Biology subjects

Knapp, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Knapp, K..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase controls tissue-specific regulatory T cell function in chronic inflammation

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a critical immune component guarding against excessive inflammatory responses. During chronic inflammation, Tregs fail to control effector T cell responses. The causes of Treg dysfunction in these diseases are poorly characterized and therapies are aimed at blocking aberrant effector responses rather than rescuing Treg function. Here we utilized single-cell RNA sequencing data from patients suffering from chronic skin and colon inflammation to uncover SAT1, the gene encoding spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT), as a novel marker and driver of skin-specific Treg dysfunction during TH17-mediated inflammation. Tregs expressing SAT1 exhibit a tissue-specific inflammation signature and show a proinflammatory effector-like profile. In CRISPRa on healthy human skin-derived Tregs increased expression of SAT1 leads to a loss of suppressive function and a switch to a TH17-like phenotype. This phenotype is induced by co-receptor expression on keratinocytes exposed to a TH17 microenvironment. Finally, the potential therapeutic impact of targeting SSAT was demonstrated in a mouse model of skin inflammation by inhibiting SSAT pharmacologically, which rescued Treg number and function in the skin and systemically. Together, these data show that SAT1 expression has severe functional consequences on Tregs and provides a novel target to treat chronic inflammatory skin disease.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2021

Examining the Ensembles of Amyloid-β Monomer Variants and their Propensities to Form Fibers Using an Energy Landscape Visualization Method

The amyloid-{beta} (A{beta}) monomer, an intrinsically disordered peptide, is produced by the cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein, leading to A{beta}40 and A{beta}42 as major products. These two isoforms generate pathological aggregates, whose accumulation correlates with Alzheimers disease (AD). Experiments have shown that even though the natural abundance of A{beta}42 is smaller than that for A{beta}40, the A{beta}42 is more aggregation-prone compared to A{beta}40. Moreover, several single-point mutations are associated with early-onset forms of AD. This work analyzes coarse-grained AWSEM simulations of normal A{beta}40 and A{beta}42 monomers, along with six single-point mutations associated with early on set disease. We analyzed the simulations using the Energy Landscape Visualization Method (ELViM), a reaction coordinate-free approach suited to explore the frustrated energy landscapes of intrinsically disordered proteins. ELViM is shown to distinguish the monomer ensembles of variants that rapidly form fibers from those that do not form fibers as readily. It also delineates the amino-acid contacts characterizing each ensemble. The results shed light on the potential of ELViM to probe intrinsically disordered proteins.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2020

PIDDosome-induced p53-activation for ploidy restriction facilitates hepatocarcinogenesis

Polyploidization frequently precedes tumorigenesis but also occurs during normal development in several tissues. Hepatocyte ploidy is controlled by the PIDDosome during development and regeneration. The PIDDosome multi-protein complex is activated by supernumerary centrosomes to induce p53 and restrict proliferation of polyploid cells, otherwise prone for chromosomal instability. PIDDosome-deficiency in the liver results in drastically increased polyploidy. To investigate PIDDosome-induced p53-activation in the pathogenesis of liver cancer, we chemically induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in mice. Strikingly, PIDDosome-deficiency reduced tumor number and burden, despite the inability to activate p53 in polyploid cells. Liver tumors arise primarily from cells with low ploidy, indicating an intrinsic pro-tumorigenic effect of PIDDosome-mediated ploidy restriction. These data suggest that hyperpolyploidization caused by PIDDosome-deficiency protects from HCC. Moreover, high tumor cell density, as a surrogate marker of low ploidy, predicts of survival of HCC patients receiving liver transplantation. Together, we show that the PIDDosome is a potential therapeutic target to manipulate hepatocyte polyploidization for HCC prevention and tumor cell density serves as a novel prognostic marker for recurrence free survival in HCC patients.

cancer biology↗