Person: Connole, Michelle
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Connole
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Michelle
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Connole, Michelle
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Publication Hypercytotoxicity and Rapid Loss of NKp44+ Innate Lymphoid Cells during Acute SIV Infection(Public Library of Science, 2014) Li, Haiying; Richert-Spuhler, Laura E.; Evans, Tristan I.; Gillis, Jacqueline Marie; Connole, Michelle; Estes, Jacob D.; Keele, Brandon F.; Klatt, Nichole R.; Reeves, R. KeithHIV/SIV infections break down the integrity of the gastrointestinal mucosa and lead to chronic immune activation and associated disease progression. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), distinguishable by high expression of NKp44 and RORγt, play key roles in mucosal defense and homeostasis, but are depleted from gastrointestinal (GI) tract large bowel during chronic SIV infection. However, less is known about the kinetics of ILC loss, or if it occurs systemically. In acute SIV infection, we found a massive, up to 8-fold, loss of NKp44+ILCs in all mucosae as early as day 6 post-infection, which was sustained through chronic disease. Interestingly, no loss of ILCs was observed in mucosa-draining lymph nodes. In contrast, classical NK cells were not depleted either from gut or draining lymph nodes. Both ILCs and NK cells exhibited significantly increased levels of apoptosis as measured by increased Annexin-V expression, but while classical NK cells also showed increased proliferation, ILCs did not. Interestingly, ILCs, which are normally noncytolytic, dramatically upregulated cytotoxic functions in acute and chronic infection and acquired a polyfunctional phenotype secreting IFN-γ, MIP1-β, and TNF-α, but decreased production of the prototypical cytokine, IL-17. Classical NK cells had less dramatic functional change, but upregulated perforin expression and increased cytotoxic potential. Finally, we show that numerical and functional loss of ILCs was due to increased apoptosis and ROR γt suppression induced by inflammatory cytokines in the gut milieu. Herein we demonstrate the first evidence for acute, systemic, and permanent loss of mucosal ILCs during SIV infection associated with reduction of IL-17. The massive reduction of ILCs involves apoptosis without compensatory de novo development/proliferation, but the full mechanism of depletion and the impact of functional change so early in infection remain unclear.Publication Characterization of CD8+ T Cell Differentiation following SIVΔnef Vaccination by Transcription Factor Expression Profiling(Public Library of Science, 2015) Billingsley, James M.; Rajakumar, Premeela A.; Connole, Michelle; Salisch, Nadine C.; Adnan, Sama; Kuzmichev, Yury V.; Hong, Henoch S.; Reeves, R. Keith; Kang, Hyung-joo; Li, Wenjun; Li, Qingsheng; Haase, Ashley T.; Johnson, R. PaulThe onset of protective immunity against pathogenic SIV challenge in SIVΔnef-vaccinated macaques is delayed for 15-20 weeks, a process that is related to qualitative changes in CD8+ T cell responses induced by SIVΔnef. As a novel approach to characterize cell differentiation following vaccination, we used multi-target qPCR to measure transcription factor expression in naïve and memory subsets of CD8++ T cells, and in SIV-specific CD8+ T cells obtained from SIVΔnef-vaccinated or wild type SIVmac239-infected macaques. Unsupervised clustering of expression profiles organized naïve and memory CD8+ T cells into groups concordant with cell surface phenotype. Transcription factor expression patterns in SIV-specific CD8+ T cells in SIVΔnef-vaccinated animals were distinct from those observed in purified CD8+ T cell subsets obtained from naïve animals, and were intermediate to expression profiles of purified central memory and effector memory T cells. Expression of transcription factors elicited by SIVΔnef vaccination also varied over time: cells obtained at later time points, temporally associated with greater protection, appeared more central-memory like than cells obtained at earlier time points, which appeared more effector memory-like. Expression of transcription factors associated with effector differentiation, such as ID2 and RUNX3, were decreased over time, while expression of transcription factors associated with quiescence or memory differentiation, such as TCF7, BCOR and EOMES, increased. CD8+ T cells specific for a more conserved epitope