Genomic allergen rapid detection in-house validation-a proof of concept.

Toxicol Sci. 2014 Jun;139(2):362-70. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfu046. Epub 2014 Mar 27.

Johansson H., Rydnert F., Kuehnl J., Schepky A., Borrebaeck C.A.K., Lindstedt M.

Abstract

Chemical sensitization is an adverse immunologic response to chemical substances, inducing hypersensitivity in exposed individuals. Identifying chemical sensitizers is of great importance for chemical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries, in order to prevent the use of sensitizers in consumer products. Historically, chemical sensitizers have been assessed mainly by in vivo methods, however, recently enforced European legislations urge and promote the development of animal-free test methods able to predict chemical sensitizers. Recently, we presented a predictive biomarker signature in the myeloid cell line MUTZ-3, for assessment of skinsensitizers. The identified genomic biomarkers were found to be involved in immunologically relevant pathways, induced by recognition of foreign substances and regulating dendritic cell maturation and cytoprotective mechanisms. We have developed the usage of this biomarker signature into a novel in vitro assay for assessment of chemical sensitizers, called Genomic Allergen Rapid Detection (GARD). The assay is based on chemical stimulation of MUTZ-3 cultures, using the compounds to be assayed as stimulatory agents. The readout of the assay is a transcriptional quantification of the genomic predictors, collectively termed the GARD Prediction Signature (GPS), using a complete genome expression array. Compounds are predicted as either sensitizers or nonsensitizers by a Support Vector Machine model. In this report, we provide a proof of concept for the functionality of the GARD assay by describing the classification of 26 blinded and 11 nonblinded chemicals as sensitizers or nonsensitizers. Based on these classifications, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the assay were estimated to 89, 89, and 88%, respectively.

KEYWORDS:

GARD; allergic contact dermatitis; chemical sensitizers; in vitro assay; predictive assay; skin sensitization

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Human blood dendritic cell subsets exhibit discriminative pattern recognition receptor profiles

Immunology. 2014 Jun;142(2):279-88. doi: 10.1111/imm.12252.

Lundberg K., Rydnert F, Greiff L, Lindstedt M.

Abstract

Dendritic cells (DCs) operate as the link between innate and adaptive immunity. Their expression of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and C-type lectin receptors (CLRs), enables antigen recognition and mediates appropriate immune responses. Distinct subsets of human DCs have been identified; however their expression of PRRs is not fully clarified. Expressions of CLRs by DC subpopulations, in particular, remain elusive. This study aimed to identify and compare PRR expressions on human blood DC subsets, including CD1c(+) , CD141(+) and CD16(+) myeloid DCs and CD123(+) plasmacytoid DCs, in order to understand their capacity to recognize different antigens as well as their responsiveness to PRR-directed targeting. Whole blood was obtained from 13 allergic and six non-allergic individuals. Mononuclear cells were purified and multi-colour flow cytometry was used to assess the expression of 10 CLRs and two TLRs on distinct DC subsets. PRR expression levels were shown to differ between DC subsets for each PRR assessed. Furthermore, principal component analysis and random forest test demonstrated that the PRR profiles were discriminative between DC subsets. Interestingly, CLEC9A was expressed at lower levels by CD141(+) DCs from allergic compared with non-allergic donors. The subset-specific PRR expression profiles suggests individual responsiveness to PRR-targeting and supports functional specialization.

KEYWORDS:

C-type lectin receptors; Toll-like receptors; human dendritic cell subsets; pattern recognition receptors

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