1
|
Poinot H, Dupuychaffray E, Arnoux G, Alvarez M, Tachet J, Ezzar O, Moore J, Bejuy O, Olesti E, Visconti G, González-Ruiz V, Rudaz S, Tille JC, Voegel CD, Nowak-Sliwinska P, Bourquin C, Pommier A. Activation of endogenous glucocorticoids by HSD11B1 inhibits the antitumor immune response in renal cancer. Oncoimmunology 2023; 13:2286820. [PMID: 38170044 PMCID: PMC10761155 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2023.2286820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Although immune-based therapies have revolutionized the management of cancer, novel approaches are urgently needed to improve their outcome. We investigated the role of endogenous steroids in the resistance to cancer immunotherapy, as these have strong immunomodulatory functions. Using a publicly available database, we found that the intratumoral expression of 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1), which regenerates inactive glucocorticoids into active glucocorticoids, was associated with poor clinical outcome and correlated with immunosuppressive gene signatures in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). HSD11B1 was mainly expressed in tumor-infiltrating immune myeloid cells as seen by immunohistochemistry in RCC patient samples. Using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors or immune cells isolated from the tumor of RCC patients, we showed that the pharmacological inhibition of HSD11B1 improved the response to the immune checkpoint inhibitor anti-PD-1. In a subcutaneous mouse model of renal cancer, the combination of an HSD11B1 inhibitor with anti-PD-1 treatment increased the proportion of tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells. In an intrarenal mouse tumor model, HSD11B1 inhibition increased the survival of mice treated with anti-PD-1. In addition, inhibition of HSD11B1 sensitized renal tumors in mice to immunotherapy with resiquimod, a Toll-like receptor 7 agonist. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that HSD11B1 inhibition combined with resiquimod increased T cell-mediated cytotoxicity to tumor cells by stimulating the antigen-presenting capacity of dendritic cells. In conclusion, these results support the use of HSD11B1 inhibitors to improve the outcome of immunotherapy in renal cancer and highlight the role of the endogenous glucocorticoid metabolism in the efficacy of immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Poinot
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Eloïse Dupuychaffray
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Grégoire Arnoux
- Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Montserrat Alvarez
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jérémie Tachet
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ounss Ezzar
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jonathan Moore
- Translational Research Centre in Oncohaematology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Olivia Bejuy
- CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Eulalia Olesti
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Gioele Visconti
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Víctor González-Ruiz
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Serge Rudaz
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Clarissa D. Voegel
- Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Patrycja Nowak-Sliwinska
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Translational Research Centre in Oncohaematology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Carole Bourquin
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Anesthetics, Pharmacology, Intensive Care and Emergencies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Aurélien Pommier
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Anderson G. Melatonin, BAG-1 and cortisol circadian interactions in tumor pathogenesis and patterned immune responses. Explor Target Antitumor Ther 2023; 4:962-993. [PMID: 37970210 PMCID: PMC10645470 DOI: 10.37349/etat.2023.00176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
A dysregulated circadian rhythm is significantly associated with cancer risk, as is aging. Both aging and circadian dysregulation show suppressed pineal melatonin, which is indicated in many studies to be linked to cancer risk and progression. Another independently investigated aspect of the circadian rhythm is the cortisol awakening response (CAR), which is linked to stress-associated hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation. CAR and HPA axis activity are primarily mediated via activation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which drives patterned gene expression via binding to the promotors of glucocorticoid response element (GRE)-expressing genes. Recent data shows that the GR can be prevented from nuclear translocation by the B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)-associated athanogene 1 (BAG-1), which translocates the GR to mitochondria, where it can have diverse effects. Melatonin also suppresses GR nuclear translocation by maintaining the GR in a complex with heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90). Melatonin, directly and/or epigenetically, can upregulate BAG-1, suggesting that the dramatic 10-fold decrease in pineal melatonin from adolescence to the ninth decade of life will attenuate the capacity of night-time melatonin to modulate the effects of the early morning CAR. The interactions of pineal melatonin/BAG-1/Hsp90 with the CAR are proposed to underpin how aging and circadian dysregulation are associated with cancer risk. This may be mediated via differential effects of melatonin/BAG-1/Hsp90/GR in different cells of microenvironments across the body, from which tumors emerge. This provides a model of cancer pathogenesis that better integrates previously disparate bodies of data, including how immune cells are regulated by cancer cells in the tumor microenvironment, at least partly via the cancer cell regulation of the tryptophan-melatonin pathway. This has a number of future research and treatment implications.
Collapse
|