expressed higher levels of TBX21 and BATF, and appeared more effector-like than cells specific for an escaped epitope, consistent with continued activation by replicating vaccine virus. These data suggest transcription factor expression profiling is a novel method that can provide additional data complementary to the analysis of memory cell differentiation based on classical phenotypic markers. Additionally, these data support the hypothesis that ongoing stimulation by SIVΔnef promotes a distinct protective balance of CD8+ T cell differentiation and activation states.Publication Maturation of Protective Immunity Induced by SIVΔnef Correlates with Differential Expression of Transcription Factors in SIV-specific CD8+ T Cells(BioMed Central, 2012) Billingsley, James M.; Rajakumar, Premeela A.; Salisch, NC; Kuzmichev, YV; Hong, Henoch S.; Connole, Michelle; Reeves, Roger; Kang, H; Li, W; Johnson, RPPublication SIVΔnef Vaccination Mobilizes Systemic and Mucosal Natural Killer Cells in Mamu A*01+ Macaques(BioMed Central, 2012) Reeves, Roger; Evans, Tristan Isaac; Gillis, Jacqueline Marie; Connole, Michelle; Wong, F; Yu, Yi; Johnson, RobertPublication Paucity of CD4+ Natural Killer T (NKT) Lymphocytes in Sooty Mangabeys is Associated with Lack of NKT Cell Depletion After SIV Infection(Public Library of Science, 2010) Rout, Namita; Else, James G.; Yue, Simon; Connole, Michelle; Exley, Mark; Kaur, AmitinderLack of chronic immune activation in the presence of persistent viremia is a key feature that distinguishes nonpathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in natural hosts from pathogenic SIV and HIV infection. To elucidate novel mechanisms downmodulating immune activation in natural hosts of SIV infection, we investigated natural killer T (NKT) lymphocytes in sooty mangabeys. NKT lymphocytes are a potent immunoregulatory arm of the innate immune system that recognize glycolipid antigens presented on the nonpolymorphic MHC-class I-like CD1d molecules. In a cross-sectional analysis of 50 SIV-negative and 50 naturally SIV-infected sooty mangabeys, ligand α-galactosylceramide loaded CD1d tetramers co-staining with Vα24-positive invariant NKT lymphocytes were detected at frequencies ≥0.002% of circulating T lymphocytes in approximately half of the animals. In contrast to published reports in Asian macaques, sooty mangabey NKT lymphocytes consisted of CD8+ and CD4/CD8 double-negative T lymphocytes that were CXCR3-positive and CCR5-negative suggesting that they trafficked to sites of inflammation without being susceptible to SIV infection. Consistent with these findings, there was no difference in the frequency or phenotype of NKT lymphocytes between SIV-negative and SIV-infected sooty mangabeys. On stimulation with α-galactosylceramide loaded on human CD1d molecules, sooty mangabey NKT lymphocytes underwent degranulation and secreted IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-13, and IL-10, indicating the presence of both effector and immunoregulatory functional capabilities. The unique absence of CD4+ NKT lymphocytes in sooty mangabeys, combined with their IL-10 cytokine-secreting ability and preservation following SIV infection, raises the possibility that NKT lymphocytes might play a role in downmodulating immune activation in SIV-infected sooty mangabeys.Publication B Cell Antigen Receptor Signal Strength and Peripheral B Cell Development are Regulated by a 9-O-Acetyl Sialic Acid Esterase(Rockefeller University Press, 2009) Cariappa, Annaiah; Takematsu, Hiromu; Liu, Haoyuan; Diaz, Sandra; Haider, Khaleda; Kalloo, Geetika; Varki, Nissi; Varki, Ajit; Boboila, Cristian; Connole, Michelle; Shi, Hai; Pillai, ShivWe show that the enzymatic acetylation and deacetylation of a cell surface carbohydrate controls B cell development, signaling, and immunological tolerance. Mice with a mutation in sialate:O-acetyl esterase, an enzyme that specifically removes acetyl moieties from the 9-OH position of α2–6-linked sialic acid, exhibit enhanced B cell receptor (BCR) activation, defects in peripheral B cell development, and spontaneously develop antichromatin autoantibodies and glomerular immune complex deposits. The 9-O-acetylation state of sialic acid regulates the function of CD22, a Siglec that functions in vivo as an inhibitor of BCR signaling. These results describe a novel catalytic regulator of B cell signaling and underscore the crucial role of inhibitory signaling in the maintenance of immunological tolerance in the B lineage.