1 5602 114 RORGAMMAT(+) HEMATOPOIETIC CELLS ARE NECESSARY FOR TUMOR CELL PROLIFERATION DURING COLITIS-ASSOCIATED TUMORIGENESIS IN MICE. COLORECTAL CANCER (CRC) IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON TUMOR ENTITIES. IN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLITIS-ASSOCIATED COLON CANCER IS CONSIDERED A DANGEROUS LONG-TERM COMPLICATION. IL-17A AND THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR RETINOIC ACID RECEPTOR-RELATED ORPHAN RECEPTOR GAMMAT (RORGAMMAT) PLAY FUNDAMENTAL ROLES IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES; IN HUMAN STUDIES, WE DETECTED A DENSE INFILTRATION OF RORGAMMAT-DEPENDENT CD4(+) IL17A(+) T HELPER (TH)17 CELLS IN SPECIMENS OF CRC, ULCERATIVE COLITIS, AND ULCERATIVE COLITIS-ASSOCIATED COLORECTAL CANCER. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISTIC ROLE OF RORGAMMAT(+) HEMATOPOIETIC CELLS IN COLITIS-ASSOCIATED TUMORIGENESIS REMAINS UNCLEAR. TO INVESTIGATE COLITIS-ASSOCIATED COLON TUMORIGENESIS, WE CONDUCTED STUDIES IN THE AOM+DSS MOUSE MODEL THAT REVEALED THE IMPORTANCE OF RORGAMMAT FOR COLON TUMOR PROGRESSION. IN THE ABSENCE OF RORGAMMAT-DEPENDENT TH17 LYMPHOCYTES, MICE SHOWED SIGNS OF INTENSE CHRONIC COLITIS, BUT DEVELOPED SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER MACROSCOPIC TUMOR NODULES. THE REDUCTION OF TUMOR DEVELOPMENT IN RORGAMMAT(-/-) MICE WAS NOT DUE TO REDUCED COLON TUMOR INITIATION. HOWEVER, THE PROLIFERATION RATE OF TUMOR CELLS WAS REDUCED IN THE ABSENCE OF RORGAMMAT-DEPENDENT TH17 CELLS AND TUMOR CELLS SHOWED PRONOUNCED SIGNS OF SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC AND LYSOSOMAL CHANGES. THESE RESULTS INDICATE AN IMPORTANT ROLE FOR THE IMMUNOLOGICAL MILIEU IN COLITIS-ASSOCIATED CANCER, WHICH IS SHAPED IN-PART BY RORGAMMAT-DEPENDENT TH17 LYMPHOCYTES THAT SUPPORT CRC GROWTH. 2015 2 1061 36 CLINICAL REMISSION OF SIGHT-THREATENING NON-INFECTIOUS UVEITIS IS CHARACTERIZED BY AN UPREGULATION OF PERIPHERAL T-REGULATORY CELL POLARIZED TOWARDS T-BET AND TIGIT. BACKGROUND: NON-INFECTIOUS UVEITIS CAN CAUSE CHRONIC RELAPSING AND REMITTING OCULAR INFLAMMATION, WHICH MAY REQUIRE HIGH DOSE SYSTEMIC IMMUNOSUPPRESSION TO PREVENT SEVERE SIGHT LOSS. IT HAS BEEN CLASSICALLY DESCRIBED AS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE, MEDIATED BY PRO-INFLAMMATORY TH1 AND TH17 T-CELL SUBSETS. STUDIES SUGGEST THAT NATURAL IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) T-REGULATORY CELLS (TREGS) ARE INVOLVED IN RESOLUTION OF INFLAMMATION AND MAY BE INVOLVED IN THE MAINTENANCE OF CLINICAL REMISSION. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER THERE IS A PERIPHERAL BLOOD IMMUNOREGULATORY PHENOTYPE ASSOCIATED WITH CLINICAL REMISSION OF SIGHT-THREATENING NON-INFECTIOUS UVEITIS BY COMPARING PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEVELS OF TREG, TH1, AND TH17, AND ASSOCIATED DNA METHYLATION AND CYTOKINE LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE UVEITIC DISEASE, CONTROL SUBJECTS AND PATIENTS (WITH PREVIOUSLY ACTIVE DISEASE) IN CLINICAL REMISSION INDUCED BY IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DRUGS. METHODS: ISOLATED PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMC) FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD SAMPLES FROM PROSPECTIVELY RECRUITED SUBJECTS WERE ANALYZED BY FLOW CYTOMETRY FOR CD3, CD4, FOXP3, TIGIT, T-BET, AND RELATED ORPHAN RECEPTOR GAMMAT. EPIGENETIC DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF FOXP3 TREG-SPECIFIC DEMETHYLATED REGION (TSDR), FOXP3 PROMOTER, TBX21, RORC2, AND TIGIT LOCI WERE DETERMINED IN CRYOPRESERVED PBMC USING A NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING APPROACH. RELATED CYTOKINES WERE MEASURED IN BLOOD SERA. FUNCTIONAL SUPPRESSIVE CAPACITY OF TREG WAS ASSESSED USING T-CELL PROLIFERATION ASSAYS. RESULTS: FIFTY PATIENTS WITH UVEITIS (INTERMEDIATE, POSTERIOR, AND PANUVEITIS) AND 10 CONTROL SUBJECTS WERE RECRUITED. THE FREQUENCY OF CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) TREG, TIGIT(+) TREG, AND T-BET(+) TREG AND THE RATIO OF TREG TO TH1 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN REMISSION PATIENTS COMPARED WITH PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE UVEITIC DISEASE; AND TIGIT(+) TREGS WERE A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF CLINICAL REMISSION. TREG FROM PATIENTS IN CLINICAL REMISSION DEMONSTRATED A HIGH LEVEL OF IN VITRO SUPPRESSIVE FUNCTION COMPARED WITH TREG FROM CONTROL SUBJECTS AND FROM PATIENTS WITH UNTREATED ACTIVE DISEASE. PBMC FROM PATIENTS IN CLINICAL REMISSION HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER METHYLATION LEVELS AT THE FOXP3 TSDR, FOXP3 PROMOTER, AND TIGIT LOCI AND HIGHER LEVELS AT RORC LOCI THAN THOSE WITH ACTIVE DISEASE. CLINICAL REMISSION WAS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER SERUM LEVELS OF TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA AND IL-10, WHICH POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH TREG LEVELS, AND LOWER SERUM LEVELS OF IFNGAMMA, IL-17A, AND IL-22 COMPARED WITH PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE DISEASE. CONCLUSION: CLINICAL REMISSION OF SIGHT-THREATENING NON-INFECTIOUS UVEITIS HAS AN IMMUNOREGULATORY PHENOTYPE CHARACTERIZED BY UPREGULATION OF PERIPHERAL TREG, POLARIZED TOWARD T-BET AND TIGIT. THESE FINDINGS MAY ASSIST WITH INDIVIDUALIZED THERAPY OF UVEITIS, BY INFORMING WHETHER DRUG THERAPY HAS INDUCED PHENOTYPICALLY STABLE TREG ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM CLINICAL REMISSION. 