory and olfactory epithelium. The CF rabbit model may serve as a useful tool for understanding gut and lung CF pathogenesis and for the practical development of CF therapeutics.Clostridioides difficile is a major cause of health care-associated diarrhea. Severity ranges from mild to life-threatening, but this variability remains poorly understood. Phenformin Microbiologic diagnosis of C. difficile infection (CDI) is straightforward but offers little insight into the patient's prognosis or into pathophysiologic determinants of clinical trajectory. The aim of this study was to discover host-derived, CDI-specific fecal biomarkers involved in disease severity. Subjects without and with CDI diarrhea were recruited. CDI severity was based on Infectious Diseases Society of America/Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America criteria. We developed a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry approach to identify host-derived protein biomarkers from stool and applied it to diagnostic samples for cohort-wise comparison (CDI-negative vs. nonsevere CDI vs. severe CDI). Selected biomarkers were orthogonally confirmed and subsequently verified in a CDI mouse model. We identified a protein signature from stool, consisting of alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2MG), matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7), and alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT), that not only discriminates CDI-positive samples from non-CDI ones but also is potentially associated with disease severity.