Examinando por Autor "Alfaro, Jennifer"

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    Development of murine lupus involves the combined genetic contribution of the SLAM and FcγR intervals within the Nba2 autoimmune susceptibility locus
    (2025-01) Jørgensen, Trine N.; Alfaro, Jennifer; Enriquez, Hilda L.; Jiang, Chao; Loo, William M.; Atencio, Stephanie; Gubbels Bupp, Melanie R.; Mailloux, Christina M.; Metzger, Troy; Flannery, Shannon; Rozzo, Stephen J.; Kotzin, Brian L.; Rosemblatt, Mario*; Bono, María Rosa; Erickson, Loren D.
    Autoantibodies are of central importance in the pathogenesis of Ab-mediated autoimmune disorders. The murine lupus susceptibility locus Nba2 on chromosome 1 and the syntenic human locus are associated with a loss of immune tolerance that leads to antinuclear Ab production. To identify gene intervals within Nba2 that control the development of autoantibody-producing B cells and to determine the cellular components through which Nba2 genes accomplish this, we generated congenic mice expressing various Nba2 intervals where genes for the FcγR, SLAM, and IFN-inducible families are encoded. Analysis of congenic strains demonstrated that the FcγR and SLAM intervals independently controlled the severity of autoantibody production and renal disease, yet are both required for lupus susceptibility. Deregulated homeostasis of terminally differentiated B cells was found to be controlled by the FcγR interval where FcγRIIb-mediated apoptosis of germinal center B cells and plasma cells was impaired. Increased numbers of activated plasmacytoid dendritic cells that were distinctly CD19+ and promoted plasma cell differentiation via the proinflammatory cytokines IL-10 and IFNα were linked to the SLAM interval. These findings suggest that SLAM and FcγR intervals act cooperatively to influence the clinical course of disease through supporting the differentiation and survival of autoantibody-producing cells. Copyright © 2010 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
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    Dual Inhibition of Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase and Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase p110δ as a Therapeutic Approach to Treat Non-Hodgkin’s B Cell Malignancies
    (American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapy (ASPET), 2017-05) Alfaro, Jennifer; de Arce, Felipe Pérez; Belmar, Sebastián; Fuentealba, Glenda; Avila, Patricio; Ureta, Gonzalo; Flores, Camila; Acuña, Claudia; Delgado, Luz; Gaete, Diana; Pujala, Brahmam; Barde, Anup; Nayak, Anjan K.; Upendra T.V.R.; Patel, Dhananjay; Chauhan, Shailender; Sharma, Vijay K.; Kanno, Stacy; Almirez, Ramona G.; Hung, David T.; Chakravarty, Sarvajit; Rai, Roopa; Bernales, Sebastián; Quinn, Kevin P.; Pham, Son M.; McCullagh, Emma
    Although new targeted therapies, such as ibrutinib and idelalisib, have made a large impact on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients, the disease is often fatal because patients are initially resistant to these targeted therapies, or because they eventually develop resistance. New drugs and treatments are necessary for these patients. One attractive approach is to inhibit multiple parallel pathways that drive the growth of these hematologic tumors, possibly prolonging the duration of the response and reducing resistance. Early clinical trials have tested this approach by dosing two drugs in combination in NHL patients. We discovered a single molecule, MDVN1003 (1-(5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-2-yl)-3-(8-fluoro-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[b][1,4]oxazin-6-yl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4-amine), that inhibits Bruton’s tyrosine kinase and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase d, two proteins regulated by the B cell receptor that drive the growth of many NHLs. In this report, we show that this dual inhibitor prevents the activation of B cells and inhibits the phosphorylation of protein kinase B and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, two downstream mediators that are important for this process. Additionally, MDVN1003 induces cell death in a B cell lymphoma cell line but not in an irrelevant erythroblast cell line. Importantly, we found that this orally bioavailable dual inhibitor reduced tumor growth in a B cell lymphoma xenograft model more effectively than either ibrutinib or idelalisib. Taken together, these results suggest that dual inhibition of these two key pathways by a single molecule could be a viable approach for treatment of NHL patients. Copyright © 2017 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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    Endoplasmic reticulum stress-independent activation of unfolded protein response kinases by a small molecule ATP-mimic
    (ELIFE SCIENCES PUBLICATIONS, 2015-05) Mendez, Aaron S; Alfaro, Jennifer; Morales-Soto, Marisol A; Dar, Arvin C; McCullagh, Emma; Gotthardt, Katja; Li, Han; Acosta-Alvear, Diego; Sidrauski, Carmela; Korennykh, Alexei V; Bernales, Sebastian; Shokat, Kevan M; Walter, Peter
    Two ER membrane-resident transmembrane kinases, IRE1 and PERK, function as stress sensors in the unfolded protein response. IRE1 also has an endoribonuclease activity, which initiates a non-conventional mRNA splicing reaction, while PERK phosphorylates eIF2α. We engineered a potent small molecule, IPA, that binds to IRE1's ATP-binding pocket and predisposes the kinase domain to oligomerization, activating its RNase. IPA also inhibits PERK but, paradoxically, activates it at low concentrations, resulting in a bell-shaped activation profile. We reconstituted IPA-activation of PERK-mediated eIF2α phosphorylation from purified components. We estimate that under conditions of maximal activation less than 15% of PERK molecules in the reaction are occupied by IPA. We propose that IPA binding biases the PERK kinase towards its active conformation, which trans-activates apo-PERK molecules. The mechanism by which partial occupancy with an inhibitor can activate kinases may be wide-spread and carries major implications for design and therapeutic application of kinase inhibitors.