Biology subjects

Macatangay, B. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Macatangay, B. J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Type 1-polarized DC immunotherapeutic contains heterogeneous populations with IL-12p70 production restricted to a rare subset

Monocyte-derived DC therapies programmed for robust IL-12p70 production have been associated with favorable outcomes in cancer clinical trials. However, clinical responses remain inconsistent even under standardized protocols, and the cellular basis for this variability is unknown. We leveraged single-cell multiomics to characterize two widely used DC platforms, the high-IL-12p70-producing alpha-Type-1-polarized DC (DC1) and the IL-12p70-deficient DC induced in the presence of PGE2 (PGE2-DC), at baseline and following rhCD40L activation. DC generated from 7 healthy participants representing the spectrum of rhCD40L-induced IL-12p70 production were profiled by transcriptome analysis with concurrent 42-plex surface proteomics, multiplex ELISA, and ELISpot quantification of IL-12p70-producing cells. While DC1 and PGE2-DC distinctly responded to rhCD40L, DC1 alone unexpectedly comprised 3 transcriptionally and phenotypically distinct subpopulations in resting and stimulated states. Only a limited fraction of DC1 coexpressed IL12A and IL12B (IL-12p70 producers), which was confirmed by ELISpot at the protein level. The distribution of DC1 subclusters varied markedly between individuals and correlated with bulk cytokine and chemokine secretion profiles. Heterogeneity within DC1 preparations may underlie inconsistent clinical trial outcomes, and identification of associated surface proteins provides a prospective strategy for subcluster enrichment to enhance DC release criteria and patient stratification for optimized therapeutic efficacy.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2025

Q4ddPCR (May the Fourth Be Precise): A Flexible, 4-Target Assay for High-Resolution HIV Reservoir Profiling

Precise and scalable quantification of the genetically intact HIV reservoir is critical for advancing curative strategies. However, current HIV reservoir assays such as the intact proviral DNA assay (IPDA) are limited by quantification failures or misclassification of defective proviral genomes due to HIV sequence heterogeneity. Q4ddPCR is a modular, droplet digital PCR assay that simultaneously targets four conserved regions in the HIV genome to improve specificity, reduce quantification gaps, and provide multi-layered readouts. We benchmarked Q4ddPCR against 3,650 near full-length proviral sequences from 13 virally suppressed people with HIV (PWH) generated by Q4PCR using the same primer/probe sets. Q4ddPCR enabled intact reservoir quantification in 95% of samples from three independent cohorts and closely matched sequence-confirmed Q4PCR reservoir measurements. In addition, multi-probe readouts revealed clonal intact reservoir dynamics that are not detectable by IPDA. In longitudinal samples from 42 participants over the first 4.5 years on antiretroviral therapy (ART), Q4ddPCR reported lower proviral frequencies and a steeper decline in intact proviral DNA compared to IPDA. Collectively, our findings confirm key predictions from mathematical modeling, demonstrating that multi-target assays provide greater specificity and more accurately capture the dynamics of the intact HIV reservoir.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2022

Discovery and pre-clinical evaluation of antibodies to the NKG2A inhibitory receptor

NK and CD8+ T cells are important cells for cytolysis of cancer cells. The tumor microenvironment can upregulate surface expression on these cells of NKG2A, an inhibitory receptor that can dampen immune responses to cancer leading to immune evasion. To block NKG2A-mediated inhibition, we discovered and characterized two fully human antibodies using phage and yeast display that bind to NKG2A. These antibodies are highly specific for human CD94/NKG2A heterodimer complex, displaying no binding to the activating NKG2C receptor. A mutagenesis study revealed that the serine residue at 170 position (S170) of NKG2A is critical for the selectivity of anti-NKG2A antibodies. In vitro cytotoxic assays showed that NKG2A antibody inhibitors activated primary NK cells and promoted ADCC function of specific antibodies that bind to antigens expressed on cancer cells. Summary headingFully human antibodies to the NKG2A inhibitory receptor

immunology↗