scholarly journals 918 Doxycycline regulatable ß-catenin demonstrates inducible immune evasion in a melanoma GEM model

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A963-A963
Author(s):  
Alexandra Cabanov ◽  
Stefani Spranger ◽  
Thomas Gajewski ◽  
Alexandra Cabanov ◽  
Elen Torres-Mejia

BackgroundLack of response to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy has been linked to a deficiency of immune cell infiltration within the tumor microenvironment (TME). One demonstrated mechanism sufficient for the non-T cell inflamed TME is tumor cell-intrinsic activation of the β-catenin signaling pathway. Using genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs), tumors constitutively expressing active β-catenin lack a robust endogenous T cell infiltrate and fail to respond to immunotherapies. In support of these mouse studies, human melanoma metastases with increased active β-catenin signaling exhibit decreased numbers of tumor infiltrating Batf3-driven cDC1 and CD3+ T cells. However, whether temporal activation and inactivation of β-catenin within the same developing tumor would alter immune cell infiltration is not known.MethodsA model was created in which tamoxifen-regulated Cre-recombinase mediates BRAFV600E oncogene activation and PTEN tumor suppressor gene deletion as well as expression of a doxycycline regulatable reverse transactivator. Upon administration of doxycycline via the drinking water to these animals, a non-degradable form of nuclear β-catenin becomes expressed. Immunofluorescence assays were performed assessing the β-catenin expression status in the tumor cells as well as immune cell infiltration within the TME. Additionally, immunotherapy efficacy experiments were performed.ResultsWe observed that administration of doxycycline to these animals drove expression of an active form of nuclear β-catenin. Activation of nuclear β-catenin resulted in a 2-fold decrease in the overall CD3+ T cells infiltration into the TME. Moreover, this decrease in immune infiltration also resulted in loss of anti-PD-L1 + anti-CTLA-4 therapy efficacy. We next performed studies assessing the kinetics with which β-catenin levels diminish upon doxycycline removal. Switching animals to regular drinking water resulted in rapid reduction of nuclear β-catenin levels, including 50 percent reduction after two days of doxycycline removal and almost complete reduction of nuclear β-catenin after four days.ConclusionsWe describe a novel mouse model in which we induce autochthonous melanoma tumors in mice along with inducible expression of a non-degradable, nuclear β-catenin modulated by doxycycline in the drinking water. Activation of β-catenin signaling in melanoma tumors resulted in reduction of immune cells in the TME as well as loss of checkpoint blockade immunotherapy efficacy. This activation can be rapidly reversed by removing doxycycline, allowing for future studies evaluating the consequences of turning off β-catenin once it has already driven a non-T cell-inflamed TME.AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by the Wissler Fellowship from the University of Chicago (SS) K99/R00 (NCI; SS), and R35CA210098 (TG).

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander J. Dwyer ◽  
Jacob M. Ritz ◽  
Jason S. Mitchell ◽  
Tijana Martinov ◽  
Mohannad Alkhatib ◽  
...  

AbstractThe notion that T cell insulitis increases as type 1 diabetes (T1D) develops is unsurprising, however, the quantitative analysis of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells within the islet mass is complex and limited with standard approaches. Optical microscopy is an important and widely used method to evaluate immune cell infiltration into pancreatic islets of Langerhans for the study of disease progression or therapeutic efficacy in murine T1D. However, the accuracy of this approach is often limited by subjective and potentially biased qualitative assessment of immune cell subsets. In addition, attempts at quantitative measurements require significant time for manual analysis and often involve sophisticated and expensive imaging software. In this study, we developed and illustrate here a streamlined analytical strategy for the rapid, automated and unbiased investigation of islet area and immune cell infiltration within (insulitis) and around (peri-insulitis) pancreatic islets. To this end, we demonstrate swift and accurate detection of islet borders by modeling cross-sectional islet areas with convex polygons (convex hulls) surrounding islet-associated insulin-producing β cell and glucagon-producing α cell fluorescent signals. To accomplish this, we used a macro produced with the freeware software ImageJ equipped with the Fiji Is Just ImageJ (FIJI) image processing package. Our image analysis procedure allows for direct quantification and statistical determination of islet area and infiltration in a reproducible manner, with location-specific data that more accurately reflect islet areas as insulitis proceeds throughout T1D. Using this approach, we quantified the islet area infiltrated with CD4+ and CD8+ T cells allowing statistical comparison between different age groups of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice progressing towards T1D. We found significantly more CD4+ and CD8+ T cells infiltrating the convex hull-defined islet mass of 13-week-old non-diabetic and 17-week-old diabetic NOD mice compared to 4-week-old NOD mice. We also determined a significant and measurable loss of islet mass in mice that developed T1D. This approach will be helpful for the location-dependent quantitative calculation of islet mass and cellular infiltration during T1D pathogenesis and can be combined with other markers of inflammation or activation in future studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e14532-e14532
Author(s):  
Joerg Wischhusen ◽  
Markus Haake ◽  
Neha Vashist ◽  
Sabrina Genßler ◽  
Kilian Wistuba-Hamprecht ◽  
...  

