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Popp FC, Capino I, Bartels J, Damanakis AI, Li J, Datta RR, Löser H, Zhao Y, Quaas A, Lohneis P, Bruns CJ. Expression of Immune Checkpoint Regulators IDO, VISTA, LAG3, and TIM3 in Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:2689. [PMID: 34072549 PMCID: PMC8198722 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13112689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer features elaborate mechanisms of immune evasion. The potential of new immune molecules was explored to restore the antitumor immune response. If these immune molecules are associated with poor survival, specific drugs could take effect. Here, we analyze the expression of VISTA, LAG3, IDO, and TIM3 on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and its impact on patient survival. We analyzed 153 pancreatic cancer patients from the prospectively managed database of the multicentered PANCALYZE study. Immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray assessed VISTA, LAG3, IDO, and TIM3 expression of TILs from the patients undergoing primary resection. Complementarily, we analyzed publicly available transcriptomic data (n = 903). Successful completion of chemotherapy, and lymph node status were independent predictors of survival in the multivariate analysis of the clinicopathologic parameters. Fifteen tumors were exclusively VISTA-positive, thirteen tumors expressed VISTA together with TIM3, and ten tumors expressed VISTA together with IDO. Patients featuring tumors with high numbers of IDO-positive TILs had better patient survival (p = 0.037). VISTA, LAG3, and TIM3 expression did not correlate with survival. The analysis of publicly available data did not show survival differences. Tumors rarely co-express more than two immune molecules at the same time, and VISTA is most frequently co-expressed. Although IDO generally inhibits T-cell proliferation, a high expression of IDO was associated with improved survival. We expect immune checkpoint inhibitors against VISTA, LAG3, and TIM3 to be inefficient in a clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix C. Popp
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (F.C.P.); (I.C.); (J.B.); (A.I.D.); (J.L.); (R.R.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Ingracia Capino
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (F.C.P.); (I.C.); (J.B.); (A.I.D.); (J.L.); (R.R.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Joana Bartels
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (F.C.P.); (I.C.); (J.B.); (A.I.D.); (J.L.); (R.R.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Alexander I. Damanakis
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (F.C.P.); (I.C.); (J.B.); (A.I.D.); (J.L.); (R.R.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Jiahui Li
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (F.C.P.); (I.C.); (J.B.); (A.I.D.); (J.L.); (R.R.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Rabi R. Datta
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (F.C.P.); (I.C.); (J.B.); (A.I.D.); (J.L.); (R.R.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Heike Löser
- Institute of Pathology, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (H.L.); (A.Q.); (P.L.)
| | - Yue Zhao
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (F.C.P.); (I.C.); (J.B.); (A.I.D.); (J.L.); (R.R.D.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Alexander Quaas
- Institute of Pathology, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (H.L.); (A.Q.); (P.L.)
| | - Philipp Lohneis
- Institute of Pathology, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (H.L.); (A.Q.); (P.L.)
| | - Christiane J. Bruns
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany; (F.C.P.); (I.C.); (J.B.); (A.I.D.); (J.L.); (R.R.D.); (Y.Z.)
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