scholarly journals Combinatorial immunotherapy induces tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells with distinct functional, migratory, and stem-like properties

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. e003614
Author(s):  
Natalija Van Braeckel-Budimir ◽  
Joseph Samuel Dolina ◽  
Jie Wei ◽  
Xiao Wang ◽  
Shih-Hsun Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Single Agent ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Tumor Rejection ◽  
Cell Subpopulation ◽  
Ki 67 ◽  
Combinatorial Immunotherapy ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

BackgroundProgrammed death (ligand) 1 (PD-(L)1) blockade and OX40/4-1BB costimulation have been separately evaluated in the clinic to elicit potent antitumor T cell responses. The precise mechanisms underlying single agent activity are incompletely understood. It also remains unclear if combining individual therapies leads to synergism, elicits novel immune mechanisms, or invokes additive effects.MethodsWe performed high-dimensional flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing-based immunoprofiling of murine tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) isolated from hosts bearing B16 or MC38 syngeneic tumors. This baseline infiltrate was compared to TILs after treatment with either anti-PD-(L)1, anti-OX40, or anti-4-1BB as single agents or as double and triple combinatorial therapies. Fingolimod treatment and CXCR3 blockade were used to evaluate the contribution of intratumoral versus peripheral CD8+ T cells to therapeutic efficacy.ResultsWe identified CD8+ T cell subtypes with distinct functional and migratory signatures highly predictive of tumor rejection upon treatment with single agent versus combination therapies. Rather than reinvigorating terminally exhausted CD8+ T cells, OX40/4-1BB agonism expanded a stem-like PD-1loKLRG-1+Ki-67+CD8+ T cell subpopulation, which PD-(L)1 blockade alone did not. However, PD-(L)1 blockade synergized with OX40/4-1BB costimulation by dramatically enhancing stem-like TIL presence via a CXCR3-dependent mechanism.ConclusionsOur findings provide new mechanistic insights into the interplay between components of combinatorial immunotherapy, where agonism of select costimulatory pathways seeds a pool of stem-like CD8+ T cells more responsive to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB).

773 Adoptive Cell Therapy Response in Melanoma is Mediated by Stem-like CD8 T cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A822-A822
Author(s):  
Sri Krishna ◽  
Frank Lowery ◽  
Amy Copeland ◽  
Stephanie Goff ◽  
Grégoire Altan-Bonnet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
High Dimensional ◽  
Tumor Control ◽  
Intrinsic Factors ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

