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Rao A, Zhang X, Cillo AR, Sussman JH, Sandlesh P, Tarbay AC, Mallela AN, Cardello C, Krueger K, Xu J, Li A, Xu J, Patterson J, Akca E, Angione A, Jaman E, Kim WJ, Allen J, Venketeswaran A, Zinn PO, Parise R, Beumer J, Duensing A, Holland EC, Ferris R, Bagley SJ, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Agnihotri S, Amankulor NM. All-trans retinoic acid induces durable tumor immunity in IDH-mutant gliomas by rescuing transcriptional repression of the CRBP1-retinoic acid axis. bioRxiv 2024:2024.04.09.588752. [PMID: 38645178 PMCID: PMC11030316 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.09.588752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Diffuse gliomas are epigenetically dysregulated, immunologically cold, and fatal tumors characterized by mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). Although IDH mutations yield a uniquely immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, the regulatory mechanisms that drive the immune landscape of IDH mutant (IDHm) gliomas remain unknown. Here, we reveal that transcriptional repression of retinoic acid (RA) pathway signaling impairs both innate and adaptive immune surveillance in IDHm glioma through epigenetic silencing of retinol binding protein 1 (RBP1) and induces a profound anti-inflammatory landscape marked by loss of inflammatory cell states and infiltration of suppressive myeloid phenotypes. Restorative retinoic acid therapy in murine glioma models promotes clonal CD4 + T cell expansion and induces tumor regression in IDHm, but not IDH wildtype (IDHwt), gliomas. Our findings provide a mechanistic rationale for RA immunotherapy in IDHm glioma and is the basis for an ongoing investigator-initiated, single-center clinical trial investigating all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in recurrent IDHm human subjects.
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2
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Shan F, Cillo AR, Cardello C, Yuan DY, Kunning SR, Cui J, Lampenfeld C, Williams AM, McDonough AP, Pennathur A, Luketich JD, Kirkwood JM, Ferris RL, Bruno TC, Workman CJ, Benos PV, Vignali DAA. Integrated BATF transcriptional network regulates suppressive intratumoral regulatory T cells. Sci Immunol 2023; 8:eadf6717. [PMID: 37713508 DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adf6717] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
Human regulatory T cells (Tregs) are crucial regulators of tissue repair, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. However, it is challenging to inhibit the suppressive function of Tregs for cancer therapy without affecting immune homeostasis. Identifying pathways that may distinguish tumor-restricted Tregs is important, yet the transcriptional programs that control intratumoral Treg gene expression, and that are distinct from Tregs in healthy tissues, remain largely unknown. We profiled single-cell transcriptomes of CD4+ T cells in tumors and peripheral blood from patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) and those in nontumor tonsil tissues and peripheral blood from healthy donors. We identified a subpopulation of activated Tregs expressing multiple tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) genes (TNFR+ Tregs) that is highly enriched in the tumor microenvironment (TME) compared with nontumor tissue and the periphery. TNFR+ Tregs are associated with worse prognosis in HNSCC and across multiple solid tumor types. Mechanistically, the transcription factor BATF is a central component of a gene regulatory network that governs key aspects of TNFR+ Tregs. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated BATF knockout in human activated Tregs in conjunction with bulk RNA sequencing, immunophenotyping, and in vitro functional assays corroborated the central role of BATF in limiting excessive activation and promoting the survival of human activated Tregs. Last, we identified a suite of surface molecules reflective of the BATF-driven transcriptional network on intratumoral Tregs in patients with HNSCC. These findings uncover a primary transcriptional regulator of highly suppressive intratumoral Tregs, highlighting potential opportunities for therapeutic intervention in cancer without affecting immune homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Shan
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Integrative Systems Biology Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Carly Cardello
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Daniel Y Yuan
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sheryl R Kunning
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jian Cui
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Caleb Lampenfeld
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Asia M Williams
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alexandra P McDonough
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Arjun Pennathur
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - James D Luketich
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - John M Kirkwood
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert L Ferris
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Panayiotis V Benos
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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3
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Luke JJ, Dadey RE, Augustin RC, Newman S, Singh KB, Doerfler R, Behr S, Lee P, Isett B, Deitrick C, Li A, Joy M, Reeder C, Smith K, Urban J, Sellitto L, Jelinek M, Christner SM, Beumer JH, Villaruz LC, Kulkarni A, Davar D, Poklepovic AS, Najjar Y, Zandberg DP, Soloff AC, Bruno TC, Vujanović L, Skinner HD, Ferris RL, Bao R. Tumor cell p38 inhibition to overcome immunotherapy resistance. Res Sq 2023:rs.3.rs-3183496. [PMID: 37645831 PMCID: PMC10462255 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3183496/v1] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Patients with tumors that do not respond to immune-checkpoint inhibition often harbor a non-T cell-inflamed tumor microenvironment, characterized by the absence of IFN-γ-associated CD8+ T cell and dendritic cell activation. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying immune exclusion in non-responding patients may enable the development of novel combination therapies. p38 MAPK is a known regulator of dendritic and myeloid cells however a tumor-intrinsic immunomodulatory role has not been previously described. Here we identify tumor cell p38 signaling as a therapeutic target to potentiate anti-tumor immunity and overcome resistance to immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). Molecular analysis of tumor tissues from patients with human papillomavirus-negative head and neck squamous carcinoma reveals a p38-centered network enriched in non-T cell-inflamed tumors. Pan-cancer single-cell RNA analysis suggests that p38 activation may be an immune-exclusion mechanism across multiple tumor types. P38 knockdown in cancer cell lines increases T cell migration, and p38 inhibition plus ICI in preclinical models shows greater efficacy compared to monotherapies. In a clinical trial of patients refractory to PD1/L1 therapy, pexmetinib, a p38 inhibitor, plus nivolumab demonstrated deep and durable clinical responses. Targeting of p38 with anti-PD1 has the potential to induce the T cell-inflamed phenotype and overcome immunotherapy resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J. Luke
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Rebekah E. Dadey
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ryan C. Augustin
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sarah Newman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Krishna B. Singh
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Rose Doerfler
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sarah Behr
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Brian Isett
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Bioinformatics Core, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Christopher Deitrick
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Bioinformatics Core, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Aofei Li
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Marion Joy
- Translational Pathology Imaging Laboratory, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Carly Reeder
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Julie Urban
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Mark Jelinek
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Biostatistics Core, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Susan M. Christner
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jan H. Beumer
- Cancer Therapeutics Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Liza C. Villaruz
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Aditi Kulkarni
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Diwakar Davar
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Andrew S. Poklepovic
- Departments of Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Departments of Internal Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Yana Najjar
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Adam C. Soloff
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C. Bruno
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Lazar Vujanović
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Heath D. Skinner
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert L. Ferris
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Riyue Bao
- Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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4
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Karapetyan L, AbuShukair HM, Li A, Knight A, Al Bzour AN, MacFawn IP, Thompson ZJ, Chen A, Yang X, Dadey R, Karunamurthy A, De Stefano DV, Sander C, Kunning SR, Najjar YG, Davar D, Luke JJ, Gooding W, Bruno TC, Kirkwood JM, Storkus WJ. Expression of lymphoid structure-associated cytokine/chemokine gene transcripts in tumor and protein in serum are prognostic of melanoma patient outcomes. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1171978. [PMID: 37435077 PMCID: PMC10332263 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1171978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Proinflammatory chemokines/cytokines support development and maturation of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) within the tumor microenvironment (TME). In the current study, we sought to investigate the prognostic value of TLS-associated chemokines/cytokines (TLS-kines) expression levels in melanoma patients by performing serum protein and tissue transcriptomic analyses, and to then correlate these data with patients clinicopathological and TME characteristics. Methods Levels of TLS-kines in patients' sera were quantitated using a custom Luminex Multiplex Assay. The Cancer Genomic Atlas melanoma cohort (TCGA-SKCM) and a Moffitt Melanoma cohort were used for tissue transcriptomic analyses. Associations between target analytes and survival outcomes, clinicopathological variables, and correlations between TLS-kines were statistically analyzed. Results Serum of 95 patients with melanoma were evaluated; 48 (50%) female, median age of 63, IQR 51-70 years. Serum levels of APRIL/TNFSF13 were positively correlated with levels of both CXCL10 and CXCL13. In multivariate analyses, high levels of serum APRIL/TNFSF13 were associated with improved event-free survival after adjusting for age and stage (HR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.43-0.95; p = 0.03). High expression of APRIL/TNFSF13 tumor transcripts was significantly associated with improved OS in TCGA-SKCM (HR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.52-0.93; p = 0.01) and in Moffitt Melanoma patients (HR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.32-0.82; p = 0.006). Further incorporation of CXCL13 and CXCL10 tumor transcript levels in a 3-gene index revealed that high APRIL/CXCL10/CXCL13 expression was associated with improved OS in the TCGA SKCM cohort (HR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.19-0.94; p = 0.035). Melanoma differentially expressed genes positively associated with high APRIL/CXCL10/CXCL13 tumor expression were linked to tumor infiltration by a diverse array of proinflammatory immune cell types. Conclusion Serum protein and tumor transcript levels of APRIL/TNFSF13 are associated with improved survival outcomes. Patients exhibiting high coordinate expression of APRIL/CXCL10/CXCL13 transcripts in their tumors displayed superior OS. Further investigation of TLS-kine expression profiles related to clinical outcomes in larger cohort studies is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilit Karapetyan
- Department of Cutaneous Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States
| | | | - Aofei Li
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Andrew Knight
- Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Ayah Nedal Al Bzour
- Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
| | - Ian P. MacFawn
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Zachary J. Thompson
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, The Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States
| | - Ann Chen
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, The Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, United States
| | - Xi Yang
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Rebekah Dadey
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Arivarasan Karunamurthy
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | | | - Cindy Sander
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Sheryl R. Kunning
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Yana G. Najjar
- Department of Medicine, Hillman Cancer Center, Division of Hematology/Oncology; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Diwakar Davar
- Department of Medicine, Hillman Cancer Center, Division of Hematology/Oncology; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Jason J. Luke
- Department of Medicine, Hillman Cancer Center, Division of Hematology/Oncology; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - William Gooding
- Hillman Cancer Center Biostatistics Facility, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Tullia C. Bruno
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - John M. Kirkwood
- Department of Medicine, Hillman Cancer Center, Division of Hematology/Oncology; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Walter J. Storkus
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Departments of Dermatology, Pathology and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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5
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Bender MJ, McPherson AC, Phelps CM, Pandey SP, Laughlin CR, Shapira JH, Medina Sanchez L, Rana M, Richie TG, Mims TS, Gocher-Demske AM, Cervantes-Barragan L, Mullett SJ, Gelhaus SL, Bruno TC, Cannon N, McCulloch JA, Vignali DAA, Hinterleitner R, Joglekar AV, Pierre JF, Lee STM, Davar D, Zarour HM, Meisel M. Dietary tryptophan metabolite released by intratumoral Lactobacillus reuteri facilitates immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. Cell 2023; 186:1846-1862.e26. [PMID: 37028428 PMCID: PMC10148916 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 86.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023]
Abstract
The use of probiotics by cancer patients is increasing, including among those undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment. Here, we elucidate a critical microbial-host crosstalk between probiotic-released aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist indole-3-aldehyde (I3A) and CD8 T cells within the tumor microenvironment that potently enhances antitumor immunity and facilitates ICI in preclinical melanoma. Our study reveals that probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri (Lr) translocates to, colonizes, and persists within melanoma, where via its released dietary tryptophan catabolite I3A, it locally promotes interferon-γ-producing CD8 T cells, thereby bolstering ICI. Moreover, Lr-secreted I3A was both necessary and sufficient to drive antitumor immunity, and loss of AhR signaling within CD8 T cells abrogated Lr's antitumor effects. Further, a tryptophan-enriched diet potentiated both Lr- and ICI-induced antitumor immunity, dependent on CD8 T cell AhR signaling. Finally, we provide evidence for a potential role of I3A in promoting ICI efficacy and survival in advanced melanoma patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mackenzie J Bender
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alex C McPherson
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Catherine M Phelps
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Surya P Pandey
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Colin R Laughlin
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jake H Shapira
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Luzmariel Medina Sanchez
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Mohit Rana
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tanner G Richie
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Tahliyah S Mims
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Angela M Gocher-Demske
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Steven J Mullett
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Health Sciences Mass Spectrometry Core, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Stacy L Gelhaus
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Health Sciences Mass Spectrometry Core, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Nikki Cannon
- Genetics and Microbiome Core, Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - John A McCulloch
- Genetics and Microbiome Core, Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Reinhard Hinterleitner
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alok V Joglekar
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Systems Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Joseph F Pierre
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Sonny T M Lee
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Diwakar Davar
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Hassane M Zarour
