Biology subjects

Nilsson, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Nilsson, B..

9 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

BloodVariome: a high-resolution atlas of inherited genetic effects in human immune cells

Genome-wide association studies have linked thousands of sequence variants to immune-mediated diseases, yet their cellular mechanisms remain largely unresolved. Here we present BloodVariome, a high-resolution atlas of genetic effects across the human immune cell hierarchy. Combining deep immunophenotyping with automated pattern-recognition, we quantified 1,533 traits across 127 immune cell populations in 11,983 individuals. We identified 259 significant associations, the vast majority of which are not captured by conventional bulk blood trait studies. Most associations were restricted to single immune lineages or cell populations, revealing a fine-grained genetic compartmentalization of the immune system. By linking known disease risk alleles to specific immune cell phenotypes, BloodVariome illuminates cellular mechanisms underlying autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, and hematologic malignancy. Moreover, we implicate novel regulators of human immune cell development and function. By bridging the gap between cohort size and phenotypic depth, BloodVariome establishes a high-resolution framework for interpreting how genetic variation shapes cellular immunity at population-scale.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2026

Population-scale immunoglobulin genetics resolves the human B-cell system

Immunoglobulins (Ig) mediate adaptive humoral immunity, yet the regulation of B-cell responses in vivo in humans remains inaccessible to direct experimentation. Here we use population-scale Ig genetics to resolve molecular regulation of the human B-cell system. Analysis of circulating IgA, IgG, IgM, and six composite Ig traits in 114,697 individuals identifies 504 genetic associations. Integration with regulatory genomics, plasma proteomics, and immunophenotyping maps these effects across the B-cell hierarchy, recovering known regulators and revealing previously unrecognized genes in humoral immunity. At key control nodes - including Fc{gamma} receptors, the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus and the TACI-APRIL signaling axis - variants form allelic series generating graded perturbations of antibody output. Ig-associated loci show extensive overlap with autoimmunity, immunodeficiency and B-cell malignancy. These findings demonstrate that Ig traits, analyzed at population scale, encode fine-grained information about the regulation of the human B-cell system and link natural variation in humoral immunity to immune-mediated disease.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2025

Titania Nanoparticle Regulate Innate Immunity

In-vivo studies on wound healing have shown that small metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs), such as titania, ferria, and alumina, promote wound closure, likely by enhancing blood coagulation and via activation of the contact system. However, titania differs from the others as it supports the regrowth of normal skin tissue without scarring. This unique effect was hypothesised to result from its ability to suppress inflammation, possibly by interfering with the complement system. Ex-vivo whole blood experiments within the present study confirm that titania NPs significantly dampen the immune response and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor analysis confirms that the nanoparticle binds with nanomolar affinity to complement C3, a central protein in the human innate immune system. To elucidate the molecular basis of this effect, we developed a novel cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) methodology capable of resolving the challenging interface between metal NPs and proteins. This approach revealed that TiO{square} binds with high specificity to a single domain on C3. The NP restricts the conformational dynamics of C3 and thus blocks the initiation of the complement cascade. These structural and biophysical insights support the biochemical findings and previous observations within the contact system. Our method advancement demonstrates that cryo-EM can uncover physiologically relevant interactions between proteins and nanomaterials at high resolution and offers a strong foundation for others investigating metal-biological interactions.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2024

ThermoTargetMiner as a proteome integral solubility alteration target database for prospective drugs against lung cancer

Knowledge of the targets of therapeutic compounds is vital for understanding their action mechanisms and side effects, but such valuable data is seldom available. The multiple complementary techniques needed for comprehensive target characterization must combine data reliability with sufficient analysis throughput. Here, we leveraged the Proteome Integral Solubility Alteration (PISA) assay to characterize the targets of 67 approved and experimental compounds against two main lung cancer subtypes, which is now provided through the website https://thermotargetminer.serve.scilifelab.se/app/thermotargetminer. Novel target candidates (pro-targets) were found for 77% of the tested molecules. Comparison of the protein solubility shifts in lysate vs. living cells highlighted the targets directly interacting with the compounds. We verified that the drug PEITC exerts cytotoxicity through the inhibition of a pro-target PAFAH1B. As PISA is now joining the arsenal of fast and reliable target characterization techniques, the presented database, ThermoTargetMiner, will become a useful resource in lung cancer research.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2023

Massive solubility changes of neuronal proteins upon simulated traumatic brain injury reveal the role of shockwave in irreversible damage

The immediate molecular consequences of traumatic brain injuries or TBI are poorly understood. Here, we simulated TBI using an innovative laboratory apparatus that employs a 5.1 kg dummy head holding neuronal cells and generating a [≤]4,000 g-force acceleration upon impact. Dynamic impact led to both reduction in neuron viability and massive solubility changes in the proteome profiled using Proteome Integral Solubility Alteration (PISA) assay. The affected proteins mapped not only to the expected pathways like cell adhesion, collagen and laminin structures, as well as response to stress, but also to other dense protein networks, such as immune response, complement and coagulation cascades. The cellular effects are found to be mainly due to the shockwave rather than the g-force acceleration. Soft materials could reduce the impact severity only until being fully compressed. This study shows way to develop a proteome-based meter for measuring irreversible shockwave-induced cell damage and provides a resource for identifying TBI protein biomarkers and potential drug targets for developing products aiming at primary prevention and intervention.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Genome-wide association study on 13,167 individuals identifies regulators of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell levels in human blood

