Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Article Title: Immunogenic tumor cell death and T-cell-derived IFN-γ elicit tumoricidal macrophages to potentiate OX40 immunotherapy

doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102699

Figure Lengend Snippet: NOS2-expressing macrophages is associated with response to αOX40 therapy (A) UMAP of monocytes/macrophages subclusters from scRNA-seq data in αOX40-treated MC38-bearing mice. (B) Representative marker genes in the monocyte/macrophage subclusters. (C) Pie chart showing the proportional distribution of monocyte/macrophage subsets of responders and nonresponders. (D) QuSAGE pathway analysis demonstrated enrichment of innate immune and phagocytic signaling pathways in distinct monocyte/macrophage subsets. (E) UMAP showing Mac_C1 signature genes and a heatmap of immune-related gene expression across TAM subclusters ( Z score normalized). (F) Violin plots comparing Nos2 expression levels in Mac_C1 subset between responsive and nonresponsive. (G) Flow cytometry analysis shows the percentage of M1-like (F4/80 + NOS2 + ) and M2-like (F4/80 + CD206 + ) macrophages in tumor tissues of control ( n = 5 mice), nonresponders (with minimal to no response, n = 4 mice), and responders (with a robust therapeutic response, n = 4 mice). (H and I) Comparison of Nos2 expression levels in responders versus nonresponders pre- or post-αOX40 treatment. Bilateral-MC38-bearing mice were treated with αOX40, and tumors from one side were analyzed by RNA-seq prior to (H) or following αOX40 treatment (I). The Nos2 expression was analyzed from RNA-seq data (left) and validated by RT-qPCR (right) ( n = 5 biological replicates). (J) NOS2 expression in tumor biopsies post-treatment determined by RNA-seq. Patients with advanced solid tumors and >1 prior therapy received HFB301001 monotherapy. Tumor biopsy samples were obtained on day 8 of cycle 2 for subsequent RNA-seq analysis. NOS2 expression were compared between patients achieving stable disease (SD, n = 3) and those with progressive disease (PD, n = 3). (K) GO enrichment analysis of upregulated genes in Mac_C1 of responders. (L) Calreticulin expression was quantified by flow cytometry in different response groups following αOX40 treatment ( n = 3 mice per group). (M) NOS2 expression in BMDMs was analyzed by flow cytometry after stimulation with CD8 + T cell supernatant and MC38 lysate, combined with TLR inhibition and IFN-γ blockade ( n = 5 biological replicates). (N) Quantification of Nos2 expression in BMDM by RT-qPCR after 24-h stimulation with MPLA (TLR4 agonist, 100 ng/mL), IFN-γ (20 ng/mL), or both. Data normalized to Gapdh and presented as fold-change relative to unstimulated controls ( n = 4 biological replicates). Data are shown as means ± SD from one of two independent experiments (G, H, I, L, M, and N). Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA with multiple comparisons (G, L, M, and N) or using an unpaired two-tailed t test (H, I, and J). n.s., not significant; ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗ p < 0.0001; VST, variance stabilized transformation; sup., supernatant; lys., tumor lysate; inh., inhibitor.

Article Snippet: Meanwhile MPLA (vac-mpls, InvivoGen) and IFNγ (50709-MNAH, Sino Biological) were administered intratumorally ( i.t. ) at a dosage of 1 μg/mice and 5 μg/mice, respectively.

Techniques: Expressing, Marker, Protein-Protein interactions, Gene Expression, Flow Cytometry, Control, Clinical Proteomics, Comparison, RNA Sequencing, Quantitative RT-PCR, Inhibition, Two Tailed Test, Transformation Assay