BackgroundAdoptive T cell therapy (ACT) utilizing ex vivo-expanded autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) can result in complete regression of human cancers.1 Successful immunotherapy is influenced by several tumor-intrinsic factors.2 3 Recently, T cell-intrinsic factors have been associated with immunotherapy response in murine and human studies.4 5 Analyses of tumor-reactive TILs have concluded that anti-tumor neoantigen-specific TILs are enriched in subsets defined by the expression of PD-1 or CD39.6 7 Thus, there is a lack of consensus regarding the tumor-reactive TIL subset that is directly responsible for successful immunotherapies such as ICB and ACT. In this study, we attempted to define the fitness landscape of TIL-enriched infusion products to specifically understand its phenotypic impact on human immunotherapy responses.MethodsWe compared the phenotypic differences that could distinguish bulk ACT infusion products (I.P.) administered to patients who had complete response to therapy (complete responders, CRs, N = 24) from those whose disease progressed following ACT (non-responders, NRs, N = 30) by high dimensional single cell protein and RNA analysis of the I.P. We further analyzed the phenotypic states of anti-tumor neoantigen specific TILs from patient I.P (N = 26) by flow cytometry and single cell transcriptomics.ResultsWe identified two CD8+ TIL populations associated with clinical outcomes: a memory-progenitor CD39-negative stem-like TIL (CD39-CD69-) in the I.P. associated with complete cancer regression (overall survival, P < 0.0001, HR = 0.217, 95% CI 0.101 to 0.463) and TIL persistence, and a terminally differentiated CD39-positive TIL (CD39+CD69+) population associated with poor TIL persistence post-treatment. Although the majority (>65%) of neoantigen-reactive TILs in both responders and non-responders to ACT were found in the differentiated CD39+ state, CR infusion products also contained a pool of CD39- stem-like neoantigen-specific TILs (median = 8.8%) that was lacking in NR infusion products (median = 23.6%, P = 1.86 x 10-5). Tumor-reactive stem-like T cells were capable of self-renewal, expansion, and persistence, and mediated superior anti-tumor response in vivo.ConclusionsOur results support the hypothesis that responders to ACT received infusion products containing a pool of stem-like neoantigen-specific TILs that are able to undergo prolific expansion, give rise to differentiated subsets, and mediate long-term tumor control and T cell persistence, in line with recent murine ICB studies mediated by TCF+ progenitor T cells.4 5 Our data also suggest that TIL subsets mediating ACT-response (stem-like CD39-) might be distinct from TIL subsets enriched for anti-tumor-reactivity (terminally differentiated CD39+) in human TIL.6 7AcknowledgementsWe thank Don White for curating the melanoma patient cohort, and J. Panopoulos (Flowjo) for helpful discussions on high-dimensional analysis, and NCI Surgery Branch members for helpful insights and suggestions. S. Krishna acknowledges funding support from NCI Director’s Innovation Award from the National Cancer Institute.Trial RegistrationNAEthics ApprovalThe study was approved by NCI’s IRB ethics board.ReferencesGoff SL, et al. Randomized, prospective evaluation comparing intensity of lymphodepletion before adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for patients with metastatic melanoma. J Clin Oncol 2016;34:2389–2397.Snyder A, et al. Genetic basis for clinical response to CTLA-4 blockade in melanoma. N Engl J Med 2014;371:2189–2199.McGranahan N, et al. Clonal neoantigens elicit T cell immunoreactivity and sensitivity to immune checkpoint blockade. Science 2016;351:1463–1469.Sade-Feldman M, et al. Defining T cell states associated with response to checkpoint immunotherapy in melanoma. Cell 2019;176:404.Miller BC, et al. Subsets of exhausted CD8 T cells differentially mediate tumor control and respond to checkpoint blockade. Nat. Immunol 2019;20:326–336.Simoni Y, et al. Bystander CD8 T cells are abundant and phenotypically distinct in human tumour infiltrates. Nature 2018;557:575–579.Gros A, et al. PD-1 identifies the patient-specific CD8+ tumor-reactive repertoire infiltrating human tumors. J Clin Invest 2014;124:2246–2259.

scholarly journals Nomograms to Predict the Density of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Patients With High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danian Dai ◽  
Lili Liu ◽  
He Huang ◽  
Shangqiu Chen ◽  
Bo Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Menopausal Status ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Roc Curves ◽  
Clinicopathological Characteristics ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Serous Ovarian Cancer ◽  
Ki 67 ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

BackgroundTumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have important roles in predicting tumor therapeutic responses and progression, however, the method of evaluating TILs is complicated. We attempted to explore the association of TILs with clinicopathological characteristics and blood indicators, and to develop nomograms to predict the density of TILs in patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC).MethodsThe clinical profiles of 197 consecutive postoperative HGSOC patients were retrospectively analyzed. Tumor tissues and matched normal fallopian tubes were immunostained for CD3+, CD8+, and CD4+ T cells on corresponding tissue microarrays and the numbers of TILs were counted using the NIH ImageJ software. The patients were classified into low- or high-density groups for each marker (CD3, CD4, CD8). The associations of the investigated TILs to clinicopathological characteristics and blood indicators were assessed and the related predictors for densities of TILs were used to develop nomograms; which were then further evaluated using the C-index, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration plots.ResultsMenopausal status, estrogen receptor (ER), Ki-67 index, white blood cell (WBC), platelets (PLT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and carbohydrate antigen 153 (CA153) had significant association with densities of tumor-infiltrating CD3+, CD8+, or CD4+ T cells. The calibration curves of the CD3+ (C-index = 0.748), CD8+ (C-index = 0.683) and CD4+ TILs nomogram (C-index = 0.759) demonstrated excellent agreement between predictions and actual observations. ROC curves of internal validation indicated good discrimination for the CD8+ TILs nomogram [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.659, 95% CI 0.582–0.736] and encouraging performance for the CD3+ (AUC= 0.708, 95% CI 0.636–0.781) and CD4+ TILs nomogram (AUC = 0.730, 95% CI 0.659–0.801).ConclusionMenopausal status, ER, Ki-67 index, WBC, PLT, LDH, and CA153 could reflect the densities of T cells in the tumor microenvironment. Novel nomograms are conducive to monitor the immune status of patients with HGSOC and help doctors to formulate the appropriate treatment strategies.

