Carol L. Miller-Graziano

University Center Rochester, Rochester, MN, USA

Are you Carol L. Miller-Graziano?

Claim your profile

Publications (12)47.37 Total impact

  • Article: Trauma patients' elevated tumor necrosis related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) contributes to increased T cell apoptosis.
    Gautam Bandyopadhyay, Paul E Bankey, Carol L Miller-Graziano
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Immunosuppression resulting from excessive post-trauma apoptosis of hyperactivated T cells is controversial. TRAIL mediated T cell apoptosis decreases highly activated T cells' responses. Caspase-10, a particular TRAIL target, was increased in trauma patients' T cells with concomitantly elevated plasma TRAIL levels. These patients' T cells developed anergy, implicating increased TRAIL-mediated T cell apoptosis in post-trauma T cell anergy. Control T cells cultured with patients' sera containing high TRAIL levels increased their caspase-10 activity and apoptosis. Stimulated primary T cells are TRAIL apoptosis resistant. Increased plasma thrombospondin-1 and T cell expression of CD47, a thrombospondin-1 receptor, preceded patients' T cell anergy. CD47 triggering of T cells increased their sensitivity to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Augmentation of T cell TRAIL-induced apoptosis was secondary to CD47 triggered activation of the Src homology-containing phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) and was partially blocked by a SHP-1 inhibitor. We suggest that combined post-trauma CD47 triggering, SHP-1 mediated NFκB suppression, and elevated TRAIL levels increase patients' CD47 expressing T cell apoptosis, thus contributing to subsequent T cell anergy.
    Clinical Immunology 08/2012; 145(1):44-54. · 4.05 Impact Factor
  • Article: Heat shock protein 27 differentiates tolerogenic macrophages that may support human breast cancer progression.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Tumor cells release several factors that can help the progression of the tumor by directly supporting tumor growth and/or suppressing host antitumor immunity. Here, we report that human primary breast tumor cells not only express elevated levels of heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) at the intracellular level but also release extremely high levels of Hsp27 compared with the same patients' serum Hsp27 levels, predicting an acutely increased concentration of soluble Hsp27 in the human breast tumor microenvironment (HBTM). We demonstrate that Hsp27 levels in the HBTM can be extremely elevated as evidenced by high soluble Hsp27 levels in patients' tumor interstitial fluid. Because increasing numbers of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) in the HBTM negatively correlate to patients' clinical outcomes and we have previously reported the immunoregulatory activity of soluble Hsp27, here, we tested for any specific effects of soluble Hsp27 on human monocyte to macrophage differentiation. We demonstrate that soluble Hsp27 causes the differentiation of monocytes to macrophages with immuno-tolerizing phenotypes (HLA-DRlow, CD86low, PD-L1high, ILT2high, and ILT4high). We detected the presence of TAMs with similar phenotypes in breast cancer patients. Hsp27-differentiated macrophages induce severe unresponsiveness/anergy in T cells. Moreover, these macrophages lose tumoricidal activity but become extremely proangiogenic, inducing significant neovascularization, a process that is critically important for tumor growth. Thus, our data demonstrate a novel immune escape and tumor growth-supporting mechanism mediated by soluble Hsp27 that may be operative in human breast cancer.
