Despite the efficacy of neuroprotective approaches in animal models of stroke, their translation has so far failed from bench to bedside. One reason is presumed to be a low quality of preclinical study design, leading to bias and a low a priori power. In this study, we propose that the key read-out of experimental stroke studies, the volume of the ischemic damage as commonly measured by free-handed planimetry of TTC-stained brain sections, is subject to an unrecognized low inter-rater and test-retest reliability with strong implications for statistical power and bias. As an alternative approach, we suggest a simple, open-source, software-assisted method, taking advantage of automatic-thresholding techniques. The validity and the improvement of reliability by an automated method to tMCAO infarct volumetry are demonstrated. In addition, we show the probable consequences of increased reliability for precision, p-values, effect inflation, and power calculation, exemplified by a systematic analysis of experimental stroke studies published in the year 2015. Our study reveals an underappreciated quality problem in translational stroke research and suggests that software-assisted infarct volumetry might help to improve reproducibility and therefore the robustness of bench to bedside translation.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by dysregulated intestinal immune responses. Using mass cytometry (CyTOF) to analyze the immune cell composition in the lamina propria (LP) of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), we observed an enrichment of CD4 + effector T cells producing IL-17A and TNF, CD8 + T cells producing IFNc, T regulatory (Treg) cells, and innate lymphoid cells (ILC). The function of these immune cells is regulated by store-operated Ca 2+ entry (SOCE), which results from the opening of Ca 2+ release-activated Ca 2+ (CRAC) channels formed by ORAI and STIM proteins. We observed that the pharmacologic inhibition of SOCE attenuated the production of proinflammatory cytokines including IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17A, TNF, and IFNc by human colonic T cells and ILCs, reduced the production of IL-6 by B cells and the production of IFNc by myeloid cells, but had no effect on the viability, differentiation, and function of intestinal epithelial cells. T cellspecific deletion of CRAC channel genes in mice showed that Orai1, Stim1, and Stim2-deficient T cells have quantitatively distinct defects in SOCE, which correlate with gradually more pronounced impairment of cytokine production by Th1 and Th17 cells and the severity of IBD. Moreover, the pharmacologic inhibition of SOCE with a selective CRAC channel inhibitor attenuated IBD severity and colitogenic T cell function in mice. Our data indicate that SOCE inhibition may be a suitable new approach for the treatment of IBD.

Objective: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by dysregulated intestinal immune responses and constitutes a major clinical challenge in need of new treatment modalities to improve patient care. Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) is the predominant Ca2+ influx pathway in T cells and other immune cells, regulating many of their functional properties. It is currently unknown whether the pharmacologic blockade of SOCE represents a suitable drug-target for IBD treatment. Design: Using mass and flow cytometry the effects of SOCE inhibition on lamina propria (LP) immune cells of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) were investigated.Primary organoid cultures served to study the impact of SOCE inhibition on the function, differentiation and survival of intestinal epithelial cells (IEC). T cell transfer models of colitis were applied to examine how the genetic or pharmacologic ablation of SOCE affects the clinical course of IBD in mice. Results: We observed that the LP of IBD patients is characterized by an enrichment of innate lymphoid cells (ILC), CD4+ and CD8+ effector- as well as T regulatory cells producing IL-17 and TNFα. The pharmacologic inhibition of SOCE attenuated the production of pathogenic cytokines including IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNFα and IFNγ by human colonic T cells and ILC, reduced the production of IL-6 by B cells and the production of IFNγ by myeloid cells, without affecting the viability, differentiation and function of primary IEC. T cell-specific genetic deletion of the SOCE signaling components Orai1, Stim1 or Stim2 revealed that the magnitude of SOCE correlates with the function of T cells and intestinal inflammation in mice. Moreover, the pharmacologic inhibition of SOCE alleviated the clinical course of colitic mice. Conclusion: Our data suggest that SOCE inhibition may serve as a new pharmacologic strategy for treating IBD.