scholarly journals Qualitative Analysis of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes across Human Tumor Types Reveals a Higher Proportion of Bystander CD8+ T Cells in Non-Melanoma Cancers Compared to Melanoma

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3344
Author(s):  
Aishwarya Gokuldass ◽  
Arianna Draghi ◽  
Krisztian Papp ◽  
Troels Holz Borch ◽  
Morten Nielsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Autologous Tumor ◽  
Epithelial Cancers ◽  
Single Cell Rna Sequencing ◽  
Tumor Types ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

Background: Human intratumoral T cell infiltrates can be defined by quantitative or qualitative features, such as their ability to recognize autologous tumor antigens. In this study, we reproduced the tumor-T cell interactions of individual patients to determine and compared the qualitative characteristics of intratumoral T cell infiltrates across multiple tumor types. Methods: We employed 187 pairs of unselected tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and autologous tumor cells from patients with melanoma, renal-, ovarian-cancer or sarcoma, and single-cell RNA sequencing data from a pooled cohort of 93 patients with melanoma or epithelial cancers. Measures of TIL quality including the proportion of tumor-reactive CD8+ and CD4+ TILs, and TIL response polyfunctionality were determined. Results: Tumor-specific CD8+ and CD4+ TIL responses were detected in over half of the patients in vitro, and greater CD8+ TIL responses were observed in melanoma, regardless of previous anti-PD-1 treatment, compared to renal cancer, ovarian cancer and sarcoma. The proportion of tumor-reactive CD4+ TILs was on average lower and the differences less pronounced across tumor types. Overall, the proportion of tumor-reactive TILs in vitro was remarkably low, implying a high fraction of TILs to be bystanders, and highly variable within the same tumor type. In situ analyses, based on eight single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets encompassing melanoma and five epithelial cancers types, corroborated the results obtained in vitro. Strikingly, no strong correlation between the proportion of CD8+ and CD4+ tumor-reactive TILs was detected, suggesting the accumulation of these responses in the tumor microenvironment to follow non-overlapping biological pathways. Additionally, no strong correlation between TIL responses and tumor mutational burden (TMB) in melanoma was observed, indicating that TMB was not a major driving force of response. No substantial differences in polyfunctionality across tumor types were observed. Conclusions: These analyses shed light on the functional features defining the quality of TIL infiltrates in cancer. A significant proportion of TILs across tumor types, especially non-melanoma, are bystander T cells. These results highlight the need to develop strategies focused on the tumor-reactive TIL subpopulation.

scholarly journals The mutational load and a T-cell inflamed tumor phenotype identify ovarian cancer patients rendering tumor-reactive T cells from PD-1+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Salas-Benito ◽  
Enrique Conde ◽  
Ibon Tamayo-Uria ◽  
Uxua Mancheño ◽  
Edurne Elizalde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Predictive Biomarkers ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Ovarian Tumors ◽  
Autologous Tumor ◽  
Tumor Mutational Burden ◽  
Nanostring Technology ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

