1 6494 77 TRAINED IMMUNITY AS A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY. RECENT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT UPON CERTAIN VACCINATIONS OR INFECTIONS HUMAN INNATE IMMUNE CELLS CAN UNDERGO EXTENSIVE METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING, WHICH RESULTS IN ENHANCED IMMUNE RESPONSES UPON HETEROLOGOUS RE-INFECTION, A PROCESS TERMED TRAINED IMMUNITY. TRAINED IMMUNITY HAS ALSO BEEN SHOWN TO BE INAPPROPRIATELY ACTIVATED IN INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. THIS PROVIDES THE POTENTIAL FOR IDENTIFYING NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS: POTENTIATION OF TRAINED IMMUNITY COULD PROTECT FROM SECONDARY INFECTIONS AND REVERSE IMMUNOTOLERANT STATES, WHILE INHIBITION OF TRAINED IMMUNITY MIGHT REDUCE EXCESSIVE IMMUNE ACTIVATION IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS. BY TARGETING SPECIFIC MECHANISMS OF TRAINED IMMUNITY ON EITHER IMMUNOLOGIC, METABOLIC OR EPIGENETIC LEVEL, NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES COULD BE DEVELOPED. 2018 2 2878 29 FUNCTIONAL T CELLS ARE CAPABLE OF SUPERNUMERARY CELL DIVISION AND LONGEVITY. DIFFERENTIATED SOMATIC MAMMALIAN CELLS PUTATIVELY EXHIBIT SPECIES-SPECIFIC DIVISION LIMITS THAT IMPEDE CANCER BUT MAY CONSTRAIN LIFESPANS(1-3). TO PROVIDE IMMUNITY, TRANSIENTLY STIMULATED CD8(+) T CELLS UNDERGO UNUSUALLY RAPID BURSTS OF NUMEROUS CELL DIVISIONS, AND THEN FORM QUIESCENT LONG-LIVED MEMORY CELLS THAT REMAIN POISED TO REPROLIFERATE FOLLOWING SUBSEQUENT IMMUNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES. HERE WE ADDRESSED WHETHER T CELLS ARE INTRINSICALLY CONSTRAINED BY CHRONOLOGICAL OR CELL-DIVISION LIMITS. WE ACTIVATED MOUSE T CELLS IN VIVO USING ACUTE HETEROLOGOUS PRIME-BOOST-BOOST VACCINATIONS(4), TRANSFERRED EXPANDED CELLS TO NEW MICE, AND THEN REPEATED THIS PROCESS ITERATIVELY. OVER 10 YEARS (GREATLY EXCEEDING THE MOUSE LIFESPAN)(5) AND 51 SUCCESSIVE IMMUNIZATIONS, T CELLS REMAINED COMPETENT TO RESPOND TO VACCINATION. CELLS REQUIRED SUFFICIENT REST BETWEEN STIMULATION EVENTS. DESPITE DEMONSTRATING THE POTENTIAL TO EXPAND THE STARTING POPULATION AT LEAST 10(40)-FOLD, CELLS DID NOT SHOW LOSS OF PROLIFERATION CONTROL AND RESULTS WERE NOT DUE TO CONTAMINATION WITH YOUNG CELLS. PERSISTENT STIMULATION BY CHRONIC INFECTIONS OR CANCER CAN CAUSE T CELL PROLIFERATIVE SENESCENCE, FUNCTIONAL EXHAUSTION AND DEATH(6). WE FOUND THAT ALTHOUGH ITERATIVE ACUTE STIMULATIONS ALSO INDUCED SUSTAINED EXPRESSION AND EPIGENETIC REMODELLING OF COMMON EXHAUSTION MARKERS (INCLUDING PD1, WHICH IS ALSO KNOWN AS PDCD1, AND TOX) IN THE CELLS, THEY COULD STILL PROLIFERATE, EXECUTE ANTIMICROBIAL FUNCTIONS AND FORM QUIESCENT MEMORY CELLS. THESE OBSERVATIONS PROVIDE A MODEL TO BETTER UNDERSTAND MEMORY CELL DIFFERENTIATION, EXHAUSTION, CANCER AND AGEING, AND SHOW THAT FUNCTIONALLY COMPETENT T CELLS CAN RETAIN THE POTENTIAL FOR EXTRAORDINARY POPULATION EXPANSION AND LONGEVITY WELL BEYOND THEIR ORGANISMAL LIFESPAN. 2023 3 6503 33 TRAINED IMMUNITY: REPROGRAMMING INNATE IMMUNITY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. TRADITIONALLY, THE INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE DIFFERENTIATED BY THEIR SPECIFICITY AND MEMORY CAPACITY. IN RECENT YEARS, HOWEVER, THIS PARADIGM HAS SHIFTED: CELLS OF THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM APPEAR TO BE ABLE TO GAIN MEMORY CHARACTERISTICS AFTER TRANSIENT STIMULATION, RESULTING IN AN ENHANCED RESPONSE UPON SECONDARY CHALLENGE. THIS PHENOMENON HAS BEEN CALLED TRAINED IMMUNITY. TRAINED IMMUNITY IS CHARACTERIZED BY NONSPECIFIC INCREASED RESPONSIVENESS, MEDIATED VIA EXTENSIVE METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING. TRAINED IMMUNITY EXPLAINS THE HETEROLOGOUS EFFECTS OF VACCINES, WHICH RESULT IN INCREASED PROTECTION AGAINST SECONDARY INFECTIONS. HOWEVER, IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS, TRAINED IMMUNITY CAN INDUCE MALADAPTIVE EFFECTS AND CONTRIBUTE TO HYPERINFLAMMATION AND PROGRESSION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, AUTOINFLAMMATORY SYNDROMES, AND NEUROINFLAMMATION. IN THIS REVIEW WE SUMMARIZE THE CURRENT STATE OF THE FIELD OF TRAINED IMMUNITY, ITS MECHANISMS, AND ITS ROLES IN BOTH HEALTH AND DISEASE. 