2018 3 6568 32 TRANSMATERNAL HELICOBACTER PYLORI EXPOSURE REDUCES ALLERGIC AIRWAY INFLAMMATION IN OFFSPRING THROUGH REGULATORY T CELLS. BACKGROUND: TRANSMATERNAL EXPOSURE TO TOBACCO, MICROBES, NUTRIENTS, AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SHAPES THE FETAL IMMUNE SYSTEM THROUGH EPIGENETIC PROCESSES. THE GASTRIC MICROBE HELICOBACTER PYLORI REPRESENTS AN ANCESTRAL CONSTITUENT OF THE HUMAN MICROBIOTA THAT CAUSES GASTRIC DISORDERS ON THE ONE HAND AND IS INVERSELY ASSOCIATED WITH ALLERGIES AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS ON THE OTHER. OBJECTIVE: HERE WE INVESTIGATE THE CONSEQUENCES OF TRANSMATERNAL EXPOSURE TO H PYLORI IN UTERO AND/OR DURING LACTATION FOR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO VIRAL AND BACTERIAL INFECTION, PREDISPOSITION TO ALLERGIC AIRWAY INFLAMMATION, AND DEVELOPMENT OF IMMUNE CELL POPULATIONS IN THE LUNGS AND LYMPHOID ORGANS. METHODS: WE USE EXPERIMENTAL MODELS OF HOUSE DUST MITE- OR OVALBUMIN-INDUCED AIRWAY INFLAMMATION AND INFLUENZA A VIRUS OR CITROBACTER RODENTIUM INFECTION ALONG WITH METAGENOMICS ANALYSES, MULTICOLOR FLOW CYTOMETRY, AND BISULFITE PYROSEQUENCING, TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF H PYLORI ON ALLERGY SEVERITY AND IMMUNOLOGIC AND MICROBIOME CORRELATES THEREOF. RESULTS: PERINATAL EXPOSURE TO H PYLORI EXTRACT OR ITS IMMUNOMODULATOR VACUOLATING CYTOTOXIN CONFERS ROBUST PROTECTIVE EFFECTS AGAINST ALLERGIC AIRWAY INFLAMMATION NOT ONLY IN FIRST- BUT ALSO SECOND-GENERATION OFFSPRING BUT DOES NOT INCREASE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO VIRAL OR BACTERIAL INFECTION. IMMUNE CORRELATES OF ALLERGY PROTECTION INCLUDE SKEWING OF REGULATORY OVER EFFECTOR T CELLS, EXPANSION OF REGULATORY T-CELL SUBSETS EXPRESSING CXCR3 OR RETINOIC ACID-RELATED ORPHAN RECEPTOR GAMMAT, AND DEMETHYLATION OF THE FORKHEAD BOX P3 (FOXP3) LOCUS. THE COMPOSITION AND DIVERSITY OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL MICROBIOTA IS MEASURABLY AFFECTED BY PERINATAL H PYLORI EXPOSURE. CONCLUSION: WE CONCLUDE THAT EXPOSURE TO H PYLORI HAS CONSEQUENCES NOT ONLY FOR THE CARRIER BUT ALSO FOR SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS THAT CAN BE EXPLOITED FOR INTERVENTIONAL PURPOSES. 2019 4 4756 31 NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGET(S) FOR PSORIATIC DISEASE. PSORIASIS AND PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS, TOGETHER KNOWN AS PSORIATIC DISEASE, IS HIGHLY PREVALENT CHRONIC RELAPSING INFLAMMATORY DISEASE AFFECTING SKIN, JOINTS OR BOTH AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERAL COMORBIDITIES SUCH AS CARDIOVASCULAR, METABOLIC, PSYCHIATRIC, RENAL DISEASE ETC. THE ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF PSORIASIS IS COMPLEX AND MAINLY DRIVEN BY ABERRANT IMMUNE RESPONSE OWING TO THE GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY AND VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SUCH AS TRAUMA, INFECTIONS AND DRUGS. RECENT ADVANCES IN UNDERSTANDING MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR PATHWAYS HAVE IDENTIFIED TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), INTERLEUKIN-17 (IL-17), IL-23, IL-22 AS MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS IN PSORIASIS PATHOGENESIS. ADVANCES IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, THE INTERACTION OF AUTOINFLAMMATION AND CLINICAL PHENOTYPES HAVE LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TARGETED THERAPEUTIC AGENTS WHICH INCLUDE TNF-ALPHA, IL-17, IL-23, IL-1 ALPHA/BETA OR IL-36 INHIBITORS OR RECEPTOR BLOCKERS, SMALL MOLECULE DRUGS LIKE PHOSPHODIESTERASE-4 INHIBITORS (APREMILAST), JANUS KINASE (JAK) INHIBITORS, RETINOIC ACID RECEPTOR-RELATED ORPHAN RECEPTOR GAMMAT (RORGAMMAT) INHIBITORS. THESE NOVEL DRUGS HAVE PROMISED THE POTENTIAL OF IMPROVED DISEASE CONTROL. IN RECENT YEARS, THE TRANSITION FROM BIOLOGICS TO BIOSIMILARS ESPECIALLY WITH TNF-ALPHA INHIBITORS HAD SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON DECREASING HEALTH CARE COST AND INCREASING THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS TO THE PATIENTS. HOWEVER, SELECTION OF RIGHT TREATMENT FOR AN INDIVIDUAL PATIENT STILL REMAINS CHALLENGING. MOREOVER, INTERPLAY BETWEEN DIFFERENT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS SUCH AS THE DNA METHYLATION, CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS AND NONCODING RNA REGULATION HAS RECENTLY BEEN STARTED TO BE DECIPHERED. ENZYMES INHIBITORS INVOLVED IN EPIGENETIC PATHWAYS SUCH AS DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES AND HISTONE DEACETYLASES DEMONSTRATED TO RESTORE NORMAL EPIGENETIC PATTERNS IN CLINICAL SETTINGS AND HAVE PROVIDED THE POTENTIAL AS NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR PSORIASIS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE WILL DISCUSS NOVEL BIOLOGIC AGENTS AND NEWER THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES IN TREATMENT OF PSORIATIC DISEASE. 