Papers by Angeles Domínguez-soto
Current opinion in investigational drugs (London, England : 2000), 2007
Dendritic cells are bone marrow-derived professional antigen-presenting cells which link innate a... more Dendritic cells are bone marrow-derived professional antigen-presenting cells which link innate and adaptive immune responses. Acting as sentinels of the immune system, dendritic cells are loaded with a large array of antigen-capturing and pathogen-recognition receptors which constantly sample the surrounding extracellular environment for 'danger signals'. However, dendritic cells also exhibit a naive T-lymphocyte-activating ability and, depending on their maturation status, promote either immunological tolerance or primary immune responses. This functional ambivalence has brought dendritic cells to the focus of attention for immunotherapy protocols in autoimmune diseases, cancer and transplantation.

Nanoscale, 2015
Tumor microenvironment favors the escape from immunosurveillance by promoting immunosuppression a... more Tumor microenvironment favors the escape from immunosurveillance by promoting immunosuppression and blunting pro-inflammatory responses. Since most tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) exhibit an M2-like tumor cell growth promoting polarization, we have studied the role of 2G-03NN24 carbosilane dendrimer in M2 macrophage polarization to evaluate the potential application of dendrimers in tumor immunotherapy. We found that the 2G-03NN24 dendrimer decreases LPS-induced IL-10 production from in vitro generated monocyte-derived M2 macrophages, and also switches their gene expression profile towards the acquisition of M1 polarization markers (INHBA, SERPINE1, FLT1, EGLN3 and ALDH1A2) and the loss of M2 polarization-associated markers (EMR1, IGF1, FOLR2 and SLC40A1). Furthermore, 2G-03NN24 dendrimer decreases STAT3 activation. Our results indicate that the 2G-03NN24 dendrimer can be a useful tool for antitumor therapy by virtue of its potential ability to limit the M2-like polarization of TAM. c Dpto.
The Journal of Immunology, 2005

The Journal of Immunology, 2014
The CCL2 chemokine mediates monocyte egress from bone marrow and recruitment into inflamed tissue... more The CCL2 chemokine mediates monocyte egress from bone marrow and recruitment into inflamed tissues through interaction with the CCR2 chemokine receptor, and its expression is upregulated by proinflammatory cytokines. Analysis of the gene expression profile in GM-CSF-and M-CSF-polarized macrophages revealed that a high CCL2 expression characterizes macrophages generated under the influence of M-CSF, whereas CCR2 is expressed only by GM-CSF-polarized macrophages. Analysis of the factors responsible for this differential expression identified activin A as a critical factor controlling the expression of the CCL2/CCR2 pair in macrophages, as activin A increased CCR2 expression but inhibited the acquisition of CCL2 expression by M-CSF-polarized macrophages. CCL2 and CCR2 were found to determine the extent of macrophage polarization because CCL2 enhances the LPS-induced production of IL-10, whereas CCL2 blockade leads to enhanced expression of M1 polarizationassociated genes and cytokines, and diminished expression of M2-associated markers in human macrophages. Along the same line, Ccr2-deficient bone marrow-derived murine macrophages displayed an M1-skewed polarization profile at the transcriptomic level and exhibited a significantly higher expression of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-a, IL-6) in response to LPS. Therefore, the CCL2-CCR2 axis regulates macrophage polarization by influencing the expression of functionally relevant and polarizationassociated genes and downmodulating proinflammatory cytokine production.