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Marlies Meisel
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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6
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Onkar S, Cui J, Zou J, Cardello C, Cillo AR, Uddin MR, Sagan A, Joy M, Osmanbeyoglu HU, Pogue-Geile KL, McAuliffe PF, Lucas PC, Tseng GC, Lee AV, Bruno TC, Oesterreich S, Vignali DAA. Publisher Correction: Immune landscape in invasive ductal and lobular breast cancer reveals a divergent macrophage-driven microenvironment. Nat Cancer 2023; 4:582. [PMID: 37012402 DOI: 10.1038/s43018-023-00549-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sayali Onkar
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Graduate Program in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jian Cui
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jian Zou
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Carly Cardello
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Mostofa Rafid Uddin
- Computational Biology Department, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Joint Carnegie Mellon University-University of Pittsburgh PhD Program in Computational Biology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - April Sagan
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Marion Joy
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- NSABP Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Hatice U Osmanbeyoglu
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Priscilla F McAuliffe
- Section of Breast Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh College of Medicine, Magee Women's Hospital of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Peter C Lucas
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- NSABP Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - George C Tseng
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Adrian V Lee
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Steffi Oesterreich
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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7
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Onkar S, Cui J, Zou J, Cardello C, Cillo AR, Uddin MR, Sagan A, Joy M, Osmanbeyoglu HU, Pogue-Geile KL, McAuliffe PF, Lucas PC, Tseng GC, Lee AV, Bruno TC, Oesterreich S, Vignali DAA. Immune landscape in invasive ductal and lobular breast cancer reveals a divergent macrophage-driven microenvironment. Nat Cancer 2023; 4:516-534. [PMID: 36927792 DOI: 10.1038/s43018-023-00527-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
T cell-centric immunotherapies have shown modest clinical benefit thus far for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. Despite accounting for 70% of all breast cancers, relatively little is known about the immunobiology of ER+ breast cancer in women with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). To investigate this, we performed phenotypic, transcriptional and functional analyses for a cohort of treatment-naive IDC (n = 94) and ILC (n = 87) tumors. We show that macrophages, and not T cells, are the predominant immune cells infiltrating the tumor bed and the most transcriptionally diverse cell subset between IDC and ILC. Analysis of cellular neighborhoods revealed an interplay between macrophages and T cells associated with longer disease-free survival in IDC but not ILC. Our datasets provide a rich resource for further interrogation into immune cell dynamics in ER+ IDC and ILC and highlight macrophages as a potential target for ER+ breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayali Onkar
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Graduate Program in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jian Cui
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jian Zou
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Carly Cardello
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Mostofa Rafid Uddin
- Computational Biology Department, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Joint Carnegie Mellon University-University of Pittsburgh PhD Program in Computational Biology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - April Sagan
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Marion Joy
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- NSABP Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Hatice U Osmanbeyoglu
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Priscilla F McAuliffe
- Section of Breast Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh College of Medicine, Magee Women's Hospital of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Peter C Lucas
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- NSABP Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - George C Tseng
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Adrian V Lee
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Steffi Oesterreich
- Women's Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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8
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Ruffin AT, Li H, Vujanovic L, Zandberg DP, Ferris RL, Bruno TC. Improving head and neck cancer therapies by immunomodulation of the tumour microenvironment. Nat Rev Cancer 2023; 23:173-188. [PMID: 36456755 PMCID: PMC9992112 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-022-00531-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Targeted immunotherapy has improved patient survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but less than 20% of patients produce a durable response to these treatments. Thus, new immunotherapies that consider all key players of the complex HNSCC tumour microenvironment (TME) are necessary to further enhance tumour-specific T cell responses in patients. HNSCC is an ideal tumour type in which to evaluate immune and non-immune cell differences because of two distinct TME aetiologies (human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and HPV-negative disease), multiple anatomic sites for tumour growth, and clear distinctions between patients with locally advanced disease and those with recurrent and/or metastatic disease. Recent technological and scientific advancements have provided a more complete picture of all cellular constituents within this complex TME and have evaluated the interplay of both immune and non-immune cells within HNSCC. Here, we include a comprehensive analysis of the complete ecosystem of the HNSCC TME, performed utilizing data-rich resources such as The Cancer Genome Atlas, and cutting-edge techniques, such as single-cell RNA sequencing, high-dimensional flow cytometry and spatial multispectral imaging, to generate improved treatment strategies for this diverse disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayana T Ruffin
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumour Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Housaiyin Li
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumour Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology (MGDB) Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Lazar Vujanovic
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumour Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dan P Zandberg
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumour Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert L Ferris
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Tumour Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Tumour Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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9
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Onkar SS, Carleton NM, Lucas PC, Bruno TC, Lee AV, Vignali DAA, Oesterreich S. The Great Immune Escape: Understanding the Divergent Immune Response in Breast Cancer Subtypes. Cancer Discov 2023; 13:23-40. [PMID: 36620880 PMCID: PMC9833841 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-22-0475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer, the most common type of cancer affecting women, encompasses a collection of histologic (mainly ductal and lobular) and molecular subtypes exhibiting diverse clinical presentation, disease trajectories, treatment options, and outcomes. Immunotherapy has revolutionized treatment for some solid tumors but has shown limited promise for breast cancers. In this review, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of the complex interactions between tumor and immune cells in subtypes of breast cancer at the cellular and microenvironmental levels. We aim to provide a perspective on opportunities for future immunotherapy agents tailored to specific features of each subtype of breast cancer. SIGNIFICANCE Although there are currently over 200 ongoing clinical trials testing immunotherapeutics, such as immune-checkpoint blockade agents, these are largely restricted to the triple-negative and HER2+ subtypes and primarily focus on T cells. With the rapid expansion of new in vitro, in vivo, and clinical data, it is critical to identify and highlight the challenges and opportunities unique for each breast cancer subtype to drive the next generation of treatments that harness the immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayali S. Onkar
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Neil M. Carleton
- Women’s Cancer Research Center, Magee-Women’s Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Peter C Lucas
- Women’s Cancer Research Center, Magee-Women’s Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Adrian V Lee
- Women’s Cancer Research Center, Magee-Women’s Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Dario AA Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Steffi Oesterreich
- Women’s Cancer Research Center, Magee-Women’s Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
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10
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Cillo AR, Mukherjee E, Bailey NG, Onkar S, Daley J, Salgado C, Li X, Liu D, Ranganathan S, Burgess M, Sembrat J, Weiss K, Watters R, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Bailey KM. Ewing Sarcoma and Osteosarcoma Have Distinct Immune Signatures and Intercellular Communication Networks. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:4968-4982. [PMID: 36074145 PMCID: PMC9669190 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-22-1471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma are primary bone sarcomas occurring most commonly in adolescents. Metastatic and relapsed disease are associated with dismal prognosis. Although effective for some soft tissue sarcomas, current immunotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of bone sarcomas have been largely ineffective, necessitating a deeper understanding of bone sarcoma immunobiology. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Multiplex immunofluorescence analysis of immune infiltration in relapsed versus primary disease was conducted. To better understand immune states and drivers of immune infiltration, especially during disease progression, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) of immune populations from paired blood and bone sarcoma tumor samples. RESULTS Our multiplex immunofluorescence analysis revealed increased immune infiltration in relapsed versus primary disease in both Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma. scRNAseq analyses revealed terminally exhausted CD8+ T cells expressing co-inhibitory receptors in osteosarcoma and an effector T-cell subpopulation in Ewing sarcoma. In addition, distinct subsets of CD14+CD16+ macrophages were present in Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma. To determine pathways driving tumor immune infiltration, we conducted intercellular communication analyses and uncovered shared mechanisms of immune infiltration driven by CD14+CD16+ macrophages and unique pathways of immune infiltration driven by CXCL10 and CXCL12 in osteosarcoma. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides preclinical rationale for future investigation of specific immunotherapeutic targets upon relapse and provides an invaluable resource of immunologic data from bone sarcomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony R. Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA, USA,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Elina Mukherjee
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Nathanael G Bailey
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA, USA,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Program in Microbiology and Immunology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jessica Daley
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Claudia Salgado
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Xiang Li
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA, USA,School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Dongyan Liu
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA, USA,School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Melissa Burgess
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - John Sembrat
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Kurt Weiss
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Rebecca Watters
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C. Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA, USA,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dario AA Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA, USA,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Kelly M. Bailey
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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11
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Shan F, Somasundaram A, Bruno TC, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. Therapeutic targeting of regulatory T cells in cancer. Trends Cancer 2022; 8:944-961. [PMID: 35853825 PMCID: PMC9588644 DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2022.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The success of immunotherapy in oncology underscores the vital role of the immune system in cancer development. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) maintain a fine balance between autoimmunity and immune suppression. They have multiple roles in the tumor microenvironment (TME) but act particularly in suppressing T cell activation. This review focuses on the detrimental and sometimes beneficial roles of Tregs in tumors, our current understanding of recruitment and stabilization of Tregs within the TME, and current Treg-targeted therapeutics. Research identifying subpopulations of Tregs and their respective functions and interactions within the complex networks of the TME will be crucial to develop the next generation of immunotherapies. Through these advances, Treg-targeted immunotherapy could have important implications for the future of oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Shan
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Ashwin Somasundaram
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.
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12
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Daley JD, Mukherjee EM, Cillo AR, Tufino AC, Bailey NG, Bruno TC, McAllister-Lucas LM, Vignali DA, Bailey KM. Abstract A004: Radiation-induced changes to the immune microenvironment in an immunocompetent mouse model of Ewing sarcoma. Clin Cancer Res 2022. [DOI: 10.1158/1557-3265.sarcomas22-a004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Ewing sarcoma is a rare, aggressive, fusion oncoprotein-driven pediatric cancer. Patients with upfront metastatic or surgically unresectable disease commonly undergo radiation as part of standard of care therapy. Currently, little is known about the effect of radiation specifically on the immune microenvironment of Ewing tumors, as no routine biopsies or other clinical samples are acquired during radiation. Further, historically, the field has lacked an immunocompetent mouse model of Ewing sarcoma in which to study Ewing tumor-immune cell interactions. Given our interest in understanding the anti-tumor immune response specifically during times of DNA damage, we sought to model Ewing sarcoma in a humanized mouse model (where human immune cell interactions with human tumor cells can be examined) in order to examine the Ewing tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) during radiation. Here, we determine the likeness of our established humanized mouse model of Ewing sarcoma to that of human Ewing tumors at baseline and examine changes in the Ewing TIME upon delivery of radiation. Methods: Blood from humanized NSG mice was analyzed by flow cytometry to confirm human immune cell reconstitution. Human Ewing tumor cells were injected into humanized mice and allowed to grow for approximately three weeks. Tumors were treated with radiation (either single dose or fractioned doses x 5 days) using the MultiRad350 Precision irradiator and lead shields were used to isolate the tumor area in the radiation field. Immune cells infiltrating tumors with/without radiation exposure were subsequently analyzed by multiplexed immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, PCR, and RNAseq analysis. Ewing tumor immune infiltrates (as baseline/without radiation) from humanized mice models were compared to that of patient Ewing tumors. Results: Ewing tumors from both established and primary cell lines were successfully established in humanized mice. Similar to patient primary Ewing tumor samples, local Ewing tumors in humanized mice demonstrate a proportion of T-cell infiltration, although the overall number of infiltrating immune cells is low. Macrophage populations in Ewing sarcoma are not as predominant as in tumors such as osteosarcoma and are represented in this model. Analyses detailing the spatial localization and transcriptional profiles of Ewing tumor immune infiltrates following radiation are ongoing. Conclusions: In the absence of syngeneic and transgenic models of Ewing sarcoma, the use of humanized mouse models is a feasible alternative to address specific questions regarding the Ewing sarcoma TIME. Understanding the Ewing immune microenvironment during radiation therapy, a commonly used treatment modality in Ewing sarcoma, provides clues as to promising agents that may be worthy of preclinical testing to enhance the anti-tumor immune response during radiation in high-risk patients.