2021 4 2861 51 FROM TRAINED IMMUNITY IN ALLERGY TO TRAINED IMMUNITY-BASED ALLERGEN VACCINES. INNATE IMMUNE CELLS EXPERIENCE LONG LASTING METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES AFTER AN ENCOUNTER WITH SPECIFIC STIMULI. THIS FACILITATES ENHANCED IMMUNE RESPONSES UPON SECONDARY EXPOSITION TO BOTH THE SAME AND UNRELATED PATHOGENS, A PROCESS TERMED TRAINED IMMUNITY. TRAINED IMMUNITY-BASED VACCINES (TIBV) ARE VACCINES ABLE TO INDUCE INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY, THUS CONFERRING HETEROLOGOUS PROTECTION AGAINST A BROAD RANGE OF PATHOGENS. WHILE TRAINED IMMUNITY HAS BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED IN THE CONTEXT OF INFECTIONS AND MULTIPLE IMMUNE-MEDIATED DISEASES, THE ROLE OF INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE INITIATION AND MAINTENANCE OF CHRONIC ALLERGIC DISEASES REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. OVER THE LAST YEARS, DIFFERENT STUDIES ATTEMPTING TO UNCOVER THE ROLE OF TRAINED IMMUNITY IN ALLERGY HAVE EMERGED. EXPOSITION TO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IMPACTING ALLERGY DEVELOPMENT SUCH AS ALLERGENS OR VIRUSES INDUCES THE REPROGRAMMING OF INNATE IMMUNE CELLS TO ACQUIRE A MORE PRO-INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE IN THE CONTEXT OF ASTHMA OR FOOD ALLERGY. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE CONVINCINGLY DEMONSTRATED THAT PREVENTION OF VIRAL INFECTIONS USING TIBV CONTRIBUTES TO REDUCE WHEEZING ATTACKS IN CHILDREN, WHICH REPRESENT A HIGH-RISK FACTOR FOR ASTHMA DEVELOPMENT LATER IN LIFE. INNATE IMMUNE CELLS TRAINED WITH SPECIFIC STIMULI MIGHT ALSO ACQUIRE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FEATURES AND PROMOTE TOLERANCE, WHICH MAY HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES SUCH AS ALLERGIES. RECENT FINDINGS SHOWED THAT ALLERGOID-MANNAN CONJUGATES, WHICH ARE NEXT GENERATION VACCINES FOR ALLERGEN-SPECIFIC IMMUNOTHERAPY (AIT), ARE ABLE TO REPROGRAM MONOCYTES INTO TOLEROGENIC DENDRITIC CELLS BY MECHANISMS DEPENDING ON METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC REWIRING. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS OF TRAINED IMMUNITY IN ALLERGY WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR THE DESIGN OF NOVEL TRAINED IMMUNITY-BASED ALLERGEN VACCINES AS POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES FOR THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF ALLERGIC DISEASES. 2023 5 6585 27 TRPV4-MEDIATED ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID ON MECHANICAL PAIN. BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SUBERANILOHYDROXAMIC ACID (SAHA) HAVE MAINLY BEEN OBSERVED IN THE CONTEXT OF TUMOR SUPPRESSION VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, BUT OTHER POTENTIAL OUTCOMES FROM ITS USE HAVE ALSO BEEN PROPOSED IN DIFFERENT FIELDS SUCH AS PAIN MODULATION. HERE, WE TRIED TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER SAHA MODULATES SPECIFIC PAIN MODALITIES BY A NON-EPIGENETIC UNKNOWN MECHANISM. FROM 24 H COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA)-INFLAMED HIND PAWS OF MICE, MECHANICAL AND THERMAL INFLAMMATORY PAIN INDICES WERE COLLECTED WITH OR WITHOUT IMMEDIATE INTRAPLANTAR INJECTION OF SAHA. TO EXAMINE THE ACTION OF SAHA ON SENSORY RECEPTOR-SPECIFIC PAIN, TRANSIENT RECEPTOR POTENTIAL (TRP) ION CHANNEL-MEDIATED PAIN INDICES WERE COLLECTED IN THE SAME MANNER OF INTRAPLANTAR TREATMENT. ACTIVITIES OF PRIMARILY CULTURED SENSORY NEURONS AND HETEROLOGOUS CELLS TRANSFECTED WITH TRP CHANNELS WERE MONITORED TO DETERMINE THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM UNDERLYING THE PAIN-MODULATING EFFECT OF SAHA. AS A RESULT, IMMEDIATE AND LOCALIZED PRETREATMENT WITH SAHA, AVOIDING AN EPIGENETIC INTERVENTION, ACUTELY ATTENUATED MECHANICAL INFLAMMATORY PAIN AND RECEPTOR-SPECIFIC PAIN EVOKED BY INJECTION OF A TRP CHANNEL AGONIST IN ANIMAL MODELS. WE SHOW THAT A COMPONENT OF THE MECHANISMS INVOLVES TRPV4 INHIBITION BASED ON IN VITRO INTRACELLULAR CA(2+) IMAGING AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS WITH HETEROLOGOUS EXPRESSION SYSTEMS AND CULTURED SENSORY NEURONS. TAKEN TOGETHER, THE PRESENT STUDY PROVIDES EVIDENCE OF A NOVEL OFF-TARGET ACTION AND ITS MECHANISM OF SAHA IN ITS MODALITY-SPECIFIC ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE EFFECT AND SUGGESTS THE UTILITY OF THIS COMPOUND FOR PHARMACOLOGICAL MODULATION OF PAIN. 2019 6 1310 30 DEFINING TRAINED IMMUNITY AND ITS ROLE IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. IMMUNE MEMORY IS A DEFINING FEATURE OF THE ACQUIRED IMMUNE SYSTEM, BUT ACTIVATION OF THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM CAN ALSO RESULT IN ENHANCED RESPONSIVENESS TO SUBSEQUENT TRIGGERS. THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN TERMED 'TRAINED IMMUNITY', A DE FACTO INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY. RESEARCH IN THE PAST DECADE HAS POINTED TO THE BROAD BENEFITS OF TRAINED IMMUNITY FOR HOST DEFENCE BUT HAS ALSO SUGGESTED POTENTIALLY DETRIMENTAL OUTCOMES IN IMMUNE-MEDIATED AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. HERE WE DEFINE 'TRAINED IMMUNITY' AS A BIOLOGICAL PROCESS AND DISCUSS THE INNATE STIMULI AND THE EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING EVENTS THAT SHAPE THE INDUCTION OF TRAINED IMMUNITY. 2020 7 6502 38 TRAINED IMMUNITY: LONG-TERM ADAPTATION IN INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSES. ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY ANTIGEN SPECIFICITY AND INDUCTION OF LIFELONG IMMUNOLOGIC MEMORY. RECENTLY, IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT INNATE IMMUNE CELLS CAN ALSO BUILD IMMUNE MEMORY CHARACTERISTICS-A PROCESS TERMED TRAINED IMMUNITY. TRAINED IMMUNITY DESCRIBES THE PERSISTENT HYPERRESPONSIVE PHENOTYPE THAT INNATE IMMUNE CELLS CAN DEVELOP AFTER BRIEF STIMULATION. PATHOGENIC STIMULI SUCH AS MICROORGANISMS, AND ALSO ENDOGENOUS MOLECULES INCLUDING URIC ACID, OXIDIZED LDL (LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN), AND CATECHOLAMINES, ARE CAPABLE OF INDUCING MEMORY IN MONOCYTES AND MACROPHAGES. WHILE TRAINED IMMUNITY PROVIDES FAVORABLE CROSS-PROTECTION IN THE CONTEXT OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, THE HEIGHTENED IMMUNE RESPONSE CAN BE MALADAPTIVE IN DISEASES DRIVEN BY CHRONIC SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, SUCH AS ATHEROSCLEROSIS. TRAINED IMMUNITY IS MAINTAINED BY DISTINCT EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC MECHANISMS AND PERSISTS FOR AT LEAST SEVERAL MONTHS IN VIVO DUE TO REPROGRAMMING OF MYELOID PROGENITOR CELLS. ADDITIONALLY, CERTAIN NONIMMUNE CELLS ARE ALSO FOUND TO EXHIBIT TRAINED IMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS. THUS, TRAINED IMMUNITY PRESENTS AN EXCITING FRAMEWORK TO DEVELOP NEW APPROACHES TO VACCINATION AND ALSO NOVEL PHARMACOLOGICAL TARGETS IN THE TREATMENT OF INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. 