Intratumoral co-injection of NK cells and NKG2A-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies

NK-cell reactivity against cancer is conceivably suppressed in the tumor microenvironment by the interaction of the inhibitory receptor NKG2A with the non-classical MHC-I molecules HLA-E in humans or Qa-1b in mice. We found that intratumoral delivery of NK cells attains significant therapeutic effects only if co-injected with anti-NKG2A and anti-Qa-1b blocking monoclonal antibodies against solid mouse tumor models. Such therapeutic activity was contingent on endogenous CD8 T cells and type-1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1). Moreover, the anti-tumor effects were enhanced upon combination with systemic anti-PD-1 mAb treatment and achieved partial abscopal efficacy against distant non-injected tumors. In xenografted mice bearing HLA-E-expressing human cancer cells, intratumoral co-injection of activated allogeneic human NK cells and clinical-grade anti-NKG2A mAb (monalizumab) synergistically achieved therapeutic effects. In conclusion, these studies provide evidence for the clinical potential of intratumoral NK cell-based immunotherapies that exert their anti-tumor efficacy as a result of eliciting endogenous T-cell responses.

ECM dimensionality tunes actin tension to modulate endoplasmic reticulum function and spheroid phenotypes of mammary epithelial cells

Patient-derived organoids and cellular spheroids recapitulate tissue physiology with remarkable fidelity. We investigated how engagement with a reconstituted basement membrane in three dimensions (3D) supports the polarized, stress resilient tissue phenotype of mammary epithelial spheroids. Cells interacting with reconstituted basement membrane in 3D had reduced levels of total and actin-associated filamin and decreased cortical actin tension that increased plasma membrane protrusions to promote negative plasma membrane curvature and plasma membrane protein associations linked to protein secretion. By contrast, cells engaging a reconstituted basement membrane in 2D had high cortical actin tension that forced filamin unfolding and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) associations. Enhanced filamin-ER interactions increased levels of PKR-like ER kinase effectors and ER-plasma membrane contact sites that compromised calcium homeostasis and diminished cell viability. Consequently, cells with decreased cortical actin tension had reduced ER stress and survived better. Consistently, cortical actin tension in cellular spheroids regulated polarized basement membrane membrane deposition and sensitivity to exogenous stress. The findings implicate cortical actin tension-mediated filamin unfolding in ER function and underscore the importance of tissue mechanics in organoid homeostasis.

Hydrogen sulfide perturbs mitochondrial bioenergetics and triggers metabolic reprogramming in colon cells

Unlike most other tissues, the colon epithelium is exposed to high levels of H2S derived from gut microbial metabolism. H2S is a signaling molecule that modulates various physiological effects. It is also a respiratory toxin that inhibits complex IV in the electron transfer chain (ETC). Colon epithelial cells are adapted to high environmental H2S exposure as they harbor an efficient mitochondrial H2S oxidation pathway, which is dedicated to its disposal. Herein, we report that the sulfide oxidation pathway enzymes are apically localized in human colonic crypts at the host-microbiome interface, but that the normal apical-to-crypt gradient is lost in colorectal cancer epithelium. We found that sulfide quinone oxidoreductase (SQR), which catalyzes the committing step in the mitochondrial sulfide oxidation pathway and couples to complex III, is a critical respiratory shield against H2S poisoning. H2S at concentrations ≤20 μm stimulated the oxygen consumption rate in colon epithelial cells, but, when SQR expression was ablated, H2S concentrations as low as 5 μm poisoned cells. Mitochondrial H2S oxidation altered cellular bioenergetics, inducing a reductive shift in the NAD+/NADH redox couple. The consequent electron acceptor insufficiency caused uridine and aspartate deficiency and enhanced glutamine-dependent reductive carboxylation. The metabolomic signature of this H2S-induced stress response mapped, in part, to redox-sensitive nodes in central carbon metabolism. Colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines appeared to counter the growth-restricting effects of H2S by overexpressing sulfide oxidation pathway enzymes. Our findings reveal an alternative mechanism for H2S signaling, arising from alterations in mitochondrial bioenergetics that drive metabolic reprogramming.