Alberto Yáñez

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) transplantation is a cornerstone for studying hematopoiesis. However, classical conditioning regimens such as irradiation or chemotherapy induce strong inflammation, alter the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment, and severely limit the interpretation of differentiation processes. Moreover, donor HSPC engraftment efficiency in immunocompetent recipients without conditioning is usually very low. In this work, we produced and purified the monoclonal anti-c-Kit antibody ACK2 and tested its capacity to transiently deplete HSPCs in immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice. We defined the in vivo clearance kinetics of the ACK2 antibody from serum, identified the optimal transplantation window, and evaluated donor engraftment efficiency. Intraperitoneal injection of ACK2 induced transient HSPC depletion in the BM, with maximal depletion and complete clearance of circulating antibody at day 4 post-injection. Transplantation of donor HSPCs in ACK2-conditioned recipients at this time point resulted in significantly improved engraftment compared to PBS-treated recipients, particularly in the BM. As a proof of concept, we applied this mouse model to investigate properties of innate immune memory in HSPCs exposed to Candida albicans in vivo . For this, we adoptively transferred HSPCs from infected mice with a non-virulent C. albicans strain and assessed the functional properties of their derived neutrophils in vivo . We found that neutrophils derived from C. albicans -exposed HSPCs displayed an enhanced recruitment to the peritoneal cavity during a secondary C. albicans infection compared to control HSPC-derived neutrophils. In conclusion, here we describe a non-inflammatory, antibody-based conditioning method that enhances adoptive transfer of HSPCs in immunocompetent mice. Consistent with previous reports, ACK2-based conditioning alone does not enable permanent hematopoietic engraftment, but rather facilitates transient donor cell engraftment which provides a versatile methodological tool to study the biology and functional programming of exogenous HSPCs in vivo , including their contribution to trained immunity.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a pleiotropic cytokine classically recognized as a central regulator of emergency myelopoiesis, promoting the expansion and differentiation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) towards the myeloid lineage during infection and inflammation. In addition, GM-CSF enhances myeloid cell recruitment and activation, boosting antimicrobial functions and inflammatory responses. This coordinated capacity to enhance myelopoiesis while amplifying effector functions reflects a broader property of GM-CSF to functionally reprogram the hematopoietic system, not only increasing myeloid output but also shaping the inflammatory potential of downstream myeloid cells. However, this enhanced potential must be tightly regulated to avoid tissue damage and the development of chronic inflammatory or autoimmune disorders driven by GM-CSF-activated cells. In this review, we integrate current knowledge of GM-CSF biology with emerging evidence supporting its role in shaping central innate immune memory. We highlight its capacity to induce divergent memory programs, promoting either trained immunity or tolerance depending on GM-CSF receptor (GM-CSFR) expression levels and downstream signaling strength across distinct stages of myelopoiesis. Finally, we discuss the relevance of these properties in different contexts and their current and potential therapeutic implications.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) arise as a consequence of acquisition and progressive accumulation of genetic and epigenetic modifications by haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) which result in an impaired cell differentiation and the clonal expansion of myeloid progenitors leading to blast-cell accumulation in bone marrow (BM) and myelodysplasia. TLRs are expressed on HSPC and play a role in modulating haematopoiesis by instructing commitment to the myeloid lineage, and therefore may have potential therapeutic application. We have determined the in vitro effect of R848 (TLR7/TLR8 agonist) and Imiquimod (TLR7 agonist), on differentiation, apoptosis and cell viability in primary cultures of bone marrow samples from MDS (n = 6) and AML patients (n = 13). Differentiation was determined by a combined approach of conventional flow cytometry and t-SNE (t-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding) analysis based on the expression of cell markers (CD34, CD11b, CD13, CD117 and CD45). Cell viability and apoptosis were determined according to standard procedures. Statistical analyses were performed according to the two-tailed Student’s t test for dual comparison (treated versus control samples). All major cell populations of the differentiation path from blasts towards neutrophils were found. Treatment with R848 or with Imiquimod did not induce significant changes in cell differentiation in AML samples. However, both R848 and, to a lesser extent, Imiquimod were able to induce differentiation of bone marrow cells from MDS patients from myelocytes to mature neutrophils in five out of six samples. Results also showed absence of toxic effects of both ligands on cells from MDS patients, as both apoptosis and cell viability were not altered by treatments. As for the differentiation assays, the effect of both ligands on apoptosis and cell viability in primary cultures from AML patients was not significant. Treatment with TLR7/8 ligands can revert the blockade of myeloid differentiation in most MDS samples and increase the amount of neutrophils, and therefore could represent a potential alternative treatment for MDS patients.

