The immune system can both promote and suppress cancer. Chronic inflammation and proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6 are considered tumor-promoting. In contrast, the exact nature of protective antitumor immunity remains obscure. In this study, we have quantified locally secreted cytokines during primary immune responses against myeloma and B-cell lymphoma in mice. Strikingly, successful cancer immunosurveillance mediated by tumor-specific CD4+ T cells was consistently associated with elevated local levels of both proinflammatory (IL-1aplha, IL-1beta, and IL-6) and T helper 1 (Th1)-associated cytokines (interferon-alpha, IL-2, IL-12). Cancer eradication was achieved by a collaboration between tumor-specific Th1 cells and tumor-infiltrating, antigen-presenting macrophages. Th1 cells induced secretion of IL-1? and IL-6 by macrophages. Th1-derived interferon-? was shown to render macrophages directly cytotoxic to cancer cells, and to induce macrophages to secrete the angiostatic chemokines CXCL9/MIG and CXCL10/IP-10. Thus, inflammation, when driven by tumor-specific Th1 cells, may prevent rather than promote cancer.
Inflammation driven by tumour-specific Th1 cells protects against B-cell cancer.
Specimen part
View SamplesIn order to assess the physiological role of Cop1 in vivo we generated mice that do no longer express the protein. Cop1KO mice die at around E10.5 of embryonic development. In order to gain insights into the molecular mechanisms that cause the embryonic death we compared the genome-wide gene expression profile of E9.5 wild-tytpe and Cop1-null embryos. The data do not support a role for Cop1 in the regulation of the p53 pathway in vivo and highlight a role for Cop1 in cardiovascular development and/or angiogenesis. The abstract of the associated publication is as follows:Biochemical data have suggested conflicting roles for the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cop1 in tumourigenesis. Here we present the first in vivo investigation of the role of Cop1 in cancer aetiology. We used an innovative genetic approach to generate an allelic series of Cop1 and show that Cop1 hypomorphic mice spontaneously develop malignancy at a high frequency in their first year of life and are highly susceptible to radiation-induced lymphomagenesis. Biochemically, we show that Cop1 regulates c-Jun oncoprotein stability and modulates c-Jun/AP1 transcriptional activity in vivo. Cop1-deficiency stimulates cell proliferation in a c-Jun-dependent manner. We conclude that Cop1 is a tumour suppressor that antagonizes c-Jun oncogenic activity in vivo.
Cop1 constitutively regulates c-Jun protein stability and functions as a tumor suppressor in mice.
Specimen part
View SamplesPPAR is known for its anti-inflammatory actions in macrophages. However, which macrophage populations express PPAR in vivo and how it regulates tissue homeostasis in the steady state and during inflammation is not completely understood. We show that lung and spleen macrophages constitutively expressed PPAR, while other macrophage populations did not. Recruitment of monocytes to sites of inflammation was associated with induction of PPAR as they differentiated to macrophages. Its absence in these macrophages led to failed resolution of inflammation, characterized by persistent, low-level recruitment of leukocytes. Conversely, PPAR agonists supported an earlier cessation in leukocyte recruitment during resolution of acute inflammation and likewise suppressed monocyte recruitment to chronically inflamed atherosclerotic vessels. In the steady state, PPAR deficiency in macrophages had no obvious impact in the spleen but profoundly altered cellular lipid homeostasis in lung macrophages. Reminiscent of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, LysM-Cre x PPARflox/flox mice displayed mild leukocytic inflammation in the steady-state lung and succumbed faster to mortality upon infection with S. pneumoniae. Surprisingly, this mortality was not due to overly exuberant inflammation, but instead to impaired bacterial clearance. Thus, in addition to its anti-inflammatory role in promoting resolution of inflammation, PPAR sustains functionality in lung macrophages and thereby has a pivotal role in supporting pulmonary host defense.
Systemic analysis of PPARγ in mouse macrophage populations reveals marked diversity in expression with critical roles in resolution of inflammation and airway immunity.
Sex, Treatment
View SamplesAffymetrix Human Gene 1.1 ST Array profiling of 285 primary medulloblastoma samples.
Subgroup-specific structural variation across 1,000 medulloblastoma genomes.
Sex, Age
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