Abstract Background: Adoptive immunotherapy with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) may benefit from the use of selective markers, such as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), for tumor-specific T-cell enrichment, as well as predictive biomarkers that help identify those patients capable of rendering tumor-reactive TIL products. We have investigated this in ovarian cancer (OC) patients as candidate for TIL therapy implementation. Methods: PD-1- and PD-1+ CD8 TILs were isolated from resected ovarian tumors and, after polyclonal expansion, TIL products were tested against autologous tumor cells. Reactivity was assessed by IFNg production (ELISPOT) and upregulation of CD137. Baseline tumor samples were examined using flow cytometry, multiplexed quantitative immunofluorescence, Nanostring technology, for gene expression profile (GEP) analyses, as well as a next generation sequencing gene panel, for tumor mutational burden (TMB) calculation, to identify those features that distinguished patients with tumor-reactive and non-tumor-reactive TIL products.Results: Tumor-reactive TILs were detected in half of patients and were exclusively present in cells derived from the PD-1+ fraction. Flow-cytometric studies revealed that fresh tumors from patients rendering tumor-reactive TILs presented a significantly higher frequency of CD137+ cells within the PD1+CD8+ subset. Multiplexed immunofluorescence supported this finding, which was particularly striking in intraepithelial CD8 TILs. Baseline GEP analysis showed that patients rendering tumor-reactive TILs exhibited a significantly higher T-cell inflamed signature. Despite no correlation between TMB and GEP, both parameters stratified tumors, with patients with higher TMB and/or T-cell inflamed signature score rendering tumor-reactive TILs. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that PD-1 identifies autologous-tumor specific CD8 T cells infiltrating ovarian tumors and have uncovered predictive factors that identify OC patients who are likely to render tumor-reactive cells from PD-1+ TILs. These findings have important implications for improving the efficacy of TIL therapy in OC.

scholarly journals 660 Targeting T cell fates: converting exhaustion to memory to improve immunotherapeutic responses to cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A688-A688
Author(s):  
Nicole Scharping ◽  
Allison Cafferata ◽  
Maximilian Heeg ◽  
Quynhanh Nguyen ◽  
Ananda Goldrath
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Cell Fates ◽  
Gene Target ◽  
Ubiquitin Protein Ligase ◽  
Improved Outcomes ◽  
Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

BackgroundIn cancer, CD8+ T cells have the power to target and kill tumor cells with precision, but often fail due to chronic activation from the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). T cells that experience prolonged activation in the TME differentiate into a severely dysfunctional cell state known as exhaustion. In healthy tissues, T cells differentiate into tissue-resident memory cells (TRM) in response to infection, which remain lodged in tissues to provide protection from reinfection. When TRM-like cells are found in patient tumors, they are correlated with improved outcomes and responses to immunotherapy. Understanding how to manipulate T cell fates in an effort to prevent exhaustion and favor TRM-characteristics could benefit cancer immunotherapy.MethodsTo explore differences between these cell states, we screened the core TRM gene-expression signatures for genes downregulated as T cells undergo terminal exhaustion. Targets were then overexpressed in antigen-specific T cells and adoptively transferred into tumor-bearing mice for analysis.ResultsInterestingly, many genes related to protein regulation and processing were identified, including a novel gene called Neuralized E3 Ubiquitin Protein Ligase 3 (Neurl3). Neurl3's function is not well described, however, experimentally mutating the RING domain suggests Neurl3 transfers ubiquitin to target proteins for degradation. When Neurl3 was overexpressed in tumor-specific T cells, we found tumor infiltrating lymphocytes still upregulated inhibitory receptors PD1 and Tim3, but showed enhanced anti-tumor function. Neurl3-overexpressing T cells had increased accumulation in the TME, upregulated canonical TRM markers CD69 and CD103, produced more cytokines, controlled tumor growth, and increased mouse survival in B16 melanoma.ConclusionsThese results highlight the understudied field of negative regulation of T cell function by protein degradation in T cell differentiation fate and uncover a potential gene target for immunocellular therapies to favor functional T cell fates in cancer.Ethics ApprovalThe study was approved by UCSD's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, protocol number S04105.

scholarly journals S-15 in combination of Akt inhibitor promotes the expansion of CD45RA−CCR7+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes with high cytotoxic potential and downregulating PD-1+Tim-3+ cells as well as regulatory T cells