Citation Format: Jessica D. Daley, Elina M. Mukherjee, Anthony R. Cillo, Adriana C. Tufino, Nathanael G. Bailey, Tullia C. Bruno, Linda M. McAllister-Lucas, Dario A. Vignali, Kelly M. Bailey. Radiation-induced changes to the immune microenvironment in an immunocompetent mouse model of Ewing sarcoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Sarcomas; 2022 May 9-12; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2022;28(18_Suppl):Abstract nr A004.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Tullia C. Bruno
- 1University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | | | - Kelly M. Bailey
- 1University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
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13
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Peddireddy SP, Rahman SA, Cillo AR, Vijay GM, Somasundaram A, Workman CJ, Bain W, McVerry BJ, Methe B, Lee JS, Ray P, Ray A, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Kitsios GD, Morris A, Singh H, Sarkar A, Das J. Antibodies targeting conserved non-canonical antigens and endemic coronaviruses associate with favorable outcomes in severe COVID-19. Cell Rep 2022; 39:111020. [PMID: 35738278 PMCID: PMC9189107 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
While there have been extensive analyses characterizing cellular and humoral responses across the severity spectrum in COVID-19, outcome predictors within severe COVID-19 remain less comprehensively elucidated. Furthermore, properties of antibodies (Abs) directed against viral antigens beyond spike and their associations with disease outcomes remain poorly defined. We perform deep molecular profiling of Abs directed against a wide range of antigenic specificities in severe COVID-19 patients. The profiles included canonical (spike [S], receptor-binding domain [RBD], and nucleocapsid [N]) and non-canonical (orf3a, orf8, nsp3, nsp13, and membrane [M]) antigenic specificities. Notably, multivariate Ab profiles directed against canonical or non-canonical antigens are equally discriminative of survival in severe COVID-19. Intriguingly, pre-pandemic healthy controls have cross-reactive Abs directed against nsp13, a protein conserved across coronaviruses. Consistent with these findings, a model built on Ab profiles for endemic coronavirus antigens also predicts COVID-19 outcome. Our results suggest the importance of studying Abs targeting non-canonical severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and endemic coronavirus antigens in COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Syed A Rahman
- Center for Systems Immunology, Departments of Immunology and Computational & Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | | | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - William Bain
- Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Bryan J McVerry
- Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Barbara Methe
- Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Janet S Lee
- Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Prabir Ray
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anuradha Ray
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Georgios D Kitsios
- Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alison Morris
- Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Harinder Singh
- Center for Systems Immunology, Departments of Immunology and Computational & Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Aniruddh Sarkar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Jishnu Das
- Center for Systems Immunology, Departments of Immunology and Computational & Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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14
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Karapetyan L, Karunamurthy A, Cillo A, Rohatgi A, Massa RC, Gooding WE, Najjar YG, Davar D, Luke JJ, Bruno TC, Vignali D, Kirkwood JM. Phase II study of nivolumab (nivo) with relatlimab (rela) in patients (pts) with first-line advanced melanoma: Early on-treatment major pathologic response on biopsy. J Clin Oncol 2022. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2022.40.16_suppl.9514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
9514 Background: A phase II study of nivo and rela was designed to evaluate the antitumor activity and mechanism of this combination and components for first-line treatment of pts with advanced melanoma. Pts received lead-in treatment with 1 cycle of nivo (480mg IV q4wk), rela (160mg IV q4wk), or nivo-rela followed by combination therapy. We assessed the effect of each lead-in treatment on immune-related pathological response (irPR) at 4-wk biopsy to develop early biomarkers of antitumor response. Methods: Core biopsy of an index lesion was performed at baseline and after 4 wk on-treatment. Immune characteristics of pathological response were assessed on H&E sections, including presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), neovascularization, proliferative fibrosis, plasma cells, and lymphoid aggregates. irPR score was calculated as described by Stein JE et al Ann Oncol 2019, from 0 (no irPR features) to 3 (major pathologic response on biopsy [MPRbx], ≤10% residual viable tumor). We assessed the association between irPR and radiological response (RECIST v1.1) at 4-wk evaluations. Results: The current cohort includes 22 pts, median age = 67, male = 13. Pts were randomized to nivo = 7, rela = 7, and nivo-rela = 8 lead-in groups. Two pts had no irPR evaluation due to early progression and unscorable tumor. Among 20 evaluable pts, proliferative fibrosis, neovascularization, plasma cells, brisk TIL, and lymphoid aggregates were identified in 50%, 35%, 26.3%, 25%, and 5% of cases, respectively. Lead-in nivo (n = 2/6), rela (n = 0/6), and nivo-rela (n = 3/8) resulted in irPR = 3 in 25% of pts. Radiological response was identified as partial response (PR) = 1/22 (4.5%), stable disease (SD) = 12/22 (54.5%), and progressive disease (PD) = 9/22 (41%). Among pts with PD, 44% received rela-, 33% nivo-, and 22% nivo-rela- lead-in. Pts with irPR score = 3 had radiological PR = 1, SD = 3, and PD = 1 at 4wks. No association was found between MPRbx and radiological response at 4 wks. Conclusions: Four-wk MPRbx may serve as an early biomarker of treatment response in advanced melanoma. Lead-in treatment resulted in MPRbx of 25% and was greatest with nivo-rela lead-in. Correlations between 4 wk MPRbx and later radiological responses, survival and other endpoints will be made at completion of trial accrual. Clinical trial information: NCT03743766. [Table: see text]
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Diwakar Davar
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Jason J. Luke
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Tullia C. Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
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15
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Somasundaram A, Cillo AR, Lampenfeld C, Workman CJ, Kunning S, Oliveri LN, Velez M, Joyce S, Calderon M, Dadey R, Rajasundaram D, Normolle DP, Watkins SC, Herman JG, Kirkwood JM, Lipson EJ, Ferris RL, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA. Systemic immune dysfunction in cancer patients driven by IL6 induction of LAG3 in peripheral CD8+ T cells. Cancer Immunol Res 2022; 10:885-899. [PMID: 35587532 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-20-0736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Many cancer patients do not develop a durable response to the current standard of care immunotherapies, despite substantial advances in targeting immune inhibitory receptors. A potential compounding issue, which may serve as an unappreciated, dominant resistance mechanism, is an inherent systemic immune dysfunction that is often associated with advanced cancer. Minimal response to inhibitory receptor (IR) blockade therapy and increased disease burden have been associated with peripheral CD8+ T-cell dysfunction, characterized by suboptimal T-cell proliferation and chronic expression of IRs (eg. Programmed Death 1 [PD1] and Lymphocyte Activation Gene 3 [LAG3]). Here, we demonstrated that approximately a third of cancer patients analyzed in this study have peripheral CD8+ T cells that expressed robust intracellular LAG3 (LAG3IC), but not surface LAG3 (LAG3SUR) due to A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10 (ADAM10) cleavage. This associated with poor disease prognosis and decreased CD8+ T-cell function, which could be partially reversed by anti-LAG3. Systemic immune dysfunction was restricted to CD8+ T cells, including, in some cases, a high percentage of peripheral naïve CD8+ T cells, and was driven by the cytokine IL6 via STAT3. These data suggest that additional studies are warrented to determine if the combination of increased LAG3IC in peripheral CD8+ T cells and elevated systemic IL6 can serve as predictive biomarkers and identify which cancer patients may benefit from LAG3 blockade.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Maria Velez
- University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Sonali Joyce
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Michael Calderon
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Rebekah Dadey
- University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Evan J Lipson
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, BALTIMORE, MD, United States
| | - Robert L Ferris
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- University of Colorado Boulder, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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16
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Li Z, McGinn O, Wu Y, Bahreini A, Priedigkeit NM, Ding K, Onkar S, Lampenfeld C, Sartorius CA, Miller L, Rosenzweig M, Cohen O, Wagle N, Richer JK, Muller WJ, Buluwela L, Ali S, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Fang Y, Zhu L, Tseng GC, Gertz J, Atkinson JM, Lee AV, Oesterreich S. ESR1 mutant breast cancers show elevated basal cytokeratins and immune activation. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2011. [PMID: 35440136 PMCID: PMC9019037 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29498-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Estrogen receptor alpha (ER/ESR1) is frequently mutated in endocrine resistant ER-positive (ER+) breast cancer and linked to ligand-independent growth and metastasis. Despite the distinct clinical features of ESR1 mutations, their role in intrinsic subtype switching remains largely unknown. Here we find that ESR1 mutant cells and clinical samples show a significant enrichment of basal subtype markers, and six basal cytokeratins (BCKs) are the most enriched genes. Induction of BCKs is independent of ER binding and instead associated with chromatin reprogramming centered around a progesterone receptor-orchestrated insulated neighborhood. BCK-high ER+ primary breast tumors exhibit a number of enriched immune pathways, shared with ESR1 mutant tumors. S100A8 and S100A9 are among the most induced immune mediators and involve in tumor-stroma paracrine crosstalk inferred by single-cell RNA-seq from metastatic tumors. Collectively, these observations demonstrate that ESR1 mutant tumors gain basal features associated with increased immune activation, encouraging additional studies of immune therapeutic vulnerabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheqi Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Olivia McGinn
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Yang Wu
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Amir Bahreini
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Nolan M Priedigkeit
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Kai Ding
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Caleb Lampenfeld
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Carol A Sartorius
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Lori Miller
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Ofir Cohen
- Department of Medical Oncology and Center for Cancer Precision Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nikhil Wagle
- Department of Medical Oncology and Center for Cancer Precision Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer K Richer
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - William J Muller
- Goodman Cancer Centre and Departments of Biochemistry and Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Laki Buluwela
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London, UK
| | - Simak Ali
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London, UK
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Yusi Fang
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Li Zhu
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - George C Tseng
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jason Gertz
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Jennifer M Atkinson
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Adrian V Lee
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Steffi Oesterreich
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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17
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Ferris RL, Moskovitz J, Kunning S, Ruffin AT, Reeder C, Ohr J, Gooding WE, Kim S, Karlovits BJ, Vignali DAA, Duvvuri U, Johnson JT, Petro D, Heron DE, Clump DA, Bruno TC, Bauman JE. Phase I Trial of Cetuximab, Radiotherapy, and Ipilimumab in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:1335-1344. [PMID: 35091445 PMCID: PMC9164766 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-0426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Concurrent radiotherapy with cetuximab, an anti-EGFR mAb, is a standard treatment for locally advanced head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC). Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4-positive (CTLA-4+) regulatory T cells (Treg) dampen cellular immunity and correlate negatively with clinical outcomes. This phase I study added ipilimumab, an anti-CTLA-4 mAb, to cetuximab-radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS A (3 + 3) design was used to establish the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of ipilimumab, added at week 5 for four, every-3-week doses to fixed, standard cetuximab-radiotherapy. Eligible subjects had stage III to IVb, high-risk [human papillomavirus-negative (HPV-)] or intermediate-risk HPV-positive (HPV+)] HNSCC. Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was defined as any grade 4 adverse event (AE) except in-field radiation dermatitis or immune-related (ir) AE requiring ≥2 weeks of systemic steroids. Baseline tumor and serial blood specimens were collected for immune correlatives. RESULTS From July 2013 to May 2016, 18 patients enrolled. Two of 6 in cohort 1 (ipilimumab 3 mg/kg) experienced grade 3 dermatologic DLTs, triggering deescalation of ipilimumab to 1 mg/kg. Dose level -1 was expanded to N = 12 without DLT. irAE included: grade 1, 2, and 3 dermatitis (2, 1, and 3 cases), grade 4 colitis (1), and grade 1 hyperthyroidism (1). Three-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival were 72% [90% confidence interval (CI), 57-92] and 72% (90% CI, 56-92). High expression of coinhibitory receptors PD1/LAG3/CD39 on baseline tumor-infiltrating Treg was associated with worse DFS (HR = 5.6; 95% CI, 0.83-37.8; P = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS The RP2D for ipilimumab plus standard cetuximab-radiotherapy is 1 mg/kg in weeks 5, 8, 11, and 14. The regimen is tolerable and yields acceptable survival without cytotoxic chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert L. Ferris
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jessica Moskovitz
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sheryl Kunning
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ayana T. Ruffin
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - James Ohr
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Seungwon Kim
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Dario A. A. Vignali
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Umamaheswar Duvvuri
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jonas T. Johnson
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Dwight E. Heron
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Bons Secours Mercy Health, Dept of Radiation Oncology, Youngstown, OH
| | - David A. Clump
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C. Bruno
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Julie E. Bauman
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, AZ, USA
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18
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Ayoob JC, Boyce RD, Livshits S, Bruno TC, Delgoffe GM, Galson DL, Duncan AW, Atkinson JM, Oesterreich S, Evans S, Alikhani M, Baker TA, Pratt S, DeHaan KJ, Chen Y, Boone DN. Getting to YES: The Evolution of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center Youth Enjoy Science (YES) Academy. J STEM Outreach 2022; 5:10.15695/jstem/v5i2.02. [PMID: 36910569 PMCID: PMC9997544 DOI: 10.15695/jstem/v5i2.02] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center Academy (Hillman Academy) has the primary goal of reaching high school students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds and guiding them through a cutting-edge research and professional development experience that positions them for success in STEM. With this focus, the Hillman Academy has provided nearly 300 authentic mentored research internship opportunities to 239 students from diverse backgrounds over the past 13 years most of whom matriculated into STEM majors in higher education. These efforts have helped shape a more diverse generation of future scientists and clinicians, who will enrich these fields with their unique perspectives and lived experiences. In this paper, we describe our program and the strategies that led to its growth into a National Institutes of Health Youth Enjoy Science-funded program including our unique multi-site structure, tiered mentoring platform, multifaceted recruitment approach, professional and academic development activities, and a special highlight of a set of projects with Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. We also share student survey data from the past six years that indicate satisfaction with the program, self-perceived gains in key areas of scientific development, awareness of careers in STEM, and an increased desire to pursue advanced degrees in STEM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph C Ayoob
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Computational and Systems Biology
| | - Richard D Boyce
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Informatics
| | - Solomon Livshits
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Informatics
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Immunology (Tumor Microenvironment Center and Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program).,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
| | - Greg M Delgoffe
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Immunology (Tumor Microenvironment Center and Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program).,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
| | - Deborah L Galson
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Medicine (Division of Hematology/Oncology, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine).,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
| | - Andrew W Duncan
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Pathology (McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine).,University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Bioengineering.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
| | - Jennifer M Atkinson
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology.,Women's Cancer Research Center, Magee Women's Research Institute.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
| | - Steffi Oesterreich
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology.,Women's Cancer Research Center, Magee Women's Research Institute.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
| | - Steve Evans
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Surgery
| | - Malihe Alikhani
- University of Pittsburgh, School of Computing and Information, Department of Computer Science
| | - Tobias A Baker
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Informatics
| | - Sheila Pratt
- University of Pittsburgh, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Communication Science and Disorders
| | | | - Yuanyuan Chen
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology
| | - David N Boone
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Informatics.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
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19
