Erin McCaffrey

All Publications

• The immunoregulatory landscape of human tuberculosis granulomas. Nature immunology McCaffrey, E. F., Donato, M., Keren, L., Chen, Z., Delmastro, A., Fitzpatrick, M. B., Gupta, S., Greenwald, N. F., Baranski, A., Graf, W., Kumar, R., Bosse, M., Fullaway, C. C., Ramdial, P. K., Forgó, E., Jojic, V., Van Valen, D., Mehra, S., Khader, S. A., Bendall, S. C., van de Rijn, M., Kalman, D., Kaushal, D., Hunter, R. L., Banaei, N., Steyn, A. J., Khatri, P., Angelo, M. 2022

  Abstract

  Tuberculosis (TB) in humans is characterized by formation of immune-rich granulomas in infected tissues, the architecture and composition of which are thought to affect disease outcome. However, our understanding of the spatial relationships that control human granulomas is limited. Here, we used multiplexed ion beam imaging by time of flight (MIBI-TOF) to image 37 proteins in tissues from patients with active TB. We constructed a comprehensive atlas that maps 19 cell subsets across 8 spatial microenvironments. This atlas shows an IFN-γ-depleted microenvironment enriched for TGF-β, regulatory T cells and IDO1+ PD-L1+ myeloid cells. In a further transcriptomic meta-analysis of peripheral blood from patients with TB, immunoregulatory trends mirror those identified by granuloma imaging. Notably, PD-L1 expression is associated with progression to active TB and treatment response. These data indicate that in TB granulomas, there are local spatially coordinated immunoregulatory programs with systemic manifestations that define active TB.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41590-021-01121-x

  View details for PubMedID 35058616

• Transition to invasive breast cancer is associated with progressive changes in the structure and composition of tumor stroma. Cell Risom, T., Glass, D. R., Averbukh, I., Liu, C. C., Baranski, A., Kagel, A., McCaffrey, E. F., Greenwald, N. F., Rivero-Gutiérrez, B., Strand, S. H., Varma, S., Kong, A., Keren, L., Srivastava, S., Zhu, C., Khair, Z., Veis, D. J., Deschryver, K., Vennam, S., Maley, C., Hwang, E. S., Marks, J. R., Bendall, S. C., Colditz, G. A., West, R. B., Angelo, M. 2022; 185 (2): 299-310.e18

  Abstract

  Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a pre-invasive lesion that is thought to be a precursor to invasive breast cancer (IBC). To understand the changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME) accompanying transition to IBC, we used multiplexed ion beam imaging by time of flight (MIBI-TOF) and a 37-plex antibody staining panel to interrogate 79 clinically annotated surgical resections using machine learning tools for cell segmentation, pixel-based clustering, and object morphometrics. Comparison of normal breast with patient-matched DCIS and IBC revealed coordinated transitions between four TME states that were delineated based on the location and function of myoepithelium, fibroblasts, and immune cells. Surprisingly, myoepithelial disruption was more advanced in DCIS patients that did not develop IBC, suggesting this process could be protective against recurrence. Taken together, this HTAN Breast PreCancer Atlas study offers insight into drivers of IBC relapse and emphasizes the importance of the TME in regulating these processes.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.023

  View details for PubMedID 35063072

• Rhesus Macaque CODEX Multiplexed Immunohistochemistry Panel for Studying Immune Responses During Ebola Infection FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY Jiang, S., Mukherjee, N., Bennett, R. S., Chen, H., Logue, J., Dighero-Kemp, B., Kurtz, J. R., Adams, R., Phillips, D., Schuerch, C. M., Goltsev, Y., Hickey, J. W., McCaffrey, E. F., Delmastro, A., Chu, P., Reader, J., Keesler, R., Galvan, J. A., Zlobec, I., Van Rompay, K. A., Liu, D. X., Hensley, L. E., Nolan, G. P., McIlwain, D. R. 2021; 12: 729845