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benling Xu ◽  
Long Yuan ◽  
Guangyu Chen ◽  
Tiepeng Li ◽  
Jinxue Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Cell Differentiation ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Hepatocellular Cancer ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
T Cell Differentiation ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Autologous Tumor ◽  
Akt Inhibitor ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

Abstract Background Autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (Tils) immunotherapy is a promising treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular cancer. Although Tils treatment has shown great promise, their persistence and the efficacy after adoptive-transfer are insufficient and remain a challenge. Studies have demonstrated that IL-15 and Akt inhibitor can regulate T cell differentiation and memory. Here, we constructed S-15 (Super human IL-15), a fusion protein consisting of human IL-15, the sushi domain of the IL-15 receptor α chain and human IgG-Fc. Herein we compared the effects of S-15 with IL-2 or in combination with Akti on the expansion and activation of Tils. Methods Hepatocellular cancer tissues were obtained from 6 patients, Tils were expanded using IL-2, IL-2/S-15, IL-2/Akti or in combination IL-2/S-15/Akti. At day 10, anti-CD3 antibody was added to the culture media and expanded to day 25. The composition, exhaustion and T-cell differentiation markers (CD45RA/CCR7) were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results We found that IL-2/S-15/Akti expanded Tils and showed the highest percentage of central memory CD45RA−CCR7+ phenotype prior to anti-CD3 antibody activation and after anti-CD3 antibody activation. T cells cultured with IL-2/S-15/Akti exhibited a mixture of CD4+, CD8+, and CD3+CD4−CD8− T cells; S-15 in combination with Akt inhibitor downregulated the expression of PD-1+Tim-3+ on Tils and decreased the Tregs in Tils. Additionally, the Tils expanded in the presence of the Akt inhibitor and S-15 showed enhanced antitumor activity as indicated by the increase in IFN-γ producing tumor infiltrating CD8+ T cells and without comprising the Tils expansion. Conclusion Our study elucidates that IL-2/S-15/Akti expanded Tils and represent a viable source for the cellular therapy for patients with hepatocellular cancer.

Prognostic Impact of APOBEC3B Expression for Tumor-infiltrating Cytotoxic T cells in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunho Kim ◽  
Okran Kim ◽  
Myung Ah Lee ◽  
Ji Youl Lee ◽  
Sung-Hoo Hong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Urothelial Carcinoma ◽  
Cytotoxic T Cells ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
Log Rank Test ◽  
Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

Abstract Background: The APOBEC3B enzymes are endogenous carcinogenic mutagens. Metastatic urothelial carcinomas often harbor APOBEC3B-mediated mutations in which tCw to T or G substitution occurs. A high mutation burden in urothelial carcinoma can increase T-cell immunity against cancer cells, affecting prognosis. In this study, we aimed to evaluate patient survival and CD8+ T-cell density according to APOBEC3B expression in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who underwent cytotoxic chemotherapy.Methods: We performed a retrospective study in 94 patients with urothelial carcinoma who were treated with the first line palliative chemotherapy. Immunohistochemistry staining was performed to evaluate APOBEC3B expression and CD8+/CD3 ratio of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Survival curves according to APOBEC3B expression were generated using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. The correlation between APOBEC3B expression and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was analyzed using Pearson’s chi-squared test. Results: A high APOBEC3B expression was detected in 71 of the 94 patients (75.5%). The median overall survival of patients with high APOBEC3B expression (15 months) was longer than that of patients with low APOBEC3B expression (p = 0.045 by log-rank test). The hazard ratio based on the Cox regression analysis was 0.252 (95% confidence interval 0.082–0.781, p = 0.017). APOBEC3B expression was associated with the CD8+/CD3+ ratio of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (odds ratio 2.914, 95% confidence interval 1.030–8.249, p = 0.039).Conclusions: APOBEC3B expression was an independent prognostic factor in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Tumor-infiltrating cytotoxic T cells correlated with APOBEC3B expression.

scholarly journals Exhaustion-associated regulatory regions in CD8+ tumor-infiltrating T cells