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Cillo AR, Somasundaram A, Shan F, Cardello C, Workman CJ, Kitsios GD, Ruffin AT, Kunning S, Lampenfeld C, Onkar S, Grebinoski S, Deshmukh G, Methe B, Liu C, Nambulli S, Andrews LP, Duprex WP, Joglekar AV, Benos PV, Ray P, Ray A, McVerry BJ, Zhang Y, Lee JS, Das J, Singh H, Morris A, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA. People critically ill with COVID-19 exhibit peripheral immune profiles predictive of mortality and reflective of SARS-CoV-2 lung viral burden. Cell Rep Med 2021; 2:100476. [PMID: 34873589 PMCID: PMC8636386 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Despite extensive analyses, there remains an urgent need to delineate immune cell states that contribute to mortality in people critically ill with COVID-19. Here, we present high-dimensional profiling of blood and respiratory samples from people with severe COVID-19 to examine the association between cell-linked molecular features and mortality outcomes. Peripheral transcriptional profiles by single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)-based deconvolution of immune states are associated with COVID-19 mortality. Further, persistently high levels of an interferon signaling module in monocytes over time lead to subsequent concerted upregulation of inflammatory cytokines. SARS-CoV-2-infected myeloid cells in the lower respiratory tract upregulate CXCL10, leading to a higher risk of death. Our analysis suggests a pivotal role for viral-infected myeloid cells and protracted interferon signaling in severe COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Ashwin Somasundaram
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Feng Shan
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.,Integrative Systems Biology (ISB) Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Carly Cardello
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Georgios D Kitsios
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Ayana T Ruffin
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.,Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology (PMI), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Sheryl Kunning
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Caleb Lampenfeld
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.,Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology (PMI), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Stephanie Grebinoski
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.,Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology (PMI), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Gaurav Deshmukh
- Meso Scale Discovery, A division of Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC, 1601 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850-3173, USA
| | - Barbara Methe
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Chang Liu
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Sham Nambulli
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Lawrence P Andrews
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - W Paul Duprex
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alok V Joglekar
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Center for Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Panayiotis V Benos
- Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh, 4200 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, 3420 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Prabir Ray
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,University of Pittsburgh Asthma Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Anuradha Ray
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,University of Pittsburgh Asthma Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Bryan J McVerry
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Yingze Zhang
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Janet S Lee
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jishnu Das
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Center for Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Harinder Singh
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Center for Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Alison Morris
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
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20
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Kürten CHL, Kulkarni A, Cillo AR, Santos PM, Roble AK, Onkar S, Reeder C, Lang S, Chen X, Duvvuri U, Kim S, Liu A, Tabib T, Lafyatis R, Feng J, Gao SJ, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Lu X, Bao R, Vujanovic L, Ferris RL. Investigating immune and non-immune cell interactions in head and neck tumors by single-cell RNA sequencing. Nat Commun 2021; 12:7338. [PMID: 34921143 PMCID: PMC8683505 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27619-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is characterized by complex relations between stromal, epithelial, and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME). To enable the development of more efficacious therapies, we aim to study the heterogeneity, signatures of unique cell populations, and cell-cell interactions of non-immune and immune cell populations in 6 human papillomavirus (HPV)+ and 12 HPV- HNSCC patient tumor and matched peripheral blood specimens using single-cell RNA sequencing. Using this dataset of 134,606 cells, we show cell type-specific signatures associated with inflammation and HPV status, describe the negative prognostic value of fibroblasts with elastic differentiation specifically in the HPV+ TME, predict therapeutically targetable checkpoint receptor-ligand interactions, and show that tumor-associated macrophages are dominant contributors of PD-L1 and other immune checkpoint ligands in the TME. We present a comprehensive single-cell view of cell-intrinsic mechanisms and cell-cell communication shaping the HNSCC microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelius H L Kürten
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Aditi Kulkarni
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Patricia M Santos
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anna K Roble
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Carly Reeder
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Stephan Lang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Xueer Chen
- Deparment of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Seungwon Kim
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Angen Liu
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tracy Tabib
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert Lafyatis
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jian Feng
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Shou-Jiang Gao
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Virology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Xinghua Lu
- Deparment of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Riyue Bao
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Lazar Vujanovic
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert L Ferris
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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21
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Chuckran CA, Cillo AR, Moskovitz J, Overacre-Delgoffe A, Somasundaram AS, Shan F, Magnon GC, Kunning SR, Abecassis I, Zureikat AH, Luketich J, Pennathur A, Sembrat J, Rojas M, Merrick DT, Taylor SE, Orr B, Modugno F, Buckanovich R, Schoen RE, Kim S, Duvvuri U, Zeh H, Edwards R, Kirkwood JM, Coffman L, Ferris RL, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA. Prevalence of intratumoral regulatory T cells expressing neuropilin-1 is associated with poorer outcomes in patients with cancer. Sci Transl Med 2021; 13:eabf8495. [PMID: 34878821 PMCID: PMC9022491 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abf8495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Chuckran
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Jessica Moskovitz
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Abigail Overacre-Delgoffe
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Ashwin S Somasundaram
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Feng Shan
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Integrative Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Grant C Magnon
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Sheryl R Kunning
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Irina Abecassis
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Amer H Zureikat
- Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and UPMC Pancreatic Cancer Program, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - James Luketich
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Arjun Pennathur
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - John Sembrat
- Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Mauricio Rojas
- Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Daniel T Merrick
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Sarah E Taylor
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Brian Orr
- Department Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gynecologic Oncology Division, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Francesmary Modugno
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Women's Cancer Research Center, Magee-Women's Research Institute and Foundation and Hillman Cancer Center and Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Ron Buckanovich
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Robert E Schoen
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Seungwon Kim
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Umamaheswar Duvvuri
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Herbert Zeh
- Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Robert Edwards
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - John M Kirkwood
- Departments of Medicine, Dermatology, and Translational Science, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Lan Coffman
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Robert L Ferris
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
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22
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Cascio S, Chandler C, Zhang L, Sinno S, Gao B, Onkar S, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Mahdi H, Osmanbeyoglu HU, Vlad AM, Coffman LG, Buckanovich RJ. Cancer-associated MSC drive tumor immune exclusion and resistance to immunotherapy, which can be overcome by Hedgehog inhibition. Sci Adv 2021; 7:eabi5790. [PMID: 34767446 PMCID: PMC8589308 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi5790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the impact of cancer-associated mesenchymal stem cells (CA-MSCs) on ovarian tumor immunity. In patient samples, CA-MSC presence inversely correlates with the presence of intratumoral CD8+ T cells. Using an immune “hot” mouse ovarian cancer model, we found that CA-MSCs drive CD8+ T cell tumor immune exclusion and reduce response to anti–PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) via secretion of numerous chemokines (Ccl2, Cx3cl1, and Tgf-β1), which recruit immune-suppressive CD14+Ly6C+Cx3cr1+ monocytic cells and polarize macrophages to an immune suppressive Ccr2hiF4/80+Cx3cr1+CD206+ phenotype. Both monocytes and macrophages express high levels of transforming growth factor β–induced (Tgfbi) protein, which suppresses NK cell activity. Hedgehog inhibitor (HHi) therapy reversed CA-MSC effects, reducing myeloid cell presence and expression of Tgfbi, increasing intratumoral NK cell numbers, and restoring response to ICI therapy. Thus, CA-MSCs regulate antitumor immunity, and CA-MSC hedgehog signaling is an important target for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Cascio
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Chelsea Chandler
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Linan Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Sarah Sinno
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Bingsi Gao
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Tullia C. Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Dario A. A. Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Haider Mahdi
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Hatice U. Osmanbeyoglu
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Anda M. Vlad
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Lan G. Coffman
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Ronald J. Buckanovich
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
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23
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Abstract
Tumor-infiltrating B cells complement T cell-mediated antitumor immunity. A panel of experts share their views on the complexity of B cells within the tumor microenvironment, the variety of mechanisms by which these cells control tumor growth, their organization in tertiary lymphoid structures, and their association with immunotherapy response.
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24
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Chuckran CA, Liu C, Bruno TC, Workman CJ, Vignali DA. Neuropilin-1: a checkpoint target with unique implications for cancer immunology and immunotherapy. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 8:jitc-2020-000967. [PMID: 32675311 PMCID: PMC7368550 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-000967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Checkpoint blockade immunotherapy established a new paradigm in cancer treatment: for certain patients curative treatment requires immune reinvigoration. Despite this monumental advance, only 20%–30% of patients achieve an objective response to standard of care immunotherapy, necessitating the consideration of alternative targets. Optimal strategies will not only stimulate CD8+ T cells, but concomitantly modulate immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), most notably regulatory T cells (Treg cells). In this context, the immunoregulatory receptor Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) is garnering renewed attention as it reinforces intratumoral Treg cell function amidst inflammation in the TME. Loss of NRP1 on Treg cells in mouse models restores antitumor immunity without sacrificing peripheral tolerance. Enrichment of NRP1+ Treg cells is observed in patients across multiple malignancies with cancer, both intratumorally and in peripheral sites. Thus, targeting NRP1 may safely undermine intratumoral Treg cell fitness, permitting enhanced inflammatory responses with existing immunotherapies. Furthermore, NRP1 has been recently found to modulate tumor-specific CD8+ T cell responses. Emerging data suggest that NRP1 restricts CD8+ T cell reinvigoration in response to checkpoint inhibitors, and more importantly, acts as a barrier to the long-term durability of CD8+ T cell-mediated tumor immunosurveillance. These novel and distinct regulatory mechanisms present an exciting therapeutic opportunity. This review will discuss the growing literature on NRP1-mediated immune modulation which provides a strong rationale for categorizing NRP1 as both a key checkpoint in the TME as well as an immunotherapeutic target with promise either alone or in combination with current standard of care therapeutic regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Chuckran
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center and the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Chang Liu
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center and the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center and the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center and the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Dario Aa Vignali
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA .,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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25
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Hensley MK, Bain WG, Jacobs J, Nambulli S, Parikh U, Cillo A, Staines B, Heaps A, Sobolewski MD, Rennick LJ, Macatangay BJC, Klamar-Blain C, Kitsios GD, Methé B, Somasundaram A, Bruno TC, Cardello C, Shan F, Workman C, Ray P, Ray A, Lee J, Sethi R, Schwarzmann WE, Ladinsky MS, Bjorkman PJ, Vignali DA, Duprex WP, Agha ME, Mellors JW, McCormick KD, Morris A, Haidar G. Intractable Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Prolonged Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Replication in a Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Modified T-Cell Therapy Recipient: A Case Study. Clin Infect Dis 2021; 73:e815-e821. [PMID: 33507235 PMCID: PMC7929077 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell therapy recipient developed severe coronavirus disease 2019, intractable RNAemia, and viral replication lasting >2 months. Premortem endotracheal aspirate contained >2 × 1010 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA copies/mL and infectious virus. Deep sequencing revealed multiple sequence variants consistent with intrahost virus evolution. SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cell-mediated immunity were minimal. Prolonged transmission from immunosuppressed patients is possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew K Hensley
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - William G Bain
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jana Jacobs
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Sham Nambulli
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Urvi Parikh
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Anthony Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Brittany Staines
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Amy Heaps
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michele D Sobolewski
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Linda J Rennick
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Bernard J C Macatangay
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Cynthia Klamar-Blain
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Georgios D Kitsios
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Barbara Methé
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ashwin Somasundaram
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Division of Hematology, Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Carly Cardello
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Feng Shan
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Creg Workman
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Prabir Ray
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Anuradha Ray
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Janet Lee
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Rahil Sethi
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - William E Schwarzmann
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Mark S Ladinsky
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Pamela J Bjorkman
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Dario A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - W Paul Duprex
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Mounzer E Agha
- Division of Hematology, Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - John W Mellors
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kevin D McCormick
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Alison Morris
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ghady Haidar
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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26
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Vito A, Salem O, El-Sayes N, MacFawn IP, Portillo AL, Milne K, Harrington D, Ashkar AA, Wan Y, Workenhe ST, Nelson BH, Bruno TC, Mossman KL. Immune checkpoint blockade in triple negative breast cancer influenced by B cells through myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Commun Biol 2021; 4:859. [PMID: 34253827 PMCID: PMC8275624 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02375-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple negative breast cancer holds a dismal clinical outcome and as such, patients routinely undergo aggressive, highly toxic treatment regimens. Clinical trials for TNBC employing immune checkpoint blockade in combination with chemotherapy show modest prognostic benefit, but the percentage of patients that respond to treatment is low, and patients often succumb to relapsed disease. Here, we show that a combination immunotherapy platform utilizing low dose chemotherapy (FEC) combined with oncolytic virotherapy (oHSV-1) increases tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, in otherwise immune-bare tumors, allowing 60% of mice to achieve durable tumor regression when treated with immune checkpoint blockade. Whole-tumor RNA sequencing of mice treated with FEC + oHSV-1 shows an upregulation of B cell receptor signaling pathways and depletion of B cells prior to the start of treatment in mice results in complete loss of therapeutic efficacy and expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Additionally, RNA sequencing data shows that FEC + oHSV-1 suppresses genes associated with myeloid-derived suppressor cells, a key population of cells that drive immune escape and mediate therapeutic resistance. These findings highlight the importance of tumor-infiltrating B cells as drivers of antitumor immunity and their potential role in the regulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa Vito
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Omar Salem
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Nader El-Sayes
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ian P MacFawn
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ana L Portillo
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Katy Milne
- Deeley Research Centre, BC Cancer, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | | | - Ali A Ashkar