2022 5 5908 28 TARGETED DE-METHYLATION OF THE FOXP3-TSDR IS SUFFICIENT TO INDUCE PHYSIOLOGICAL FOXP3 EXPRESSION BUT NOT A FUNCTIONAL TREG PHENOTYPE. CD4+ REGULATORY T CELLS (TREGS) ARE KEY MEDIATORS OF IMMUNOLOGICAL TOLERANCE AND PROMISING EFFECTOR CELLS FOR IMMUNO-SUPPRESSIVE ADOPTIVE CELLULAR THERAPY TO FIGHT AUTOIMMUNITY AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. THEIR FUNCTIONAL STABILITY IS CRITICAL FOR THEIR CLINICAL UTILITY AND HAS BEEN CORRELATED TO THE DEMETHYLATED STATE OF THE TSDR/CNS2 ENHANCER ELEMENT IN THE TREG LINEAGE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR FOXP3. HOWEVER, PROOF FOR A CAUSAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE TSDR DE-METHYLATION TO FOXP3 STABILITY AND TREG INDUCTION IS SO FAR LACKING. WE HERE ESTABLISHED A POWERFUL TRANSIENT-TRANSFECTION CRISPR-CAS9-BASED EPIGENETIC EDITING METHOD FOR THE SELECTIVE DE-METHYLATION OF THE TSDR WITHIN THE ENDOGENOUS CHROMATIN ENVIRONMENT OF A LIVING CELL. THE INDUCED DE-METHYLATED STATE WAS STABLE OVER WEEKS IN CLONAL T CELL PROLIFERATION CULTURES EVEN AFTER EXPRESSION OF THE EDITING COMPLEX HAD CEASED. EPIGENETIC EDITING OF THE TSDR RESULTED IN FOXP3 EXPRESSION, EVEN IN ITS PHYSIOLOGICAL ISOFORM DISTRIBUTION, PROVING A CAUSAL ROLE FOR THE DE-METHYLATED TSDR IN FOXP3 REGULATION. HOWEVER, SUCCESSFUL FOXP3 INDUCTION WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH A SWITCH TOWARDS A FUNCTIONAL TREG PHENOTYPE, IN CONTRAST TO WHAT HAS BEEN REPORTED FROM FOXP3 OVEREXPRESSION APPROACHES. THUS, TSDR DE-METHYLATION IS REQUIRED, BUT NOT SUFFICIENT FOR A STABLE TREG PHENOTYPE INDUCTION. THEREFORE, TARGETED DEMETHYLATION OF THE TSDR MAY BE A CRITICAL ADDITION TO PUBLISHED IN VITRO TREG INDUCTION PROTOCOLS WHICH SO FAR LACK FOXP3 STABILITY. 2020 6 5760 30 SOLUBLE URIC ACID PRIMES TLR-INDUCED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION BY HUMAN PRIMARY CELLS VIA INHIBITION OF IL-1RA. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY OF THE PROINFLAMMATORY ROLE OF URIC ACID HAS FOCUSED ON THE EFFECTS OF ITS CRYSTALS OF MONOSODIUM URATE (MSU). HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN WHETHER URIC ACID ITSELF CAN DIRECTLY HAVE PROINFLAMMATORY EFFECTS. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATE THE PRIMING EFFECTS OF URIC ACID EXPOSURE ON THE CYTOKINE PRODUCTION OF PRIMARY HUMAN CELLS UPON STIMULATION WITH GOUT-RELATED STIMULI. METHODS: PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) WERE HARVESTED FROM PATIENTS WITH GOUT AND HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. CELLS WERE PRETREATED WITH OR WITHOUT URIC ACID IN SOLUBLE FORM FOR 24 H AND THEN STIMULATED FOR 24 H WITH TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR (TLR)2 OR TLR4 LIGANDS IN THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MSU CRYSTALS. CYTOKINE PRODUCTION WAS MEASURED BY ELISA; MRNA LEVELS WERE ASSESSED USING QPCR. RESULTS: THE PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN (IL)-1BETA AND IL-6 WAS HIGHER IN PATIENTS COMPARED WITH CONTROLS AND THIS CORRELATED WITH SERUM URATE LEVELS. PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY POTENTIATED WHEN CELLS FROM HEALTHY SUBJECTS WERE PRETREATED WITH URIC ACID. SURPRISINGLY, THIS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT DOWNREGULATION OF THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE IL-1 RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST (IL-1RA). THIS EFFECT WAS SPECIFIC TO STIMULATION BY URIC ACID AND WAS EXERTED AT THE LEVEL OF GENE TRANSCRIPTION. EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING AT THE LEVEL OF HISTONE METHYLATION BY URIC ACID WAS INVOLVED IN THIS EFFECT. CONCLUSIONS: IN THIS STUDY WE DEMONSTRATE A MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF URIC ACID (UP TO 50 MG/DL) INFLUENCE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES BY FACILITATING IL-1BETA PRODUCTION IN PBMCS. WE SHOW THAT A MECHANISM FOR THE AMPLIFICATION OF IL-1BETA CONSISTS IN THE DOWNREGULATION OF IL-1RA AND THAT THIS EFFECT COULD BE EXERTED VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS SUCH AS HISTONE METHYLATION. HYPERURICAEMIA CAUSES A SHIFT IN THE IL-1BETA/IL-1RA BALANCE PRODUCED BY PBMCS AFTER EXPOSURE TO MSU CRYSTALS AND TLR-MEDIATED STIMULI, AND THIS PHENOMENON IS LIKELY TO REINFORCE THE ENHANCED STATE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. 2016 7 5049 30 PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITION OF RORC2 ENHANCES HUMAN TH17-TREG STABILITY AND FUNCTION. INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES (IBD) ARE CHRONIC CONDITIONS THAT RESULT FROM UNCONTROLLED INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION. PATHOGENIC TH17 CELLS, CHARACTERIZED BY PRODUCTION OF IL-17A IN THE ABSENCE OF IL-10, ARE THOUGHT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS INFLAMMATION, BUT IN HUMANS, ANTIBODY-MEDIATED BLOCKADE OF IL-17A IS AN INEFFECTIVE IBD THERAPY WHEREAS IL-23 BLOCKADE IS EFFECTIVE. HERE, WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITION OF RORC2, THE TH17 CELL LINEAGE-DEFINING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR, ON IN VIVO-DIFFERENTIATED HUMAN TH17 CELLS AND TH17-LIKE TREGS (TH17-TREGS). BMS-336, A SMALL MOLECULE RORC2 INVERSE AGONIST, INHIBITED EXPRESSION OF RORC2-REGULATED GENES IN PERIPHERAL TH17 CELLS (CD4(+) CD25(-) CD127(+) CXCR3(-) CCR4(+) CCR6(+) ) IN A DOSE-DEPENDENT MANNER, WITH SIMILAR INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON LAMINAR PROPRIA MONONUCLEAR CELLS FROM IBD