Bifunctional Therapeutic Peptide Assembled Nanoparticles Exerting Improved Activities of Tumor Vessel Normalization and Immune Checkpoint Inhibition

Abstract Background Although using a blockade of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) to enhance T cell immune responses shows great promise in tumor immunotherapy, the immune-checkpoint inhibition strategy is limited for patients with solid tumors. The mechanism and efficacy of such immune-checkpoint inhibition strategies in solid tumors remains unclear. Results Employing qRT-PCR, Sanger sequencing, and RNA BaseScope analysis, we show that human lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) all produce a long non-coding RNA isoform of PD-L1 (PD-L1-lnc) by alternative splicing, regardless if the tumor is positive or negative for the protein PD-L1. Similar to PD-L1 mRNA, PD-L1-lnc in various lung adenocarcinoma cells is significantly upregulated by IFNγ. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate that PD-L1-lnc increases proliferation and invasion but decreases apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Mechanistically, PD-L1-lnc promotes lung adenocarcinoma progression through directly binding to c-Myc and enhancing c-Myc transcriptional activity. Conclusions In summary, the PD-L1 gene can generate a long non-coding RNA through alternative splicing to promote lung adenocarcinoma progression by enhancing c-Myc activity. Our results argue in favor of investigating PD-L1-lnc depletion in combination with PD-L1 blockade in lung cancer therapy.

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Thinking Small: Small Molecules as Potential Synergistic Adjuncts to Checkpoint Inhibition in Melanoma

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22063228 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 3228

Author(s):

Alexander C. Chacon ◽

Alexa D. Melucci ◽

Shuyang S. Qin ◽

Peter A. Prieto

Keyword(s):

Skin Cancer ◽

Small Molecules ◽

Metastatic Melanoma ◽

Immune Checkpoint ◽

Treatment Resistance ◽

Checkpoint Inhibition ◽

Immune Checkpoint Inhibition ◽

Specific Effector ◽

Melanoma Treatment ◽

Therapeutic Responses

Metastatic melanoma remains the deadliest form of skin cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) immunotherapy has defined a new age in melanoma treatment, but responses remain inconsistent and some patients develop treatment resistance. The myriad of newly developed small molecular (SM) inhibitors of specific effector targets now affords a plethora of opportunities to increase therapeutic responses, even in resistant melanoma. In this review, we will discuss the multitude of SM classes currently under investigation, current and prospective clinical combinations of ICI and SM therapies, and their potential for synergism in melanoma eradication based on established mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance.

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Modulation of temozolomide dose differentially affects T-cell response to immune checkpoint inhibition

Neuro-Oncology ◽

10.1093/neuonc/noz015 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 730-741 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Aida Karachi ◽

Changlin Yang ◽

Farhad Dastmalchi ◽

Elias J Sayour ◽

Jianping Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cell ◽

Immune Checkpoint ◽

Standard Dose ◽

Antibody Therapy ◽

Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽

T Cell Response ◽

Checkpoint Inhibition ◽

Immune Checkpoint Inhibition ◽

Dose Modulation ◽

Infiltrating Lymphocytes

Abstract Background The changes induced in host immunity and the tumor microenvironment by chemotherapy have been shown to impact immunotherapy response in both a positive and a negative fashion. Temozolomide is the most common chemotherapy used to treat glioblastoma (GBM) and has been shown to have variable effects on immune response to immunotherapy. Therefore, we aimed to determine the immune modulatory effects of temozolomide that would impact response to immune checkpoint inhibition in the treatment of experimental GBM. Methods Immune function and antitumor efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition were tested after treatment with metronomic dose (MD) temozolomide (25 mg/kg × 10 days) or standard dose (SD) temozolomide (50 mg/kg × 5 days) in the GL261 and KR158 murine glioma models. Results SD temozolomide treatment resulted in an upregulation of markers of T-cell exhaustion such as LAG-3 and TIM-3 in lymphocytes which was not seen with MD temozolomide. When temozolomide treatment was combined with programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) antibody therapy, the MD temozolomide/PD-1 antibody group demonstrated a decrease in exhaustion markers in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes that was not observed in the SD temozolomide/PD-1 antibody group. Also, the survival advantage of PD-1 antibody therapy in a murine syngeneic intracranial glioma model was abrogated by adding SD temozolomide to treatment. However, when MD temozolomide was added to PD-1 inhibition, it preserved the survival benefit that was seen by PD-1 antibody therapy alone. Conclusion The peripheral and intratumoral immune microenvironments are distinctively affected by dose modulation of temozolomide.

