scholarly journals Association of Immunosuppression with DR6 Expression during the Development and Progression of Spontaneous Ovarian Cancer in Laying Hen Model

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sa’Rah McNeal ◽  
Pincas Bitterman ◽  
Janice M. Bahr ◽  
Seby L. Edassery ◽  
Jacques S. Abramowicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Tumor Progression ◽  
Peritoneal Cavity ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Laying Hen ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Late Stages

Ovarian cancer (OVCA) mainly disseminates in the peritoneal cavity. Immune functions are important to prevent OVCA progression and recurrence. The mechanism of immunosuppression, a hallmark of tumor progression, is not well understood. The goal of this study was to determine the immune system’s responses and its suppression during OVCA development and progression in hens. Frequencies of CD8+ T cells and IgY-containing cells and expression of immunosuppressors including IRG1 and DR6 in OVCA at early and late stages in hens were examined. Frequencies of stromal but not the intratumoral CD+8 T cells and IgY-containing cells increased significantly (P<0.01) during OVCA development and progression. Tumor progression was associated with increased expression of IRG1 and DR6 and decreased infiltration of immune cells into the tumor. Frequency of stromal but not intratumoral immune cells increases during OVCA development and progression. Tumor-induced IRG1 and DR6 may prevent immune cells from invading the tumor.

scholarly journals The Prognostic Value of Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells in Gynecologic Cancers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waichung Chen ◽  
Tuo Hu ◽  
Chunbo He
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Dendritic Cells ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Uterine Cancer ◽  
Cell Infiltration ◽  
Gynecologic Cancers

AbstractImmunotherapy has changed the standard of treatment for many cancers. However, only a small number of gynecologic cancer patients benefit from immunotherapy. The intra-tumoral immune landscapes are suggested as a predictor of the response to immunotherapies, but there are no studies that provide a comprehensive immune characterization for gynecologic cancers. To characterize cellular compositions of the immune infiltrates and investigate if the immune landscape is a predictor for patient prognosis in gynecologic cancers, we analyzed tumor immune infiltrates of ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and uterine cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) using QuanTIseq and EPIC. Ovarian cancer had the highest percentage of total immune cells. Cervical cancer and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma have lower percentages of immune cells with 17% and 16%, respectively. Furthermore, ovarian cancer had a significantly higher monocyte and M2-liked macrophage percentage, but a lower percentage for CD8 T cells and neutrophils compared to cervical cancer and uterine cancer. Cervical cancer had the highest percentage for M1-liked macrophages and the lowest for CD4 T cells. Uterine cancer had the highest percentage of dendritic cells. In cervical cancer, higher cell infiltration of CD8 T-Cells and M2-liked macrophages was associated with a better prognosis. In uterine cancer, patients with a higher number of dendritic cells and CD8 T-Cells had significantly better clinical outcomes. However, higher CD4 T-cell infiltration was associated with a poor prognosis in uterine cancer. Interestingly, the patient survival was not affected by the infiltration of any individual immune cells which we analyzed in ovarian cancer. We identified and validated four immune subtypes associated with distinct immune cell infiltration in gynecologic cancers. Cervical and uterine cancer patients from an immune-desert subtype that had the least amount of lymphocyte infiltration and a high level of monocyte had the worst prognosis. By contrast, cervical and uterine cancer patients from an immune-warm subtype that had higher infiltration of CD8 T-cell, natural killer (NK) cells, and dendritic cells (DCs) had the best prognosis. However, the survival rate of ovarian cancer patients is similar among the four different subtypes. Our study provides a conceptual framework to understand the tumor immune microenvironment of different gynecologic cancers.