AND NON-IBD SUBJECTS. EXPOSURE OF PERIPHERAL TH17-TREGS (CD4(+) CD25(HI) CD127(LO) CXCR3(-) CCR4(+) CCR6(+) ) TO BMS-336 ALSO INHIBITED IL-17A PRODUCTION AND PREVENTED INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE-INDUCED DESTABILIZATION, AS EVIDENCED BY PRESERVED FOXP3 EXPRESSION AND EPIGENETIC STATUS OF THE TREG-SPECIFIC DEMETHYLATION REGION. IN PARALLEL, RORC2 INHIBITION INCREASED THE PRODUCTION OF IL-10 IN TH17-TREGS, RESULTING IN ENHANCED SUPPRESSION OF INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES FROM MYELOID CELLS. THUS, VIA ITS ABILITY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY INHIBIT TH17 CELLS AND ENHANCE THE STABILITY AND FUNCTION OF TH17-TREGS, PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITION OF RORC2 IS A PROMISING APPROACH TO SUPPRESS INFLAMMATION AND PROMOTE IMMUNE REGULATION IN IBD. 2020 8 6599 23 TWIST1 AND TWIST2 INDUCE HUMAN MACROPHAGE MEMORY UPON CHRONIC INNATE RECEPTOR TREATMENT BY HDAC-MEDIATED DEACETYLATION OF CYTOKINE PROMOTERS. INTESTINAL TISSUES ARE CONTINUOUSLY EXPOSED TO MICROBIAL PRODUCTS THAT STIMULATE PATTERN-RECOGNITION RECEPTORS (PRRS). ONGOING PRR STIMULATION CAN CONFER EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN MACROPHAGES, WHICH CAN THEN REGULATE SUBSEQUENT IMMUNE OUTCOMES AND ADAPTATION TO THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT. MECHANISMS LEADING TO THESE CHANGES ARE INCOMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD. WE FOUND THAT SHORT-TERM STIMULATION OF THE PRR NOD2 IN PRIMARY HUMAN MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES RESULTED IN INCREASED H3 AND H4 ACETYLATION OF CYTOKINE PROMOTERS, CONSISTENT WITH THE INCREASED CYTOKINE SECRETION OBSERVED. HOWEVER, WITH PROLONGED NOD2 STIMULATION, BOTH THE ACETYLATION AND CYTOKINE SECRETION WERE DRAMATICALLY DECREASED. CHRONIC NOD2 STIMULATION UPREGULATED THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS TWIST1 AND TWIST2, WHICH BOUND TO THE PROMOTERS OF THE HISTONE DEACETYLASES HDAC1 AND HDAC3 AND INDUCED HDAC1 AND HDAC3 EXPRESSION. HDAC1 AND HDAC3 THEN MEDIATED HISTONE DEACETYLATION AT CYTOKINE PROMOTERS AND, IN TURN, CYTOKINE DOWNREGULATION UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. SIMILAR REGULATION WAS OBSERVED UPON CHRONIC STIMULATION OF MULTIPLE PRRS. CONSISTENT WITH THE CHRONIC MICROBIAL EXPOSURE IN THE INTESTINAL ENVIRONMENT, TWIST1, TWIST2, HDAC1, AND HDAC3 WERE UPREGULATED IN HUMAN INTESTINAL RELATIVE TO PERIPHERAL MACROPHAGES. IMPORTANTLY, COMPLEMENTING HDAC1 AND HDAC3 IN TWIST1/TWIST2-DEFICIENT MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES RESTORED THE REDUCED HISTONE ACETYLATION ON CYTOKINE PROMOTERS AND THE DECREASED CYTOKINE SECRETION WITH CHRONIC NOD2 STIMULATION. TAKEN TOGETHER, WE IDENTIFY MECHANISMS WHEREIN TWIST1 AND TWIST2 PROMOTE CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS, RESULTING IN MACROPHAGE INSTRUCTION AND ADAPTATION TO CONDITIONS IN THE INTESTINAL MICROENVIRONMENT. 2019 9 3218 43 HELICOBACTER INFECTION IS REQUIRED FOR INFLAMMATION AND COLON CANCER IN SMAD3-DEFICIENT MICE. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT INTESTINAL MICROBIAL ORGANISMS MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN TRIGGERING AND SUSTAINING INFLAMMATION IN INDIVIDUALS AFFLICTED WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD). MOREOVER, INDIVIDUALS WITH IBD ARE AT INCREASED RISK FOR DEVELOPING COLORECTAL CANCER, SUGGESTING THAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION MAY INITIATE GENETIC OR EPIGENETIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER DEVELOPMENT. WE TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT BACTERIA MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLON CANCER BY SYNERGIZING WITH DEFECTIVE TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA (TGF-BETA) SIGNALING, A PATHWAY COMMONLY MUTATED IN HUMAN COLON CANCER. ALTHOUGH OTHERS HAVE REPORTED THAT MICE DEFICIENT IN THE TGF-BETA SIGNALING MOLECULE SMAD3 DEVELOP COLON CANCER, WE FOUND THAT SMAD3-DEFICIENT MICE MAINTAINED FREE OF THE GRAM-NEGATIVE ENTEROHEPATIC BACTERIA HELICOBACTER SPP. FOR UP TO 9 MONTHS DO NOT DEVELOP COLON CANCER. FURTHERMORE, INFECTION OF SMAD3(-/-) MICE WITH HELICOBACTER TRIGGERS COLON CANCER IN 50% TO 66% OF THE ANIMALS. USING REAL-TIME PCR, WE FOUND THAT HELICOBACTER ORGANISMS CONCENTRATE IN THE CECUM, THE PREFERRED SITE OF TUMOR DEVELOPMENT. MUCINOUS ADENOCARCINOMAS DEVELOP 5 TO 30 WEEKS AFTER INFECTION AND ARE PRECEDED BY AN EARLY INFLAMMATORY PHASE, CONSISTING OF INCREASED PROLIFERATION OF EPITHELIAL CELLS; INCREASED NUMBERS OF CYCLOOXYGENASE-2-POSITIVE CELLS, CD4(+) T CELLS, MACROPHAGES; AND INCREASED MHC CLASS II EXPRESSION. COLONIC TISSUE REVEALED INCREASED TRANSCRIPTS FOR THE ONCOGENE C-MYC AND THE PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES INTERLEUKIN-1ALPHA (IL-1ALPHA), IL-1BETA, IL-6, IFN-GAMMA, AND TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA, SOME OF WHICH HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN COLON CANCER. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT BACTERIA MAY BE IMPORTANT IN TRIGGERING COLORECTAL CANCER, NOTABLY IN THE CONTEXT OF GENE MUTATIONS IN THE TGF-BETA SIGNALING PATHWAY, ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY AFFECTED CELLULAR PATHWAYS IN COLORECTAL CANCER IN HUMANS. 