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Planning target volume as a predictor of disease progression in inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy and concurrent and/or sequential immune checkpoint inhibition

Investigational New Drugs ◽

10.1007/s10637-021-01143-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Julian Taugner ◽

Lukas Käsmann ◽

Monika Karin ◽

Chukwuka Eze ◽

Benedikt Flörsch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Planning Target Volume ◽

Immune Checkpoint ◽

Target Volume ◽

Continuous Variable ◽

Stage Iii ◽

Checkpoint Inhibition ◽

Immune Checkpoint Inhibition ◽

Platinum Based Chemotherapy ◽

Stage Iii Nsclc ◽

Nsclc Patients

SummaryBackground. The present study evaluates outcome after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with concurrent and/or sequential Programmed Cell Death 1 (PD-1) or Ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint inhibition (CPI) for inoperable stage III NSCLC patients depending on planning target volume (PTV). Method and patients. Prospective data of thirty-three consecutive patients with inoperable stage III NSCLC treated with CRT and sequential durvalumab (67%, 22 patients) or concurrent and sequential nivolumab (33%, 11 patients) were analyzed. Different PTV cut offs and PTV as a continuous variable were evaluated for their association with progression-free (PFS), local–regional progression-free (LRPFS), extracranial distant metastasis-free (eMFS) and brain-metastasis free-survival (BMFS). Results. All patients were treated with conventionally fractionated thoracic radiotherapy (TRT); 93% to a total dose of at least 60 Gy, 97% of patients received two cycles of concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy. Median follow-up for the entire cohort was 19.9 (range: 6.0–42.4) months; median overall survival (OS), LRFS, BMFS and eMFS were not reached. Median PFS was 22.8 (95% CI: 10.7–34.8) months. Patients with PTV ≥ 900ccm had a significantly shorter PFS (6.9 vs 22.8 months, p = 0.020) and eMFS (8.1 months vs. not reached, p = 0.003). Furthermore, patients with PTV ≥ 900ccm and stage IIIC disease (UICC-TNM Classification 8th Edition) achieved a very poor outcome with a median PFS and eMFS of 3.6 vs 22.8 months (p < 0.001) and 3.6 months vs. not reached (p = 0.001), respectively. PTV as a continuous variable also had a significant impact on eMFS (p = 0.048). However, no significant association of different PTV cut-offs or PTV as a continuous variable with LRPFS and BMFS could be shown. The multivariate analysis that was performed for PTV ≥ 900ccm and age (≥ 65 years), gender (male), histology (non-ACC) as well as T- and N-stage (T4, N3) as covariates also revealed PTV ≥ 900ccm as the only factor that had a significant correlation with PFS (HR: 5.383 (95% CI:1.263–22.942, p = 0.023)). Conclusion. In this prospective analysis of inoperable stage III NSCLC patients treated with definitive CRT combined with concurrent and/or sequential CPI, significantly shorter PFS and eMFS were observed in patients with initial PTV ≥ 900ccm.

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Distinct genomic features across cytolytic subgroups in skin melanoma

Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy ◽

10.1007/s00262-021-02918-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Constantinos Roufas ◽

Ilias Georgakopoulos-Soares ◽

Apostolos Zaravinos

Keyword(s):

Immune Checkpoint ◽

Cytolytic Activity ◽

Checkpoint Inhibition ◽

Immune Checkpoint Inhibition ◽

Skin Melanoma ◽

Related Gene ◽

Mutational Signatures ◽

Genomic Features ◽

Immune Related Gene ◽

Gene Sets

Abstract Background Skin melanoma is a highly immunogenic cancer. The intratumoral immune cytolytic activity (CYT) reflects the ability of cytotoxic T and NK cells to eliminate cancer cells, and is associated with improved patient survival. Despite the enthusiastic clinical results seen in advanced-stage metastatic melanoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a subgroup of them will later relapse and develop acquired resistance. We questioned whether CYT associates with different genomic profiles and thus, patient outcome, in skin melanoma. Methods We explored the TCGA-SKCM dataset and stratified patients to distinct subgroups of cytolytic activity. The tumor immune contexture, somatic mutations and recurrent copy number aberrations were calculated using quanTIseq, MutSigCV and GISTIC2. Chromothriptic events were explored using CTLPScanner and cancer neoepitopes were predicted with antigen garnish. Each tumor's immunophenoscore was calculated using Immunophenogram. Mutational signatures and kataegis were explored using SigProfiler and compared to the known single or doublet base substitution signatures from COSMIC. Results Metastatic skin melanomas had significantly higher CYT levels compared to primary tumors. We assessed enrichment for immune-related gene sets within CYT-high tumors, whereas, CYT-low tumors were enriched for non-immune related gene sets. In addition, distinct mutational and neoantigen loads, primarily composed of C > T transitions, along with specific types of copy number aberrations, characterized each cytolytic subgroup. We found a broader pattern of chromothripsis across CYT-low tumors, where chromosomal regions harboring chromothriptic events, contained a higher number of cancer genes. SBS7a/b, SBS5 and SBS1 were the most prevalent mutational signatures across both cytolytic subgroups, but SBS1 differed significantly between them. SBS7a/b was mutually exclusive with SBS5 and SBS1 in both CYT subgroups. CYT-high patients had markedly higher immunophenoscore, suggesting that they should display a clinical benefit upon treatment with immune checkpoint inhibition therapy, compared to CYT-low patients. Conclusions Overall, our data highlight the existence of distinct genomic features across cytolytic subgroups in skin melanoma, which might affect the patients' relapse rate or their acquisition of resistance to immune checkpoint inhibition therapies.

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