Biology subjects

Gray-Gaillard, E. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Gray-Gaillard, E. F..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Tissue Injury and Biomaterial Treatment Modulate Tumor Growth and Response to Immunotherapy

Immunotherapies have transformed cancer care; however, tumor intrinsic and extrinsic factors contribute to high variability in therapeutic responses. While tissue injuries can impact cancer recurrence and metastatic spread, little is known about their potential to effect immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) response. In this study, we reveal that distal traumatic muscle injury accelerated progression and impaired adjuvant ICB response of multiple murine tumors. This injury-induced accelerated tumor growth coincided with decreased intra-tumoral density and effector phenotype of tumor-reactive CD8+ T cells and relied on communication through a shared draining lymph node. Enhancing injury repair using a biological scaffold abrogated the injury-induced accelerated tumor growth in an interleukin-4-dependent manner and improved ICB response. In a retrospective cohort analysis of breast cancer patients undergoing ICB treatment, biological scaffold implantation following mastectomy was associated with increased overall survival. This work suggests that injury-driven immune dysfunction may contribute to cancer progression and ICB resistance, but enhancing wound healing with pro-regenerative biomaterials may offer a viable strategy for mitigating adverse cancer outcomes, particularly in the setting of adjuvant and neoadjuvant ICB.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Regulatory T cells clonally expand and contribute to stromal cell function in fibrotic response to synthetic implants

Fibrosis plays a key role in both chronic disease progression and failure of synthetic biomaterial implants. However, the contribution of adaptive immunity to fibrotic development remains incompletely understood, particularly for regulatory T cells (Tregs). Here, we used single-cell multiomic profiling, integrating transcriptomics with T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing, to map Treg heterogeneity and clonal dynamics in a synthetic material-induced model of fibrosis. We uncovered progressive Treg clonal expansion accompanied by TCR activation signatures and an increasingly immunosuppressive phenotype along a continuous transcriptional trajectory. These Tregs suppressed immune responses and influenced extracellular matrix and vascular gene expression. Cell-cell communication inference predicted Treg-driven activation of pro-fibrotic and vasculogenic transcriptional programs in fibroblasts and endothelial cells, including Sox-family transcription factors. Functional Treg depletion increased inflammation and significantly reduced neovascularization. Together, these findings identify Treg functions in the fibro-vascular niche through stromal cell modulation, highlighting immune-stromal interactions as an important axis in fibrosis.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2025

γδ17 T cell-stromal networks modulate matrix composition and vascularity in foreign body response

Immune-stromal crosstalk governs tissue fibrosis, which is marked by dysregulated extracellular matrix (ECM) production and aberrant vasculature. Here, we investigate how {gamma}{delta} T cell interactions with stromal cells shape fibrosis in the foreign body response. During the acute reaction, type-1 ({gamma}{delta}IFN{gamma}) and type-17 ({gamma}{delta}17) effector subsets accumulated at the implant. While {gamma}{delta}IFN{gamma} decreased as fibrosis progressed, activated {gamma}{delta}17 persisted as dominant interleukin-17 producers. The {gamma}{delta}17 increased with aging and high-fat diet, both factors associated with chronic inflammation and fibrosis. Co-culture with {gamma}{delta}17 stimulated fibroblast expression of collagen genes and intercellular communication inference linked {gamma}{delta} T cell ligands to activation of ECM remodeling and vascular development programs in fibroblasts and endothelial cells. Finally, genetic deletion of {gamma}{delta} T cells altered expression of ECM components and increased vessel size within the fibrotic matrix. Altogether, our findings implicate {gamma}{delta} T cells in regulating stromal behavior to modulate composition and vascularity of fibrotic tissues.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2022

Transfer learning of an in vivo-derived senescence signature identifies conserved and tissue-specific senescence across species and diverse pathologies

Senescent cells (SnCs) contribute to normal tissue development and repair but accumulate with aging where they are implicated in a number of pathologies and diseases. Despite their pathological role and therapeutic interest, SnC phenotype and function in vivo remains unclear due to the challenges in identifying and isolating these rare cells. Here, we developed an in vivo-derived senescence gene expression signature using a model of the foreign body response (FBR) fibrosis in a p16Ink4a-reporter mouse, a cell cycle inhibitor commonly used to identify SnCs. We identified stromal cells (CD45-CD31- CD29+) as the primary p16Ink4a expressing cell type in the FBR and collected the cells to produce a SnC transcriptomic signature with bulk RNA sequencing. To computationally identify SnCs in bulk and single-cell data sets across species and tissues, we used this signature with transfer learning to generate a SnC signature score (SenSig). We found senescent pericyte and cartilage-like fibroblasts in newly collected single cell RNAseq (scRNASeq) data sets of murine and human FBR suggesting populations associated with angiogenesis and secretion of fibrotic extracellular matrix, respectively. Application of the senescence signature to human scRNAseq data sets from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and the basal cell carcinoma microenvironment identified both conserved and tissue-specific SnC phenotypes, including epithelial-derived basaloid and endothelial cells. In a wound healing model, ligand-receptor signaling prediction identified putative interactions between SnC SASP and myeloid cells that were validated by immunofluorescent staining and in vitro coculture of SnCs and macrophages. Collectively, we have found that our SenSig transfer learning strategy from an in vivo signature outperforms in vitro-derived signatures and identifies conserved and tissue-specific SnCs and their SASP, independent of p16Ink4a expression, and may be broadly applied to elucidate SnC identity and function in vivo.

bioengineering↗