e14532 Background: Growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a divergent member of the TGF-β superfamily with low to absent expression in healthy tissue. GDF-15 has been linked to feto-maternal immune tolerance, to prevention of excessive immune cell infiltration during tissue damage, and to anorexia. Various major tumor types secrete high levels of GDF-15. In cancer patients, elevated GDF-15 serum levels correlate with poor prognosis and reduced overall survival (OS). Methods: Impact of a proprietary GDF-15 neutralizing antibody (CTL-002) regarding T cell trafficking was analyzed by whole blood adhesion assays, a HV18-MK melanoma-bearing humanized mouse model and a GDF-15-transgenic MC38 model. Additionally, patient GDF-15 serum levels were correlated with clinical response and overall survival in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) and melanoma brain metastases. Results: In whole blood cell adhesion assays GDF-15 impairs adhesion of T and NK cells to activated endothelial cells. Neutralization of GDF-15 by CTL-002 rescued T cell adhesion. In HV18-MK-bearing humanized mice CTL-002 induced a strong increase in TIL numbers. Subset analysis revealed an overproportional enrichment of T cells, in particular CD8+ T cells. As immune cell exclusion is detrimental for checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy, a GDF-15-transgenic MC38 model was tested for anti-PD-1 therapy efficacy. In GDF-15 overexpressing MC38 tumors response to anti PD-1 therapy was reduced by 90% compared to wtMC38 tumors. Combining aPD-1 with CTL-002 resulted in 50% of the mice rejecting their GDF-15 overexpressing tumors. Clinically, inverse correlations of GDF-15 levels with CD8+ T cell infiltration were shown for HPV+ OPSCC and for melanoma brain metastases. GDF-15 serum levels were significantly higher in HPV- than in HPV+ OPSCC patient (p < 0.0001). Low GDF-15 levels corresponded to longer OS in both HPV- and HPV+ OPSCC. In two independent melanoma patient cohorts treated with nivolumab or pembrolizumab low baseline serum GDF-15 levels were predictive for clinical response to anti-PD1 treatment and superior OS. Bivariate analysis including LDH indicates that GDF-15 independently predicts poor survival in aPD-1 treated melanoma patients. Conclusions: Taken together our in vitro and in vivo data show that elevated GDF-15 levels block T-cell infiltration into tumor tissues. Neutralizing GDF-15 with CTL-002 restores the ability of T cells to extravasate blood vessels and enter tumor tissue both in vitro and in vivo. In melanoma, patients with higher GDF-15 levels have significantly shorter survival and are less likely to respond to anti-PD1 therapy. GDF-15 may thus serve as a new predictive biomarker for anti-PD1 response, but most importantly also represents a novel target for cancer immunotherapy to improve tumor immune cell infiltration and response to anti-PD1 therapy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keishi Adachi ◽  
Yosuke Kano ◽  
Tomohiko Nagai ◽  
Namiko Okuyama ◽  
Yukimi Sakoda ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A558-A558
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Valentin ◽  
Aude de Gassart ◽  
Patrick Brune ◽  
Clément Ghigo ◽  
Sophie Agaugué ◽  
...  