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Article Title: Immunogenic tumor cell death and T-cell-derived IFN-γ elicit tumoricidal macrophages to potentiate OX40 immunotherapy

doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102699

Figure Lengend Snippet: Rational modulation of tumor microenvironment enhances therapeutic responsiveness to αOX40-based immunotherapy (A–D) OX40-humanized mice bearing subcutaneous MC38 (A), B16 (B), E.G7 (C), or KPC (D) tumors ( n = 5–7 mice per group). Tumor growth curves (numbers indicate complete cures) and Kaplan-Meier survival for each model. Treatments: MPLA+IFN-γ ( i.t. , intratumoral); Combo: MPLA+IFN-γ ( i.t. , intratumoral) + αOX40 ( i.p. , intraperitoneal). (E) Study schema of secondary tumor challenge in MC38 model treated with Combo. (F) Tumor progression and survival outcomes following secondary tumor challenge. Growth kinetics of re-implanted tumors in tumor-cleared mice (previously cured by therapy) versus treatment-naive wild-type controls (left). Kaplan-Meier survival plot (right) ( n = 13 mice per group). (G) Systemic immunity evaluation schema with bilateral MC38 bearing mice were treated with Combo, αOX40, and control. (H) Tumor growth curves and survival plots of (G) ( n = 6–7 mice per group). Data are shown as means ± SD from one of two independent experiments (A–D, F, and H). Statistical significance was determined using log rank test (A–H). n.s., not significant; ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗ p < 0.0001.

Article Snippet: Meanwhile MPLA (vac-mpls, InvivoGen) and IFNγ (50709-MNAH, Sino Biological) were administered intratumorally ( i.t. ) at a dosage of 1 μg/mice and 5 μg/mice, respectively.

Techniques: Control

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Article Title: Immunogenic tumor cell death and T-cell-derived IFN-γ elicit tumoricidal macrophages to potentiate OX40 immunotherapy

doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102699

Figure Lengend Snippet: The antitumor efficacy of the Combo therapy is contingent upon CD8 + T cells and macrophages (A) UMAP of scRNA-seq data from tumor-infiltrating immune cells in OX40-humanized MC38-bearing mice treated with MPLA, IFN-γ, αOX40, or Combo. Cells are color-coded by annotated cell type. (B) Bubble chart showing the top variable marker genes for identified immune cell types. (C) Pie chart shows the relative abundance of 11 immune cell clusters in control, αOX40, MPLA+IFN-γ, or Combo. (D) Macrophage frequency and absolute count in tumors of MC38-bearing mice after two and three treatment cycles with MPLA, IFN-γ, αOX40, or Combo, analyzed by flow cytometry ( n = 5 mice per group). (E) Schematic of CD8 + T cell depletion assay. (F) Tumor volume and survival were monitored. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis corresponding to the depletion study of CD8 + T cell ( n = 6 mice per group). (G) Schematic of macrophage depletion assay in early and late stage. (H and I) Tumor volume and survival were monitored. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis corresponding to the depletion study in (G) ( n = 6–10 mice per group). Data are shown as means ± SD from one of two independent experiments (D, F, H, and I). Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test (D). Log rank test was used (F, H, and I) for statistical comparison. n.s., not significant; ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗ p < 0.0001.

Article Snippet: Meanwhile MPLA (vac-mpls, InvivoGen) and IFNγ (50709-MNAH, Sino Biological) were administered intratumorally ( i.t. ) at a dosage of 1 μg/mice and 5 μg/mice, respectively.

Techniques: Marker, Control, Flow Cytometry, Depletion Assay, Comparison

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Article Title: Immunogenic tumor cell death and T-cell-derived IFN-γ elicit tumoricidal macrophages to potentiate OX40 immunotherapy

doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102699

Figure Lengend Snippet: NOS2-high macrophages are significantly associated with Combo treatment efficacy (A) UMAP of macrophage subclusters from scRNA-seq data of MC38-bearing mice treated with control, MPLA+IFN-γ, αOX40, or Combo. Cells are color-coded by annotated subtype. (B) Bubble chart showing the top variable marker genes for identified macrophage subclusters. (C) Pie chart shows the relative abundance of four macrophage subclusters in control, αOX40, MPLA+IFN-γ, or Combo. (D) GO pathway analysis identifying significantly enriched signaling pathways in the Mac_S2 subcluster compared to other macrophage subpopulations. (E) Violin plots showing Nos2 expression levels across macrophage subclusters. (F) Violin plots comparing Nos2 and Cd206 expression levels among different treatment groups. (G) Frequency of M1-like, M2-like, or the ratio of M1/M2-like macrophage cells in tumor tissues from control, αOX40, MPLA+IFN-γ, and Combo groups with two time points, as determined by flow cytometry ( n = 5–10 mice per group). (H) Multiple immunofluorescence signal intensities of NOS2 + F4/80 + and CD206 + F4/80 + cells in the TME of control, αOX40, MPLA+IFN-γ, and Combo groups. Scale bars, 20 μm. Data are shown as means ± SD from one of two independent experiments (G and H). Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test (G). n.s., not significant; ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗ p < 0.0001.

Article Snippet: Meanwhile MPLA (vac-mpls, InvivoGen) and IFNγ (50709-MNAH, Sino Biological) were administered intratumorally ( i.t. ) at a dosage of 1 μg/mice and 5 μg/mice, respectively.

Techniques: Control, Marker, Protein-Protein interactions, Expressing, Flow Cytometry, Immunofluorescence

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Article Title: Immunogenic tumor cell death and T-cell-derived IFN-γ elicit tumoricidal macrophages to potentiate OX40 immunotherapy

doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102699

Figure Lengend Snippet: NOS2-dependent direct tumor cell killing by macrophages in Combo therapy (A) Schematic of co-culture using CFSE-labeled MC38 cells with tumor- or spleen-derived macrophages, with/without NIL treatment. (B) Flow cytometry quantification of 7-AAD + MC38 cells after 48 h co-culture with tumor-(right) or spleen (left)-derived macrophages ( n = 3 biological replicates). (C) Quantification of 7-AAD + MC38 cells after 48 h in vitro co-culture with or without NIL treatment ( n = 3 biological replicates). (D) Treatment schedule for MC38- or B16-tumor-bearing Nos2 KOor WT mice treated with Combo ( n = 6 mice per group). (E and F) Survival curves of MC38-bearing (E) and B16-bearing mice (F) were analyzed using the log rank test. (G) Flow cytometry analysis of 7-AAD + MC38 cells after 48-h co-culture with CFSE-labeled MC38 cells and BMDMs from Nos2 KO mice ( n = 5 biological replicates). (H) Phagocytosis rate of MC38 cells engulfed by BMDMs was assessed by flow cytometry ( n = 3 biological replicates). (I) Surface expression of CRT on MC38 cells was assessed by flow cytometry after co-culture with MPLA- and IFN-γ-polarized BMDMs in vitro ( n = 3 biological replicates). (J) Analysis of CALR + MC38 cells from MC38-tumor-bearing mice following final treatment with control or Combo, assessed by flow cytometry ( n = 5 biological replicates). Data are shown as means ± SD from one of two independent experiments (B, C, E, F, G, H, I, and J). Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons (B, C, and I) or using unpaired Student’s t test (G, H, and J). Log rank tests (E and F) were also used for statistical analysis. n.s., not significant; ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗ p < 0.0001. Combo, MPLA, and IFN-γ combined with αOX86 (E and F).

Article Snippet: Meanwhile MPLA (vac-mpls, InvivoGen) and IFNγ (50709-MNAH, Sino Biological) were administered intratumorally ( i.t. ) at a dosage of 1 μg/mice and 5 μg/mice, respectively.

Techniques: Co-Culture Assay, Labeling, Derivative Assay, Flow Cytometry, In Vitro, Expressing, Control

