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Benguigui M, Cooper TJ, Kalkar P, Schif-Zuck S, Halaban R, Bacchiocchi A, Kamer I, Deo A, Manobla B, Menachem R, Haj-Shomaly J, Vorontsova A, Raviv Z, Buxbaum C, Christopoulos P, Bar J, Lotem M, Sznol M, Ariel A, Shen-Orr SS, Shaked Y. Interferon-stimulated neutrophils as a predictor of immunotherapy response. Cancer Cell 2024; 42:253-265.e12. [PMID: 38181798 PMCID: PMC10864002 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Despite the remarkable success of anti-cancer immunotherapy, its effectiveness remains confined to a subset of patients-emphasizing the importance of predictive biomarkers in clinical decision-making and further mechanistic understanding of treatment response. Current biomarkers, however, lack the power required to accurately stratify patients. Here, we identify interferon-stimulated, Ly6Ehi neutrophils as a blood-borne biomarker of anti-PD1 response in mice at baseline. Ly6Ehi neutrophils are induced by tumor-intrinsic activation of the STING (stimulator of interferon genes) signaling pathway and possess the ability to directly sensitize otherwise non-responsive tumors to anti-PD1 therapy, in part through IL12b-dependent activation of cytotoxic T cells. By translating our pre-clinical findings to a cohort of patients with non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma (n = 109), and to public data (n = 1440), we demonstrate the ability of Ly6Ehi neutrophils to predict immunotherapy response in humans with high accuracy (average AUC ≈ 0.9). Overall, our study identifies a functionally active biomarker for use in both mice and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Benguigui
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tim J Cooper
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Department of Immunology, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
| | - Prajakta Kalkar
- Department of Human Biology, the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Sagie Schif-Zuck
- Department of Human Biology, the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ruth Halaban
- Department of Dermatology, Yale Cancer Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Antonella Bacchiocchi
- Department of Dermatology, Yale Cancer Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Iris Kamer
- Institute of Oncology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Abhilash Deo
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Bar Manobla
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Rotem Menachem
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jozafina Haj-Shomaly
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Avital Vorontsova
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ziv Raviv
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Chen Buxbaum
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Petros Christopoulos
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, Thoraxklinik and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) at Heidelberg University Hospital, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany; Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jair Bar
- Institute of Oncology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel; Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Michal Lotem
- Department of Melanoma and Cancer Immunotherapy, Sharett Institute of Oncology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Mario Sznol
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Amiram Ariel
- Department of Human Biology, the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Shai S Shen-Orr
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Department of Immunology, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Yuval Shaked
- Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
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Benguigui M, Vorontsova A, Timaner M, Levin S, Haj-Shomaly J, Deo A, Menachem R, Manobla B, Cooper TJ, Raviv Z, Shaked Y. Bv8 Blockade Sensitizes Anti-PD1 Therapy Resistant Tumors. Front Immunol 2022; 13:903591. [PMID: 35874722 PMCID: PMC9301046 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.903591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are known to promote tumor growth in part by their immunosuppressive activities and their angiogenesis support. It has been shown that Bv8 blockade inhibits the recruitment of MDSCs to tumors, thereby delaying tumor relapse associated with resistance to antiangiogenic therapy. However, the impact of Bv8 blockade on tumors resistant to the new immunotherapy drugs based on the blockade of immune checkpoints has not been investigated. Here, we demonstrate that granulocytic-MDSCs (G-MDSCs) are enriched in anti-PD1 resistant tumors. Importantly, resistance to anti-PD1 monotherapy is reversed upon switching to a combined regimen comprised of anti-Bv8 and anti-PD1 antibodies. This effect is associated with a decreased level of G-MDSCs and enrichment of active cytotoxic T cells in tumors. The blockade of anti-Bv8 has shown efficacy also in hyperprogressive phenotype of anti-PD1-treated tumors. In vitro, anti-Bv8 antibodies directly inhibit MDSC-mediated immunosuppression, as evidenced by enhanced tumor cell killing activity of cytotoxic T cells. Lastly, we show that anti-Bv8-treated MDSCs secrete proteins associated with effector immune cell function and T cell activity. Overall, we demonstrate that Bv8 blockade inhibits the immunosuppressive function of MDSCs, thereby enhancing anti-tumor activity of cytotoxic T cells and sensitizing anti-PD1 resistant tumors. Our findings suggest that combining Bv8 blockade with anti-PD1 therapy can be used as a strategy for overcoming therapy resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Benguigui
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Avital Vorontsova
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Michael Timaner
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Sapir Levin
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jozafina Haj-Shomaly
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Abhilash Deo
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Rotem Menachem
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Faculty of Chemical engineering, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Bar Manobla
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tim J. Cooper
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Immunology, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ziv Raviv
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Yuval Shaked
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Science, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Rappaport Technion Integrated Cancer Center Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- *Correspondence: Yuval Shaked,
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