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Yonghong Wan
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Samuel T Workenhe
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Brad H Nelson
- Deeley Research Centre, BC Cancer, Victoria, BC, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Karen L Mossman
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
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Bain W, Yang H, Shah FA, Suber T, Drohan C, Al-Yousif N, DeSensi RS, Bensen N, Schaefer C, Rosborough BR, Somasundaram A, Workman CJ, Lampenfeld C, Cillo AR, Cardello C, Shan F, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Ray P, Ray A, Zhang Y, Lee JS, Methé B, McVerry BJ, Morris A, Kitsios GD. COVID-19 versus Non-COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Comparison of Demographics, Physiologic Parameters, Inflammatory Biomarkers, and Clinical Outcomes. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2021; 18:1202-1210. [PMID: 33544045 PMCID: PMC8328355 DOI: 10.1513/annalsats.202008-1026oc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Rationale: There is an urgent need for improved understanding of the mechanisms and clinical characteristics of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19).Objectives: To compare key demographic and physiologic parameters, biomarkers, and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 ARDS and ARDS secondary to direct lung injury from other etiologies of pneumonia.Methods: We enrolled 27 patients with COVID-19 ARDS in a prospective, observational cohort study and compared them with a historical, pre-COVID-19 cohort of patients with viral ARDS (n = 14), bacterial ARDS (n = 21), and ARDS due to culture-negative pneumonia (n = 30). We recorded clinical demographics; measured respiratory mechanical parameters; collected serial peripheral blood specimens for measurement of plasma interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-10; and followed patients prospectively for patient-centered outcomes. We conducted between-group comparisons with nonparametric tests and analyzed time-to-event outcomes with Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models.Results: Patients with COVID-19 ARDS had higher body mass index and were more likely to be Black, or residents of skilled nursing facilities, compared with those with non-COVID-19 ARDS (P < 0.05). Patients with COVID-19 had lower delivered minute ventilation compared with bacterial and culture-negative ARDS (post hoc P < 0.01) but not compared with viral ARDS. We found no differences in static compliance, hypoxemic indices, or carbon dioxide clearance between groups. Patients with COVID-19 had lower IL-6 levels compared with bacterial and culture-negative ARDS at early time points after intubation but no differences in IL-6 levels compared with viral ARDS. Patients with COVID-19 had longer duration of mechanical ventilation but similar 60-day mortality in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses.Conclusions: COVID-19 ARDS bears several similarities to viral ARDS but demonstrates lower minute ventilation and lower systemic levels of IL-6 compared with bacterial and culture-negative ARDS. COVID-19 ARDS was associated with longer dependence on mechanical ventilation compared with non-COVID-19 ARDS. Such detectable differences of COVID-19 do not merit deviation from evidence-based management of ARDS but suggest priorities for clinical research to better characterize and treat this new clinical entity.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Bain
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Health System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Haopu Yang
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Faraaz Ali Shah
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Health System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Tomeka Suber
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | | | - Rebecca S. DeSensi
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Nicole Bensen
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Caitlin Schaefer
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Brian R. Rosborough
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Ashwin Somasundaram
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, and
- Department of Immunology and
| | - Creg J. Workman
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, and
- Department of Immunology and
| | | | | | - Carly Cardello
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, and
- Department of Immunology and
| | - Feng Shan
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, and
- Department of Immunology and
| | - Tullia C. Bruno
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, and
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and
- Department of Immunology and
| | - Dario A. A. Vignali
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, and
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and
- Department of Immunology and
| | - Prabir Ray
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Department of Immunology and
| | - Anuradha Ray
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Department of Immunology and
| | - Yingze Zhang
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Janet S. Lee
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Barbara Methé
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Center for Medicine and the Microbiome, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Bryan J. McVerry
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Center for Medicine and the Microbiome, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Alison Morris
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Center for Medicine and the Microbiome, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Georgios D. Kitsios
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Center for Medicine and the Microbiome, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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28
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Ruffin AT, Cillo AR, Tabib T, Liu A, Onkar S, Kunning SR, Lampenfeld C, Atiya HI, Abecassis I, Kürten CHL, Qi Z, Soose R, Duvvuri U, Kim S, Oesterrich S, Lafyatis R, Coffman LG, Ferris RL, Vignali DAA, Bruno TC. B cell signatures and tertiary lymphoid structures contribute to outcome in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3349. [PMID: 34099645 PMCID: PMC8184766 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23355-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Current immunotherapy paradigms aim to reinvigorate CD8+ T cells, but the contribution of humoral immunity to antitumor immunity remains understudied. Here, we demonstrate that in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) caused by human papillomavirus infection (HPV+), patients have transcriptional signatures of germinal center (GC) tumor infiltrating B cells (TIL-Bs) and spatial organization of immune cells consistent with tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) with GCs, both of which correlate with favorable outcome. GC TIL-Bs in HPV+ HNSCC are characterized by distinct waves of gene expression consistent with dark zone, light zone and a transitional state of GC B cells. Semaphorin 4a expression is enhanced on GC TIL-Bs present in TLS of HPV+ HNSCC and during the differentiation of TIL-Bs. Our study suggests that therapeutics to enhance TIL-B responses in HNSCC should be prioritized in future studies to determine if they can complement current T cell mediated immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayana T Ruffin
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Program in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tracy Tabib
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Angen Liu
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Program in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sheryl R Kunning
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Caleb Lampenfeld
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Huda I Atiya
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Irina Abecassis
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Zengbiao Qi
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ryan Soose
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Umamaheswar Duvvuri
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Seungwon Kim
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Steffi Oesterrich
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Women's Cancer Research Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert Lafyatis
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Lan G Coffman
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert L Ferris
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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29
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Cruz T, Jia M, Sembrat J, Tabib T, Agostino N, Bruno TC, Vignali D, Sanchez P, Lafyatis R, Mora AL, Benos P, Rojas M. Reduce Proportion and Activity of NK Cells in the Lung of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2021; 204:608-610. [PMID: 34077698 DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202012-4418le] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Cruz
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Minxue Jia
- University of Pittsburgh, Computational Biology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - John Sembrat
- University of Pittsburgh, Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Tracy Tabib
- University of Pittsburgh, Medicine/Rheumatology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Naomi Agostino
- University of Pittsburgh, 6614, Cardiology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 12317, Immunology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Dario Vignali
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 12317, Immunology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Pablo Sanchez
- University of Pittsburgh, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Robert Lafyatis
- University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine, 199716, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Ana L Mora
- University of Pittsburgh, Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Panayiotis Benos
- University of Pittsburgh, Computational Biology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Mauricio Rojas
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States;
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30
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Im AP, Najjar YG, Bear T, Dressman D, Bernstein KA, Robertson L, Bruno TC. A post-COVID survey of current and future parents among faculty, trainees, and research staff at an NCI-designated cancer center. J Clin Oncol 2021. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.11002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
11002 Background: Challenges for women in science and academic medicine have been well documented, which include gender disparities related to parental and domestic responsibilities that interfere with work or career opportunities. We aimed to evaluate the experiences and working environment at an NCI-designated Cancer Center for current and future parents in the post-COVID era. We hypothesized there would be differences in the experiences of parents between men and women, and between trainees, faculty, and staff. Methods: A 61-question online survey for current and future parents was developed by the Women’s Task Force of the Hillman Cancer Center (HCC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Questions focused on perceived attitudes towards parents, the supportive nature of the working environment for parents, experiences with breastfeeding as a working parent, and childcare responsibilities pre- and post-COVID. The survey was sent to 562 scientific faculty, physicians, trainees, and research staff at HCC. Comparisons between groups of interest were performed using a chi-square test. Results: There were 214 respondents (38% response rate) with even representation: 38% were faculty, 27% were trainees, and 35% were research staff; 59% were female. 6% of respondents reported being “discouraged or excluded from participating in specific activities due to having or planning children”, and 24% felt “moderately supported” as a parent at work. Regarding breastfeeding, 58% reported that the decision to breastfeed was moderately impacted by returning to work, and of the women who were currently or recently breastfeeding, 42% reported that there were not enough lactation rooms in their building. Other questions in the survey aimed to evaluate what further support would be helpful for parents. 40% reported that on-site childcare would help better support them as a parent, especially because 47% documented that finding childcare was difficult and 53% documented that they looked at ≥4 daycares or nannies. Further, 49% reported that they did not know where to look for resources in finding childcare. Pre-COVID, 32% reported spending 2-3 hours a day on childcare and/or home responsibilities; post-COVID, 55% reported spending ≥4 hours a day. These effects were more pronounced in women compared to men (p < 0.05). Pre-COVID, 40% reported that they were unable to participate in work events due to childcare responsibilities, which increased to 54% post-COVID, and was most pronounced in faculty and trainees compared to staff (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our survey describes some of the universal challenges of working parents in Oncology, which have been exacerbated by COVID. The impact of COVID was more pronounced in women. Further studies are needed for systematic interventions or policies that improve support for working parents, including unified resources and working groups for current and expecting parents.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Todd Bear
- University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | | | | | - Tullia C. Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
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31
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Murthy P, Weber D, Sharma SN, Singhi AD, Bahary N, Pan W, Byrne-Steele ML, Han J, Zeh H, Bruno TC, Zureikat AH, Lotze MT. Intratumoral T cell clonality and survival in a randomized phase II study of preoperative autophagy inhibition in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel treatment in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer. J Clin Oncol 2021. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.e16001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
e16001 Background: Autophagy is a cell survival mechanism that is upregulated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PDAC autophagy results in an altered metabolic phenotype that promotes tumor progression, chemotherapeutic resistance, and immune evasion. Methods: We previously completed a randomized phase II clinical trial of preoperative gemcitabine-nab-paclitaxel with (PGH n = 34) and without (PG, n = 30) autophagy inhibition in patients with resectable and borderline resectable PDAC, which demonstrated increased Evans Grade histopathologic and serum CA 19-9 response with autophagy inhibition (IRB 13-074, NCT01128296 ). Utilizing the resected FFPE tumor specimens from evaluable patients, we completed paired multiplex immunohistochemistry (CD4, CD8, FOXP3, CD20, CD68, Pan-CK) and T & B cell receptor RNA sequencing to assess the intratumoral adaptive immune response and correlates of outcome. Results: Autophagy inhibition increased the number of infiltrating CD8 T cells (1133±490 vs 712±460 average cells per high power field, p = 0.01), CD8:CD20 ratio (2.22±3.1 vs 0.96±1.1, p = 0.02) and reduced the CD4:CD8 ratio (2.04±0.87 vs 3.01±2.09, p = 0.03). No effect was observed on the number of immature or mature germinal center-like tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), though the number of TLS correlated with increased infiltration of CD4 T cells (r = 0.40, p < 0.001), T-regulatory cells (r = 0.26, p = 0.03) and CD20 B cells (r = 0.65, p < 0.001). Although the total number of productive T and B cell receptors increased with autophagy inhibition (167217±105961 vs 97339±5,1628, p = 0.02), no apparent effects were observed on Vαβ TCR or BCR IgH, Igκ, Igλ clonality. Independent of treatment, intratumoral CD8 counts were associated with an improved CA 19-9 response (r = 0.32, p = 0.04) and in a subset of short term ( < 2 years, n = 17) and long term ( > 4 years, n = 10) survivors (LTS), a lowered CD4:CD8 ratio was identified in LTS (1.83±0.63 vs 2.8±0.90, p = 0.01). Dominance of B cell receptors was a prominent feature of the immune repertoire in all patients (average expression: Vα 0.6%, Vβ 0.8%, IgH 18.9%, Igκ 32.3%, Igλ 47.2%) with an IgA skewed immunoglobulin class switching (mean 63% of all BCRs). Increased αβ T cell receptor clonality above the median level was associated with a CA 19-9 response (r = 0.37, p = 0.06) and greater overall survival (median OS 38.3 vs 19.3 months, p = 0.02), indicative of possible tumor specific clonal expansion. Conclusions: Preoperative autophagy inhibition increased the number of tumor infiltrating CD8 T cells in patients with localized pancreatic cancer. Intratumoral αβ T cell receptor clonality was associated with CA 19-9 response and improved overall survival. Combination treatment regimens increasing PDAC specific CD8 responses are warranted. Clinical trial information: NCT01978184.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pranav Murthy
- Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Daniel Weber
- iRepertoire Inc, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, AL
| | - Sagar N Sharma
- Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Aatur D. Singhi
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Nathan Bahary
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Wenjing Pan
- iRepertoire Inc, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, AL
| | | | - Jian Han
- iRepertoire Inc, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, AL
| | - Herbert Zeh
- Department of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Tullia C. Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
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32
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Raphael I, Kumar R, McCarl LH, Shoger K, Wang L, Sandlesh P, Sneiderman CT, Allen J, Zhai S, Campagna ML, Foster A, Bruno TC, Agnihotri S, Hu B, Castro BA, Lieberman FS, Broniscer A, Diaz AA, Amankulor NM, Rajasundaram D, Pollack IF, Kohanbash G. TIGIT and PD-1 Immune Checkpoint Pathways Are Associated With Patient Outcome and Anti-Tumor Immunity in Glioblastoma. Front Immunol 2021; 12:637146. [PMID: 34025646 PMCID: PMC8137816 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.637146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) remains an aggressive brain tumor with a high rate of mortality. Immune checkpoint (IC) molecules are expressed on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and promote T cell exhaustion upon binding to IC ligands expressed by the tumor cells. Interfering with IC pathways with immunotherapy has promoted reactivation of anti-tumor immunity and led to success in several malignancies. However, IC inhibitors have achieved limited success in GBM patients, suggesting that other checkpoint molecules may be involved with suppressing TIL responses. Numerous IC pathways have been described, with current testing of inhibitors underway in multiple clinical trials. Identification of the most promising checkpoint pathways may be useful to guide the future trials for GBM. Here, we analyzed the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) transcriptomic database and identified PD1 and TIGIT as top putative targets for GBM immunotherapy. Additionally, dual blockade of PD1 and TIGIT improved survival and augmented CD8+ TIL accumulation and functions in a murine GBM model compared with either single agent alone. Furthermore, we demonstrated that this combination immunotherapy affected granulocytic/polymorphonuclear (PMN) myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) but not monocytic (Mo) MDSCs in in our murine gliomas. Importantly, we showed that suppressive myeloid cells express PD1, PD-L1, and TIGIT-ligands in human GBM tissue, and demonstrated that antigen specific T cell proliferation that is inhibited by immunosuppressive myeloid cells can be restored by TIGIT/PD1 blockade. Our data provide new insights into mechanisms of GBM αPD1/αTIGIT immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itay Raphael
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Rajeev Kumar
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Lauren H McCarl
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Karsen Shoger
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Lin Wang
- Departments of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Poorva Sandlesh
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Chaim T Sneiderman
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Jordan Allen
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Shuyan Zhai
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center Biostatistics Facility, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Marissa Lynn Campagna
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Alexandra Foster