The Journal of Immunology, 2011
Dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN; CD209) is a human pathogen-attachme... more Dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN; CD209) is a human pathogen-attachment C-type lectin with no obvious murine ortholog and for which ligation leads to enhanced anti-inflammatory cytokine release and altered proinflammatory cytokine production. Although induced by IL-4 in monocytes and considered as a DC marker, DC-SIGN expression on human APCs under homeostatic conditions is so far unexplained. We report in this study that M-CSF enhances DC-SIGN expression on in vitro derived anti-inflammatory macrophages and that M-CSF mediates the induction of DC-SIGN by fibroblastand tumor cell-conditioned media. The M-CSF-inducible DC-SIGN expression along monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation is dependent on JNK and STAT3 activation, potentiated by STAT3-activating cytokines (IL-6, IL-10), and abrogated by the M1polarizing cytokine GM-CSF. In pathological settings, DC-SIGN expression is detected in tumor tissues and on ex vivo-isolated CD14 + CD163 + IL-10-producing tumor-associated macrophages. Importantly, DC-SIGN Abs reduced the release of IL-10 from macrophages exposed to Lewis x -expressing SKBR3 tumor cells. These results indicate that DC-SIGN is expressed on both woundhealing (IL-4-dependent) and regulatory (M-CSF-dependent) alternative (M2) macrophages and that DC-SIGN expression on tumor-associated macrophages might help tumor progression by contributing to the maintenance of an immunosuppressive environment.
Journal of Controlled Release, 2014
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Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2005
Dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) is a cel... more Dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) is a cell surface C-type lectin expressed on myeloid dendritic cells and certain tissue macrophages, which mediates antigen capture for processing and presentation and participates in intercellular interactions with naive T lymphocytes or endothelial cells. In their strategy to evade immunosurveillance, numerous pathogenic microorganisms, including human immunodeficiency virus and Mycobacterium, bind to DC-SIGN in order to gain access to dendritic cells. We present evidence that PU.1 dictates the basal and cell-specific activity of DC-SIGN gene-regulatory region through in vivo occupancy of two functional Ets elements, whose integrity is required for PU.1 responsiveness and for the cooperative actions of PU.1 and other transcription factors (Myb, RUNX) on the DC-SIGN gene proximal regulatory region. In addition, protein analysis and gene profiling experiments indicate that DC-SIGN and PU.1 are coordinately expressed upon classical and alternative macrophage activation and during dendritic cell maturation. Moreover, small interfering RNA-mediated reduction of PU.1 expression results in diminished DC-SIGN cellular levels. Altogether, these results indicate that PU.1 is involved in the myeloid-specific expression of DC-SIGN in myeloid cells, a contribution that can be framed within the role that PU.1 has on the acquisition of the antigen uptake molecular repertoire by dendritic cells and macrophages.

Immunobiology, 2005
The leukocyte integrins CD11a/CD18 (LFA-1, alphaLbeta2) and CD49d (VLA-4, alpha4beta1, alpha4beta... more The leukocyte integrins CD11a/CD18 (LFA-1, alphaLbeta2) and CD49d (VLA-4, alpha4beta1, alpha4beta7) mediate leukocyte transendothelial migration during immune and inflammatory responses and provides co-stimulatory signals for the activation of T lymphocytes. Our previous studies demonstrate that the CD11a gene promoter directs CD11a/CD18 integrin expression, and it depends on two overlapping sequences within the MS7 element, RUNX-110 and CEBP-100, which are recognized by RUNX and C/EBP transcription factor families, respectively. Recognition of MS7 differs in lymphoid (RUNX) and myeloid (C/EBP and RUNX) cells and its in vivo occupancy is regulated in a competitive and differentiation-dependent manner. The functional relevance of these elements are illustrated by the fact that RUNX3 overexpression leads to enhanced CD11a/CD18 levels, whereas RUNX1-ETO-expressing cells exhibit a weak/absent CD11a/CD18 integrin cell surface expression. We now provide evidence that RUNX3 also transactivates the CD49d gene promoter, and that the increased expression of CD49d mRNA and CD49d integrins on mature monocyte-derived dendritic cells correlates with an up-regulation of RUNX3 mRNA. The regulation of CD49d and CD11a integrins by RUNX3 could potentially contribute to the enhancement of transendothelial migration, antigen presentation and T cell stimulatory capabilities of mature dendritic cells.

