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Zheng Y, Lebid A, Chung L, Fu J, Wang X, Otrocol A, Zarif JC, Yu H, Llosa NJ, Pardoll DM. Targeting the activin receptor 1C on CD4+ T cells for cancer immunotherapy. Oncoimmunology 2024; 13:2297503. [PMID: 38235319 PMCID: PMC10793694 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2023.2297503] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Activins, members of the TGF-beta superfamily, have been isolated and identified in the endocrine system, but have not been substantially investigated in the context of the immune system and endocrine-unrelated cancers. Here, we demonstrated that tumor-bearing mice had elevated systemic activin levels, which correlated directly with tumor burden. Likewise, cancer patients have elevated plasma activin levels compared to healthy controls. We observed that both tumor and immune cells could be sources of activins. Importantly, our in vitro studies suggest that activins promote differentiation of naïve CD4+ cells into Foxp3-expressing induced regulatory T cells (Tregs), particularly when TGF-beta was limited in the culture medium. Database and qRT-PCR analysis of sorted major immune cell subsets in mice revealed that activin receptor 1c (ActRIC) was uniquely expressed on Tregs and that both ActRIC and ActRIIB (activin receptor 2b) were highly upregulated during iTreg differentiation. ActRIC-deficient naïve CD4+ cells were found to be defective in iTreg generation both in vitro and in vivo. Treg suppression assays were also performed, and ActRIC deficiency did not change the function or stability of iTregs. Mice lacking ActRIC or mice treated with monoclonal anti-ActRIC antibody were more resistant to tumor progression than wild-type controls. This phenotype was correlated with reduced expression of Foxp3 in CD4+ cells in the tumor microenvironment. In light of the information presented above, blocking activin-ActRIC signaling is a promising and disease-specific strategy to impede the accumulation of immunosuppressive iTregs in cancer. Therefore, it is a potential candidate for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zheng
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Andriana Lebid
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Liam Chung
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Juan Fu
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiaoxu Wang
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Andrea Otrocol
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jelani C. Zarif
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hong Yu
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nicolas J. Llosa
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Drew M. Pardoll
- Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Balkow A, Jagow J, Haas B, Siegel F, Kilić A, Pfeifer A. A novel crosstalk between Alk7 and cGMP signaling differentially regulates brown adipocyte function. Mol Metab 2015; 4:576-83. [PMID: 26266090 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmet.2015.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2015] [Revised: 05/31/2015] [Accepted: 06/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Obesity is an enormous burden for patients and health systems world-wide. Brown adipose tissue dissipates energy in response to cold and has been shown to be metabolically active in human adults. The type I transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) receptor Activin receptor-like kinase 7 (Alk7) is highly expressed in adipose tissues and is down-regulated in obese patients. Here, we studied the function of Alk7 in brown adipocytes. Methods Using pharmacological and genetic tools, Alk7 signaling pathway and its effects were studied in murine brown adipocytes. Brown adipocyte differentiation and activation was analyzed. Results Alk7 is highly upregulated during differentiation of brown adipocytes. Interestingly, Alk7 expression is increased by cGMP/protein kinase G (PKG) signaling, which enhances brown adipocyte differentiation. Activin AB effectively activates Alk7 and SMAD3 signaling. Activation of Alk7 in brown preadipocytes suppresses the master adipogenic transcription factor PPARγ and differentiation. Stimulation of Alk7 during late differentiation of brown adipocytes reduces lipid content and adipogenic marker expression but enhances UCP1 expression. Conclusions We found a so far unknown crosstalk between cGMP and Alk7 signaling pathways. Tight regulation of Alk7 is required for efficient differentiation of brown adipocytes. Alk7 has differential effects on adipogenic differentiation and the development of the thermogenic program in brown adipocytes. Alk7 expression in brown adipocytes is modulated by the cGMP/PKGI signaling pathway. Brown adipocyte differentiation requires tight regulation of Alk7 activation. Alk7 signaling via SMAD3 reduces PPARγ and attenuates adipogenic differentiation. Alk7 enhances UCP1 expression in mature brown adipocytes. We found a novel crosstalk between the Alk7 and cGMP signaling pathway.
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