2006 10 5592 30 ROLE OF TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA IN THE HUMAN SYSTEMIC ENDOTOXIN-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTOME. TNFALPHA HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF VARIOUS INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO INHIBIT TNFALPHA IN PATIENTS WITH SEPSIS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS HAVE SHOWN CONTRASTING OUTCOMES. ALTHOUGH TNFALPHA INHIBITORS ARE WIDELY USED IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, THE IMPACT OF TNFALPHA ANTAGONISM ON WHITE BLOOD CELL GENE EXPRESSION PROFILES DURING ACUTE INFLAMMATION IN HUMANS IN VIVO HAS NOT BEEN ASSESSED. WE HERE LEVERAGED THE ESTABLISHED MODEL OF HUMAN ENDOTOXEMIA TO EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF THE TNFALPHA ANTAGONIST, ETANERCEPT, ON THE GENOME-WIDE TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSES IN CIRCULATING LEUKOCYTES INDUCED BY INTRAVENOUS LPS ADMINISTRATION IN MALE SUBJECTS. ETANERCEPT PRE-TREATMENT RESULTED IN A MARKEDLY DAMPENED TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSE TO LPS. GENE CO-EXPRESSION NETWORK ANALYSIS REVEALED THIS LPS-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTOME CAN BE CATEGORIZED AS TNFALPHA RESPONSIVE AND NON-RESPONSIVE MODULES. HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT TNFALPHA RESPONSIVE MODULES INCLUDE NF-KB SIGNALING, ANTIVIRAL RESPONSES AND T-CELL MEDIATED RESPONSES. WITHIN THESE TNFALPHA RESPONSIVE MODULES WE DELINEATE FUNDAMENTAL GENES INVOLVED IN EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, TRANSCRIPTIONAL INITIATION AND ELONGATION. THUS, WE PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION ABOUT MOLECULAR PATHWAYS THAT MIGHT BE TARGETED BY THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS THAT SEEK TO INHIBIT TNFALPHA ACTIVITY DURING HUMAN INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. 2013 11 3678 25 INFLAMMATION AND REGENERATION IN THE DENTIN-PULP COMPLEX: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. DENTAL TISSUE INFECTION AND DISEASE RESULT IN ACUTE AND CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF THE INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE, WHICH IS MEDIATED BY MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR SIGNALING. DIFFERENT CELL TYPES WITHIN THE DENTIN-PULP COMPLEX ARE ABLE TO DETECT INVADING BACTERIA AT ALL STAGES OF THE INFECTION. INDEED, AT RELATIVELY EARLY DISEASE STAGES, ODONTOBLASTS WILL RESPOND TO BACTERIAL COMPONENTS, AND AS THE DISEASE PROGRESSES, CORE PULPAL CELLS INCLUDING FIBROBLASTS, STEMS CELLS, ENDOTHELIAL CELLS, AND IMMUNE CELLS WILL BECOME INVOLVED. PATTERN RECOGNITION RECEPTORS, SUCH AS TOLL-LIKE RECEPTORS EXPRESSED ON THESE CELL TYPES, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETECTING BACTERIAL COMPONENTS, AND THEIR LIGAND BINDING LEADS TO THE ACTIVATION OF THE NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPA B AND P38 MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN (MAP) KINASE INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING CASCADES. SUBSEQUENT NUCLEAR TRANSLOCATION OF THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR SUBUNITS FROM THESE PATHWAYS WILL LEAD TO PROINFLAMMATORY MEDIATOR EXPRESSION, INCLUDING INCREASES IN CYTOKINES AND CHEMOKINES, WHICH TRIGGER HOST CELLULAR DEFENSE MECHANISMS. THE COMPLEX MOLECULAR SIGNALING WILL RESULT IN THE RECRUITMENT OF IMMUNE SYSTEM CELLS TARGETED AT COMBATING THE INVADING MICROBES; HOWEVER, THE TRAFFICKING AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF THESE CELLS CAN LEAD TO COLLATERAL TISSUE DAMAGE. RECENT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT IF INFLAMMATION IS RESOLVED RELATIVELY LOW LEVELS OF PROINFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS MAY PROMOTE TISSUE REPAIR, WHEREAS IF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION ENSUES REPAIR MECHANISMS BECOME INHIBITED. THUS, THE EFFECTS OF MEDIATORS ARE TEMPORAL CONTEXT DEPENDENT. ALTHOUGH CONTAINMENT AND REMOVAL OF THE INFECTION ARE KEYS TO ENABLE DENTAL TISSUE REPAIR, IT IS FEASIBLE THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND IMMUNOMODULATORY APPROACHES, BASED ON MOLECULAR, EPIGENETIC, AND PHOTOBIOMODULATORY TECHNOLOGIES, MAY ALSO BE BENEFICIAL FOR FUTURE ENDODONTIC TREATMENTS. 2014 12 6142 27 THE EVALUATION OF CYTOKINES TO HELP ESTABLISH DIAGNOSIS AND GUIDE TREATMENT OF AUTOINFLAMMATORY AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE ROLE OF CYTOKINES IN PATHOLOGIC CONDITIONS HAS INCREASED CONSIDERABLY WITH THE EMERGENCE OF MOLECULAR AND GENETIC STUDIES, PARTICULARLY IN THE CASE OF AUTOINFLAMMATORY MONOGENIC DISEASES. MANY RARE DISORDERS, CONSIDERED ORPHAN UNTIL RECENTLY, ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO ABNORMAL GENE REGULATION, AND THE TREATMENT WITH BIOLOGIC AGENTS (BIOLOGICS) TARGETING CYTOKINE RECEPTORS, INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING OR SPECIFIC CYTOKINES IMPROVE THE SYMPTOMS OF AN INCREASING NUMBER OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. AS IT IS CURRENTLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SYSTEMATICALLY CONDUCT GENETIC STUDIES FOR ALL PATIENTS WITH AUTOINFLAMMATORY AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, THE EVALUATION OF CYTOKINES CAN BE SEEN AS A