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (13) ◽  
pp. E2776-E2785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliana P. Mognol ◽  
Roberto Spreafico ◽  
Victor Wong ◽  
James P. Scott-Browne ◽  
Susan Togher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Chromatin Accessibility ◽  
T Cell Exhaustion ◽  
Cell Exhaustion ◽  
Persistent Antigen ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

T-cell exhaustion is a progressive loss of effector function and memory potential due to persistent antigen exposure, which occurs in chronic viral infections and cancer. Here we investigate the relation between gene expression and chromatin accessibility in CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) that recognize a model tumor antigen and have features of both activation and functional exhaustion. By filtering out accessible regions observed in bystander, nonexhausted TILs and in acutely restimulated CD8+ T cells, we define a pattern of chromatin accessibility specific for T-cell exhaustion, characterized by enrichment for consensus binding motifs for Nr4a and NFAT transcription factors. Anti–PD-L1 treatment of tumor-bearing mice results in cessation of tumor growth and partial rescue of cytokine production by the dysfunctional TILs, with only limited changes in gene expression and chromatin accessibility. Our studies provide a valuable resource for the molecular understanding of T-cell exhaustion in cancer and other inflammatory settings.

503 Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in soft tissue sarcomas upregulate the exhaustion marker TIGIT and are reinvigorated by IL-15 stimulation and TIGIT blockade

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A538-A538
Author(s):  
Sean Judge ◽  
Morgan Darrow ◽  
Steven Thorpe ◽  
Alicia Gingrich ◽  
Edmond O’Donnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Cd8 T Cell ◽  
Cell Phenotype ◽  
And Function ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

BackgroundAlthough the presence and activity of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been shown to be important factors for survival and response to immunotherapy for multiple cancer types, the benefits of immunotherapy in soft tissue sarcomas (STS) have been limited, and novel approaches are needed. In this study, we sought to characterize the phenotype and function of tumor infiltrating natural killer (NK) and T cells in STS patients and to evaluate clinically relevant strategies to augment TIL function.MethodsUsing both prospectively collected blood and tumor tissue from STS patients undergoing surgical resection (n = 21) and archived specimens (n = 45), we performed flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry to evaluate the extent of peripheral and intratumoral CD3-CD56+ NK and CD8+ T cell phenotype and function as predictors of outcome. We also analyzed TCGA data and the peripheral blood of dogs with spontaneous osteosarcoma receiving inhaled IL-15 on a clinical trial to evaluate the association of CD3-NKp46+ NK and CD8+ T cell activation as well as TIGIT upregulation with outcome. Finally, we stimulated patient PBMCs and TILs ex vivo with IL-15 and a novel human anti-TIGIT antibody to assess the impact of combination therapy on NK and T cell phenotype and function. Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests were used where appropriate. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed by Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsCompared to peripheral expression, intratumoral NK and T cells showed an activated and exhausted phenotype by CD69 and TIGIT, respectively. Ex vivo TIL stimulation with IL-15 further increased markers of activation and function including CD69, Ki67, IFNg, and granzyme B, while increasing expression of exhaustion marker TIGIT. Analysis of a retrospective STS cohort and TCGA STS gene expression confirmed the association of TILs with improved prognosis. Dogs with metastatic osteosarcoma receiving inhaled IL-15 exhibited upregulation of activation markers and TIGIT. In vitro, IL-15 and TIGIT blockade of both peripheral and intratumoral NK cells increased cytotoxicity against sarcoma cell lines and increased expression of degranulation marker CD107a compared to IL-15 alone.ConclusionsTILs are associated with improved survival in STS, and tumor infiltrating NK and T cells show features of both increased activation and increased exhaustion. Tumor-infiltrating NK and T cells respond to IL-15 stimulation, but simultaneously further upregulate TIGIT with the combination of IL-15 and TIGIT blockade showing greatest cytotoxic effects. Overall, our data suggest that the combination of IL-15 and TIGIT blockade is a promising clinical strategy in STS.Ethics ApprovalAll experiments involving human and canine patients were approved by the respective Institutional Review Boards at the University of California, Davis, Schools of Medicine (Protocol #218204-9) and Veterinary Medicine (IACUC #20179).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document