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Article Title: Immunogenic tumor cell death and T-cell-derived IFN-γ elicit tumoricidal macrophages to potentiate OX40 immunotherapy

doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102699

Figure Lengend Snippet: Foxp3 + Treg depletion and macrophage reprogramming are involved in the anti-tumor effect of Combo (A) Flow cytometry analysis of TME. MC38-tumor-bearing mice were treated with control, αOX40, MPLA+IFN-γ, or Combo for two and three doses, and tumors were analyzed by flow cytometry. (B) Frequency and absolute count of CD25 + FOXP3 + cells in tumor tissues from control, αOX40, MPLA+IFN-γ, and Combo groups with two time points, as determined by flow cytometry ( n = 5 mice per group). (C) Treatment schedule for MC38-tumor-bearing Fcer1g KO or FcγRIIb KO mice. Mice were treated with Control, αOX40, MPLA+IFN-γ, and Combo every 3 days for a total of four doses. (D and E) Survival curves of Fcgr1g KO (D) and FcgrIIb KO (E) mice following treatment ( n = 5–6 mice per group) were monitored. (F) Treatment schedule. MC38-tumor-bearing mice were treated with MPLA and IFN-γ in combination with either OX40-mIgG2a or OX40-hIgG1 agonist antibodies (top), and the corresponding survival curves are shown (bottom) ( n = 5–7 mice per group). (G) Schematic of the co-culture experiment involving BMDMs and Tregs at a ratio of 1:4 (BMDM:Treg); Nos2 expression was measured by RT-qPCR. (H) Relative expression of Nos2 following the co-culture ( n = 4 biological replicates). (I) Multiple immunofluorescence (mIF) staining of MC38 tumors from mice treated with control, αOX40, MPLA+IFN-γ, or Combo, showing FOXP3 and NOS2 expression in border or intra-tumoral. Scale bars, 50 μm. (J) Analysis of cell numbers of FOXP3 and NOS2 expression at the border and intra-tumoral. Representative images from five randomly chosen fields were quantified with ImageJ. Data are shown as means ± SD from one of two independent experiments (B, D, E, F, H, and I). Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons (B and H). Log rank test was also used (D–F). n.s., not significant; ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗ p < 0.0001. Combo, MPLA, and IFN-γ combined with αOX86 (C–E).

Article Snippet: Meanwhile MPLA (vac-mpls, InvivoGen) and IFNγ (50709-MNAH, Sino Biological) were administered intratumorally ( i.t. ) at a dosage of 1 μg/mice and 5 μg/mice, respectively.

Techniques: Flow Cytometry, Control, Co-Culture Assay, Expressing, Quantitative RT-PCR, Immunofluorescence, Staining

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: HAPI Cells are SIM-A9-related Mouse Microglial Cells Useful for In Vitro Modeling of Microglial Immunometabolism

doi: 10.64898/2026.02.11.705385

Figure Lengend Snippet: HAPI cells undergo morphology changes in response to various pro-inflammatory stimuli. Representative phase-contrast images of unstimulated HAPI cells (control) and HAPI cells following 18 hours of stimulation with the toll-like receptor 4 agonist lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 ng/mL), the type I interferon, interferon-alpha (IFN-α, 10 ng/mL), the type II interferon, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ, 10 ng/mL), or combined LPS/IFN-α or LPS/IFN-γ at the same concentrations. The white arrowheads denote examples of protrusions with phagocytic cups.

Article Snippet: Mouse-origin recombinant IFN-γ protein was from Sino Biological (Paoli, PA; Cat# 50709-MNAH).

Techniques: Control

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: HAPI Cells are SIM-A9-related Mouse Microglial Cells Useful for In Vitro Modeling of Microglial Immunometabolism