SIMPLE, LESS TIME CONSUMING, AND LESS EXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE. THIS APPROACH COULD BE ESPECIALLY USEFUL WHEN THE DIAGNOSIS OF SYNDROMES OF DISEASES OF UNKNOWN ETIOLOGY REMAINS PROBLEMATIC. THE EVALUATION OF CYTOKINES COULD ALSO HELP AVOID THE CURRENT TRIAL-AND-ERROR APPROACH, WHICH HAS THE DISADVANTAGES OF EXPOSING PATIENTS TO INEFFECTIVE DRUGS WITH POSSIBLE UNNECESSARY SIDE EFFECTS AND PERMANENT ORGAN DAMAGES. IN THIS REVIEW, WE DISCUSS THE VARIOUS POSSIBILITIES, AS WELL AS THE LIMITATIONS OF EVALUATING THE CYTOKINE PROFILES OF PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM AUTOINFLAMMATORY AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, WITH METHODS SUCH AS DIRECT DETECTION OF CYTOKINES IN THE PLASMA/SERUM OR FOLLOWING EX VIVO STIMULATION OF PBMCS LEADING TO THE PRODUCTION OF THEIR CYTOKINE SECRETOME. THE PATIENTS' SECRETOME, COMBINED WITH BIOMARKERS RANGING FROM GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ANALYSES TO IMMUNOLOGIC BIOMARKERS, MAY HELP NOT ONLY THE DIAGNOSIS BUT ALSO GUIDE THE CHOICE OF BIOLOGICS FOR MORE EFFICIENT AND RAPID TREATMENTS. 2020 13 3454 29 HYPOMETHYLATION AT THE REGULATORY T CELL-SPECIFIC DEMETHYLATED REGION IN CD25HI T CELLS IS DECOUPLED FROM FOXP3 EXPRESSION AT THE INFLAMED SITE IN CHILDHOOD ARTHRITIS. THE MAINTENANCE OF FOXP3 EXPRESSION IN CD25(HI) REGULATORY T CELLS (TREGS) IS CRUCIAL TO THE CONTROL OF INFLAMMATION AND ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESSFUL TREG TRANSFER THERAPIES. COEXPRESSION OF CD25 AND FOXP3 IN COMBINATION WITH A HYPOMETHYLATED REGION WITHIN THE FOXP3 GENE, CALLED THE TREG-SPECIFIC DEMETHYLATED REGION (TSDR), IS CONSIDERED THE HALLMARK OF STABLE TREGS. THE TSDR IS AN EPIGENETIC MOTIF THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR STABLE FOXP3 EXPRESSION AND IS USED AS A BIOMARKER TO MEASURE TREG LINEAGE COMMITMENT. IN THIS STUDY, WE REPORT THAT, UNLIKE IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD, CD4(+) T CELL EXPRESSION OF CD25 AND FOXP3 IS FREQUENTLY DISSOCIATED AT THE INFLAMED SITE IN PATIENTS WITH JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS, WHICH LED US TO QUESTION THE STABILITY OF HUMAN TREGS IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY ENVIRONMENTS. WE DESCRIBE A NOVEL CD4(+)CD127(LO)CD25(HI) HUMAN T CELL POPULATION THAT EXHIBITS EXTENSIVE TSDR AND PROMOTER DEMETHYLATION IN THE ABSENCE OF STABLE FOXP3 EXPRESSION. THIS POPULATION EXPRESSES HIGH LEVELS OF CTLA-4 AND CAN SUPPRESS T CONVENTIONAL CELL PROLIFERATION IN VITRO. THESE DATA COLLECTIVELY SUGGEST THAT THIS POPULATION MAY REPRESENT A CHRONICALLY ACTIVATED FOXP3(LO) TREG POPULATION. WE SHOW THAT THESE CELLS HAVE DEFECTS IN IL-2 SIGNALING AND REDUCED EXPRESSION OF A DEUBIQUITINASE IMPORTANT FOR FOXP3 STABILITY. CLINICALLY, THE PROPORTIONS OF THESE CELLS WITHIN THE CD25(HI) T CELL SUBSET ARE INCREASED IN PATIENTS WITH THE MORE SEVERE COURSES OF DISEASE. OUR STUDY DEMONSTRATES, THEREFORE, THAT HYPOMETHYLATION AT THE TSDR CAN BE DECOUPLED FROM FOXP3 EXPRESSION IN HUMAN T CELLS AND THAT ENVIRONMENT-SPECIFIC BREAKDOWN IN FOXP3 STABILITY MAY COMPROMISE THE RESOLUTION OF INFLAMMATION IN JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS. 2014 14 2065 25 EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF INTESTINAL BARRIER FUNCTION AND INFLAMMATION IN ZEBRAFISH. THE INTESTINAL EPITHELIUM FORMS A BARRIER PROTECTING THE ORGANISM FROM MICROBES AND OTHER PROINFLAMMATORY STIMULI. THE INTEGRITY OF THIS BARRIER AND THE PROPER RESPONSE TO INFECTION REQUIRES PRECISE REGULATION OF POWERFUL IMMUNE HOMING SIGNALS SUCH AS TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR (TNF). DYSREGULATION OF TNF LEADS TO INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES (IBD), BUT THE MECHANISM CONTROLLING THE EXPRESSION OF THIS POTENT CYTOKINE AND THE EVENTS THAT TRIGGER THE ONSET OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION ARE UNKNOWN. HERE, WE SHOW THAT LOSS OF FUNCTION OF THE EPIGENETIC REGULATOR UBIQUITIN-LIKE PROTEIN CONTAINING PHD AND RING FINGER DOMAINS 1 (UHRF1) IN ZEBRAFISH LEADS TO A REDUCTION IN TNFA PROMOTER METHYLATION AND THE INDUCTION OF TNFA EXPRESSION IN INTESTINAL EPITHELIAL CELLS (IECS). THE INCREASE IN IEC TNFA LEVELS IS MICROBE-DEPENDENT AND RESULTS IN IEC SHEDDING AND APOPTOSIS, IMMUNE CELL RECRUITMENT, AND BARRIER DYSFUNCTION, CONSISTENT WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. IMPORTANTLY, TNFA KNOCKDOWN IN UHRF1 MUTANTS RESTORES IEC MORPHOLOGY, REDUCES CELL SHEDDING, AND IMPROVES BARRIER FUNCTION. WE PROPOSE THAT LOSS OF EPIGENETIC REPRESSION AND TNF INDUCTION IN THE INTESTINAL EPITHELIUM CAN LEAD TO IBD ONSET. 2015 15 4535 28 MULTIPLE ROLES OF TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR 4 IN COLORECTAL CANCER. TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR (TLR) SIGNALING HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES IN INTESTINAL EPITHELIAL CELLS (IECS). SUCH INFLAMMATORY SIGNALS MEDIATE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN COMMENSAL BACTERIA AND TLRS AND ARE REQUIRED FOR IEC PROLIFERATION, IMMUNE RESPONSE, REPAIR, AND HOMEOSTASIS. THE UPREGULATION OF CERTAIN TLRS IN COLORECTAL CANCER (CRC) TISSUES SUGGESTS THAT TLRS MAY PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN THE PROGNOSIS OF CHRONIC AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES THAT ULTIMATELY CULMINATE IN CRC. HERE, WE PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE TLR PATHWAY IN THE INITIATION, PROGRESSION, AND METASTASIS OF CRC, AS WELL AS INHERITED GENETIC VARIATION AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION. THE DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF TLRS IN EPITHELIAL CELLS HAS ALSO BEEN DISCUSSED. IN PARTICULAR, WE EMPHASIZE THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OF TLR4 IN CRC DEVELOPMENT AND PATHOGENESIS, AND PROPOSE NOVEL AND PROMISING APPROACHES FOR CRC THERAPEUTICS WITH THE AID OF TLR LIGANDS. 