Central trained immunity, induced via reprogramming of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), mediates sustained heightened responsiveness of mature myeloid cells to secondary challenges. We have previously demonstrated that HSPCs use TLR2 and Dectin-1 to sense Candida albicans to induce the production of trained monocytes/macrophages to fight against secondary infection. Neutrophils play an important role in innate immunity and are critical for clearance of C. albicans. In this work, we used an in vitro model of mouse HSPC differentiation to investigate the functional phenotype of neutrophils derived from HSPCs exposed to various PAMPs and C. albicans cells. We found that neutrophils derived from HSPCs stimulated by a TLR2 agonist exhibit reduced inflammatory cytokine production (tolerized neutrophils) whereas neutrophils generated from a Dectin-1 agonist or C. albicans stimulated HSPCs produce higher amounts of cytokines (trained neutrophils). We further demonstrated that a transient exposure of HSPCs to live C. albicans cells is sufficient to induce a trained phenotype of the neutrophils they produce in a Dectin-1- and TLR2-dependent manner. These trained neutrophils exhibited higher phagocytosis and microbicidal capacity than control neutrophils. Additionally, their adoptive transfer was sufficient to reduce fungal burden during invasive candidiasis. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that trained neutrophils use mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) to enhance their ability to kill C. albicans cells, as they produce higher amounts of mtROS and scavenging mtROS with MitoTEMPO attenuated their yeast-killing ability to match that of control neutrophils. Altogether, these data suggest that infection-experienced HSPCs contribute to trained immunity by providing a source of trained neutrophils with enhanced antimicrobial activity which may confer prolonged protection from infection. The tailored manipulation of this mechanism might offer new therapeutic strategies for controlling fungal infections by harnessing neutrophils.

Inflammatory responses must be tightly coordinated with the activation of emergency myelopoiesis to produce potent myeloid cells that fight infection without causing excessive host damage. Here, we show that granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) programs myeloid-committed progenitors to produce trained macrophages (increased cytokine response), but programs the upstream noncommitted LKS+ progenitors (defined as Lin− c-Kit+ Sca-1+ cells) to produce tolerized macrophages (decreased cytokine response). In myeloid progenitors, GM-CSF strongly activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5), Ras-Raf-extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), and Akt-mTOR signaling pathways, which are essential to establish a training program, whereas in LKS+ progenitors, GM-CSF induces NF-κB translocation to the nucleus to establish a tolerization program. These differences arise from higher GM-CSF receptor expression in myeloid progenitors compared with LKS+ cells. We demonstrate that β-catenin regulation of NF-κB nuclear translocation is central in this process. In myeloid progenitors, glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inactivation by strong ERK and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)-Akt signaling increases cytoplasmic β-catenin levels to block NF-κB nuclear translocation. In contrast, when ERK and PI3K-Akt signaling are weak, active GSK3 causes a decrease in β-catenin, allowing NF-κB nuclear translocation in LKS+ progenitors. Finally, GM-CSF-induced LKS+ tolerization takes place in several murine models of trained immunity and in human CD34+ CD38− progenitors. Our study reveals that in addition to activating myelopoiesis, GM-CSF also programs early and immediate myeloid progenitors to produce opposing immune memory phenotypes. We propose that the inflammatory response from immediate myeloid progenitors may be balanced by the tolerized phenotype of early progenitors, thus providing a mechanism for appropriate resolution of inflammation and protection against a prolonged cytokine storm.

During an infection, hematopoiesis is altered to increase the output of mature myeloid cells to fight off the pathogen. Despite convincing evidence that hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) can sense pathogens directly, more mechanistic studies are needed to reveal whether pattern recognition receptor (PRR) signaling initiates myeloid development directly, or indirectly through the production of cytokines by HSPCs that can act in an autocrine/paracrine manner, or by a combination of both direct and indirect mechanisms. In this study, we have used an in vitro model of murine HSPCs to study myeloid differentiation in response to the TLR2 ligand Pam₃CSK₄ and showed that, besides indirect mechanisms, TLR2 stimulation of HSPCs promotes myelopoiesis directly by initiating a MyD88-dependent signaling. This direct differentiation program involves a combined activation of the transcription factors PU.1, C/EBPβ and IRF7 driven by TBK1 and PI3K/mTOR. Notably, downstream of MyD88, the activated TBK1 kinase can activate mTOR directly and IRF7 induction is mediated by both TBK1 and mTOR. TLR2 signaling also induces NF-κB dependent IL-6 production that may further induce indirect myeloid differentiation. Our results have identified the direct signaling pathways and the transcription factors involved in macrophage development from HSPCs in response to TLR2 engagement, a critical process to trigger a rapid immune response during infection.