    Cancer Research 01/2011; 71(2):318-27. · 7.86 Impact Factor
  • Article: Analysis of factorial time-course microarrays with application to a clinical study of burn injury.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Time-course microarray experiments are capable of capturing dynamic gene expression profiles. It is important to study how these dynamic profiles depend on the multiple factors that characterize the experimental condition under which the time course is observed. Analytic methods are needed to simultaneously handle the time course and factorial structure in the data. We developed a method to evaluate factor effects by pooling information across the time course while accounting for multiple testing and nonnormality of the microarray data. The method effectively extracts gene-specific response features and models their dependency on the experimental factors. Both longitudinal and cross-sectional time-course data can be handled by our approach. The method was used to analyze the impact of age on the temporal gene response to burn injury in a large-scale clinical study. Our analysis reveals that 21% of the genes responsive to burn are age-specific, among which expressions of mitochondria and immunoglobulin genes are differentially perturbed in pediatric and adult patients by burn injury. These new findings in the body's response to burn injury between children and adults support further investigations of therapeutic options targeting specific age groups. The methodology proposed here has been implemented in R package "TANOVA" and submitted to the Comprehensive R Archive Network at http://www.r-project.org/. It is also available for download at http://gluegrant1.stanford.edu/TANOVA/.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 06/2010; 107(22):9923-8. · 9.68 Impact Factor
  • Article: Cytokine induced expression of programmed death ligands in human neutrophils.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Recent evidence indicates that human neutrophils can serve as non-professional antigen presenting cells (APC). Although expression of MHC class II and co-stimulatory molecules on human neutrophils is limited, these molecules can be significantly induced following in vitro exposure to the cytokines IFNgamma and GM-CSF. Since professional APCs such as dendritic cells express both co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules for activation and regulation of adaptive immunity, we determined whether cytokines induce increased expression of specific co-signaling molecules on human neutrophils. We report here that circulating human neutrophils express co-inhibitory molecules such as immunoglobulin-like transcript (ILT) 4 and 5, and also comparatively low and highly variable levels of ILT2 and ILT3, but the expression of these ILTs was not significantly changed by cytokine treatment. In contrast, we demonstrate for the first time that human peripheral blood neutrophils, although do not express the co-inhibitory molecule, programmed death ligand (PD-L) 1 on their surface, can express this molecule at moderate levels following cytokine exposure. Although moderate PD-L1 levels on healthy volunteers' neutrophils were not inhibitory to T cells, our findings do not exclude a possible robust increase in neutrophil PD-L1 expression in pathological conditions with immunosuppressive functions. These results suggest a possible immunoregulatory role for human neutrophils in adaptive immunity.
    Immunology letters 04/2010; 129(2):100-7. · 2.91 Impact Factor
  • Source
    Article: Identification and interpretation of longitudinal gene expression changes in trauma.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The relationship between leukocyte gene expression and recovery of respiratory function after injury may provide information on the etiology of multiple organ dysfunction. To find a list of genes for which expression after injury predicts respiratory recovery, and to identify which networks and pathways characterize these genes. Blood was sampled at 12 hours and at 1, 4, 7, 21 and 28 days from 147 patients who had been admitted to the hospital after blunt trauma. Leukocyte gene expression was measured using Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays. A linear model, fit to each probe-set expression value, was used to impute the gene expression trajectory over the entire follow-up period. The proportional hazards model score test was used to calculate the statistical significance of each probe-set trajectory in predicting respiratory recovery. A list of genes was determined such that the expected proportion of false positive results was less than 10%. These genes were compared to the Gene Ontology for 'response to stimulus' and, using Ingenuity software, were mapped into networks and pathways. The median time to respiratory recovery was 6 days. There were 170 probe-sets representing 135 genes that were found to be related to respiratory recovery. These genes could be mapped to nine networks. Two known pathways that were activated were antigen processing and presentation and JAK-signaling. The examination of the relationship of gene expression over time with a patient's clinical course can provide information which may be useful in determining the mechanism of recovery or lack of recovery after severe injury.
