Publications

Sensory neuronopathies (SNN) encompass diverse etiologies, with autoimmunity playing a major role through both cellular and humoral responses. To investigate the humoral autoantibody repertoire in autoimmune SNN, we conducted a retrospective cohort study using large Human Proteome-wide protein microarrays (HuProt 3.1, HuProt 4.0, ProtoArrays). We specifically analyzed immune system pathways targeted within the autoantigen repertoire (the autoantigenome).

• Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589909025000127?via%3Dihub

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the CNS. Highlighted by the success of B-cell–depleting therapies such as the monoclonal anti-CD20 antibodies rituximab, ocrelizumab, and ofatumumab, B cells have been shown to play a central role in the immunopathology of the disease. Yet, the target antigens of the pathogenic B-cell response in MS remain unclear.

• Link: https://www.neurology.org/doi/full/10.1212/NXI.0000000000200374

To explore the autoimmune component of sarcoid uveitis (SU) by analyzing serum anti-retinal antibodies (ARAs), identifying targeted retinal proteins, T- and B-cell receptor repertoires and HLA genotype.

• Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896841125000204?via%3Dihub

Recombination-activating gene 1 (RAG1) and RAG2 are required for V(D)J recombination, which directs mature B and T cell development and a fully functional adaptive immune system. Hypomorphic variants of the RAG genes in humans results in an array of immunodeficiencies, which all have distinct features for reasons not well understood. Bosticardo et al. performed a multiomics analysis of 157 patients with RAG deficiency who presented with a spectrum of disease phenotypes along with 135 age-matched controls. Analyzing blood, bone marrow, and other tissue biopsies, the authors found prominent signatures of immune dysregulation with both common and distinctive features in these patients. These findings may direct phenotype-specific therapeutic interventions before patients can receive definitive treatments.

• Link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.adq1697

Retrospective characterization of cell-cell relationships in the tumor microenvironment provides significantly better predictive power than PD-L1 expression, tumor mutational burden (TMB), or gene expression profiles. In this small study assessing the safety and possible efficacy of gemcitabine and pembrolizumab in immunotherapy-naïve patients with NSCLC who have received prior treatment, we investigated both standard and novel immune parameters on 16 enrolled patients.

• Link: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.20.24317919v1

Ocular predominant mucous membrane pemphigoid (oMMP) is a severe subtype of autoimmune blistering disease (AIBD), which can result in scarring and vision loss. The diagnosis of oMMP is challenging as patients often have undetectable levels of circulating autoantibodies by conventional assays. Likewise, the principal autoantigen in oMMP has been an area of debate.

• Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4468/13/4/91

Immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) revolutionized the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but only a fraction of them obtain a response, and clinical benefit from these treatments is often difficult to predict. The aim of our study is to unveil the potential implications of antibody response to previous viral infections in predicting response to ICBs in patients with NSCLC.

• Link: https://jitc.bmj.com/content/12/11/e009931

To maximize the cost-effectiveness of tofacitinib, one of the Janus kinase inhibitors, there is an unmet need to identify predictors of therapeutic response. Utilizing phage immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-Seq), we aim to identify peptide biomarkers for predicting good response to tofacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

• Link: https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/rheumatology/keae595/7840275?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Accumulating evidence has proved the close association between alterations in gut microbiota and resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. However, the potential roles of gut microbiota in regulating oxaliplatin sensitivity in gastric cancer (GC) have not been investigated before. We first found that antibiotic treatment diminished the therapeutic efficacy of oxaliplatin in a GC mouse model. Importantly, this effect could be transmitted to germ-free mice via fecal microbiota transplantation, indicating a potential role of gut microbiota modulation in oxaliplatin efficacy.

• Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043661824002238?via%3Dihub

Isochlorate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) is an important metabolic enzyme for the production of α-ketoglutarate (α-KG), which has antitumor effects and is considered to have potential antitumor effects. The activation of IDH1 as a pathway for the development of anticancer drugs has not been attempted. We demonstrated that IDH1 can limit glycolysis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells to activate the tumor immune microenvironment. In addition, through proteomic microarray analysis, we identified a natural small molecule, scutellarin (Scu), which activates IDH1 and inhibits the growth of HCC cells. By selectively modifying Cys297, Scu promotes IDH1 active dimer formation and increases α-KG production, leading to ubiquitination and degradation of HIF1a.

• Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41419-024-06625-6