Understanding how hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are regulated is of central importance for the development of new therapies for blood disorders and stem cell transplantation. To date, HSPC regulation has been extensively studied in vitro and in animal models, but less is known about the mechanisms in vivo in humans. Here, in a genome-wide association study on 13,167 individuals, we identify 9 significant and 2 suggestive DNA sequence variants that influence HSPC (CD34+) levels in human blood. The identified loci associate with blood disorders, harbor known and novel HSPC genes, and affect gene expression in HSPCs. Interestingly, our strongest association maps to the PPM1H gene, encoding an evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine phosphatase never previously implicated in stem cell biology. PPM1H is expressed in HSPCs, and the allele that confers higher blood CD34+ cell levels downregulates PPM1H. By functional fine-mapping, we find that this downregulation is caused by the variant rs772557-A, which abrogates a MYB transcription factor binding site in PPM1H intron 1 that is active in specific HSPC subpopulations, including hematopoietic stem cells, and interacts with the promoter by chromatin looping. Furthermore, rs772557-A selectively increases HSPC subpopulations in which the MYB site is active, and PPM1H shRNA- knockdown increased CD34+ and CD34+90+ cell proportions in umbilical cord blood cultures. Our findings represent the first large-scale association study on a stem cell trait, illuminating HSPC regulation in vivo in humans, and identifying PPM1H as a novel inhibition target that can potentially be utilized clinically to facilitate stem cell harvesting for transplantation.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2020

Identification of Drugs Blocking SARS-CoV-2 Infection using Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Colonic Organoids

Summary ParagraphThe current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by SARS-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). There are currently no therapeutic options for mitigating this disease due to lack of a vaccine and limited knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 biology. As a result, there is an urgent need to create new disease models to study SARS-CoV-2 biology and to screen for therapeutics using human disease-relevant tissues. COVID-19 patients typically present with respiratory symptoms including cough, dyspnea, and respiratory distress, but nearly 25% of patients have gastrointestinal indications including anorexia, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Moreover, these symptoms are associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes1. Here, we report using human pluripotent stem cell-derived colonic organoids (hPSC-COs) to explore the permissiveness of colonic cell types to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Single cell RNA-seq and immunostaining showed that the putative viral entry receptor ACE2 is expressed in multiple hESC-derived colonic cell types, but highly enriched in enterocytes. Multiple cell types in the COs can be infected by a SARS-CoV-2 pseudo-entry virus, which was further validated in vivo using a humanized mouse model. We used hPSC-derived COs in a high throughput platform to screen 1280 FDA-approved drugs against viral infection. Mycophenolic acid and quinacrine dihydrochloride were found to block the infection of SARS-CoV-2 pseudo-entry virus in COs both in vitro and in vivo, and confirmed to block infection of SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study established both in vitro and in vivo organoid models to investigate infection of SARS-CoV-2 disease-relevant human colonic cell types and identified drugs that blocks SARS-CoV-2 infection, suitable for rapid clinical testing.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Genetic predisposition to myeloproliferative neoplasms implicates hematopoietic stem cell biology

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are blood cancers characterized by excessive production of mature myeloid cells that result from the acquisition of somatic driver mutations in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)1. While substantial progress has been made to define the causal somatic mutation profile for MPNs2, epidemiologic studies indicate a significant heritable component for the disease that is among the highest known for all cancers3. However, only a limited set of genetic risk loci have been identified, and the underlying biological mechanisms leading to MPN acquisition remain unexplained. Here, to define the inherited risk profile, we conducted the largest genome-wide association study of MPNs to date (978,913 individuals with 3,224 cases) and identified 14 genome-wide significant loci, as well as a polygenic signature that increases the odds for disease acquisition by nearly 3-fold between the top and median deciles. Interestingly, we find a shared genetic architecture between MPN risk and several hematopoietic traits spanning distinct lineages, as well as an association between increased MPN risk and longer leukocyte telomere length, collectively implicating HSC function and self-renewal. Strikingly, we find a significant enrichment for risk variants mapping to accessible chromatin in HSCs compared with other hematopoietic populations. Finally, gene mapping identifies modulators of HSC biology and targeted variant-to-function analyses suggest likely roles for CHEK2 and GFI1B in altering HSC function to confer disease risk. Overall, we demonstrate the power of human genetic studies to illuminate a previously unappreciated mechanism for MPN risk through modulation of HSC function.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2019

Computational deconvolution of gene expression in leukemic cell hierarchies

Leukemias and some solid tumors are organized as cell hierarchies, sustained by cancer stem cells. We developed a computational method to study gene expression cancer cell hierarchies. Unlike traditional approaches based on physical cell sorting, our method extracts cell type-specific gene expression signals from gene expression profiles of unsorted tumor cells by deconvolution. We apply our method in the context of acute myeloid leukemia, and recover markers for acute myeloid leukemia stem cells (AML-LSC).

bioinformatics↗