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Sameer Agnihotri
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Baoli Hu
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Brandyn A Castro
- Departments of Neurology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Frank S Lieberman
- Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Alberto Broniscer
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Health Informatics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Aaron A Diaz
- Departments of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Nduka M Amankulor
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Dhivyaa Rajasundaram
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Health Informatics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Ian F Pollack
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Gary Kohanbash
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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Cillo AR, Somasundaram A, Shan F, Cardello C, Workman CJ, Kitsios GD, Ruffin A, Kunning S, Lampenfeld C, Onkar S, Grebinoski S, Deshmukh G, Methe B, Liu C, Nambulli S, Andrews L, Duprex WP, Joglekar AV, Benos PV, Ray P, Ray A, McVerry BJ, Zhang Y, Lee JS, Das J, Singh H, Morris A, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA. Bifurcated monocyte states are predictive of mortality in severe COVID-19. bioRxiv 2021:2021.02.10.430499. [PMID: 33594364 PMCID: PMC7885916 DOI: 10.1101/2021.02.10.430499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection presents with varied clinical manifestations1, ranging from mild symptoms to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with high mortality2,3. Despite extensive analyses, there remains an urgent need to delineate immune cell states that contribute to mortality in severe COVID-19. We performed high-dimensional cellular and molecular profiling of blood and respiratory samples from critically ill COVID-19 patients to define immune cell genomic states that are predictive of outcome in severe COVID-19 disease. Critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) manifested increased frequencies of inflammatory monocytes and plasmablasts that were also associated with ARDS not due to COVID-19. Single-cell RNAseq (scRNAseq)-based deconvolution of genomic states of peripheral immune cells revealed distinct gene modules that were associated with COVID-19 outcome. Notably, monocytes exhibited bifurcated genomic states, with expression of a cytokine gene module exemplified by CCL4 (MIP-1β) associated with survival and an interferon signaling module associated with death. These gene modules were correlated with higher levels of MIP-1β and CXCL10 levels in plasma, respectively. Monocytes expressing genes reflective of these divergent modules were also detectable in endotracheal aspirates. Machine learning algorithms identified the distinctive monocyte modules as part of a multivariate peripheral immune system state that was predictive of COVID-19 mortality. Follow-up analysis of the monocyte modules on ICU day 5 was consistent with bifurcated states that correlated with distinct inflammatory cytokines. Our data suggests a pivotal role for monocytes and their specific inflammatory genomic states in contributing to mortality in life-threatening COVID-19 disease and may facilitate discovery of new diagnostics and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Ashwin Somasundaram
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Feng Shan
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Integrative Systems Biology (ISB) Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Carly Cardello
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Georgios D Kitsios
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Ayana Ruffin
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology (PMI), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Sheryl Kunning
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Caleb Lampenfeld
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology (PMI), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Stephanie Grebinoski
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology (PMI), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Gaurav Deshmukh
- Meso Scale Discovery, A division of Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC, 1601 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850-3173, USA
| | - Barbara Methe
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Chang Liu
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Sham Nambulli
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Lawrence Andrews
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - W Paul Duprex
- Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, 3501 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alok V Joglekar
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Center for Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Panayiotis V Benos
- Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh, 4200 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, 3420 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Prabir Ray
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- University of Pittsburgh Asthma Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Anuradha Ray
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- University of Pittsburgh Asthma Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Bryan J McVerry
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Yingze Zhang
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Janet S Lee
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jishnu Das
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Center for Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Harinder Singh
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Center for Systems Immunology, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Alison Morris
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
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Liu D, Li X, Acharya R, Meyer EM, Reynolds S, Ruffin A, Ferris RL, Vignali DA, Bao R, Bruno TC. Abstract PO-083: Utilizing spatial transcriptomics to elucidate tertiary lymphoid structure heterogeneity in human cancer. Cancer Res 2020. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.tumhet2020-po-083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Blockade of the inhibitory PD1 pathway on CD8+ and CD4+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has revolutionized standard of care for cancer patients. However, these approaches only benefit approximately 20% of cancer patients, thus a more comprehensive understanding of the immune response is paramount for the development of new therapeutic approaches and enhancement of the anti-tumor immune response. The presence of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) correlates with enhanced anti-tumor immunity and improved prognosis in several solid tumors. These ectopic lymphoid aggregates can exhibit features like secondary lymphoid organs (SLOs), including high endothelial venules, a T cell zone with mature dendritic cells (DCs), and a germinal center (GC) with follicular DCs and B cells, that facilitate the induction of immune responses in situ. Furthermore, the presence of TLS correlate with superior responses to immunotherapy and mature, GC-containing TLS correlate with increased T cell function in human tumors. However, current immunotherapies do not target TLS despite their predominance in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and key role in the adaptive immune response. Developing therapies that adequately induce TLS is limited by a lack of objective, bioinformatic analyses to elucidate the cellular and locational heterogeneity of TLS. TLS differences in composition are thought to define maturation levels i.e. early TLS have B and T cell aggregates but lack follicular DC and GC appear as the TLS mature. However, cellular composition is just one aspect of TLS heterogeneity. To successfully increase mature TLS in cancer patients for maximal humoral immunity, we must first understand the complete transcriptomic and proteomic profile of TLS in cancer patients. We have utilized the innovative Nanostring GeoMx platform to spatially interrogate the transcriptomics and proteomics associated with TLS. By pairing this technology with high level multispectral immunofluorescence via the Vectra Polaris system, we can link TLS heterogeneity to TLS position within the tumor. Further, we can analyze the complete activation profile of B and T cells to understand how TLS heterogeneity affects lymphocyte function. Our data have indicated that TLS can be linked to increased CD8+ T cell infiltrate and function. In fact, when mature TLS are not present, CD8+ T cell and Treg interactions increase, ultimately creating a more immunosuppressive TME. Lastly, utilizing a novel, robust bioinformatic pipeline, we have identified new genes that will aid in an objective definition of TLS. Specifically, CD27 is increased within TLS that are proximal to the tumor compared to those in the normal adjacent tissue. These studies will revolutionize the way in which TLS are defined within the TME, ultimately offering comprehensive gene and protein analysis of TLS that includes spatial geography of the structures and an unbiased, objective definition of TLS for future clinical utility and immunotherapeutic targeting.
Citation Format: Dongyan Liu, Xiang Li, Rajesh Acharya, Ernest M. Meyer, Shelley Reynolds, Ayana Ruffin, Robert L. Ferris, Dario A.A. Vignali, Riyue Bao, Tullia C. Bruno. Utilizing spatial transcriptomics to elucidate tertiary lymphoid structure heterogeneity in human cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Tumor Heterogeneity: From Single Cells to Clinical Impact; 2020 Sep 17-18. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(21 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-083.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xiang Li
- 1University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA,
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Riyue Bao
- 2Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
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Andrews LP, Somasundaram A, Moskovitz JM, Szymczak-Workman AL, Liu C, Cillo AR, Lin H, Normolle DP, Moynihan KD, Taniuchi I, Irvine DJ, Kirkwood JM, Lipson EJ, Ferris RL, Bruno TC, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. Resistance to PD1 blockade in the absence of metalloprotease-mediated LAG3 shedding. Sci Immunol 2020; 5:5/49/eabc2728. [PMID: 32680952 DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abc2728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Mechanisms of resistance to cancer immunotherapy remain poorly understood. Lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG3) signaling is regulated by a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain-containing protein-10 (ADAM10)- and ADAM17-mediated cell surface shedding. Here, we show that mice expressing a metalloprotease-resistant, noncleavable LAG3 mutant (LAG3NC) are resistant to PD1 blockade and fail to mount an effective antitumor immune response. Expression of LAG3NC intrinsically perturbs CD4+ T conventional cells (Tconvs), limiting their capacity to provide CD8+ T cell help. Furthermore, the translational relevance for these observations is highlighted with an inverse correlation between high LAG3 and low ADAM10 expression on CD4+ Tconvs in the peripheral blood of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, which corresponded with poor prognosis. This correlation was also observed in a cohort of patients with skin cancers and was associated with increased disease progression after standard-of-care immunotherapy. These data suggest that subtle changes in LAG3 inhibitory receptor signaling can act as a resistance mechanism with a substantive effect on patient responsiveness to immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence P Andrews
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ashwin Somasundaram
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jessica M Moskovitz
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Chang Liu
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Huang Lin
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Daniel P Normolle
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Kelly D Moynihan
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ichiro Taniuchi
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Darrell J Irvine
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - John M Kirkwood
- Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Evan J Lipson
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Robert L Ferris
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. .,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Liu C, Somasundaram A, Manne S, Gocher AM, Szymczak-Workman AL, Vignali KM, Scott EN, Normolle DP, John Wherry E, Lipson EJ, Ferris RL, Bruno TC, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. Neuropilin-1 is a T cell memory checkpoint limiting long-term antitumor immunity. Nat Immunol 2020; 21:1010-1021. [PMID: 32661362 PMCID: PMC7442600 DOI: 10.1038/s41590-020-0733-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Robust CD8+ T cell memory is essential for long-term protective immunity, but is often compromised in cancer where T cell exhaustion leads to loss of memory precursors. Immunotherapy via checkpoint blockade may not effectively reverse this defect, potentially underlying disease relapse. Here we report that mice with a CD8+ T cell-restricted neuropilin-1 (NRP1) deletion exhibited substantially enhanced protection from tumor re-challenge and sensitivity to anti-PD1 immunotherapy, despite unchanged primary tumor growth. Mechanistically, NRP1 cell-intrinsically limited the self-renewal of the CD44+PD1+TCF1+TIM3– progenitor exhausted T cells (pTEX), which was associated with their reduced ability to induce c-Jun/AP-1 expression upon T cell receptor (TCR) re-stimulation, a mechanism that may contribute to terminal T cell exhaustion at the cost of memory differentiation in wildtype tumor-bearing hosts. These data suggest that blockade of NRP1, a unique “immune memory checkpoint”, may promote the development of long-lived tumor-specific TMEM that are essential for durable anti-tumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Liu
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ashwin Somasundaram
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sasikanth Manne
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, and Institute for Immunology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Angela M Gocher
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Kate M Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ellen N Scott
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Graduate Program of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Daniel P Normolle
- Biostatistics Facility, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - E John Wherry
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, and Institute for Immunology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Evan J Lipson
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SKCCC), and Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Robert L Ferris
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. .,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. .,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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Ruffin AT, Cillo AR, Kunning S, Ferris RL, Vignali DA, Bruno TC. Abstract PR06: Tumor-infiltrating B cells colocalize with CD4 T effector cells within tertiary lymphoid structures to present antigen and educate the antitumor immune response in human primary tumors. Clin Cancer Res 2020. [DOI: 10.1158/1557-3265.aacrahns19-pr06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Despite the success of checkpoint blockade immunotherapies, i.e., anti-PD1, only 20% of patients produce a durable response to these treatments. Thus, a need exists to develop additional therapeutic strategies to treat these patients, which includes evaluation of other tumor-infiltrating immune cells that could further augment the CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell response. Tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIL-B) represent a possible target for immunotherapy due to their predominance in the tumor microenvironment and crucial role in the immune response. In fact, current evidence suggests an antitumor role for TIL-Bs. Specifically, detection of TIL-Bs within tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) correlates with both increased survival in patients with solid tumors and enhanced response to anti-PD1 immunotherapy. We hypothesize that TIL-Bs help generate potent, long-term immune responses against cancer by presenting tumor antigens to CD4 TILs within TLS. Utilizing single-cell RNAseq and high-level flow cytometry, we observed increased numbers of activated TIL-Bs in the primary tumors of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We further assessed the location of TIL-Bs within the TME and determined that they predominantly sit adjacent to CD4+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) within TLS. Thus, we generated an antigen presentation assay in vitro, and we observed increased CD4+ TIL responses when TIL-Bs presented autologous tumor antigens. Further, there was a differential impact on CD4+ TIL phenotype; specifically, if TIL-Bs were activated (CD27+), the CD4+ TILs were T helper (anti-tumor) CD4+ T cells and if the TIL-Bs were nonactivated (CD27-), the CD4+ TILs were T regulatory cells (protumor). These data suggest that TIL-Bs influence the phenotype and function of CD4+ TILs in patient tumors within TLS. Ultimately, results from this study will increase effective targeting of TIL-Bs within patient primary tumors.
Citation Format: Ayana T. Ruffin, Anthony R. Cillo, Sheryl Kunning, Robert L. Ferris, Dario A.A. Vignali, Tullia C. Bruno. Tumor-infiltrating B cells colocalize with CD4 T effector cells within tertiary lymphoid structures to present antigen and educate the antitumor immune response in human primary tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-AHNS Head and Neck Cancer Conference: Optimizing Survival and Quality of Life through Basic, Clinical, and Translational Research; 2019 Apr 29-30; Austin, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2020;26(12_Suppl_2):Abstract nr PR06.
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Rohatgi A, Massa RC, Gooding WE, Bruno TC, Vignali D, Kirkwood JM. A phase II study of anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody (Nivolumab) administered in combination with anti-LAG3 monoclonal antibody (Relatlimab) in patients with metastatic melanoma naive to prior immunotherapy in the metastatic setting. J Clin Oncol 2020. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2020.38.15_suppl.tps10085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
TPS10085 Background: Novel checkpoint inhibitors are a promising treatment for advanced melanoma, as only a fraction of patients have durable responses to current FDA-approved immunotherapy. Lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG3) is an inhibitory checkpoint receptor on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, where engagement results in suppression of T cell activation and proliferation. LAG3 and PD1 are co-expressed on T cells during T cell receptor signaling and are down-regulated after antigen clearance. Persistent stimulation leads to prolonged LAG3 and PD1 expression and to T cell exhaustion, a possible mechanism of resistance to immunotherapy. Both LAG3 and PD1 are expressed on tumor-infiltrating T cells in melanoma. Murine tumors treated with both anti-LAG3 and anti-PD1 have demonstrated increased tumor regression than tumors in mice treated with either single agent. Further, a phase I trial has demonstrated safety of combined anti-LAG3 monoclonal antibody, relatlimab and anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody, nivolumab. Methods: This phase II, single-center clinical trial is designed to enroll treatment naive patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma to ultimately receive combined relatlimab and nivolumab after a lead-in arm where patients are randomized to receive relatlimab, nivolumab, or the combination for the first 4 week cycle. For the lead-in phase, patients will have baseline and post-treatment blood and tumor sampling. Disease assessment by imaging will occur after the lead-in phase at 4 weeks. After completion of the lead-in phase, all patients proceed to combination therapy with disease assessment at 12-week intervals. The primary endpoint for the lead-in phase is to evaluate changes in immune cell populations in peripheral blood and tumor with the single agents and combination treatment. The primary endpoint for the combination phase is best overall anti-tumor response. Secondary clinical endpoints include progression-free survival, overall survival, duration of response and toxicity. Exploratory endpoints are to determine the mechanistic effects of anti-LAG3 and anti-PD1 on the blood and tumor microenvironment, cytokine signatures, and correlation of these with clinical response. The study is currently accruing with enrollment of 9 out of 42 patients. Clinical trial information: NCT03743766.
