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Palermo B, Franzese O, Frisullo G, D'Ambrosio L, Panetta M, Campo G, D'Andrea D, Sperduti I, De Nicola F, Goeman F, Gallina F, Visca P, Facciolo F, Nisticò P. CD28/PD1 co-expression: dual impact on CD8 + T cells in peripheral blood and tumor tissue, and its significance in NSCLC patients' survival and ICB response. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2023; 42:287. [PMID: 37898752 PMCID: PMC10612243 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-023-02846-3] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has significantly prolonged survival of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, although most patients develop mechanisms of resistance. Recently single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-Seq) revealed a huge T-cell phenotypic and (dys)functional state variability. Accordingly, T-cell exhaustion is recognized as a functional adaptation, with a dynamic progression from a long-lived "pre-exhausted stem-like progenitor" to a "terminally exhausted" state. In this scenario it is crucial to understand the complex interplay between co-stimulatory and inhibitory molecules in CD8+ T-cell functionality. METHODS To gain a baseline landscape of the composition, functional states, and transcriptomic signatures predictive of prognosis, we analyzed CD8+ T-cell subsets characterized by the presence/absence of PD1 and CD28 from periphery, adjacent non-tumor tissue and tumor site of a cohort of treatment-naïve NSCLC patients, by integrated multiparametric flow cytometry, targeted multi-omic scRNA-seq analyses, and computational pipelines. RESULTS Despite the increased PD1 levels, an improved PD1+CD28+ T-cell polyfunctionality was observed with the transition from periphery to tumor site, associated with lack of TIGIT, TIM-3 and LAG-3, but not with Ag-experienced-marker CD11a. Differently from CD28+ T cells, the increased PD1 levels in the tumor were associated with reduced functionality in PD1+CD28- T cells. CD11ahigh, although expressed only in a small fraction of this subset, still sustained its functionality. Absence of TIGIT, TIM-3 and CTLA-4, alone or combined, was beneficial to CD28- T cells. Notably, we observed distinct TRM phenotypes in the different districts, with CD28+ T cells more capable of producing TGFβ in the periphery, potentially contributing to elevated CD103 levels. In contrast CD28- TRM mainly produced CXCL13 within the tumor. ScRNA-seq revealed 5 different clusters for each of the two subsets, with distinctive transcriptional profiles in the three districts. By interrogating the TCGA dataset of patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and metastatic NSCLC treated with atezolizumab, we found signatures of heterogeneous TRM and "pre-exhausted" long-lived effector memory CD8+ T cells associated with improved response to ICB only in the presence of CD28. CONCLUSIONS Our findings identify signatures able to stratify survival of LUAD patients and predict ICB response in advanced NSCLC. CD28 is advocated as a key determinant in the signatures identified, in both periphery and tumor site, thus likely providing feasible biomarkers of ICB response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belinda Palermo
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Ornella Franzese
- Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Frisullo
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo D'Ambrosio
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Mariangela Panetta
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Campo
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniel D'Andrea
- Department of Biosciences, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
| | - Isabella Sperduti
- Biostatistics and Scientific Direction, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Frauke Goeman
- SAFU Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Filippo Gallina
- Thoracic-Surgery Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Visca
- Pathology Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Facciolo
- Thoracic-Surgery Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Nisticò
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Unit, IRCCS-Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy.
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Mo Y, To KKW, Zhou R, Liu L, Cao T, Huang H, Du Z, Lim CYH, Yim LY, Luk TY, Chan JMC, Chik TSH, Lau DPL, Tsang OTY, Tam AR, Hung IFN, Yuen KY, Chen Z. Mitochondrial Dysfunction Associates With Acute T Lymphocytopenia and Impaired Functionality in COVID-19 Patients. Front Immunol 2022; 12:799896. [PMID: 35095881 PMCID: PMC8795605 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.799896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection results in rapid T lymphocytopenia and functional impairment of T cells. The underlying mechanism, however, remains incompletely understood. In this study, we focused on characterizing the phenotype and kinetics of T-cell subsets with mitochondrial dysfunction (MD) by multicolor flow cytometry and investigating the association between MD and T-cell functionality. While 73.9% of study subjects displayed clinical lymphocytopenia upon hospital admission, a significant reduction of CD4 or CD8 T-cell frequency was found in all asymptomatic, symptomatic, and convalescent cases. CD4 and CD8 T cells with increased MD were found in both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients within the first week of symptom onset. Lower proportion of memory CD8 T cell with MD was found in severe patients than in mild ones at the stage of disease progression. Critically, the frequency of T cells with MD in symptomatic patients was preferentially associated with CD4 T-cell loss and CD8 T-cell hyperactivation, respectively. Patients bearing effector memory CD4 and CD8 T cells with the phenotype of high MD exhibited poorer T-cell responses upon either phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)/ionomycin or SARS-CoV-2 peptide stimulation than those with low MD. Our findings demonstrated an MD-associated mechanism underlying SARS-CoV-2-induced T lymphocytopenia and functional impairment during the acute phase of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufei Mo
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Kelvin Kai-Wang To
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.,State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Center for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Health@InnoHK, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Runhong Zhou
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Li Liu
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Tianyu Cao
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Haode Huang
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Zhenglong Du
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Chun Yu Hubert Lim
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lok-Yan Yim
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Tsz-Yat Luk
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jacky Man-Chun Chan
- Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Thomas Shiu-Hong Chik
- Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Daphne Pui-Ling Lau
- Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Owen Tak-Yin Tsang
- Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Anthony Raymond Tam
- Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ivan Fan-Ngai Hung
- Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Kwok-Yung Yuen
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.,State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Center for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Health@InnoHK, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Zhiwei Chen