2021 8 6506 26 TRAINED INNATE IMMUNITY NOT ALWAYS AMICABLE. THE CONCEPT OF „TRAINED INNATE IMMUNITY" IS UNDERSTOOD AS THE ABILITY OF INNATE IMMUNE CELLS TO REMEMBER INVADING AGENTS AND TO RESPOND NONSPECIFICALLY TO REINFECTION WITH INCREASED STRENGTH. TRAINED IMMUNITY IS ORCHESTRATED BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS LEADING TO CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY. ALTHOUGH THIS PHENOMENON WAS ORIGINALLY SEEN MAINLY AS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT, SINCE IT CONFERS BROAD IMMUNOLOGICAL PROTECTION, ENHANCED IMMUNE RESPONSE OF REPROGRAMMED INNATE IMMUNE CELLS MIGHT RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OR PERSISTENCE OF CHRONIC METABOLIC, AUTOIMMUNE OR NEUROINFALMMATORY DISORDERS. THIS PAPER OVERVIEWS SEVERAL EXAMPLES WHERE THE INDUCTION OF TRAINED IMMUNITY MAY BE ESSENTIAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISEASES CHARACTERIZED BY FLAWED INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE. 2019 9 6500 35 TRAINED IMMUNITY IN TYPE 2 IMMUNE RESPONSES. IMMUNOLOGICAL MEMORY OF INNATE IMMUNE CELLS, ALSO TERMED "TRAINED IMMUNITY", ALLOWS FOR CROSS-PROTECTION AGAINST DISTINCT PATHOGENS, BUT MAY ALSO DRIVE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. RECENT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT MEMORY RESPONSES ASSOCIATED WITH TYPE 2 IMMUNITY DO NOT SOLELY RELY ON ADAPTIVE IMMUNE CELLS, SUCH AS T- AND B CELLS, BUT ALSO INVOLVE THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND EPITHELIAL CELLS. MEMORY RESPONSES HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED FOR MONOCYTES, MACROPHAGES AND AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS OF ASTHMATIC PATIENTS AS WELL AS FOR MACROPHAGES AND GROUP 2 INNATE LYMPHOID CELLS (ILC2) FROM ALLERGEN-SENSITIZED OR HELMINTH-INFECTED MICE. THE METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT MEDIATE ALLERGEN- OR HELMINTH-INDUCED REPROGRAMMING OF INNATE IMMUNE CELLS ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO BE UNCOVERED. TRAINED IMMUNITY HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN HELMINTH-DRIVEN IMMUNE REGULATION AND ALLERGEN-SPECIFIC IMMUNOTHERAPY, SUGGESTING ITS EXPLOITATION IN FUTURE THERAPIES. HERE, WE DISCUSS RECENT ADVANCES AND KEY REMAINING QUESTIONS REGARDING THE MECHANISMS AND FUNCTIONS OF TRAINED TYPE 2 IMMUNITY IN INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION. 2022 10 6504 40 TRAINED INNATE IMMUNITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR MUCOSAL IMMUNITY AND INFLAMMATION. THE LONG-STANDING DOGMA THAT IMMUNOLOGICAL MEMORY IS THE EXCLUSIVE PREROGATIVE OF THE ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM HAS BEEN CHALLENGED BY EMERGING EVIDENCE THAT INNATE IMMUNITY CAN ALSO MAINTAIN MEMORY OF PAST EVENTS. SUCH IMMUNOLOGICAL IMPRINTING TAKES TWO FORMS, TRAINED INNATE IMMUNITY AND TOLERANCE. TRAINED IMMUNITY INVOLVES METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC ADAPTATIONS IN INNATE IMMUNE CELLS AND THEIR PROGENITORS IN THE BONE MARROW UPON EXPOSURE TO CERTAIN MICROBIAL AND/OR INFLAMMATORY STIMULI SO THAT THE "TRAINED" CELLS WOULD BE POISED TO RESPOND MUCH FASTER AND STRONGER TO A SUBSEQUENT CHALLENGE (E.G., A NEW INFECTION THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME AS THE EARLIER ONE). CONVERSELY, TOLERANCE LEADS TO ATTENUATED IMMUNE RESPONSES TO SECONDARY STIMULI. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON TRAINED IMMUNITY AND DISCUSSES EVIDENCE FOR ITS EXISTENCE FROM LOWER ORGANISMS TO HUMANS, ITS MECHANISTIC UNDERPINNINGS, AND ITS TRANSLATIONAL RAMIFICATIONS. ALTHOUGH TRAINED IMMUNITY CAN BE CONSIDERED AS AN EVOLUTIONARILY CONSERVED BENEFICIAL RESPONSE AGAINST REINFECTIONS, IN THE SETTING OF MODERN SOCIETIES WITH HIGH PREVALENCE OF CHRONIC MUCOSAL AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, TRAINED IMMUNITY COULD ALSO PROMOTE MALADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSES THAT AGGRAVATE PATHOLOGY. THUS, DEPENDING ON CONTEXT, INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY COULD BE THERAPEUTICALLY MANIPULATED USING DEFINED AGONISTS TO EITHER PROMOTE INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSES (PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIONS OR CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED MYELOSUPPRESSION) OR SUPPRESS EXCESSIVE INFLAMMATION IN INFLAMMATORY AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. 