BackgroundICT01, a novel, anti-BTN3A immunotherapeutic mAb for activating g9d2T cells, is currently evaluated in a Phase 1/2a clinical trial in patients with advanced-stage, relapsed/refractory cancer (NCT04243499, EVICTION). ICT01 indirectly activates g9d2 T cells that secrete inflammatory cytokines and migrate into tumors to coordinate antitumor immune responses. Therefore, the baseline number of g9d2 T effector cells constitutes a biomarker of interest and a potential selection criterion for target patients.MethodsFull immunophenotyping (cell counts and activation state) was performed by flow cytometry on fresh blood collected pre- and on-treatment. Serum cytokines were monitored at baseline and post-treatment. Tumor biopsies were harvested at baseline and on Day 28, and multiplex IHC coupled with digital pathology was used to quantify g9d2T cell, CD8 T cell, NK cell, and T reg infiltration and activation stateResultsBaseline circulating g9d2 T cell count was highly variable in solid tumor patients enrolled in the monotherapy arm of EVICTION (median 6918 cell/mL, n=26). Melanoma and colorectal patients displayed respectively the highest (median 42277 cell/mL, n=3) and the lowest (median 3040 cell/mL, n=9) baseline number. During the dose escalation phase, g9d2 T cell activation (CD69+) and migration from the blood was observed 30 min post-ICT01 administration. Serum cytokine levels showed variability within ICT01 dose cohorts. IFNg, TNFa, IL-6 and IL-8 levels post-ICT01 dosing were ICT01 dose dependent and clearly related to baseline number of circulating g9d2 T cells. Activation of peripheral blood NK cells, granulocytes and CD8 T cells was observed post-dosing at ICT01 doses ≥7 mg, which was significantly correlated with baseline g9d2 T cell counts, but not with other immune subsets (Spearman r=0.51, 0.47 and 0.65 for CD69+NK, CD69+CD8 and PD-L1+granulocytes respectively, p<0.05, n=19). Baseline circulating g9d2 T cell count was positively correlated with gdTCR+ T cell density in baseline tumor biopsies (Spearman r=0.76, p=0.0086, n=11). Finally, a trend was observed between baseline g9d2 T cell counts and overall tumor immune cell infiltration and activation post-ICT01 treatment, with 4 patients (out of 13 with available biopsy pairs) with g9d2 T cell counts above the median displaying the highest tumor immune cell infiltration and activation.ConclusionsThese results suggest the utility of measuring baseline g9d2 T cells as part of the patient selection process for ICT01 clinical trials. Patient enrichment based on this biomarker will be tested in EVICTION expansion arms where a minimum baseline threshold of g9d2 T cells counts will be one of the eligibility criteria.Trial RegistrationNCT04243499Ethics ApprovalThe study has obtained Competent Authority and Ethics Committee approvals. Informed consent forms were obtained from all enrolled patients.


Author(s):  
Lu Yuan ◽  
Xixi Wu ◽  
Longshan Zhang ◽  
Mi Yang ◽  
Xiaoqing Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractPulmonary surfactant protein A1 (SFTPA1) is a member of the C-type lectin subfamily that plays a critical role in maintaining lung tissue homeostasis and the innate immune response. SFTPA1 disruption can cause several acute or chronic lung diseases, including lung cancer. However, little research has been performed to associate SFTPA1 with immune cell infiltration and the response to immunotherapy in lung cancer. The findings of our study describe the SFTPA1 expression profile in multiple databases and was validated in BALB/c mice, human tumor tissues, and paired normal tissues using an immunohistochemistry assay. High SFTPA1 mRNA expression was associated with a favorable prognosis through a survival analysis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) samples from TCGA. Further GeneOntology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses showed that SFTPA1 was involved in the toll-like receptor signaling pathway. An immune infiltration analysis clarified that high SFTPA1 expression was associated with an increased number of M1 macrophages, CD8+ T cells, memory activated CD4+ T cells, regulatory T cells, as well as a reduced number of M2 macrophages. Our clinical data suggest that SFTPA1 may serve as a biomarker for predicting a favorable response to immunotherapy for patients with LUAD. Collectively, our study extends the expression profile and potential regulatory pathways of SFTPA1 and may provide a potential biomarker for establishing novel preventive and therapeutic strategies for lung adenocarcinoma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-An Zhang ◽  
Xu-Yue Zhou ◽  
Dan Huang ◽  
Chao Luan ◽  
Heng Gu ◽  
...  