Purpose of review: Myeloid cells – granulocytes, monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) – are innate immune cells that play key roles in pathogen defense and inflammation, as well as in tissue homeostasis and repair. Over the past 5 years, in part due to more widespread use of single cell omics technologies, it has become evident that these cell types are significantly more heterogeneous than was previously appreciated. In this review, we consider recent studies that have demonstrated heterogeneity among neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages and DCs in mice and humans. We also discuss studies that have revealed the sources of their heterogeneity. Recent findings: Recent studies have confirmed that ontogeny is a key determinant of diversity, with specific subsets of myeloid cells arising from distinct progenitors. However, diverse microenvironmental cues also strongly influence myeloid fate and function. Accumulating evidence therefore suggests that a combination of these mechanisms underlies myeloid cell diversity. Summary: Consideration of the heterogeneity of myeloid cells is critical for understanding their diverse activities, such as the role of macrophages in tissue damage versus repair, or tumor growth versus elimination. Insights into these mechanisms are informing the design of novel therapeutic approaches.

More mechanistic studies are needed to reveal the hidden details of in vivo-induced trained immunity. Here, using a Candida albicans live vaccine mouse model we show that vaccination protects mice against a secondary infection and increases the number of bone marrow, and especially, splenic trained monocytes. Moreover, vaccination expands and reprograms hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) early during infection and mobilize them transiently to the spleen to produce trained macrophages. Trained HSPCs are not only primed for myeloid cell production but also reprogramed to produce a greater amount of proinflammatory cytokines in response to a second challenge. Additionally, their adoptive transfer is sufficient to protect mice against reinfection. Mechanistically, autocrine GM-CSF activation of HSPCs is responsible for the trained phenotype and essential for the vaccine-induced protection. Our findings reveal a fundamental role for HSPCs in the trained immune protective response, opening new avenues for disease prevention and treatment.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are neurodegenerative disorders that overlap in their clinical presentation, pathology and genetic origin. Autoimmune disorders are also overrepresented in both ALS and FTD, but this remains an unexplained epidemiologic observation^1,2,3. Expansions of a hexanucleotide repeat (GGGGCC) in the C9orf72 gene are the most common cause of familial ALS and FTD (C9-ALS/FTD), and lead to both repeat-containing RNA and dipeptide accumulation, coupled with decreased C9orf72 protein expression in brain and peripheral blood cells^4,5,6. Here we show in mice that loss of C9orf72 from myeloid cells alone is sufficient to recapitulate the age-dependent lymphoid hypertrophy and autoinflammation seen in animals with a complete knockout of C9orf72. Dendritic cells isolated from C9orf72^−/− mice show marked early activation of the type I interferon response, and C9orf72^−/− myeloid cells are selectively hyperresponsive to activators of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) protein—a key regulator of the innate immune response to cytosolic DNA. Degradation of STING through the autolysosomal pathway is diminished in C9orf72^−/− myeloid cells, and blocking STING suppresses hyperactive type I interferon responses in C9orf72^−/− immune cells as well as splenomegaly and inflammation in C9orf72^−/− mice. Moreover, mice lacking one or both copies of C9orf72 are more susceptible to experimental autoimmune encephalitis, mirroring the susceptibility to autoimmune diseases seen in people with C9-ALS/FTD. Finally, blood-derived macrophages, whole blood and brain tissue from patients with C9-ALS/FTD all show an elevated type I interferon signature compared with samples from people with sporadic ALS/FTD; this increased interferon response can be suppressed with a STING inhibitor. Collectively, our results suggest that patients with C9-ALS/FTD have an altered immunophenotype because their reduced levels of C9orf72 cannot suppress the inflammation mediated by the induction of type I interferons by STING.

Invasive candidiasis is an increasingly frequent cause of serious and often fatal infections. Understanding host defense is essential to design novel therapeutic strategies to boost immune protection against Candida albicans . In this article, we delve into two new concepts that have arisen over the last years: (i) the delivery of myelopoiesis-inducing signals by microbial components directly sensed by hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and (ii) the concept of “trained innate immunity” that may also apply to HSPCs. We demonstrate that dectin-1 ligation in vivo activates HSPCs and induces their differentiation to trained macrophages by a cell-autonomous indirect mechanism. This points to new mechanisms by which pathogen detection by HSPCs may modulate hematopoiesis in real time to generate myeloid cells better prepared to deal with the infection. Manipulation of this process may help to boost the innate immune response during candidiasis.