FADD prevents RIP3-mediated epithelial cell necrosis and chronic intestinal inflammation

Intestinal immune homeostasis depends on a tightly regulated cross talk between commensal bacteria, mucosal immune cells and intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). Epithelial barrier disruption is considered to be a potential cause of inflammatory bowel disease; however, the mechanisms regulating intestinal epithelial integrity are poorly understood. Here we show that mice with IEC-specific knockout of FADD (FADD(IEC-KO)), an adaptor protein required for death-receptor-induced apoptosis, spontaneously developed epithelial cell necrosis, loss of Paneth cells, enteritis and severe erosive colitis. Genetic deficiency in RIP3, a critical regulator of programmed necrosis, prevented the development of spontaneous pathology in both the small intestine and colon of FADD(IEC-KO) mice, demonstrating that intestinal inflammation is triggered by RIP3-dependent death of FADD-deficient IECs. Epithelial-specific inhibition of CYLD, a deubiquitinase that regulates cellular necrosis, prevented colitis development in FADD(IEC-KO) but not in NEMO(IEC-KO) mice, showing that different mechanisms mediated death of colonic epithelial cells in these two models. In FADD(IEC-KO) mice, TNF deficiency ameliorated colon inflammation, whereas MYD88 deficiency and also elimination of the microbiota prevented colon inflammation, indicating that bacteria-mediated Toll-like-receptor signalling drives colitis by inducing the expression of TNF and other cytokines. However, neither CYLD, TNF or MYD88 deficiency nor elimination of the microbiota could prevent Paneth cell loss and enteritis in FADD(IEC-KO) mice, showing that different mechanisms drive RIP3-dependent necrosis of FADD-deficient IECs in the small and large bowel. Therefore, by inhibiting RIP3-mediated IEC necrosis, FADD preserves epithelial barrier integrity and antibacterial defence, maintains homeostasis and prevents chronic intestinal inflammation. Collectively, these results show that mechanisms preventing RIP3-mediated epithelial cell death are critical for the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis and indicate that programmed necrosis of IECs might be implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, in which Paneth cell and barrier defects are thought to contribute to intestinal inflammation.     

Cancer immunotherapy comes of age

Activating the immune system for therapeutic benefit in cancer has long been a goal in immunology and oncology. After decades of disappointment, the tide has finally changed due to the success of recent proof-of-concept clinical trials. Most notable has been the ability of the anti-CTLA4 antibody, ipilimumab, to achieve a significant increase in survival for patients with metastatic melanoma, for which conventional therapies have failed. In the context of advances in the understanding of how tolerance, immunity and immunosuppression regulate antitumour immune responses together with the advent of targeted therapies, these successes suggest that active immunotherapy represents a path to obtain a durable and long-lasting response in cancer patients.     

Interferon-γ links ultraviolet radiation to melanomagenesis in mice

Cutaneous malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive and frequently chemoresistant cancer, the incidence of which continues to rise. Epidemiological studies show that the major aetiological melanoma risk factor is ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation, with the highest risk associated with intermittent burning doses, especially during childhood. We have experimentally validated these epidemiological findings using the hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor transgenic mouse model, which develops lesions in stages highly reminiscent of human melanoma with respect to biological, genetic and aetiological criteria, but only when irradiated as neonatal pups with UVB, not UVA. However, the mechanisms underlying UVB-initiated, neonatal-specific melanomagenesis remain largely unknown. Here we introduce a mouse model permitting fluorescence-aided melanocyte imaging and isolation following in vivo UV irradiation. We use expression profiling to show that activated neonatal skin melanocytes isolated following a melanomagenic UVB dose bear a distinct, persistent interferon response signature, including genes associated with immunoevasion. UVB-induced melanocyte activation, characterized by aberrant growth and migration, was abolished by antibody-mediated systemic blockade of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), but not type-I interferons. IFN-γ was produced by macrophages recruited to neonatal skin by UVB-induced ligands to the chemokine receptor Ccr2. Admixed recruited skin macrophages enhanced transplanted melanoma growth by inhibiting apoptosis; notably, IFN-γ blockade abolished macrophage-enhanced melanoma growth and survival. IFN-γ-producing macrophages were also identified in 70% of human melanomas examined. Our data reveal an unanticipated role for IFN-γ in promoting melanocytic cell survival/immunoevasion, identifying a novel candidate therapeutic target for a subset of melanoma patients.