2019 11 340 19 ALTERATIONS IN LOCAL CHROMATIN ENVIRONMENT ARE INVOLVED IN SILENCING AND ACTIVATION OF SUBTELOMERIC VAR GENES IN PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM. PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANE PROTEIN 1 (PFEMP1), ENCODED BY THE VAR GENE FAMILY, UNDERGOES ANTIGENIC VARIATION AND PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CHRONIC INFECTION AND SEVERE MALARIA. ONLY A SINGLE VAR GENE IS TRANSCRIBED PER PARASITE, AND EPIGENETIC CONTROL MECHANISMS ARE FUNDAMENTAL IN THIS STRATEGY OF MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE TRANSCRIPTION. WE SHOW THAT SUBTELOMERIC UPSB VAR GENE PROMOTERS CARRIED ON EPISOMES ARE SILENCED BY DEFAULT, AND THAT PROMOTER ACTIVATION IS SUFFICIENT TO SILENCE ALL OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS. HOWEVER, THEY ARE ACTIVE BY DEFAULT WHEN PLACED DOWNSTREAM OF A SECOND ACTIVE VAR PROMOTER, UNDERSCORING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LOCAL CHROMATIN ENVIRONMENT AND NUCLEAR COMPARTMENTALIZATION IN VAR PROMOTER REGULATION. NATIVE CHROMATIN COVERING THE SPE2-REPEAT ARRAY IN UPSB PROMOTERS IS RESISTANT TO NUCLEASE DIGESTION, AND INSERTION OF THESE REGULATORY ELEMENTS INTO A HETEROLOGOUS PROMOTER CAUSES LOCAL ALTERATIONS IN NUCLEOSOMAL ORGANIZATION AND PROMOTER REPRESSION. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST A COMMON LOGIC UNDERLYING THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL OF ALL VAR GENES, AND HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE EPIGENETIC PROCESSES INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF THIS MAJOR VIRULENCE GENE FAMILY. 2007 12 6481 26 TOX IS EXPRESSED BY EXHAUSTED AND POLYFUNCTIONAL HUMAN EFFECTOR MEMORY CD8(+) T CELLS. CD8(+) T CELL EXHAUSTION IS A HALLMARK OF MANY CANCERS AND CHRONIC INFECTIONS. IN MICE, T CELL FACTOR 1 (TCF-1) MAINTAINS EXHAUSTED CD8(+) T CELL RESPONSES, WHEREAS THYMOCYTE SELECTION-ASSOCIATED HMG BOX (TOX) IS REQUIRED FOR THE EPIGENETIC REMODELING AND SURVIVAL OF EXHAUSTED CD8(+) T CELLS. HOWEVER, IT HAS REMAINED UNCLEAR TO WHAT EXTENT THESE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS PLAY ANALOGOUS ROLES IN HUMANS. IN THIS STUDY, WE MAPPED THE EXPRESSION OF TOX AND TCF-1 AS A FUNCTION OF DIFFERENTIATION AND SPECIFICITY IN THE HUMAN CD8(+) T CELL LANDSCAPE. HERE, WE DEMONSTRATE THAT CIRCULATING TOX(+) CD8(+) T CELLS EXIST IN MOST HUMANS, BUT THAT TOX IS NOT EXCLUSIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH EXHAUSTION. EFFECTOR MEMORY CD8(+) T CELLS GENERALLY EXPRESSED TOX, WHEREAS NAIVE AND EARLY-DIFFERENTIATED MEMORY CD8(+) T CELLS GENERALLY EXPRESSED TCF-1. CYTOLYTIC GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION SIGNATURES WERE ALSO DEFINED BY THE EXPRESSION OF TOX. IN THE CONTEXT OF A RELENTLESS IMMUNE CHALLENGE, EXHAUSTED HIV-SPECIFIC CD8(+) T CELLS COMMONLY EXPRESSED TOX, OFTEN IN CLUSTERS WITH VARIOUS ACTIVATION MARKERS AND INHIBITORY RECEPTORS, AND EXPRESSED LESS TCF-1. HOWEVER, POLYFUNCTIONAL MEMORY CD8(+) T CELLS SPECIFIC FOR CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV) OR EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS (EBV) ALSO EXPRESSED TOX, EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT TCF-1. A SIMILAR PHENOTYPE WAS OBSERVED AMONG HIV-SPECIFIC CD8(+) T CELLS FROM INDIVIDUALS WHO MAINTAINED EXCEPTIONAL IMMUNE CONTROL OF VIRAL REPLICATION. COLLECTIVELY, THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT TOX IS EXPRESSED BY MOST CIRCULATING EFFECTOR MEMORY CD8(+) T CELL SUBSETS AND NOT EXCLUSIVELY LINKED TO EXHAUSTION. 