    PLoS ONE 01/2010; 5(12):e14380. · 4.09 Impact Factor
  • Article: Acetaldehyde stimulates monocyte adhesion in a P-selectin- and TNFalpha-dependent manner.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of acetaldehyde on various steps of the monocyte recruitment cascade. Human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVEC), primary blood monocytes (PBM) and THP-1 monocytes, were treated with acetaldehyde (0.1-0 microM) for 6h. Monocyte adherence experiments were performed using 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein-acetoxymethylester labeled PBM or (3)H-thymidine labeled THP-1 cells. HUVEC TNFalpha mRNA and protein levels were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and immunoassay, respectively, and HUVEC P-selectin and monocyte CCR2 expression were determined by FACS analysis. Acetaldehyde dose-dependently increased the number of CCR2 positive THP-1 monocytes, with a maximal increase of approximately 50% observed in the presence of 10 microM acetaldehyde. There was a significant increase in both the number of P-selectin positive cells and P-selectin receptor density when HUVEC were incubated with acetaldehyde. HUVEC TNFalpha mRNA expression and secretion were enhanced by acetaldehyde. Moreover, acetaldehyde increased THP-1 and PBM adhesion to HUVEC. Inhibition of P-selectin or TNFalpha, using antibodies or siRNA-directed gene knockdown, attenuated acetaldehyde-induced monocyte adhesion. In conclusion, acetaldehyde increased the number of CCR2 positive monocytes and stimulated endothelial cell P-selectin and TNFalpha expression. Moreover, acetaldehyde increased monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells, an effect that was both P-selectin- and TNFalpha-dependent. These effects of acetaldehyde may contribute, in part, to the increase in coronary heart disease that is associated with binge patterns of alcohol consumption.
    Atherosclerosis 11/2008; 204(2):372-80. · 3.79 Impact Factor
  • Article: HSP27: an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory stress protein acting to dampen immune function.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The effects of HSP27 on human monocytes (MO) are predominantly antiinflammatory through preferential interleukin (IL)10 induction and by alteration of MO to immature dendritic cells (iDCs) or MO to macrophage (Mac) differentiation. Initial HSP27 inclusion in IL4+GM-CSF MO to iDC induction cultures allows Mac differentiation (CD14++, CD16+), decreases iDC (CD1a+) differentiation, and depresses DC induction of allogeneic T lymphocyte proliferation (MLR). HSP27 increased MO IL10 and M-CSF production but subsequent increased Mac differentiation isn't responsible for depressed MO to iDC differentiation and function. Mac function after IL10 induced MO to Mac differentiation is also altered by HSP27 inclusion so that Mac phagocytic activity and scavenger receptor expression (CD163) are depressed. HSP27, in addition to immature DCs, doesn't increase Mac differentiation but instead generates inhibitory DCs, which depress rather than stimulate T cell proliferation even during anti CD3+CD28 induction. Upon maturation, these HSP27-altered inhibitory DCs have increased production of the T cell and DC suppressive mediator, thrombospondin 1. HSP27's anti-inflammatory and immunodepressive effects include deranging MO differentiation to both Mac and DCs, altering their receptor expression, and inducing production of inhibitory mediators such as thrombospondin-1 as well as IL10. These data suggest HSP27 belongs to a new group of 'anti-danger signals'.
    Novartis Foundation symposium 02/2008; 291:196-208; discussion 208-11, 221-4.
  • Article: Selective activation of peripheral blood T cell subsets by endotoxin infusion in healthy human subjects corresponds to differential chemokine activation.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Although activation of human innate immunity after endotoxin administration is well established, in vivo endotoxin effects on human T cell responses are not well understood. Most naive human T cells do not express receptors for LPS, but can respond to endotoxin-induced mediators such as chemokines. In this study, we characterized the in vivo response of peripheral human T cell subsets to endotoxin infusion by assessing alterations in isolated T cells expressing different phenotypes, intracellular cytokines, and systemic chemokines concentration, which may influence these indirect T cell responses. Endotoxin administration to healthy subjects produced T cell activation as confirmed by a 20% increase in intracellular IL-2, as well as increased CD28 and IL-2R alpha-chain (CD25) expression. Endotoxin induced indirect activation of T cells was highly selective among the T cell subpopulations. Increased IL-2 production (36.0 +/- 3.7 to 53.2 +/- 4.1) vs decreased IFN-gamma production (33.8 +/- 4.2 to 19.1 +/- 3.2) indicated selective Th1 activation. Th2 produced IL-13 was minimally increased. Differentially altered chemokine receptor expression also indicated selective T cell subset activation and migration. CXCR3+ and CCR5+ expressing Th1 cells were decreased (CXCR3 44.6 +/- 3.2 to 33.3 +/- 4.6 and CCR5 24.8 +/- 2.3 to 12 +/- 1.4), whereas plasma levels of their chemokine ligands IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10 and MIP-1alpha were increased (61.4 +/- 13.9 to 1103.7 +/- 274.5 and 22.8 +/- 6.2 to 55.7 +/- 9.5, respectively). In contrast, CCR4+ and CCR3 (Th2) proportions increased or remained unchanged whereas their ligands, eotaxin and the thymus and activation-regulated chemokine TARC, were unchanged. The data indicate selective activation among Th1 subpopulations, as well as differential Th1/Th2 activation, which is consistent with a selective induction of Th1 and Th2 chemokine ligands.