  Abstract

  Non-human primate (NHP) animal models are an integral part of the drug research and development process. For some biothreat pathogens, animal model challenge studies may offer the only possibility to evaluate medical countermeasure efficacy. A thorough understanding of host immune responses in such NHP models is therefore vital. However, applying antibody-based immune characterization techniques to NHP models requires extensive reagent development for species compatibility. In the case of studies involving high consequence pathogens, further optimization for use of inactivated samples may be required. Here, we describe the first optimized CO-Detection by indEXing (CODEX) multiplexed tissue imaging antibody panel for deep profiling of spatially resolved single-cell immune responses in rhesus macaques. This 21-marker panel is composed of a set of 18 antibodies that stratify major immune cell types along with a set three Ebola virus (EBOV)-specific antibodies. We validated these two sets of markers using immunohistochemistry and CODEX in fully inactivated Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissues from mock and EBOV challenged macaques respectively and provide an efficient framework for orthogonal validation of multiple antibody clones using CODEX multiplexed tissue imaging. We also provide the antibody clones and oligonucleotide tag sequences as a valuable resource for other researchers to recreate this reagent set for future studies of tissue immune responses to EBOV infection and other diseases.

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2021.729845

  View details for Web of Science ID 000732063400001

  View details for PubMedID 34938283

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8685521

• Multiplexed Ion Beam Imaging: Insights into Pathobiology. Annual review of pathology Liu, C. C., McCaffrey, E. F., Greenwald, N. F., Soon, E., Risom, T., Vijayaragavan, K., Oliveria, J., Mrdjen, D., Bosse, M., Tebaykin, D., Bendall, S. C., Angelo, M. 2021

  Abstract

  Next-generation tools for multiplexed imaging have driven a new wave of innovation in understanding how single-cell function and tissue structure are interrelated. In previous work, we developed multiplexed ion beam imaging by time of flight, a highly multiplexed platform that uses secondary ion mass spectrometry to image dozens of antibodies tagged with metal reporters. As instrument throughput has increased, the breadth and depth of imaging data have increased as well. To extract meaningful information from these data, we have developed tools for cell identification, cell classification, and spatial analysis. In this review, we discuss these tools and provide examples of their application in various contexts, including ductal carcinoma in situ, tuberculosis, and Alzheimer's disease. We hope the synergy between multiplexed imaging and automated image analysis will drive a new era in anatomic pathology and personalized medicine wherein quantitative spatial signatures are used routinely for more accurate diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic selection. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease, Volume 17 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

  View details for DOI 10.1146/annurev-pathmechdis-030321-091459

  View details for PubMedID 34752710

• Multiplexed imaging reveals an IFN-γ-driven inflammatory state in nivolumab-associated gastritis. Cell reports. Medicine Ferrian, S., Liu, C. C., McCaffrey, E. F., Kumar, R., Nowicki, T. S., Dawson, D. W., Baranski, A., Glaspy, J. A., Ribas, A., Bendall, S. C., Angelo, M. 2021; 2 (10): 100419

  Abstract

  Immune checkpoint blockade using PD-1 inhibition is an effective approach for treating a wide variety of cancer subtypes. While lower gastrointestinal (GI) side effects are more common, upper gastrointestinal adverse events are rarely reported. Here, we present a case of nivolumab-associated autoimmune gastritis. To elucidate the immunology underlying this condition, we leverage multiplexed ion beam imaging by time-of-flight (MIBI-TOF) to identify the presence and proportion of infiltrating immune cells from a single section of biopsy specimen. Using MIBI-TOF, we analyze formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human gastric tissue with 28 labels simultaneously. Our analyses reveal a gastritis characterized by severe mucosal injury, interferon gamma (IFN-γ)-producing gastric epithelial cells, and mixed inflammation that includes CD8 and CD4 T cell infiltrates with reduced expression of granzyme B and FOXP3, respectively. Here, we provide a comprehensive multiplexed histopathological mapping of gastric tissue, which identifies IFN-γ-producing epithelial cells as possible contributors to the nivolumab-associated gastritis.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100419

  View details for PubMedID 34755133

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8561237

• Mapping the tumor and microenvironmental evolution underlying DCIS progression through multiplexed ion beam imaging. Risom, T., Rivero, B., Liu, C., Baranski, A., Strand, S., Greenwald, N., McCaffrey, E., Varma, S., Keren, L., Srivastava, S., Zhu, C., Vennam, S., Hwang, S., Colditz, G., Bendall, S., West, R., Angelo, M. AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH. 2020

