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Biology subjects

Uhlig, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Uhlig, H..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

A longitudinal single-cell therapeutic atlas of anti-tumour necrosis factor treatment in inflammatory bowel disease

Precision medicine in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) requires an understanding of how cellular networks change following therapy. We describe a therapeutic atlas for Crohns disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) following anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) therapy. We generated ~1 million single-cell transcriptomes, organised into 109 cell states, from 216 gut biopsies from 38 patients and three controls, revealing disease- and therapy-specific differences. A systems-biology analysis identified distinct spatially-resolved cellular microenvironments: granuloma signatures in CD and interferon (IFN)-response signatures localising to T-cell aggregates and epithelial damage in CD and UC. Longitudinal comparisons demonstrated that disease progression in non-responders associated with myeloid and stromal cell perturbations in CD and increased multi-cellular IFN signalling in UC. IFN signalling was also observed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovium with a lymphoid pathotype. Our therapeutic atlas informs drug positioning across IMIDs, and suggests a rationale for the use of janus kinase (JAK) inhibition following anti-TNF resistance.

immunology↗

A conserved population of MHC II-restricted, innate-like, commensal-reactive T cells in the gut of humans and mice

Interactions with commensal microbes shape host immunity on multiple levels and are recognized to play a pivotal role in human health and disease. In this study, we show that MHC-II restricted, commensal-reactive T cells in the colon of both humans and mice acquire transcriptional and functional characteristics typically associated with innate-like T cells, including the expression of the key transcription factor PLZF and the ability to respond to cytokines including IL-12, IL-18 and IL-23 in a TCR-independent manner. These MHC-II restricted, innate-like, commensal-reactive T cells (TMIC) are endowed with a polyfunctional effector potential spanning classic Th1- and Th17-cytokines, cytotoxic molecules as well as regulators of epithelial homeostasis and represent an abundant and conserved cell population in the human and murine colon. T cells with the TMIC phenotype were increased in ulcerative colitis patients and their presence aggravated pathology in DSS-treated mice, pointing towards a pathogenic role in colitis. Our findings add TMIC cells to the expanding spectrum of innate-like immune cells positioned at the frontline of intestinal immune surveillance, capable of acting as sentinels of microbes and the local cytokine milieu.

immunology↗

Cells of the human intestinal tract mapped across space and time

The cellular landscape of the human intestinal tract is dynamic throughout life, developing in utero and changing in response to functional requirements and environmental exposures. To comprehensively map cell lineages in the healthy developing, pediatric and adult human gut from ten distinct anatomical regions, as well as draining lymph nodes, we used singlecell RNA-seq and VDJ analysis of roughly one third of a million cells. This reveals the presence of BEST4+ absorptive cells throughout the human intestinal tract, demonstrating the existence of this cell type beyond the colon for the first time. Furthermore, we implicate IgG sensing as a novel function of intestinal tuft cells, and link these cells to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. We define novel glial and neuronal cell populations in the developing enteric nervous system, and predict cell-type specific expression of Hirschsprungs disease-associated genes. Finally, using a systems approach, we identify key cell players across multiple cell lineages driving secondary lymphoid tissue formation in early human development. We show that these programs are adopted in inflammatory bowel disease to recruit and retain immune cells at the site of inflammation. These data provide an unprecedented catalogue of intestinal cells, and new insights into cellular programs in development, homeostasis and disease.

cell biology↗