Melanoma remains a potentially deadly malignant tumor. The incidence of melanoma continues to rise. Immunotherapy has become a new treatment method and is widely used in a variety of tumors. Original melanoma data were downloaded from TCGA. ssGSEA was performed to classify them. GSVA software and the "hclust" package were used to analyze the data. The ESTIMATE algorithm screened DEGs. The edgeR package and Venn diagram identified valid immune-related genes. Univariate, LASSO and multivariate analyses were used to explore the hub genes. The "rms" package established the nomogram and calibrated the curve. Immune infiltration data were obtained from the TIMER database. Compared with that of samples in the high immune cell infiltration cluster, we found that the tumor purity of samples in the low immune cell infiltration cluster was higher. The immune score, ESTIMATE score and stromal score in the low immune cell infiltration cluster were lower. In the high immune cell infiltration cluster, the immune components were more abundant, while the tumor purity was lower. The expression levels of TIGIT, PDCD1, LAG3, HAVCR2, CTLA4 and the HLA family were also higher in the high immune cell infiltration cluster. Survival analysis showed that patients in the high immune cell infiltration cluster had shorter OS than patients in the low immune cell infiltration cluster. IGHV1-18, CXCL11, LTF, and HLA-DQB1 were identified as immune cell infiltration-related DEGs. The prognosis of melanoma was significantly negatively correlated with the infiltration of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, dendritic cells, neutrophils and macrophages. In this study, we identified immune-related melanoma core genes and relevant immune cell subtypes, which may be used in targeted therapy and immunotherapy of melanoma.


Hypertension ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick A Molina ◽  
Claudia J Edell ◽  
Rachel Q Muir ◽  
Jackson C Colson ◽  
Craig L Maynard ◽  
...  

High salt diets (HSD) promote both inflammation and immunosuppression as shown in numerous studies utilizing salt-sensitive or hypertensive models. However, mechanisms involved in the homeostatic immune response to HSD, alone, have not been fully elucidated. Regulatory T cells (FOXP3 + CD4 + T cells) play a role in host protection against disease or environmental stressors. Further, recent studies show that RORt + expression by Tregs may represent a functional adaptation by Tregs in response to alterations to the diet. Thus, we hypothesized that these Treg populations may expand in response to HSD alone, and a hypertensive insult prior to the HSD blunts this response. We designed experiments to determine whether Tregs and RORt + Tregs expand in response to HSD or with LNAME hypertension followed by HSD. We evaluated the following groups in male C57BL/6J mice: NSD (normal salt diet, 0.4% NaCl), LNAME/NSD (0.5mg/ml for 3-wks in drinking water, followed by 3-wks NSD), HSD (4% NaCl+1% NaCl in drinking water, 2-wks), or LNAME/HSD (0.5mg/mL for 3-wks in drinking water, with 1-wk NSD followed by 2-wks HSD). Following immune cell isolation, we utilized flow cytometry to phenotype renal and colonic T cells. Data are expressed as frequency of means (% of CD4 + TCRbeta + T cells)±SEM (n=3-8/group) compared to NSD. In kidneys, HSD significantly expanded Tregs and RORt + Tregs, while LNAME/HSD group was unchanged compared to controls (% Treg: NSD: 5.7±0.5; L-NAME: 6.5±0.5; HSD: 9.2±1.0**; LNAME/HSD: 6.2±0.3; % RORt + Treg: NSD: 0.4±0.07; L-NAME: 0.6±0.13; HSD: 1.8±0.41***; LNAME/HSD: 0.6±0.14; **p<0.01, ***p<0.001). In the colon, HSD significantly expanded Tregs and RORt + Tregs, whereas the LNAME/HSD group had no change in these T cell populations (% Treg: NSD: 36±2; LNAME: 42±1; HSD: 46±2*; LNAME/HSD: 43±2; % RORt + Tregs: NSD: 16±1; LNAME: 19±1; HSD: 23±1*; LNAME/HSD: 20±2; *p<0.05). These data suggest that Tregs and RORt + Tregs expand in response to HSD in the kidney and colon, with a greater magnitude of expansion by RORt + Tregs. However, this expansion of T cell populations is not evident in mice pre-exposed to a hypertensive insult. We propose that HSD stimulates pathways that promote Treg expansion, which may be associated with salt-resistance and protective mechanisms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 2) ◽  
pp. A5.1-A5
Author(s):  
A Martinez-Usatorre ◽  
E Kadioglu ◽  
C Cianciaruso ◽  
B Torchia ◽  
J Faget ◽  
...  

