Biology subjects

McCuaig, S.

Publications and source records attributed to McCuaig, S..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Damaged glomeruli in proliferative pediatric lupus nephritis exhibit a C5a-C5aR1 induced fibrotic transcriptional program

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a leading cause of morbidity in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (pSLE) due to suboptimal kidney remission rates and the sequelae of prolonged intensive immunosuppressive therapy. LN is patchy, with some glomeruli severely damaged while others remain histologically unaffected in the same kidney. Using spatial transcriptomic technology, we interrogated microanatomic transcriptional differences between histologically damaged and unaffected glomeruli in pSLE LN to understand local drivers of renal injury. Despite SLE being a disease of Type I interferon (IFN), IFN gene response does not associate with local glomerular damage. Rather, damage associates with a transcriptional module of higher expression of myeloid cell markers, C5AR1 (encoding the receptor for complement component 5a [C5a]), early complement components, and fibrosis genes. Bulk RNA-sequencing of C5a stimulated human monocyte-derived-macrophages revealed upregulation of tissue-remodeling and fibrosis-related pathways reversible by the C5aR1 inhibiting drug avacopan. These same C5a-inducible fibrosis genes were significantly upregulated in histologically damaged versus unaffected LN glomeruli providing a mechanistic link between C5a-C5aR1 signaling and early fibrosis in proliferative lupus nephritis. Our data provide insight into an understudied connection between complement activation and fibrosis relevant in SLE and likely other inflammatory diseases of complement activation.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2021

IL-1-driven stromal-neutrophil interaction in deep ulcers defines a pathotype of therapy non-responsive inflammatory bowel disease

Current inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) therapies are ineffective in a high proportion of patients. Combining bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, quantitative histopathology, and in situ localisation, we describe heterogeneity of the tissular inflammatory response in IBD treatment failure. Among inflammatory pathotypes, we found high neutrophil infiltration, activation of fibroblasts, and vascular remodelling at sites of deep ulceration was a feature of non-response to several anti-inflammatory therapies. Activated fibroblasts in the ulcer bed display neutrophil chemoattractant properties that are IL-1R- but not TNF-dependent. The identification of distinct, localised, tissular pathotypes associated with treatment non-response will aid precision targeting of current therapeutics and provide a biological rationale for IL-1 signalling blockade in ulcerating disease.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2019

CD2 expression acts as a quantitative checkpoint for immunological synapse structure and T-cell activation.

The CD2 receptor has been described as an adhesion and costimulatory receptor on T cells. Here, transcriptional profiling of colorectal cancers (CRC) revealed a negative correlation between CD2 expression and \"exhausted CD8+ T-cells\" gene signatures. Furthermore, we detected reduced surface CD2 levels in exhausted CD127lowPD-1hi CD3+CD8+ tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in CRC. We describe a CD2 expression-level-dependent switch in CD2-CD58 localization between central and peripheral domains in the immunological synapse (IS). A peripheral \"CD2 corolla\" formed when CD2 surface expression was sufficiently high and its cytoplasmic domain intact. The corolla recruited other ligated receptors like CD28, boosted recruitment of activated Src-family kinases (pSrc), LAT and PLC-{gamma} in the IS and consequently T-cell activation in response to a tumour antigen. Corolla formation and pSrc in the IS increased linearly with CD2 expression, whereas pSrc signals were reduced by high, \"exhausted-like\" levels of PD-1, which invaded the corolla. These results suggest two levels of inhibition of Src-family kinases in CD3+CD8+ TILs: reduced CD2 expression and high PD-1 expression.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2018

TCR and inflammatory signals tune human MAIT cells to exert specific tissue repair and effector functions

MAIT cells are an abundant T cell population that are highly enriched in epithelial tissues such as the liver. They are known to be activated both through TCR-dependent and -independent mechanisms. However, the specific functional responses of MAIT cells to these signals remain elusive. We examined the impact of combinations of TCR-dependent and -independent signals in blood and tissue-derived human MAIT cells. TCR-dependent and -independent signals drive MAIT cells to exert overlapping and unique effector functions. Importantly, this includes several novel functions that are relevant not only to host defence but also tissue homeostasis. While TCR triggering is insufficient to drive sustained activation, gene expression signatures of TCR-triggered MAIT cells also showed specific enrichment of tissue-repair functions. Activation of certain effector and antimicrobial functions may be triggered further with specific innate cytokine signals, such as the TNF superfamily member TL1A. In addition, gut-resident cells exposed to commensal-derived ligands showed evidence of persistent activation in vivo. Taken together, this study demonstrates the pivotal role of MAIT cells in controlling the balance between healthy and pathological processes of tissue inflammation and repair.

immunology↗