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Biology subjects

Höllbacher, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Höllbacher, B..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

ApoE4 disrupts intracellular trafficking and iron homeostasis in an improved iPSC-based model of human brain endothelial cells

Transferrin receptor in brain endothelial cells can deliver therapeutic antibodies to the brain via transcytosis across the blood-brain barrier. Whether receptor transport remains intact in Alzheimers disease is still a major open question. Here, we investigated whether apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4), the major genetic risk factor for Alzheimers disease, altered intracellular transport in human brain endothelial cells. To achieve this, we first developed an optimized protocol for induced pluripotent stem cells based on a defined chemical cocktail and extracellular-matrix support to differentiate brain endothelial cells (iCE-BECs). Multi-omic profiling and functional transport assays showed that iCE-BECs have a brain endothelial gene signature and recapitulate receptor-mediated transcytosis of a clinically validated BrainshuttleTM antibody against transferrin receptor. Engineered iCE-BECs homozygous for ApoE4 had altered spatiotemporal organization of early endosomes, increased transferrin receptor expression and reduced cytoplasmic iron. Our data revealed that ApoE4 can impact intracellular transport and iron homeostasis at the BBB in a cell-autonomous manner. This finding could be relevant for the brain delivery of therapeutic antibodies for Alzheimers disease.

cell biology↗

Continual exit of human cutaneous resident memory CD4 T cells that seed distant skin sites

Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) persist locally in non-lymphoid tissues where they provide front-line defense against recurring insults. TRM at barrier surfaces express the markers CD103 and/or CD69 which function to retain them in epithelial tissues. In humans, neither the long-term migratory behavior of TRM nor their ability to re-enter the circulation and potentially migrate to distant tissue sites have been investigated. Using tissue explant cultures, we found that CD4+CD69+CD103+ TRM in human skin can downregulate CD69 and exit the tissue. Additionally, we identified a skin-tropic CD4+CD69-CD103+ population in human lymph and blood that is transcriptionally, functionally and clonally related to the CD4+CD69+CD103+ TRM population in the skin. Using a skin xenograft model, we confirmed that a fraction of the human cutaneous CD4+CD103+ TRM population can re-enter circulation, and migrate to secondary human skin sites where they re-assume a TRM phenotype. Thus, our data challenge current concepts regarding the strict tissue compartmentalization of CD4+ T cell memory in humans. One Sentence SummaryHuman CD4+CD103+ cutaneous resident memory T cells are found in the circulation of healthy subjects, and these cells can seed distant skin sites.

immunology↗