2014 16 5282 24 PROMOTION OF HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS IN HUMANS AND ANIMAL MODELS. RISK ASSESSMENT BASED ON RODENT CARCINOGENICITY DATA DEPENDS ON THE ASSUMPTION OF SIMILARITY BETWEEN RODENTS AND HUMANS. WHILE THIS ASSUMPTION IS CONCEIVABLE IN THE CASE OF GENOTOXIC INITIATING CARCINOGENS, CONSIDERABLE SPECIES DIFFERENCES HAVE BEEN OBSERVED WITH NONGENOTOXIC TUMOR PROMOTERS. THIS HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF AGENTS INCREASES THE PROBABILITY OF CANCER BY STIMULATING SELECTION AND CLONAL EXPANSION OF CELLS TRANSFORMED DURING TUMOR INITIATION. SINCE TUMOR PROMOTERS DIFFERENTIALLY AFFECT NORMAL TISSUE AND PRENEOPLASTIC CELL CLONES, THEIR ACTION CANNOT BE DISCUSSED WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF PERSISTENT GENOMIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS OCCURRING DURING INITIATION AND FORMATION OF PRENEOPLASTIC CELLS. CHEMICAL CARCINOGENESIS, AND IN PARTICULAR, TUMOR PROMOTION, IS KNOWN TO BE TISSUE SPECIFIC. WE FOCUS ON HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS IN HUMANS AND IN ANIMAL MODELS AND EMPHASIZE TWO DIFFERENT MODES OF ACTION: (1) CHRONIC CYTOTOXICITY LEADING TO PROMOTION OF LIVER CARCINOGENESIS IN BOTH HUMANS AND ANIMAL MODELS; (2) SUSTAINED ACTIVATION OF ORPHAN RECEPTORS SUCH AS CAR, PPARALPHA AND AH RECEPTOR LEADING TO PROMOTION OF RODENT BUT PROBABLY NOT HUMAN HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS. FURTHER STUDIES ON THE DIFFERENT MODES OF ACTION MAY HELP TO AVOID OVERESTIMATION OF THE RISK OF LIVER TUMOR PROMOTION. 2008 17 5868 27 SUPPRESSIVE EFFECTS OF METFORMIN ON T-HELPER 1-RELATED CHEMOKINES EXPRESSION IN THE HUMAN MONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELL LINE THP-1. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (DM) ARE CHRONIC T-CELL-MEDIATED INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. METFORMIN IS A WIDELY USED DRUG FOR TYPE 2 DM THAT REDUCES THE NEED FOR INSULIN IN TYPE 1 DM. HOWEVER, WHETHER METFORMIN HAS AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECT FOR TREATING DM IS UNKNOWN. WE INVESTIGATED THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MECHANISM OF METFORMIN IN THE HUMAN MONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELL LINE THP-1. MATERIALS AND METHODS: THE HUMAN MONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELL LINE THP-1 WAS PRETREATED WITH METFORMIN AND STIMULATED WITH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS). THE PRODUCTION OF T-HELPER (TH)-1-RELATED CHEMOKINES INCLUDING INTERFERON-GAMMA-INDUCED PROTEIN-10 (IP-10) AND MONOCYTE CHEMOATTRACTANT PROTEIN-1 (MCP-1), TH2-RELATED CHEMOKINE MACROPHAGE-DERIVED CHEMOKINE, AND THE PROINFLAMMATORY CHEMOKINE TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA WAS MEASURED USING ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS WERE INVESTIGATED USING WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS AND CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION ASSAY. RESULTS: METFORMIN SUPPRESSED LPS-INDUCED IP-10 AND MCP-1 PRODUCTION AS WELL AS LPS-INDUCED PHOSPHORYLATION OF C-JUN N-TERMINAL KINASE (JNK), P38, EXTRACELLULAR SIGNAL-REGULATED KINASE (ERK), AND NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPA B (NF-KAPPAB). MOREOVER, METFORMIN SUPPRESSED LPS-INDUCED ACETYLATION OF HISTONES H3 AND H4 AT THE IP-10 PROMOTER. CONCLUSIONS: METFORMIN SUPPRESSED THE PRODUCTION OF TH1-RELATED CHEMOKINES IP-10 AND MCP-1 IN THP-1 CELLS. SUPPRESSIVE EFFECTS OF METFORMIN ON IP-10 PRODUCTION MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTED AT LEAST PARTIALLY TO THE JNK, P38, ERK, AND NF-KAPPAB PATHWAYS AS WELL AS TO EPIGENETIC REGULATION THROUGH THE ACETYLATION OF HISTONES H3 AND H4. THESE RESULTS INDICATED THE THERAPEUTIC ANTI-INFLAMMATORY POTENTIAL OF METFORMIN. 2018 18 3373 33 HISTONE MODULATION BLOCKS TREG-INDUCED FOXP3 BINDING TO THE IL-2 PROMOTER OF VIRUS-SPECIFIC CD8(+) T CELLS FROM FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS-INFECTED CATS. CD8(+) T CELLS ARE CRITICAL FOR CONTROLLING HIV INFECTION. DURING THE CHRONIC PHASE OF LENTIVIRAL INFECTION, CD8(+) T CELLS LOSE THEIR PROLIFERATIVE CAPACITY AND EXHIBIT IMPAIRED ANTIVIRAL FUNCTION. THIS LOSS OF CD8(+) T CELL FUNCTION IS DUE, IN PART, TO CD4(+)CD25(+) T REGULATORY (TREG) CELL-MEDIATED SUPPRESSION. OUR RESEARCH GROUP HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT LENTIVIRUS-ACTIVATED CD4(+)CD25(+) TREG CELLS INDUCE THE REPRESSIVE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR FORKHEAD BOX P3 (FOXP3) IN AUTOLOGOUS CD8(+) T CELLS FOLLOWING CO-CULTURE. WE HAVE RECENTLY REPORTED THAT TREG-INDUCED FOXP3 BINDS THE INTERLEUKIN-2 (IL-2), INTERFERON-GAMMA (IFN- GAMMA), AND TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA) PROMOTERS IN VIRUS-SPECIFIC CD8(+) T CELLS. THESE DATA SUGGEST AN IMPORTANT ROLE OF FOXP3-MEDIATED CD8(+) T CELL DYSFUNCTION IN LENTIVIRAL INFECTION. TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISM OF THIS SUPPRESSION, WE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED THAT DECREASED METHYLATION FACILITATES FOXP3 BINDING IN MITOGEN-ACTIVATED CD8(+) T CELLS FROM FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (FIV)-INFECTED CATS. WE DEMONSTRATED THE REDUCED BINDING OF FOXP3 TO THE IL-2 PROMOTER BY INCREASING METHYLATION OF CD8(+) T CELLS. IN THE STUDIES PRESENTED HERE, WE ASK IF ANOTHER FORM OF EPIGENETIC MODULATION MIGHT ALLEVIATE FOXP3-MEDIATED SUPPRESSION IN CD8(+) T CELLS. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT DECREASING HISTONE ACETYLATION IN VIRUS-SPECIFIC CD8(+) T CELLS WOULD DECREASE TREG-INDUCED FOXP3 BINDING TO THE IL-2 PROMOTER. INDEED, USING ANACARDIC ACID (AA), A KNOWN HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASE (HAT) INHIBITOR, WE DEMONSTRATE A REDUCTION IN FOXP3 BINDING TO THE IL-2 PROMOTER IN VIRUS-SPECIFIC CD8(+) T CELLS CO-CULTURED WITH AUTOLOGOUS TREG CELLS. THESE DATA IDENTIFY A NOVEL MECHANISM OF FOXP3-MEDIATED CD8(+) T CELL DYSFUNCTION DURING LENTIVIRAL INFECTION. 2018 19 1479 31 DIVERSE TARGETS OF THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR STAT3 CONTRIBUTE TO T CELL PATHOGENICITY AND HOMEOSTASIS. STAT3, AN ESSENTIAL TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR WITH PLEIOTROPIC FUNCTIONS, PLAYS CRITICAL ROLES IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF AUTOIMMUNITY. DESPITE RECENT DATA LINKING STAT3 WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE, EXACTLY HOW IT CONTRIBUTES TO CHRONIC INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION IS NOT KNOWN. USING A T CELL TRANSFER MODEL OF COLITIS, WE FOUND THAT STAT3 EXPRESSION IN T CELLS WAS ESSENTIAL FOR THE INDUCTION OF BOTH COLITIS AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION. STAT3 WAS CRITICAL IN MODULATING THE BALANCE OF T HELPER 17 (TH17) AND REGULATORY T (TREG) CELLS, AS WELL AS IN PROMOTING CD4(+) T CELL PROLIFERATION. WE USED CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION AND MASSIVE PARALLEL SEQUENCING (CHIP-SEQ) TO DEFINE THE GENOME-WIDE TARGETS OF STAT3 IN CD4(+) T CELLS. WE FOUND THAT STAT3 BOUND TO MULTIPLE GENES INVOLVED IN TH17 CELL DIFFERENTIATION, CELL ACTIVATION, PROLIFERATION, AND SURVIVAL, REGULATING BOTH EXPRESSION AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. THUS, STAT3 ORCHESTRATES MULTIPLE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF T CELL FUNCTION IN INFLAMMATION AND HOMEOSTASIS. 2010 20 5566 36 ROLE OF INFLAMMATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLORECTAL CANCER. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAN LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANY DISEASES, INCLUDING CANCER. INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD) THAT INCLUDES BOTH ULCERATIVE COLITIS (UC) AND CROHNMP'S DISEASE (CD) ARE RISK FACTORS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLORECTAL CANCER (CRC). MANY CYTOKINES PRODUCED PRIMARILY BY THE GUT IMMUNE CELLS EITHER DURING OR IN RESPONSE TO LOCALIZED INFLAMMATION IN THE COLON AND RECTUM ARE KNOWN TO STIMULATE THE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT CELL TYPES IN THE GUT ENVIRONMENT RESULTING IN ACUTE INFLAMMATION. SUBSEQUENTLY, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, TOGETHER WITH GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF CRC. VARIOUS CELL TYPES PRESENT IN THE COLON, SUCH AS ENTEROCYTES, PANETH CELLS, GOBLET CELLS, AND MACROPHAGES, EXPRESS RECEPTORS FOR INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND RESPOND TO TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA), INTERLEUKIN-1 BETA (IL-1BETA), IL-6, AND OTHER CYTOKINES. AMONG THE SEVERAL CYTOKINES PRODUCED, TNF-ALPHA AND IL-1BETA ARE THE KEY PRO-INFLAMMATORY MOLECULES THAT PLAY CRITICAL ROLES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRC. THE CURRENT REVIEW IS INTENDED TO CONSOLIDATE THE PUBLISHED FINDINGS TO FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, NAMELY TNF-ALPHA AND IL-1BETA, ON INFLAMMATION (AND THE ALTERED IMMUNE RESPONSE) IN THE GUT, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRC IN IBD, USING VARIOUS EXPERIMENTAL MODEL SYSTEMS, PRECLINICAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES. MOREOVER, THIS REVIEW ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE CURRENT THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES AVAILABLE (MONOTHERAPY AND COMBINATION THERAPY) TO ALLEVIATE THE SYMPTOMS OR TREAT INFLAMMATION-ASSOCIATED CRC BY USING MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES OR APTAMERS TO BLOCK PRO-INFLAMMATORY MOLECULES, INHIBITORS OF TYROSINE KINASES IN THE INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING CASCADE, COMPETITIVE INHIBITORS OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY MOLECULES, AND THE NUCLEIC ACID DRUGS LIKE SMALL ACTIVATING RNAS (SARNAS) OR MICRORNA (MIRNA) MIMICS TO ACTIVATE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR OR REPRESS ONCOGENE/PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE GENE EXPRESSION. 2021