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Ruffin AT, Cillo AR, Tabib T, Liu A, Onkar S, Kunning S, Lampfield C, Abecassis I, Qi Z, Soose R, Duvvuri U, Kim S, Lafyatis R, Ferris RL, Vignali D, Bruno TC. Distinct B cell signatures and tertiary lymphoid structures are driven by two etiol-ogies in head and neck cancer. The Journal of Immunology 2020. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.204.supp.89.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
B cells can regulate immune responses by presenting antigen, producing antigen-specific antibodies and immunomodulatory cytokines. Their role in the anti-tumor immune response is poorly understood. However, in many cancers including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), intratumoral B cells correlate with better survival. HNSCC has two distinct etiologies (HPV−) and (HPV+) where patients who are HPV+ have increased B cell infiltration and respond better to therapy. We hypothesized that (1) intratumoral B cell phenotype is different between HPV+ and HPV− HNSCC (2) location within the tumor microenvironment (TME) is distinct and (3) antibodies produced by intratumoral B cell in HPV+ HNSCC are specific for viral antigens.
Using single-cell RNA sequencing and spectral flow cytometry, we observed that B cell signatures in HPV− HNSCC patients were predominantly memory B cells and plasma cells, while the signatures in HPV+ HNSCC were naïve and germinal center (GC) B cells. Further, we quantified B cells in tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) using multispectral immunofluorescence, and the presence of GC-rich TLS were increased in HPV+ patients. In fact, GC-rich TLS within the tumor of HPV+ patients correlated with increased overall survival. Overall, high enrichment for GC B cells were positively associated with longer progression-free survival. Antibodies produced by intratumoral B cells from HPV+ patients were positive for HPV viral antigens. Ultimately, characterization of B cell phenotype and function in HNSCC is important for devising new therapeutic options for cancer patients. Specifically, therapeutics to enhance B cell responses in the TME should be prioritized as a compliment to T-cell mediated therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayana T Ruffin
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Tracey Tabib
- 2Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Angen Liu
- 3Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Sheryl Kunning
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Caleb Lampfield
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Irina Abecassis
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Zengbiao Qi
- 2Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Ryan Soose
- 3Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Umamaheswar Duvvuri
- 3Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Seungwon Kim
- 3Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Robert Lafyatis
- 2Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Robert L Ferris
- 3Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Dario Vignali
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Chuckran CA, Cillo AR, Moskovitz J, Overacre-Delgoffe AE, Somasundaram A, Kirkwood JM, Luketich J, Pennathur A, Coffman L, Modugno F, Edwards R, Schoen RE, Ferris RL, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA. Neuropilin-1 Amplifies Regulatory T cell Function in Human Cancer. The Journal of Immunology 2020. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.204.supp.244.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) maintain peripheral tolerance but also contribute to cancer progression by dampening anti-tumor immunity. Knocking out neuropilin-1 (NRP1) on murine Tregs attenuates tumor growth by rendering intratumoral Tregs non-suppressive. Whereas NRP1 is constitutively expressed on all mouse Tregs, NRP1 is infrequently expressed on Tregs in the peripheral blood of healthy humans. We hypothesized that (1) NRP1 expression is upregulated in cancer patients, (2) NRP1 marks highly suppressive human Tregs, and (3) sustained Treg activation initiates NRP1 expression.
NRP1+ Tregs are enriched in tumors across numerous cancer types but largely devoid in non-cancerous inflamed and healthy tissues. Intratumoral NRP1 expression negatively correlates with disease-free survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC; p = 0.03; Hazard ratio = 5.4). Intratumoral NRP1+ Tregs upregulate a suppressive module indicated by co-expression of TIGIT, CCR8, and multiple TNF receptor super family members. Correspondingly, NRP1+ Tregs potently suppress CD8+ T cell proliferation in vitro, which can be disrupted with NRP1-specific blockade. Furthermore, Treg activation in vitro drives NRP1 expression, and sustained TCR signals are required to maintain NRP1 expression.
We conclude that NRP1+ Tregs are selectively enriched in human cancer and oppose anti-tumor immunity. Therefore, destabilizing intratumoral Tregs using NRP1 blockade may complement other T cell therapies such as anti-PD1 blockade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Chuckran
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- 2Tumor Microenvironement Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Jessica Moskovitz
- 2Tumor Microenvironement Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | - Ashwin Somasundaram
- 3Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - John M Kirkwood
- 4Departments of Medicine, Dermatology, and Translational Science, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - James Luketich
- 5Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Arjun Pennathur
- 5Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Lan Coffman
- 3Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
- 6Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Francesmary Modugno
- 6Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Robert Edwards
- 6Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Robert E Schoen
- 7Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Robert L Ferris
- 2Tumor Microenvironement Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- 8Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- 2Tumor Microenvironement Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Dario AA Vignali
- 1Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- 2Tumor Microenvironement Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
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41
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Ruffo E, Wu RC, Bruno TC, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. Lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG3): The next immune checkpoint receptor. Semin Immunol 2020; 42:101305. [PMID: 31604537 DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2019.101305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 168] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Immune checkpoint therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment by blocking inhibitory pathways in T cells that limits the an effective anti-tumor immune response. Therapeutics targeting CTLA-4 and PD1/PDL1 have progressed to first line therapy in multiple tumor types with some patients exhibiting tumor regression or remission. However, the majority of patients do not benefit from checkpoint therapy emphasizing the need for alternative therapeutic options. Lymphocyte Activation Gene 3 (LAG3) or CD223 is expressed on multiple cell types including CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and Tregs, and is required for optimal T cell regulation and homeostasis. Persistent antigen-stimulation in cancer or chronic infection leads to chronic LAG3 expression, promoting T cell exhaustion. Targeting LAG3 along with PD1 facilitates T cell reinvigoration. A substantial amount of pre-clinical data and mechanistic analysis has led to LAG3 being the third checkpoint to be targeted in the clinic with nearly a dozen therapeutics under investigation. In this review, we will discuss the structure, function and role of LAG3 in murine and human models of disease, including autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, chronic viral and parasitic infections, and cancer, emphasizing new advances in the development of LAG3-targeting immunotherapies for cancer that are currently in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Ruffo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
| | - Richard C Wu
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Division of Hematology-Oncology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, 5115 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA; Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center, 5115 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, 5117 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, 5117 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, 5117 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
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42
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Smida T, Bruno TC, Stabile LP. Influence of Estrogen on the NSCLC Microenvironment: A Comprehensive Picture and Clinical Implications. Front Oncol 2020; 10:137. [PMID: 32133288 PMCID: PMC7039860 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer mortality represents the leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States and worldwide. Almost half of these deaths occur in female patients, making lung cancer the most common cause of cancer mortality in women with a higher annual mortality rate than breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers combined. The distinct epidemiological, histological and biological presentation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in women combined with extensive preclinical data have demonstrated that the female sex hormone β-estradiol (E2) plays an important role in NSCLC tumorigenesis, prognosis, and treatment response. Estrogen receptors are widely expressed on stromal and immune cells, and estrogen-linked signaling pathways are known to be involved in regulating the response of both the innate and adaptive immune system. Immune evasion has been recognized as a “hallmark” of cancer and immunotherapy has re-defined standard of care treatment for NSCLC. Despite these advancements, the low response rates observed in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors has led to a search for mediators of immunosuppression and ways to augment the action of these agents. We focus on emerging data describing sex differences that modulate immunotherapy efficacy in NSCLC, immunosuppressive properties of E2 that lead to a pro-tumor microenvironment (TME), and the translational potential of altering the immune microenvironment by targeting the estrogen signaling pathway. E2-induced modulation affects multiple cell types within the TME, including cancer-associated fibroblasts, tumor infiltrating myeloid cells, and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, all of which interplay with lung tumor cells via E2 and estrogen receptor engagement, ultimately shaping the TME that may, in part, be responsible for the sex-based disparities observed in NSCLC. An improved understanding of the role of the estrogen pathway in NSCLC anti-cancer immunity may lead to novel therapeutic approaches for altering the TME to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanner Smida
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.,UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Laura P Stabile
- UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.,Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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43
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Cillo AR, Kürten CHL, Tabib T, Qi Z, Onkar S, Wang T, Liu A, Duvvuri U, Kim S, Soose RJ, Oesterreich S, Chen W, Lafyatis R, Bruno TC, Ferris RL, Vignali DAA. Immune Landscape of Viral- and Carcinogen-Driven Head and Neck Cancer. Immunity 2020; 52:183-199.e9. [PMID: 31924475 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2019.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 328] [Impact Index Per Article: 82.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) arises through exposure to environmental carcinogens or malignant transformation by human papillomavirus (HPV). Here, we assessed the transcriptional profiles of 131,224 single cells from peripheral and intra-tumoral immune populations from patients with HPV- and HPV+ HNSCC and healthy donors. Immune cells within tumors of HPV- and HPV+ HNSCC displayed a spectrum of transcriptional signatures, with helper CD4+ T cells and B cells being relatively divergent and CD8+ T cells and CD4+ regulatory T cells being relatively similar. Transcriptional results were contextualized through multispectral immunofluorescence analyses and evaluating putative cell-cell communication based on spatial proximity. These analyses defined a gene expression signature associated with CD4+ T follicular helper cells that is associated with longer progression-free survival in HNSCC patients. The datasets and analytical approaches herein provide a resource for the further study of the impact of immune cells on viral- and carcinogen-induced cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Cornelius H L Kürten
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Tracy Tabib
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Zengbiao Qi
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Sayali Onkar
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
| | - Ting Wang
- Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA
| | - Angen Liu
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Umamaheswar Duvvuri
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Seungwon Kim
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Ryan J Soose
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Steffi Oesterreich
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Women's Cancer Research Center. Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA
| | - Robert Lafyatis
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.
| | - Robert L Ferris
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.
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44
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Cillo AR, Chuckran CA, Liao M, Modugno F, Edwards R, Coffman L, Vignali DA, Bruno TC. Abstract TMIM-063: TARGETING NEUROPILIN-1+ T REGULATORY CELLS IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH GRADE SEROUS OVARIAN CANCER DECREASES TREG-SPECIFIC SUPPRESSION OF CD8+ T CELLS. Clin Cancer Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1158/1557-3265.ovcasymp18-tmim-063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Treg) are a subpopulation of CD4+ T cells that suppress autoimmune responses, but also prevent clearance of tumors and chronic viral infections. In high grades serous ovarian cancer, a higher frequency of tumor infiltrating (TIL) Treg are associated with poor prognosis, but mechanisms governing the suppressive activity of TIL Treg in this context are limited. Our group has recently described a signaling axis through neuropilin-1 (NRP1) on TIL Treg in murine models of cancer that promotes the survival and suppressive function of Treg. When NRP1 is specifically knocked out on murine TIL Treg, there is reduced tumor growth and increased survival similar to the complete knockout of TIL Tregs, however, without death from overt autoimmunity. Thus, NRP1 is a viable target to specifically reduce TIL Treg suppressive function in the tumor microenvironment (TME), ultimately leading to increased anti-tumor immunity without adverse events. Given the importance of NRP1+ TIL Treg in murine cancer models, we sought to understand the role of NRP1 on TIL Treg from patients with high grade serious ovarian cancer.
Surface and total NRP1 expression was assessed by flow cytometry on CD4+CD25+CD127loFOXP3+ Treg from healthy donor PBL and ovarian cancer TIL or ascites fluid. Total NRP1 was expressed on a median of 1.8% (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.69% to 4.8%) of Treg from healthy donors compared with a median of 66% (IQR: 28% to 90%; p<0.001) and 82% (IQR: 38% to 99%; p=0.004) of Treg from ovarian TIL and ascites, respectively. Surface NRP1 was detected on 0.1% (IQR: 0% to 1%) of Treg in PBL from healthy donors, compared with 11.1% (IQR: 1.1% to 60%; p=0.01) on ovarian TIL and 82% (IQR: 14% to 82%; p=0.0015) on ascites. Further, in comparing expression of NRP1 on Treg from benign ovarian disease and malignant ovarian tumors, there was a trend toward increased NRP1 expression on Tregs from malignant disease (median 9.3% versus 54.5%, respectively; p=0.044). Finally, NRP1+ TIL Treg isolated from primary tumors or ascites fluid were capable of suppressing CD8+ T cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner and suppression was abrogated by addition of an anti-NRP1 antibody.
In summary, both surface and total NRP1 are expressed more frequently on Treg from TIL and ascites fluid compared to Treg from healthy donor PBL and NRP1+ Tregs in the TME are more suppressive compared to NRP1- Tregs. NRP1 is a viable target to reduce Treg suppressive function in ovarian cancer tumors, which can be immunologically ““cold””. This could ultimately lead to increased CD8+ T cell infiltration and function in these patient tumors, which could then increase responsiveness to anti-PD1 as it relies upon CD8 T cell infiltration to be effective.
Citation Format: Anthony R. Cillo, Christopher A. Chuckran, Mengting Liao, Francesmary Modugno, Robert Edwards, Lan Coffman, Dario A.A. Vignali, Tullia C. Bruno. TARGETING NEUROPILIN-1+ T REGULATORY CELLS IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH GRADE SEROUS OVARIAN CANCER DECREASES TREG-SPECIFIC SUPPRESSION OF CD8+ T CELLS [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 12th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium; Sep 13-15, 2018; Seattle, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2019;25(22 Suppl):Abstract nr TMIM-063.