    The Journal of Immunology 12/2005; 175(9):6155-62. · 5.79 Impact Factor
  • Article: Development of a simple method for rapid isolation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes from human blood.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs; commonly known as neutrophils) play essential roles in innate immunity and inflammation. Although there are standardized methods for the isolation of human neutrophils, they are time consuming and demand considerable technical expertise, making them unfeasible for many clinical applications. Here, we describe a simple and time-efficient technique for the isolation of human neutrophils, which adapts a readily available commercial cell preparation tube (CPT) currently in use for isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and plasma and is now adapted to also yield neutrophils. The total time required for neutrophil isolation was less than 1 hr. Neutrophils isolated by this method were highly purified (> or =97%) as assessed by surface expression of the neutrophil specific marker, CD66b. Neutrophils isolated by this method were functional as demonstrated by their ability to secrete interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA). Neutrophils isolated using this new technique secreted significant amounts of soluble IL-1RA (929.3+/-197 pg/10(6)cells/mL) in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Use of this adapted CPT method allows simultaneous isolation of functional human neutrophils as well as PBMC and plasma. Adoption of this new method will allow the conduct of different neutrophil assays at any clinical site without requiring trained laboratory personnel or a large staff time commitment.
    Journal of Immunoassay and Immunochemistry 01/2005; 26(1):35-42. · 0.69 Impact Factor
  • Article: Whole blood and leukocyte RNA isolation for gene expression analyses.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The analysis of gene expression data in clinical medicine has been plagued by the lack of a critical evaluation of accepted methodologies for the collection, processing, and labeling of RNA. In the present report, the reliability of two commonly used techniques to isolate RNA from whole blood or its leukocyte compartment was compared by examining their reproducibility, variance, and signal-to-noise ratios. Whole blood was obtained from healthy subjects and was either untreated or stimulated ex vivo with Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB). Blood samples were also obtained from trauma patients but were not stimulated with SEB ex vivo. Total RNA was isolated from whole blood with the PAXgene proprietary blood collection system or from isolated leukocytes. Biotin-labeled cRNA was hybridized to Affymetrix GeneChips. The Pearson correlation coefficient for gene expression measurements in replicates from healthy subjects with both techniques was excellent, exceeding 0.985. Unsupervised analyses, including hierarchical cluster analysis, however, revealed that the RNA isolation method resulted in greater differences in gene expression than stimulation with SEB or among different trauma patients. The intraclass correlation, a measure of signal-to-noise ratio, of the difference between SEB-stimulated and unstimulated blood from healthy subjects was significantly higher in leukocyte-derived samples than in whole blood: 0.75 vs. 0.46 (P = 0.002). At the P < 0.001 level of significance, twice as many probe sets discriminated between SEB-stimulated and unstimulated blood with leukocyte isolation than with PAXgene. The findings suggest that the method of RNA isolation from whole blood is a critical variable in the design of clinical studies using microarray analyses.