- AIDS Institute and Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.,State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Center for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, Health@InnoHK, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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Tumino N, Weber G, Besi F, Del Bufalo F, Bertaina V, Paci P, Quatrini L, Antonucci L, Sinibaldi M, Quintarelli C, Maggi E, De Angelis B, Locatelli F, Moretta L, Vacca P, Caruana I. Polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells impair the anti-tumor efficacy of GD2.CAR T-cells in patients with neuroblastoma. J Hematol Oncol 2021; 14:191. [PMID: 34772439 PMCID: PMC8588686 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-021-01193-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [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: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The outcome of patients affected by high-risk or metastatic neuroblastoma (NB) remains grim, with ≥ 50% of the children experiencing relapse or progression of the disease despite multimodal, intensive treatment. In order to identify new strategies to improve the overall survival and the quality of life of these children, we recently developed and optimized a third-generation GD2-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) construct, which is currently under evaluation in our Institution in a phase I/II clinical trial (NCT03373097) enrolling patients with relapsed/refractory NB. We observed that our CAR T-cells are able to induce marked tumor reduction and even achieve complete remission with a higher efficiency than that of other CAR T-cells reported in previous studies. However, often responses are not sustained and relapses occur. Here, we demonstrate for the first time a mechanism of resistance to GD2.CAR T-cell treatment, showing how polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC) increase in the peripheral blood (PB) of NB patients after GD2.CAR T-cell treatment in case of relapse and loss of response. In vitro, isolated PMN-MDSC demonstrate to inhibit the anti-tumor cytotoxicity of different generations of GD2.CAR T-cells. Gene-expression profiling of GD2.CAR T-cells "conditioned" with PMN-MDSC shows downregulation of genes involved in cell activation, signal transduction, inflammation and cytokine/chemokine secretion. Analysis of NB gene-expression dataset confirms a correlation between expression of these genes and patient outcome. Moreover, in patients treated with GD2.CAR T-cells, the frequency of circulating PMN-MDSC inversely correlates with the levels of GD2.CAR T-cells, resulting more elevated in patients who did not respond or lost response to the treatment. The presence and the frequency of PMN-MDSC in PB of high-risk and metastatic NB represents a useful prognostic marker to predict the response to GD2.CAR T-cells and other adoptive immunotherapy. This study underlines the importance of further optimization of both CAR T-cells and clinical trial in order to target elements of the tumor microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Tumino
- Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Viale San Paolo 15, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Gerrit Weber
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy.,Department of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation University Children's Hospital of Würzburg, 97080, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Francesca Besi
- Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Viale San Paolo 15, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Del Bufalo
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Bertaina
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Paci
- Institute for Systems Analysis and Computer Science "Antonio Ruberti", National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Linda Quatrini
- Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Viale San Paolo 15, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Antonucci
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - Matilde Sinibaldi
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - Concetta Quintarelli
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - Enrico Maggi
- Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Viale San Paolo 15, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Biagio De Angelis
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - Franco Locatelli
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy. .,Department of Maternal, Infantile, and Urological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Lorenzo Moretta
- Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Viale San Paolo 15, 00146, Rome, Italy.
| | - Paola Vacca
- Immunology Research Area, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Viale San Paolo 15, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Ignazio Caruana
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 4, 00165, Rome, Italy.,Department of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation University Children's Hospital of Würzburg, 97080, Würzburg, Germany
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Angel S, von Briesen H, Oh YJ, Baller MK, Zimmermann H, Germann A. Toward Optimal Cryopreservation and Storage for Achievement of High Cell Recovery and Maintenance of Cell Viability and T Cell Functionality. Biopreserv Biobank 2016; 14:539-547. [PMID: 27792414 PMCID: PMC5180082 DOI: 10.1089/bio.2016.0046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Cryopreservation of biological materials such as cells, tissues, and organs is a prevailing topic of high importance. It is employed not only in many research fields but also in the clinical area. Cryopreservation is of great importance for reproductive medicine and clinical studies, as well as for the development of vaccines. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are commonly used in vaccine research where comparable and reliable results between different research institutions and laboratories are of high importance. Whereas freezing and thawing processes are well studied, controlled, and standardized, storage conditions are often disregarded. To close this gap, we investigated the influence of suboptimal storage conditions during low-temperature storage on PBMC viability, recovery, and T cell functionality. For this purpose, PBMCs were isolated and exposed with help of a robotic system in a low-temperature environment from 0 up to 350 temperature fluctuation cycles in steps of 50 cycles to simulate storage conditions in large biorepositories with sample storage, removal, and sorting functions. After the simulation, the viability, recovery, and T cell functionality were analyzed to determine the number of temperature rises, which ultimately lead to significant cell damage. All studied parameters decreased with increasing number of temperature cycles. Sometimes after as little as only 50 temperature cycles, a significant effect was observed. These results are very important for all fields in which cell cryopreservation is employed, particularly for clinical and multicenter studies wherein the comparability and reproducibility of results play a crucial role. To obtain reliable results and to maintain the quality of the cells, not only the freezing and thawing processes but also the storage conditions should be controlled and standardized, and any deviations should be documented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Angel
- 1 Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering , Sulzbach, Germany
| | - Hagen von Briesen
- 1 Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering , Sulzbach, Germany
| | - Young-Joo Oh
- 1 Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering , Sulzbach, Germany
| | - Marko K Baller
- 2 University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern , Amerikastraße, Zweibruecken, Germany
| | - Heiko Zimmermann
- 1 Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering , Sulzbach, Germany .,3 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology, Saarland University , Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - Anja Germann
- 1 Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering , Sulzbach, Germany
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