  View details for Web of Science ID 000587913100120

• Single-cell metabolic profiling of human cytotoxic T cells. Nature biotechnology Hartmann, F. J., Mrdjen, D. n., McCaffrey, E. n., Glass, D. R., Greenwald, N. F., Bharadwaj, A. n., Khair, Z. n., Verberk, S. G., Baranski, A. n., Baskar, R. n., Graf, W. n., Van Valen, D. n., Van den Bossche, J. n., Angelo, M. n., Bendall, S. C. 2020

  Abstract

  Cellular metabolism regulates immune cell activation, differentiation and effector functions, but current metabolic approaches lack single-cell resolution and simultaneous characterization of cellular phenotype. In this study, we developed an approach to characterize the metabolic regulome of single cells together with their phenotypic identity. The method, termed single-cell metabolic regulome profiling (scMEP), quantifies proteins that regulate metabolic pathway activity using high-dimensional antibody-based technologies. We employed mass cytometry (cytometry by time of flight, CyTOF) to benchmark scMEP against bulk metabolic assays by reconstructing the metabolic remodeling of in vitro-activated naive and memory CD8+ T cells. We applied the approach to clinical samples and identified tissue-restricted, metabolically repressed cytotoxic T cells in human colorectal carcinoma. Combining our method with multiplexed ion beam imaging by time of flight (MIBI-TOF), we uncovered the spatial organization of metabolic programs in human tissues, which indicated exclusion of metabolically repressed immune cells from the tumor-immune boundary. Overall, our approach enables robust approximation of metabolic and functional states in individual cells.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41587-020-0651-8

  View details for PubMedID 32868913

• MIBI-TOF: A multiplexed imaging platform relates cellular phenotypes and tissue structure. Science advances Keren, L., Bosse, M., Thompson, S., Risom, T., Vijayaragavan, K., McCaffrey, E., Marquez, D., Angoshtari, R., Greenwald, N. F., Fienberg, H., Wang, J., Kambham, N., Kirkwood, D., Nolan, G., Montine, T. J., Galli, S. J., West, R., Bendall, S. C., Angelo, M. 2019; 5 (10): eaax5851

  Abstract

  Understanding tissue structure and function requires tools that quantify the expression of multiple proteins while preserving spatial information. Here, we describe MIBI-TOF (multiplexed ion beam imaging by time of flight), an instrument that uses bright ion sources and orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry to image metal-tagged antibodies at subcellular resolution in clinical tissue sections. We demonstrate quantitative, full periodic table coverage across a five-log dynamic range, imaging 36 labeled antibodies simultaneously with histochemical stains and endogenous elements. We image fields of view up to 800 mum * 800 mum at resolutions down to 260 nm with sensitivities approaching single-molecule detection. We leverage these properties to interrogate intrapatient heterogeneity in tumor organization in triple-negative breast cancer, revealing regional variability in tumor cell phenotypes in contrast to a structured immune response. Given its versatility and sample back-compatibility, MIBI-TOF is positioned to leverage existing annotated, archival tissue cohorts to explore emerging questions in cancer, immunology, and neurobiology.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aax5851

  View details for PubMedID 31633026

• N-Myc Drives Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer Initiated from Human Prostate Epithelial Cells. Cancer cell Lee, J. K., Phillips, J. W., Smith, B. A., Park, J. W., Stoyanova, T., McCaffrey, E. F., Baertsch, R., Sokolov, A., Meyerowitz, J. G., Mathis, C., Cheng, D., Stuart, J. M., Shokat, K. M., Gustafson, W. C., Huang, J., Witte, O. N. 2016; 29 (4): 536-547

  Abstract

  MYCN amplification and overexpression are common in neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). However, the impact of aberrant N-Myc expression in prostate tumorigenesis and the cellular origin of NEPC have not been established. We define N-Myc and activated AKT1 as oncogenic components sufficient to transform human prostate epithelial cells to prostate adenocarcinoma and NEPC with phenotypic and molecular features of aggressive, late-stage human disease. We directly show that prostate adenocarcinoma and NEPC can arise from a common epithelial clone. Further, N-Myc is required for tumor maintenance, and destabilization of N-Myc through Aurora A kinase inhibition reduces tumor burden. Our findings establish N-Myc as a driver of NEPC and a target for therapeutic intervention.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ccell.2016.03.001

  View details for PubMedID 27050099