Antitumor Activity of a Novel LAIR1 Antagonist in Combination with Anti-PD1 to Treat Collagen-Rich Solid Tumors.

We recently reported that resistance to PD-1 blockade in a refractory lung cancer-derived model involved increased collagen deposition and the collagen-binding inhibitory receptor leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor 1 (LAIR1). Thus, we hypothesized that LAIR1 and collagen cooperated to suppress therapeutic response. In this study, we report that LAIR1 is associated with tumor stroma and is highly expressed by intratumoral myeloid cells in both human tumors and mouse models of cancer.

The Ox40/Ox40 Ligand Pathway Promotes Pathogenic Th Cell Responses, Plasmablast Accumulation, and Lupus Nephritis in NZB/W F1 Mice.

Ox40 ligand (Ox40L) locus genetic variants are associated with the risk for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); however, it is unclear how Ox40L contributes to SLE pathogenesis. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of Ox40L and its cognate receptor, Ox40, using in vivo agonist and antagonist approaches in the NZB × NZW (NZB/W) F1 mouse model of SLE. Ox40 was highly expressed on several CD4 Th cell subsets in the spleen and kidney of diseased mice, and expression correlated with disease severity.

Regulatory T cells control NK cells in an insulitic lesion by depriving them of IL-2.

Regulatory T (T reg) cells control progression to autoimmune diabetes in the BDC2.5/NOD mouse model by reining in natural killer (NK) cells that infiltrate the pancreatic islets, inhibiting both their proliferation and production of diabetogenic interferon-γ. In this study, we have explored the molecular mechanisms underlying this NK-T reg cell axis, following leads from a kinetic exploration of gene expression changes early after punctual perturbation of T reg cells in BDC2.