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45
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Oesterreich S, Lucas PC, McAuliffe PF, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA. Opening the Door for Immune Oncology Studies in Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2019; 110:696-698. [PMID: 29471462 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djy014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Steffi Oesterreich
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.,Section of Breast Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Peter C Lucas
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA.,NSABP/NRG Oncology, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Priscilla F McAuliffe
- Department of Surgery, Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology (TCB, DAAV), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
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46
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Sun Z, Chen L, Xin H, Jiang Y, Huang Q, Cillo AR, Tabib T, Kolls JK, Bruno TC, Lafyatis R, Vignali DAA, Chen K, Ding Y, Hu M, Chen W. A Bayesian mixture model for clustering droplet-based single-cell transcriptomic data from population studies. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1649. [PMID: 30967541 PMCID: PMC6456731 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09639-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The recently developed droplet-based single-cell transcriptome sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology makes it feasible to perform a population-scale scRNA-seq study, in which the transcriptome is measured for tens of thousands of single cells from multiple individuals. Despite the advances of many clustering methods, there are few tailored methods for population-scale scRNA-seq studies. Here, we develop a Bayesian mixture model for single-cell sequencing (BAMM-SC) method to cluster scRNA-seq data from multiple individuals simultaneously. BAMM-SC takes raw count data as input and accounts for data heterogeneity and batch effect among multiple individuals in a unified Bayesian hierarchical model framework. Results from extensive simulation studies and applications of BAMM-SC to in-house experimental scRNA-seq datasets using blood, lung and skin cells from humans or mice demonstrate that BAMM-SC outperformed existing clustering methods with considerable improved clustering accuracy, particularly in the presence of heterogeneity among individuals. With the development of large scale single cell RNA-seq technology, population-scale scRNA-seq studies are emerging. Here, the authors develop BAMM-SC, a tool for clustering droplet-based scRNA-seq data from multiple individuals simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Sun
- Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Li Chen
- Department of Health Outcomes Research and Policy, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
| | - Hongyi Xin
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15224, USA
| | - Yale Jiang
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15224, USA.,School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Qianhui Huang
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Anthony R Cillo
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15262, USA
| | - Tracy Tabib
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Jay K Kolls
- School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15262, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA
| | - Robert Lafyatis
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15262, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA.,Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA
| | - Kong Chen
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Ying Ding
- Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA.
| | - Ming Hu
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA. .,Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15224, USA.
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47
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Sawant DV, Yano H, Chikina M, Zhang Q, Liao M, Liu C, Callahan DJ, Sun Z, Sun T, Tabib T, Pennathur A, Corry DB, Luketich JD, Lafyatis R, Chen W, Poholek AC, Bruno TC, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. Adaptive plasticity of IL-10 + and IL-35 + T reg cells cooperatively promotes tumor T cell exhaustion. Nat Immunol 2019; 20:724-735. [PMID: 30936494 PMCID: PMC6531353 DOI: 10.1038/s41590-019-0346-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 235] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) maintain host self-tolerance but are a major barrier to effective cancer immunotherapy. Treg cells subvert beneficial anti-tumor immunity by modulating inhibitory receptor expression on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs); however, the underlying mediators and mechanisms have remained elusive. Here we found that the cytokines IL-10 and IL-35 (Ebi3–IL-12α heterodimer) were divergently expressed by Treg cell subpopulations in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and cooperatively promoted intratumoral T cell exhaustion by modulating multiple inhibitory receptor expression and exhaustion-associated transcriptomic signature of CD8+ TILs. While expression of BLIMP1 (encoded by Prdm1) was a common target; IL-10 and IL-35 differentially affected effector T cell versus memory T cell fates, respectively, highlighting their differential, partially overlapping but non-redundant regulation of anti-tumor immunity. Our results reveal previously unappreciated cooperative roles for Treg cell-derived IL-10 and IL-35 in promoting BLIMP1-dependent exhaustion of CD8+ TILs that limits effective anti-tumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepali V Sawant
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Inflammation and Oncology, Discovery Research, Amgen, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hiroshi Yano
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Program in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Maria Chikina
- Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Qianxia Zhang
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Evergrande Center for Immunologic Diseases and Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mengting Liao
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Chang Liu
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Derrick J Callahan
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Program in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Zhe Sun
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tao Sun
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tracy Tabib
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Arjun Pennathur
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - David B Corry
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - James D Luketich
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert Lafyatis
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Amanda C Poholek
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Creg J Workman
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dario A A Vignali
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. .,Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. .,Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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Bruno TC, Ruffin AT, Cillo AR, Ferris RL, Vignali DA. Abstract A053: Activated B cells in human primary tumors present antigen and increase antitumor function of CD4 T-cells in tertiary lymphoid structures. Cancer Immunol Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1158/2326-6074.cricimteatiaacr18-a053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Immunotherapy, specifically anti-PD1, has improved patient survival in a range of tumor types including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite the success of anti-PD1 therapy, only 20% of patients produce a durable response to this treatment. Thus, a need exists to develop additional therapeutic strategies to treat these patients, which includes evaluation of other tumor-infiltrating immune cells that could further augment the CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell response. Tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIL-B) represent a possible target for immunotherapy due to their predominance in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and crucial role in the immune response. However, TIL-B function in cancer and in the context of immunotherapy has been understudied. In fact, conclusions on an anti- or protumor role for TIL-Bs in the TME is dependent on the study. However, in HNSCC and NSCLC patients, current evidence suggests an antitumor role for TIL-Bs. Specifically, detection of TIL-Bs within tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) correlates with better prognosis. While TIL-Bs have been identified in HNSCC and NSCLC patients, their complete phenotypic signature and function in the TME has been understudied with no focus on their role as antigen presenting cells (APCs) and their influence on CD8+ and CD4+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). We hypothesize that TIL-Bs help generate potent, long-term immune responses against cancer by presenting tumor antigens to CD4 TILs within TLS.Using unmanipulated, primary human B cells from fresh tumor, we quantified and further characterized TIL-Bs in HNSCC and NSCLC utilizing single-cell RNAseq and multiparameter flow cytometry. We observed increased numbers of activated TIL-Bs in these primary tumors compared to other immune subsets, specifically CD27+ TIL-Bs. We further assessed the TIL-Bs by correlating phenotype of the TIL-B with its location in the TME, predominantly separating out differences between TIL-Bs within TLS and outside TLS. In addition, we generated a specific antigen presentation assay in vitro, and we observed three types of CD4+ TIL responses when TIL-Bs presented autologous tumor antigens. There were activated responder CD4+ TILs that proliferated when combined with TIL-Bs alone, which indicates stimulation with endogenous tumor antigens. There were antigen-associated responders that required exogenous autologous tumor lysate to elicit a CD4+ TIL response, and there were patient CD4 TILs that did not respond to antigen presentation by TIL-Bs. Within the activated and antigen-associated responders, the TIL-B phenotype influenced the CD4+ TIL phenotype; if the TIL-Bs were activated (CD27+), the CD4+ TILs were T helper (antitumor) CD4+ T-cells and if the TIL-Bs were non-activated (CD27-), the CD4+ TILs were T regulatory cells (protumor). These data suggest that TIL-Bs influence the phenotype and function of CD4+ TILs in patient tumors. In conclusion, activated TIL-Bs are increased in human primary tumors, they can present antigen to CD4+ TILs and influence their overall phenotype. Determining the complete activation signature of TIL-Bs in HNSCC and NSCLC patients will determine the extent of their antitumor function in these cancers. Comparison of TIL-Bs in HNSCC and NSCLC is important as there are not many unified studies on TIL-B function across tumor types. Further, because HNSCC has two etiologies (viral vs. carcinogen induced), we are able to better study the differential function of activated and nonactivated TIL-Bs in solid tumors. Ultimately, results from this study will help predict how to target TIL-B functions in future TIL-B-specific immunotherapies or in combination with current immunotherapies for HNSCC and NSCLC patients like blockade of the inhibitory receptor, PD-1.
Citation Format: Tullia C. Bruno, Ayana T. Ruffin, Anthony R. Cillo, Robert L. Ferris, Dario A.A. Vignali. Activated B cells in human primary tumors present antigen and increase antitumor function of CD4 T-cells in tertiary lymphoid structures [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; Sept 30-Oct 3, 2018; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2019;7(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A053.
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Greene LI, Bruno TC, Christenson JL, D'Alessandro A, Culp-Hill R, Torkko K, Borges VF, Slansky JE, Richer JK. A Role for Tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase in CD8 T-cell Suppression and Evidence of Tryptophan Catabolism in Breast Cancer Patient Plasma. Mol Cancer Res 2018; 17:131-139. [PMID: 30143553 DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-18-0362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Tryptophan catabolism is an attractive target for reducing tumor progression and improving antitumor immunity in multiple cancers. Tumor infiltration by CD8 T cells correlates with improved prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and a significant effort is underway to improve CD8 T-cell antitumor activity. In this study, primary human immune cells were isolated from the peripheral blood of patients and used to demonstrate that the tryptophan catabolite kynurenine induces CD8 T-cell death. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that anchorage-independent TNBC utilizes the tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) to inhibit CD8 T-cell viability. Publicly available data revealed that high TDO2, the gene encoding TDO, correlates with poor breast cancer clinical outcomes, including overall survival and distant metastasis-free survival, while expression of the gene encoding the more commonly studied tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme, IDO1 did not. Metabolomic analysis, using quantitative mass spectrometry, of tryptophan and its catabolites, including kynurenine, in the plasma from presurgical breast cancer patients (n = 77) and 40 cancer-free donors (n = 40) indicated a strong correlation between substrate and catabolite in both groups. Interestingly, both tryptophan and kynurenine were lower in the plasma from patients with breast cancer compared with controls, particularly in women with estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and stage III and IV breast cancer. IMPLICATIONS: This study underscores the importance of tryptophan catabolism, particularly in aggressive disease, and suggests that future pharmacologic efforts should focus on developing drugs that target both TDO and IDO1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa I Greene
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Jessica L Christenson
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Angelo D'Alessandro
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Rachel Culp-Hill
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Kathleen Torkko
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Virginia F Borges
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Jill E Slansky
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Jennifer K Richer
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
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50
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Rozanov DV, Rozanov ND, Chiotti KE, Reddy A, Wilmarth PA, David LL, Cha SW, Woo S, Pevzner P, Bafna V, Burrows GG, Rantala JK, Levin T, Anur P, Johnson-Camacho K, Tabatabaei S, Munson DJ, Bruno TC, Slansky JE, Kappler JW, Hirano N, Boegel S, Fox BA, Egelston C, Simons DL, Jimenez G, Lee PP, Gray JW, Spellman PT. MHC class I loaded ligands from breast cancer cell lines: A potential HLA-I-typed antigen collection. J Proteomics 2018; 176:13-23. [PMID: 29331515 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2017] [Revised: 12/01/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
To build a catalog of peptides presented by breast cancer cells, we undertook systematic MHC class I immunoprecipitation followed by elution of MHC class I-loaded peptides in breast cancer cells. We determined the sequence of 3196 MHC class I ligands representing 1921 proteins from a panel of 20 breast cancer cell lines. After removing duplicate peptides, i.e., the same peptide eluted from more than one cell line, the total number of unique peptides was 2740. Of the unique peptides eluted, more than 1750 had been previously identified, and of these, sixteen have been shown to be immunogenic. Importantly, half of these immunogenic peptides were shared between different breast cancer cell lines. MHC class I binding probability was used to plot the distribution of the eluted peptides in accordance with the binding score for each breast cancer cell line. We also determined that the tested breast cancer cells presented 89 mutation-containing peptides and peptides derived from aberrantly translated genes, 7 of which were shared between four or two different cell lines. Overall, the high throughput identification of MHC class I-loaded peptides is an effective strategy for systematic characterization of cancer peptides, and could be employed for design of multi-peptide anticancer vaccines. SIGNIFICANCE By employing proteomic analyses of eluted peptides from breast cancer cells, the current study has built an initial HLA-I-typed antigen collection for breast cancer research. It was also determined that immunogenic epitopes can be identified using established cell lines and that shared immunogenic peptides can be found in different cancer types such as breast cancer and leukemia. Importantly, out of 3196 eluted peptides that included duplicate peptides in different cells 89 peptides either contained mutation in their sequence or were derived from aberrant translation suggesting that mutation-containing epitopes are on the order of 2-3% in breast cancer cells. Finally, our results suggest that interfering with MHC class I function is one of the mechanisms of how tumor cells escape immune system attack.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitri V Rozanov
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States.
| | | | - Kami E Chiotti
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Ashok Reddy
- Proteomics Shared Resource, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Phillip A Wilmarth
- Proteomics Shared Resource, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Larry L David
- Proteomics Shared Resource, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Seung W Cha
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Sunghee Woo
- School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Pavel Pevzner
- The NIH Center for Computational Mass Spectrometry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Vineet Bafna
- Computer Science & Engineering, University of California, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Gregory G Burrows
- Neurology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | | | - Trevor Levin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Pavana Anur
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Katie Johnson-Camacho
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Shaadi Tabatabaei
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Daniel J Munson
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Jill E Slansky
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, United States
| | - John W Kappler
- National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Naoto Hirano
- Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sebastian Boegel
- University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Bernard A Fox
- Laboratory of Molecular and Tumor Immunology, Chiles Research Institute Providence PDX Medical Center, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Colt Egelston
- City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, United States
| | - Diana L Simons
- City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, United States
| | - Grecia Jimenez
- City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, United States
| | - Peter P Lee
- City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, United States
| | - Joe W Gray
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States; Center for Health & Healing, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Paul T Spellman
- Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
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