Biology subjects

Stemmelen, T.

Publications and source records attributed to Stemmelen, T..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Nanomaterials trigger functional responses in primary human immune cells

Targeting the immune system with nanoparticles (NPs) to deliver immunomodulatory molecules emerged as a solution to address intra-tumoral immunosuppression and enhance therapeutic response. While the potential of nanoimmunotherapies in reactivating immune cells has been evaluated in several preclinical studies, the impact of drug-free nanomaterials on the immune system remains unknown. Here, we characterize the molecular and functional response of human NK cells and pan T cells to a selection of five NPs that are commonly used in biomedical applications. After a pre-screen to evaluate the toxicity of these nanomaterials on immune cells, we selected ultrasmall silica-based gadolinium (Si-Gd) NPs and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs for further investigation. Bulk RNA-sequencing and flow cytometry analysis showcase that PLGA NPs trigger a transcriptional priming towards activation in NK and pan T cells. While PLGA NPs improved NK cells anti-tumoral functions in cytokines-deprived environment, Si-Gd NPs significantly impaired T cells activation as well as functional responses to a polyclonal antigenic stimulation. Altogether, we identified PLGAs NPs as suitable and promising candidates for further targeting approaches aiming to reactivate the immune system of cancer patients.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2023

Peripheral positioning of lysosomes supports melanoma aggressiveness

Emerging evidences suggest that function and position of organelles are pivotal for tumor cell dissemination. Among them, lysosomes stand out as they integrate metabolic sensing with gene regulation and secretion of proteases. Yet, how their function is linked to their position and how this controls metastasis remains elusive. Here, we analyzed lysosome subcellular distribution in patient-derived melanoma cells and patient biopsies and found that lysosome spreading scales with their aggressiveness. Peripheral lysosomes promote matrix degradation and invasion of melanoma cells which is directly linked to their lysosomal and cell transcriptional programs. When controlling lysosomal positioning using chemo-genetical heterodimerization in patient-derived melanoma cells, we demonstrated that perinuclear clustering impairs lysosomal secretion, matrix degradation and invasion. Impairing lysosomal spreading in two distinct in vivo models (mouse and zebrafish) significantly reduces invasive outgrowth. Our study provides a direct demonstration that lysosomal positioning controls cell invasion, illustrating the importance of organelle adaptation in carcinogenesis and suggesting that lysosome positioning could potentially be used for the diagnosis of metastatic melanoma.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Blood flow diverts extracellular vesicles from endothelial degradative compartments to promote angiogenesis

Extracellular vesicles released by tumors (tEVs) disseminate via circulatory networks and promote microenvironmental changes in distant organs favoring metastatic seeding. Despite their abundance in the bloodstream, how hemodynamics affect the function of circulating tEVs remains unsolved. We experimentally tuned flow profiles in vitro (microfluidics) and in vivo (zebrafish) and demonstrated that efficient uptake of tEVs occurs in endothelial cells subjected to capillary-like hemodynamics. Such flow profiles partially reroute internalized tEVs towards non-acidic and non-degradative Rab14-positive endosomes, at the expense of lysosomes, suggesting that endothelial mechanosensing diverts tEVs from degradation. Subsequently, tEVs promote the expression of pro-angiogenic transcription factors in flow-stimulated endothelial cells and favor vessel sprouting in zebrafish. Altogether, we demonstrate that capillary-like flow profiles potentiate the pro-tumoral function of circulating tEVs by promoting their uptake and rerouting their trafficking. We propose that tEVs contribute to pre-metastatic niche formation by exploiting endothelial mechanosensing in specific vascular regions with permissive hemodynamics.

cell biology↗