Immunobiology, 2010
RUNX proteins are heterodimeric factors that play crucial roles during development and differenti... more RUNX proteins are heterodimeric factors that play crucial roles during development and differentiation of cells of the immune system. The RUNX3 transcription factor controls lineage decisions during thymopoiesis and T-cell differentiation, and modulates myeloid cell effector functions. We now report the characterization of the human RUNX3/p33 isoform, generated by splicing out a Runt DNA-binding domain-encoding exon, and whose transcriptional activities differ from those of the prototypic RUNX3/p44 molecule. Unlike RUNX3/p44, RUNX3/p33 is induced upon maturation of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC), and is unable to transactivate the regulatory regions of the CD11a, CD11c and CD49e integrin genes. Overexpression of RUNX3/p33 in myeloid cell lines led to diminished expression of genes involved in inflammatory responses. Moreover, overexpression of RUNX3/p33 down-modulated the basal level of IL-8 production from immature monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC). Besides, siRNA-mediated knock-down of RUNX3 led to diminished levels of IL-8 RNA in immature MDDC, and modulated the neutrophil-recruiting capacity of myeloid cell line supernatants. Since IL-8 promotes neutrophil chemotaxis and degranulation during inflammatory responses, and exerts mitogenic and angiogenic actions within tumor microenvironment, our results imply that myeloid RUNX3 expression regulates the recruitment of leukocytes towards inflammatory foci and might also contribute to human cancer progression.

Hepatology, 2009
Human LSECtin (liver and lymph node sinusoidal endothelial cell C-type lectin, CLEC4G) is a C-typ... more Human LSECtin (liver and lymph node sinusoidal endothelial cell C-type lectin, CLEC4G) is a C-type lectin encoded within the L-SIGN/DC-SIGN/CD23 gene cluster. LSECtin acts as a pathogen attachment factor for Ebolavirus and the SARS coronavirus, and its expression can be induced by interleukin-4 on monocytes and macrophages. Although reported as a liver and lymph node sinusoidal endothelial cell-specific molecule, LSECtin could be detected in the MUTZ-3 dendritic-like cell line at the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein level, and immunohistochemistry analysis on human liver revealed its presence in Kupffer cells coexpressing the myeloid marker CD68. The expression of LSECtin in myeloid cells was further corroborated through the analysis of the proximal regulatory region of the human LSECtin gene, whose activity was maximal in LSECtin؉ myeloid cells, and which contains a highly conserved PU.1binding site. PU.1 transactivated the LSECtin regulatory region in collaboration with hematopoietic-restricted transcription factors (Myb, RUNX3), and was found to bind constitutively to the LSECtin proximal promoter. Moreover, knockdown of PU.1 through the use of small interfering RNA led to a decrease in LSECtin mRNA levels in THP-1 and monocyte-derived dendritic cells, thus confirming the involvement of PU.1 in the myeloid expression of the lectin. Conclusion: LSECtin is expressed by liver myeloid cells, and its expression is dependent on the PU.1 transcription factor. (HEPATOLOGY 2009;49:287-296.)

Cancer Research, 2009
Macrophage activation comprises a continuum of functional states critically determined by cytokin... more Macrophage activation comprises a continuum of functional states critically determined by cytokine microenvironment. Activated macrophages have been functionally grouped according to their response to pro-Th1/proinflammatory stimuli [lipopolysaccharide, IFNγ, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF); M1] or pro-Th2/antiinflammatory stimuli [interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, M-CSF; M2]. We report that folate receptor β (FRβ), encoded by the FOLR2 gene, is a marker for macrophages generated in the presence of M-CSF (M2), but not GM-CSF (M1), and whose expression correlates with increased folate uptake ability. The acquisition of folate uptake ability by macrophages is promoted by M-CSF, maintained by IL-4, prevented by GM-CSF, and reduced by IFNγ, indicating a link between FRβ expression and M2 polarization. In agreement with in vitro data, FRβ expression is detected in tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), which exhibit an M2-like functional profile and exert potent immunosuppressive functions within the tumor environment. FRβ is expressed, and mediates folate uptake, by CD163 + CD68 + CD14 + IL-10-producing TAM, and its expression is induced by tumorderived ascitic fluid and conditioned medium from fibroblasts and tumor cell lines in an M-CSF-dependent manner. These results establish FRβ as a marker for M2 regulatory macrophage polarization and indicate that folate conjugates of therapeutic drugs are a potential immunotherapy tool to target TAM. [Cancer Res 2009;69(24):9395-403]
The Journal of Immunology, 2014
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Papers by Angeles Domínguez-soto