    Physiological Genomics 11/2004; 19(3):247-54. · 2.73 Impact Factor
  • Article: Failure of monocytes of trauma patients to convert to immature dendritic cells is related to preferential macrophage-colony-stimulating factor-driven macrophage differentiation.
    Asit K De, Krzysztof Laudanski, Carol L Miller-Graziano
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Following trauma, increased inflammatory monokine activation and depressed APC function can occur simultaneously. These contradictory monocyte (Mphi) dysfunctions could result if postinjury Mphi differentiation preferentially favored inflammatory macrophage (Mac) differentiation over development into the most potent APC, dendritic cells (DC). In this report, Mphi of trauma patients with a depressed MLR induction capacity are, for the first time, shown to be unable to differentiate in vitro to immature CD1a(+) DC under the influence of GM-CSF and IL-4. Trauma patient Mphi that retained MLR-inducing capacity had a nonsignificant reduction in DC differentiation capacity. Only patient Mphi populations with depressed differentiation to immature DC (iDC) demonstrated depressed IL-12 and IL-15 production and a continued reduced MLR induction capacity. Neither increased IL-10 production nor decreased CD11c(+) DC precursor numbers correlated with depressed Mphi-to-DC differentiation. Instead, these patients' APC-dysfunctional Mphi populations had increased expression of inflammatory Mac phenotypes (CD64(+), CD86(low), HLA-DR(low)) and up-regulated secretion of M-CSF. M-CSF combined with IL-6 inhibits Mphi-to-iDC differentiation and promotes Mphi-to-Mac differentiation by down-regulating GM-CSFR expression and increasing DC apoptosis. Both depressed GM-CSFR expression and increased Mphi iDC apoptosis, as well as increased expression of CD126 (IL-6R) and CD115 (M-CSFR), were detected in APC-defective patient Mphi. In vitro addition of anti-M-CSF enhanced the IL-4 plus GM-CSF-induced Mphi-to-DC differentiation of these patients. This suggests that, in trauma patients, enhanced Mphi-to-Mac differentiation with concomitant inhibited iDC development is partially due to increased circulating Mphi sensitivity to and production of M-CSF and contributes to postinjury immunoaberrations.
    The Journal of Immunology 07/2003; 170(12):6355-62. · 5.79 Impact Factor
  • Article: Acetaldehyde stimulates monocyte adhesion in a P-selectin- and TNFα-dependent manner
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the effects of acetaldehyde on various steps of the monocyte recruitment cascade.MethodsHuman umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVEC), primary blood monocytes (PBM) and THP-1 monocytes, were treated with acetaldehyde (0.1–0 μM) for 6 h. Monocyte adherence experiments were performed using 2′,7′-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein-acetoxymethylester labeled PBM or 3H-thymidine labeled THP-1 cells. HUVEC TNFα mRNA and protein levels were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and immunoassay, respectively, and HUVEC P-selectin and monocyte CCR2 expression were determined by FACS analysis.ResultsAcetaldehyde dose-dependently increased the number of CCR2 positive THP-1 monocytes, with a maximal increase of ∼50% observed in the presence of 10 μM acetaldehyde. There was a significant increase in both the number of P-selectin positive cells and P-selectin receptor density when HUVEC were incubated with acetaldehyde. HUVEC TNFα mRNA expression and secretion were enhanced by acetaldehyde. Moreover, acetaldehyde increased THP-1 and PBM adhesion to HUVEC. Inhibition of P-selectin or TNFα, using antibodies or siRNA-directed gene knockdown, attenuated acetaldehyde-induced monocyte adhesion. In conclusion, acetaldehyde increased the number of CCR2 positive monocytes and stimulated endothelial cell P-selectin and TNFα expression. Moreover, acetaldehyde increased monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells, an effect that was both P-selectin- and TNFα-dependent.ConclusionThese effects of acetaldehyde may contribute, in part, to the increase in coronary heart disease that is associated with binge patterns of alcohol consumption.
    Atherosclerosis.