doi: 10.64898/2026.02.11.705385

Figure Lengend Snippet: HAPI cellular bioenergetic function is altered by various pro-inflammatory stimuli. (A) Cell number of the non-activated control (CTRL) group plotted across the five experiments, showing the variability binned into low- and high-cell-density categories. (B) Average HAPI cell oxygen consumption rate (OCR) measurements normalized to cell number following 18 hours of stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 ng/mL), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ, 10 ng/mL), interferon-alpha (IFN-α, 10 ng/mL), or combined LPS/IFN-γ or LPS/IFN-α at the same concentrations. The results are mean ± SEM of n=5 biological replicates, with each experiment consisting of 2-3 technical replicates. The serial additions of the uncoupler FCCP (4 µM) + pyruvate (pyr, 10 mM), the nitric oxide scavenger cPTIO (200 μM), and the Complex III inhibitor antimycin A (Anti A, 1 μM) are indicated by arrows. (C) Basal mitochondrial OCR normalized to cell number calculated from the data shown in B. (D) Basal extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) normalized to cell number. ECARs were acquired simultaneously to OCR for the experiment shown in B. (E) Maximal mitochondrial OCR normalized to cell number calculated from the data shown in B. The data in panels C-E were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with treatment and experiment number as factors, followed by Tukey’s post hoc analysis. Experiment number had a significant effect on basal OCR (p<0.05) and basal ECAR (p<0.0001), while only a strong trend was observed on maximal OCR (p=0.06). (F) OCRs before and after cPTIO addition for the indicated treatment groups for the experiment shown in B. The data in panel F were analyzed by two-way ANOVA with repeated measures and Šídák’s multiple comparison’s test. (G) Linear regression analysis of cPTIO-induced OCR versus cell number for the LPS/IFN-γ and LPS/IFN-α treatment groups, with R 2 and p-values indicated on the graph. The p-values indicate the probability of a non-zero slope of the linear fits. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001.

Article Snippet: Mouse-origin recombinant IFN-γ protein was from Sino Biological (Paoli, PA; Cat# 50709-MNAH).

Techniques: Control

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: HAPI Cells are SIM-A9-related Mouse Microglial Cells Useful for In Vitro Modeling of Microglial Immunometabolism

doi: 10.64898/2026.02.11.705385

Figure Lengend Snippet: Eighteen-hour activation of HAPI cells with lipopolysaccharide plus interferon-gamma (LPS/IFN-γ) or LPS plus interferon-alpha (LPS/IFN-α) reduces cell number compared to the non-activated control (CTRL) group. HAPI cells were treated with the following stimuli prior to the determination of cell number by manual cell counting of three representative fields per treatment: LPS (100 ng/mL), IFN-α (10 ng/mL), IFN-γ (10 ng/mL), LPS/IFN-γ (100 ng/mL / 10 ng/mL, respectively), or LPS/IFN-α (100 ng/mL / 10 ng/mL, respectively). Cell number is shown in (A) while the results in (B) express the cell number as a percentage of the CTRL group mean. The results are mean ± SEM of n=5 biological replicates. The data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance with treatment and experiment number as factors, followed by Tukey’s post hoc analysis. Both the treatment and the experiment number had a significant effect (p<0.0001 each), and there was a significant interaction between the two (p<0.05). ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001.

Article Snippet: Mouse-origin recombinant IFN-γ protein was from Sino Biological (Paoli, PA; Cat# 50709-MNAH).

Techniques: Activation Assay, Control, Cell Counting

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: HAPI Cells are SIM-A9-related Mouse Microglial Cells Useful for In Vitro Modeling of Microglial Immunometabolism

doi: 10.64898/2026.02.11.705385

Figure Lengend Snippet: Respiratory suppression induced by combined lipopolysaccharide/interferon-gamma (LPS/IFN-γ) stimulation is partly attenuated by an inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). (A) HAPI cell oxygen consumption rate (OCR) measurements from an unstimulated control (CTRL) group or following 18 hours of stimulation with LPS/IFN-γ (100 ng/mL / 10 ng/mL, respectively) in the absence or presence of the iNOS inhibitor 1400W (50 µM). The serial additions of FCCP (4 µM) + pyruvate (pyr, 10 mM), cPTIO (200 μM), and antimycin A (Anti A, 1 μM) are indicated by arrows. (B) The data in A expressed as a percentage of the baseline OCR (third measurement) because cell counts were not done for this experiment. Baseline normalization removes the influence of cell number on OCR, illustrating that the recovery of respiratory capacity is incomplete. The results are mean ± SD of n=3 technical replicates and are representative of n=7 similar experiments done in triplicate. Because this experiment was done as part of another study with additional comparisons, only the representative trace is shown, and the results will be reported in more detail elsewhere.

Article Snippet: Mouse-origin recombinant IFN-γ protein was from Sino Biological (Paoli, PA; Cat# 50709-MNAH).

Techniques: Control