BackgroundImmune checkpoint blockade (ICB) with antibodies against PD-1 or PD-L1 may provide therapeutic benefits in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, most tumours are resistant and cases of disease hyper-progression have also been reported.Materials and MethodsGenetically engineered mouse models of KrasG12Dp53null NSCLC were treated with cisplatin along with antibodies against angiopoietin-2/VEGFA, PD-1 and CSF1R. Tumour growth was monitored by micro-computed tomography and the tumour vasculature and immune cell infiltrates were assessed by immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry.ResultsCombined angiopoietin-2/VEGFA blockade by a bispecific antibody (A2V) modulated the vasculature and abated immunosuppressive macrophages while increasing CD8+effector T cells in the tumours, achieving disease stabilization comparable or superior to cisplatin-based chemotherapy. However, these immunological responses were unexpectedly limited by the addition of a PD-1 antibody, which paradoxically enhanced progression of a fraction of the tumours through a mechanism involving regulatory T cells and macrophages. Elimination of tumour-associated macrophages with a CSF1R-blocking antibody induced NSCLC regression in combination with PD-1 blockade and cisplatin.ConclusionsThe immune cell composition of the tumour determines the outcome of PD-1 blockade. In NSCLC, high infiltration of regulatory T cells and immunosuppressive macrophages may account for tumour hyper-progression upon ICB.Disclosure InformationA. Martinez-Usatorre: None. E. Kadioglu: None. C. Cianciaruso: None. B. Torchia: None. J. Faget: None. E. Meylan: None. M. Schmittnaegel: None. I. Keklikoglou: None. M. De Palma: None.


2014 ◽  
Vol 297 (5) ◽  
pp. 925-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren J. Howson ◽  
Katrina M. Morris ◽  
Takumi Kobayashi ◽  
Cesar Tovar ◽  
Alexandre Kreiss ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared Liu ◽  
Hsin-Wen Chang ◽  
Kristen M. Beck ◽  
Sahil Sekhon ◽  
Timothy H. Schmidt ◽  
...  

AbstractThe IL17A inhibitor secukinumab is efficacious for the treatment of psoriasis. In order to define its mechanism of action, it is important to understand its impact on psoriatic whole skin tissue as well as specific skin-resident immune cell populations such as T lymphocytes. In this study, we treated 15 moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients with secukinumab and characterized the longitudinal transcriptomic changes of whole lesional skin tissue and cutaneous CD4+ T effector cells (Teffs), CD4+ T regulatory cells (Tregs), and CD8+ T effector cells during 12 weeks of treatment. Secukinumab was clinically effective, with 100%, 47%, and 27% of patients in the study achieving PASI75, PASI90, and PASI100 by week 12, respectively. At baseline prior to treatment, we observed that IL17A overexpression predominates in psoriatic CD8+ T cells rather than Teffs, supporting the importance of IL-17-secreting CD8+ T cells (Tc17) compared to IL-17-secreting CD4+ T cells (Th17) cells in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Although secukinumab targets only IL17A, we observed rapid reduction of IL17A, IL17F, IL23A, IL23R, and IFNG expression in lesional skin as soon as 2 weeks after initiation of treatment and normalization of expression by week 12. Secukinumab treatment resulted in resolution of 89-97% of psoriasis-associated expression differences in both bulk tissue and T cell subsets by week 12 of treatment. Overall, secukinumab appears to rapidly reverse many of the molecular hallmarks of psoriasis.


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