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Biology subjects

Combadiere, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Combadiere, C..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

LOX-1+ immature neutrophils predict severe COVID-19 patients at risk of thrombotic complications

RationalLymphopenia and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio may have prognostic value in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. ObjectiveWe sought to investigate the representation of neutrophil subsets in severe and critical COVID-19 patients based on Intensive Care Units (ICU) and non-ICU admission. MethodsWe developed a multi-parametric neutrophil profiling strategy based on known neutrophil markers to distinguish COVID-19 phenotypes in critical and severe patients. ResultsOur results showed that 80% of ICU patients develop strong myelemia with CD10-CD64+ immature neutrophils. Cellular profiling revealed two distinct neutrophil subsets expressing either the lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) or the Interleukin-3 receptor alpha (CD123), both significantly overrepresented in ICU patients compared to non-ICU patients. The proportion of LOX-1-expressing immature neutrophils positively correlated with clinical severity, with the cytokine storm (IL-1{beta}, IL-6, IL-8, TNF), and with intravascular coagulation. Importantly, high proportions of LOX-1+-immature neutrophils are associated with high risks of severe thrombosis. ConclusionsTogether these data suggest that point of care enumeration of LOX-1-immature neutrophils might help distinguish patients at risk of thrombosis complication and most likely to benefit from intensified anticoagulant therapy.

immunology↗

Two new immature and dysfunctional neutrophil cell subsets define a predictive signature of sepsis useable in clinical practice

Sepsis is the leading cause of death in adult intensive care units. At present, sepsis diagnosis relies on non-specific clinical features. It could transform clinical care to have objective immune cell biomarkers that could predict sepsis diagnosis and guide treatment. For decades, neutrophil phenotypes have been studied in sepsis, but a diagnostic cell subset has yet to be identified. Here, high dimensional mass cytometry was used to reveal for the first time a specific neutrophil signature of sepsis severity that does not overlap with other inflammatory biomarkers, and that distinguishes patients with sepsis from those with non-infectious inflammatory syndrome. Unsupervised analysis of 42-dimesional mass cytometry data characterized previously unappreciated heterogeneity within the CD64+ immature neutrophils and revealed two new subsets distinguished by CD123 and PD-L1 expression. These immature neutrophils exhibited diminished activation and phagocytosis functions. The proportion of CD123-expressing neutrophils also correlated with clinical severity. Critically, this study showed that these two new neutrophil subsets were specific to sepsis and detectable by routine flow cytometry using seven markers. The demonstration here that a simple blood test distinguishes sepsis from other inflammatory conditions represents a key biological milestone that can be immediately translated into improvements in patient care. One Sentence SummaryCD123+ and/or PD-L1+ immature and dysfunctional neutrophil subsets identified by mass cytometry, define an early human blood signature of sepsis

immunology↗

Chemokine receptor 2-targeted molecular imaging in pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, inflammatory lung disease that is monitored clinically by measures of lung function, without effective molecular markers of disease activity or therapeutic efficacy. Lung immune cells active in the pro-fibrotic process include inflammatory monocyte and interstitial macrophages that express the C-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2). CCR2+ monocyte lung influx is essential for disease phenotypes in models of fibrosis and identified in lungs from subjects with IPF. Here, we show that our peptide-based radiotracer 64Cu-DOTA-ECL1i identifies CCR2+ inflammatory monocytes and interstitial macrophages in multiple preclinical mouse models of lung fibrosis, using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Mice with bleomycin-induced fibrosis treated with blocking antibodies to interleukin-1{beta}, a mediator of fibrosis associated with CCR2+ cell inflammation, or with pirfenidone, an approved anti-fibrotic agent, demonstrated decreased CCR2-dependent interstitial macrophage accumulation and reduced 64Cu-DOTA-ECL1i PET uptake, compared to controls. Lung tissues from patients with fibrotic lung disease demonstrated abundant CCR2+ cells surrounding regions of fibrosis, and an ex vivo tissue-binding assay showed correlation between radiotracer localization and CCR2+ cells. In a phase 0/1 clinical study of 64Cu-DOTA-ECL1i PET, healthy volunteers showed little lung uptake, while subjects with pulmonary fibrosis exhibited increased uptake, notably in zones of subpleural fibrosis, reflecting the distribution of CCR2+ cells in the profibrotic niche. These findings support a pathologic role of inflammatory lung monocytes/macrophages in fibrotic lung disease and the translational use of 64Cu-DOTA-ECL1i PET to track CCR2-specific inflammation for image-guided therapy. One Sentence SummaryPET imaging of CCR2+ cells in lung fibrosis identifies a therapeutic response in mouse models and displays a perifibrotic signal in subjects with IPF.

cell biology↗

Revising CX3CR1 expression on murine classical and non-classical monocytes

In mice, monocytes (Mo) are conventionally described as CX3CR1low classical Mo (CMo) and CX3CR1high non-classical Mo (NCMo) based on the expression level of EGFP in Cx3cr1+/EGFP mice and by analogy with human CX3CR1 expression. Although this terminology is widely used, very few works assessed the strict correlation between EGFP reporter and CX3CR1 expression. Using an unsupervised multiparametric analysis of blood Mo in steady state and after sterile peritonitis, we observed no difference in CX3CR1 expression between CMo and NCMo. Our results highlight that despite being a reliable reporter to discriminate Mo subpopulations, EGFP level in Cx3cr1+/EGFP mice does not reflect CX3CR1 expression measured by a fluorescently-labeled CX3CL1 chemokine and a CX3CR1 specific antibody. In conclusion, authors should be cautious not to identify murine classical and non-classical Mo as CX3CR1low and CX3CR1high but rather use alternative markers such as the combination of Ly6C and CD43.

immunology↗

CX3CL1 oligomerization is required for efficient CX3CR1-specific cell adherence

During inflammatory response, blood leukocytes adhere to the endothelium. This process involves numerous adhesion molecules, including a transmembrane chemokine, CX3CL1. We previously found that CX3CL1 clusters in oligomers. How this cluster assembles and whether it has a functional role remain unknown. Using various biochemical and biophysical approaches, we show that CX3CL1 clusters are homo-oligomers with 3 to 7 CX3CL1 molecules. We demonstrate that the transmembrane domain peptide self-associates at a similar level in both cellular and acellular lipid environments while its random counterpart (a scrambled peptide) does not. Hence, oligomerization is mainly driven by the transmembrane domain intrinsic properties. Molecular modeling suggests that transmembrane peptide oligomers are mostly made of monomers linearly assembled side by side. Using a new adherence assay, we demonstrate that, functionally, oligomerization is mandatory for the adhesive potency of CX3CL1. Our results indicate that CX3CL1-dependent cellular adherence in key immune processes can be controlled by disrupting clusters using heterotopic peptides, which, in turn, alter the adhesive function of the membrane CX3CL1 without affecting the function of the CX3CL1 soluble form.

cell biology↗