2020 13 5853 24 SUBSETS OF EXHAUSTED CD8(+) T CELLS DIFFERENTIALLY MEDIATE TUMOR CONTROL AND RESPOND TO CHECKPOINT BLOCKADE. T CELL DYSFUNCTION IS A HALLMARK OF MANY CANCERS, BUT THE BASIS FOR T CELL DYSFUNCTION AND THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH ANTIBODY BLOCKADE OF THE INHIBITORY RECEPTOR PD-1 (ANTI-PD-1) REINVIGORATES T CELLS ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. HERE WE SHOW THAT SUCH THERAPY ACTS ON A SPECIFIC SUBPOPULATION OF EXHAUSTED CD8(+) TUMOR-INFILTRATING LYMPHOCYTES (TILS). DYSFUNCTIONAL CD8(+) TILS POSSESS CANONICAL EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL FEATURES OF EXHAUSTION THAT MIRROR THOSE SEEN IN CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTION. EXHAUSTED CD8(+) TILS INCLUDE A SUBPOPULATION OF 'PROGENITOR EXHAUSTED' CELLS THAT RETAIN POLYFUNCTIONALITY, PERSIST LONG TERM AND DIFFERENTIATE INTO 'TERMINALLY EXHAUSTED' TILS. CONSEQUENTLY, PROGENITOR EXHAUSTED CD8(+) TILS ARE BETTER ABLE TO CONTROL TUMOR GROWTH THAN ARE TERMINALLY EXHAUSTED T CELLS. PROGENITOR EXHAUSTED TILS CAN RESPOND TO ANTI-PD-1 THERAPY, BUT TERMINALLY EXHAUSTED TILS CANNOT. PATIENTS WITH MELANOMA WHO HAVE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF PROGENITOR EXHAUSTED CELLS EXPERIENCE A LONGER DURATION OF RESPONSE TO CHECKPOINT-BLOCKADE THERAPY. THUS, APPROACHES TO EXPAND THE POPULATION OF PROGENITOR EXHAUSTED CD8(+) T CELLS MIGHT BE AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF IMPROVING THE RESPONSE TO CHECKPOINT BLOCKADE. 2019 14 5015 19 PERSISTENCE OF SELF-REACTIVE CD8+ T CELLS IN THE CNS REQUIRES TOX-DEPENDENT CHROMATIN REMODELING. SELF-REACTIVE CD8(+) T CELLS ARE IMPORTANT MEDIATORS OF PROGRESSIVE TISSUE DAMAGE IN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, BUT THE MOLECULAR PROGRAM UNDERLYING THESE CELLS' FUNCTIONAL ADAPTATION IS UNCLEAR. HERE WE CHARACTERIZE THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE OF SELF-REACTIVE CD8(+) T CELLS IN A MOUSE MODEL OF PROTRACTED CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) AUTOIMMUNITY AND COMPARE IT TO POPULATIONS OF CNS-RESIDENT MEMORY CD8(+) T CELLS EMERGING FROM ACUTE VIRAL INFECTION. WE FIND THAT AUTOIMMUNE CD8(+) T CELLS PERSISTING AT SITES OF SELF-ANTIGEN EXHIBIT CHARACTERISTIC TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION TOGETHER WITH DISTINCT EPIGENETIC REMODELING. THIS SELF-REACTIVE CD8(+) T CELL FATE DEPENDS ON THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION BY THE DNA-BINDING HMG-BOX PROTEIN TOX WHICH REMODELS MORE THAN 400 GENOMIC REGIONS INCLUDING LOCI SUCH AS TCF7, WHICH IS CENTRAL TO STEMNESS OF CD8(+) T CELLS. CONTINUOUS EXPOSURE TO CNS SELF-ANTIGEN SUSTAINS TOX LEVELS IN SELF-REACTIVE CD8(+) T CELLS, WHEREAS GENETIC ABLATION OF TOX IN CD8(+) T CELLS RESULTS IN SHORTENED PERSISTENCE OF SELF-REACTIVE CD8(+) T CELLS IN THE INFLAMED CNS. OUR STUDY ESTABLISHES AND CHARACTERIZES THE GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION PROGRAM ENABLING CHRONIC T CELL-DRIVEN IMMUNOPATHOLOGY IN CNS AUTOIMMUNITY. 2021 15 3735 26 INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PEDIATRIC IMMUNOMODULATORY AGENTS AND ADJUVANTED VACCINES. UNIQUE FEATURES OF IMMUNITY EARLY IN LIFE INCLUDE A DISTINCT IMMUNE SYSTEM PARTICULARLY RELIANT ON INNATE IMMUNITY, WITH WEAK T HELPER (TH)1-POLARIZING IMMUNE RESPONSES, AND IMPAIRED RESPONSES TO CERTAIN VACCINES LEADING TO A HEIGHTENED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INFECTION. TO THESE IMPORTANT ASPECTS, WE NOW ADD AN INCREASINGLY APPRECIATED CONCEPT THAT THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM DISPLAYS EPIGENETIC MEMORY OF AN EARLIER INFECTION OR VACCINATION, A PHENOMENON THAT HAS BEEN NAMED "TRAINED IMMUNITY." EXPOSURE OF NEONATAL LEUKOCYTES IN VITRO OR NEONATAL ANIMALS OR HUMANS IN VIVO TO SPECIFIC INNATE IMMUNE STIMULI RESULTS IN AN ALTERED INNATE IMMUNE SET POINT. GIVEN THE PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE OF INNATE IMMUNITY EARLY IN LIFE, TRAINED IMMUNITY TO EARLY LIFE INFECTION AND/OR IMMUNIZATION MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN MODULATING BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASES. 2014 16 559 15 BACH2 ENFORCES THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC PROGRAMS OF STEM-LIKE CD8(+) T CELLS. DURING CHRONIC INFECTION AND CANCER, A SELF-RENEWING CD8(+) T CELL SUBSET MAINTAINS LONG-TERM IMMUNITY AND IS CRITICAL TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF IMMUNOTHERAPY. THESE STEM-LIKE CD8(+) T CELLS DIVERGE FROM OTHER CD8(+) SUBSETS EARLY AFTER CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTION. HOWEVER, PATHWAYS GUARDING STEM-LIKE CD8(+) T CELLS AGAINST TERMINAL EXHAUSTION REMAIN UNCLEAR. HERE, WE SHOW THAT THE GENE ENCODING TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR BACH2 IS TRANSCRIPTIONALLY AND EPIGENETICALLY ACTIVE IN STEM-LIKE CD8(+) T CELLS BUT NOT TERMINALLY EXHAUSTED CELLS EARLY AFTER INFECTION. BACH2 OVEREXPRESSION ENFORCED STEM-LIKE CELL FATE, WHEREAS BACH2 DEFICIENCY IMPAIRED STEM-LIKE CD8(+) T CELL DIFFERENTIATION. SINGLE-CELL TRANSCRIPTOMIC AND EPIGENOMIC APPROACHES REVEALED THAT BACH2 ESTABLISHED THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC PROGRAMS OF STEM-LIKE CD8(+) T CELLS. IN ADDITION, BACH2 SUPPRESSED THE MOLECULAR PROGRAM DRIVING TERMINAL EXHAUSTION THROUGH TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION AND EPIGENETIC SILENCING. THUS, OUR STUDY REVEALS A NEW PATHWAY THAT ENFORCES COMMITMENT TO STEM-LIKE CD8(+) LINEAGE AND PREVENTS AN ALTERNATIVE TERMINALLY EXHAUSTED CELL FATE. 2021 17 6376 29 THE ROLE OF NEUTROPHILS IN TRAINED IMMUNITY. THE PRINCIPLE OF TRAINED IMMUNITY REPRESENTS INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY DUE TO SUSTAINED, MAINLY EPIGENETIC, CHANGES TRIGGERED BY ENDOGENOUS OR EXOGENOUS STIMULI IN BONE MARROW (BM) PROGENITORS (CENTRAL TRAINED IMMUNITY) AND THEIR INNATE IMMUNE CELL PROGENY, THEREBY TRIGGERING ELEVATED RESPONSIVENESS AGAINST SECONDARY STIMULI. BM PROGENITORS CAN RESPOND TO MICROBIAL AND STERILE SIGNALS, THEREBY POSSIBLY ACQUIRING TRAINED IMMUNITY-MEDIATED LONG-LASTING ALTERATIONS THAT MAY SHAPE THE FATE AND FUNCTION OF THEIR PROGENY, FOR EXAMPLE, NEUTROPHILS. NEUTROPHILS, THE MOST ABUNDANT INNATE IMMUNE CELL POPULATION, ARE PRODUCED IN THE BM FROM COMMITTED PROGENITOR CELLS IN A PROCESS DESIGNATED GRANULOPOIESIS. NEUTROPHILS ARE THE FIRST RESPONDERS AGAINST INFECTIOUS OR INFLAMMATORY CHALLENGES AND HAVE VERSATILE FUNCTIONS IN IMMUNITY. TOGETHER WITH OTHER INNATE IMMUNE CELLS, NEUTROPHILS ARE EFFECTORS OF PERIPHERAL TRAINED IMMUNITY. HOWEVER, GIVEN THE SHORT LIFETIME OF NEUTROPHILS, THEIR ABILITY TO ACQUIRE IMMUNOLOGICAL MEMORY MAY LIE IN THE CENTRAL TRAINING OF THEIR BM PROGENITORS RESULTING IN GENERATION OF REPROGRAMMED, THAT IS, "TRAINED", NEUTROPHILS. ALTHOUGH TRAINED IMMUNITY MAY HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS IN INFECTION OR CANCER, IT MAY ALSO MEDIATE DETRIMENTAL OUTCOMES IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. HERE, WE REVIEW THE EMERGING RESEARCH AREA OF TRAINED IMMUNITY WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE ROLE OF NEUTROPHILS AND GRANULOPOIESIS. 2023 18 771 29 CD8(+) T CELL EXHAUSTION. CD8(+) T CELLS ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE PROTECTIVE IMMUNITY AGAINST INTRACELLULAR PATHOGENS AND TUMOR. IN THE CASE OF CHRONIC INFECTION OR CANCER, CD8(+) T CELLS ARE EXPOSED TO PERSISTENT ANTIGEN AND/OR INFLAMMATORY SIGNALS. THIS EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF SIGNALS OFTEN LEADS CD8(+) T CELLS TO GRADUAL DETERIORATION OF T CELL FUNCTION, A STATE CALLED "EXHAUSTION." EXHAUSTED T CELLS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY PROGRESSIVE LOSS OF EFFECTOR FUNCTIONS (CYTOKINE PRODUCTION AND KILLING FUNCTION), EXPRESSION OF MULTIPLE INHIBITORY RECEPTORS (SUCH AS PD-1 AND LAG3), DYSREGULATED METABOLISM, POOR MEMORY RECALL RESPONSE, AND HOMEOSTATIC PROLIFERATION. THESE ALTERED FUNCTIONS ARE CLOSELY RELATED WITH ALTERED TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROGRAM AND EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE THAT CLEARLY DISTINGUISH EXHAUSTED T CELLS FROM NORMAL EFFECTOR AND MEMORY T CELLS. T CELL EXHAUSTION IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH INEFFICIENT CONTROL OF PERSISTING INFECTIONS AND CANCERS, BUT RE-INVIGORATION OF EXHAUSTED T CELLS WITH INHIBITORY RECEPTOR BLOCKADE CAN PROMOTE IMPROVED IMMUNITY AND DISEASE OUTCOME. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCES SUPPORT THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF TARGETING EXHAUSTED T CELLS. HOWEVER, EXHAUSTED T CELLS COMPRISE HETEROGENOUS CELL POPULATION WITH DISTINCT RESPONSIVENESS TO INTERVENTION. UNDERSTANDING MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF T CELL EXHAUSTION IS ESSENTIAL TO ESTABLISH RATIONAL IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. 2019 19 2409 18 EPIGENETIC SCARRING OF EXHAUSTED T CELLS HINDERS MEMORY DIFFERENTIATION UPON ELIMINATING CHRONIC ANTIGENIC STIMULATION. EXHAUSTED CD8 T CELLS (T(EX)) ARE A DISTINCT STATE OF T CELL DIFFERENTIATION ASSOCIATED WITH FAILURE TO CLEAR CHRONIC VIRUSES AND CANCER. IMMUNOTHERAPIES SUCH AS PD-1 BLOCKADE CAN REINVIGORATE T(EX) CELLS, BUT REINVIGORATION IS NOT DURABLE. A MAJOR UNANSWERED QUESTION IS WHETHER T(EX) CELLS DIFFERENTIATE INTO FUNCTIONAL DURABLE MEMORY T CELLS (T(MEM)) UPON ANTIGEN CLEARANCE. HERE, USING A MOUSE MODEL, WE FOUND THAT UPON ELIMINATING CHRONIC ANTIGENIC STIMULATION, T(EX) CELLS PARTIALLY (RE)ACQUIRE PHENOTYPIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL FEATURES OF T(MEM) CELLS. THESE 'RECOVERING' T(EX) CELLS ORIGINATED FROM THE T CELL FACTOR (TCF-1(+)) T(EX) PROGENITOR SUBSET. NEVERTHELESS, THE RECALL CAPACITY OF THESE RECOVERING T(EX) CELLS REMAINED COMPROMISED AS COMPARED TO T(MEM) CELLS. CHROMATIN-ACCESSIBILITY PROFILING REVEALED A FAILURE TO RECOVER CORE MEMORY EPIGENETIC CIRCUITS AND MAINTENANCE OF A LARGELY EXHAUSTED OPEN CHROMATIN LANDSCAPE. THUS, DESPITE SOME PHENOTYPIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL RECOVERY UPON ANTIGEN CLEARANCE, EXHAUSTION LEAVES DURABLE EPIGENETIC SCARS CONSTRAINING FUTURE IMMUNE RESPONSES. THESE RESULTS SUPPORT EPIGENETIC REMODELING INTERVENTIONS FOR T(EX) CELL-TARGETED IMMUNOTHERAPIES. 2021 20 4177 29 MEMORY T CELL, EXHAUSTION, AND TUMOR IMMUNITY. CD8(+)T CELLS ARE IMPORTANT IN PROTECTIVE IMMUNITY AGAINST INTRACELLULAR PATHOGENS AND TUMORS. IN CHRONIC INFECTIONS OR CANCER, CD8(+)T CELLS ARE CONSTANTLY EXPOSED TO ANTIGENS AND INFLAMMATORY SIGNALS. SUCH EXCESSIVE AND CONSTITUTIVE SIGNALS LEAD TO THE DETERIORATION OF T CELL FUNCTION, CALLED 'EXHAUSTION'. EXHAUSTED T CELLS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY LOW PROLIFERATION IN RESPONSE TO ANTIGEN STIMULATION, PROGRESSIVE LOSS OF EFFECTOR FUNCTION (CYTOKINE PRODUCTION AND KILLING FUNCTION), EXPRESSION OF MULTIPLE INHIBITORY RECEPTORS SUCH AS PD-1, TIM3, AND LAG3, AND METABOLIC ALTERATIONS FROM OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION TO GLYCOLYSIS. THESE DYSFUNCTIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERED TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROGRAMS AND EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS AND RECENT STUDIES SUGGESTED THAT NR4A AND TOX TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS ARE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN EXHAUSTION PHENOTYPES. HOWEVER, AN INCREASE THE EARLY MEMORY T CELLS INCLUDING STEM CELL MEMORY T (T(SCM)) CELLS IS CRITICAL FOR T CELL PERSISTENCE AND EFFICIENT TUMOR KILLING ESPECIALLY FOR ADOPTIVE CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY SUCH AS CAR-T CELL THERAPY. AN INCREASING AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF TARGETING EXHAUSTED T CELLS AND T(SCM) CELLS. WE HAVE BEGUN TO UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF T CELL EXHAUSTION AND EARLY MEMORY FORMATION, AND THE CLINICAL APPLICATION OF CONVERTING EXHAUSTED T CELLS TO REJUVENATED EARLY MEMORY T CELLS IS THE GOAL OF OUR STUDY. 2020