347 Clinical outcomes of ovarian cancer patients treated with ALKS 4230, a novel engineered cytokine, in combination with pembrolizumab: ARTISTRY-1 trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A372-A373
Author(s):  
Ira Winer ◽  
Lucy Gilbert ◽  
Ulka Vaishampayan ◽  
Seth Rosen ◽  
Christopher Hoimes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Tumor Marker ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Comprehensive Cancer Center ◽  
List Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Heavily Pretreated

BackgroundALKS 4230 is a novel engineered cytokine that selectively targets the intermediate-affinity interleukin-2 receptor complex to activate CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells.1 The ARTISTRY-1 trial (NCT02799095) has shown encouraging efficacy and acceptable tolerability of ALKS 4230 among patients with advanced solid tumors.2 We report a detailed analysis of ovarian cancer (OC) patients who received combination therapy in ARTISTRY-1.MethodsARTISTRY-1 is an ongoing multicohort phase 1/2 trial exploring intravenous ALKS 4230 as monotherapy and combined with pembrolizumab. OC patients were enrolled into a cohort with mixed anti PD 1/L1 unapproved tumor types who had progressed on prior chemotherapy. OC patients received ALKS 4230 (3 µg/kg) on days 1–5 and pembrolizumab (200 mg) on day 1 of a 21 day cycle. Outcomes presented include antitumor activity (RECIST v1.1) and safety as of 7/24/2020. To evaluate changes in tumor microenvironment (TME), baseline and on-treatment biopsies were collected.ResultsFourteen heavily pretreated patients with OC were enrolled. Patients received a median of 5 (range, 2 11) prior regimens and all were previously treated with platinum based therapy. Among 13 evaluable patients with ≥1 assessment, 9 experienced disease control and 4 experienced disease progression; median treatment duration was approximately 7 weeks. Three patients experienced an objective response, including 1 complete response, 1 partial response (PR), and 1 unconfirmed PR; all were platinum resistant and negative for BRCA mutations. Five patients experienced tumor burden reductions (table 1). Treatment-related adverse events at the doses tested have generally been transient and manageable, with the majority being grade 1 and 2 in severity. Overall, based on preliminary data, the combination with ALKS 4230 did not demonstrate any additive toxicity to that already established with pembrolizumab alone. Additional safety and efficacy data are being collected in ongoing cohorts. In the monotherapy dose escalation portion of the study, ALKS 4230 alone increased markers of lymphocyte infiltration in 1 paired melanoma biopsy (1 of 1; on treatment at cycle 2); CD8+ T cell density and PD-L1 tumor proportion score increased 5.2- and 11 fold, respectively, supporting evidence that ALKS 4230 has immunostimulatory impact on the TME and providing rationale for combining ALKS 4230 with pembrolizumab (figure 1).Abstract 347 Table 1Summary of response observations among patients with ovarian cancerAbstract 347 Figure 1Increased markers of lymphocyte tumor infiltrationAn increase in CD3+CD8+ T cells (A, red = CD3; blue = CD8; purple = CD3+CD8+; teal = tumor marker), GranzymeB (B, red = CD8; green = granzymeB; yellow = granzymeB+CD8+; teal = tumor marker), and PD-L1 (C, red = PD-L1; blue = tumor marker) in the tumor microenvironment of a single patient was observed after the patient received monotherapy ALKS 4230ConclusionsThe combination of ALKS 4230, an investigational agent, and pembrolizumab demonstrates an acceptable safety profile and provides some evidence of tumor shrinkage and disease stabilization in some patients with heavily pretreated OC. This regimen could represent a new therapeutic option for these patients.AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank all of the patients who are participating in this trial and their families. The trial is sponsored by Alkermes, Inc. Medical writing and editorial support was provided by Parexel and funded by Alkermes, Inc.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials. gov NCT02799095Ethics ApprovalThis trial was approved by Ethics and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at all trial sites; IRB reference numbers 16–229 (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute), MOD00003422/PH285316 (Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center), 20160175 (Western IRB), i15-01394_MOD23 (New York University School of Medicine), TRIAL20190090 (Cleveland Clinic), and 0000097 (ADVARRA).ReferencesLopes JE, Fisher JL, Flick HL, Wang C, Sun L, Ernstoff MS, et al. ALKS 4230: a novel engineered IL-2 fusion protein with an improved cellular selectivity profile for cancer immunotherapy. J Immunother Cancer 2020;8:e000673. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2020-000673.Vaishampayan UN, Muzaffar J, Velcheti V, Winer I, Hoimes CJ, Rosen SD, et al. ALKS 4230 monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab (pembro) in patients (pts) with refractory solid tumors (ARTISTRY-1). Oral presentation at: European Society for Medical Oncology Annual Meeting; September 2020; virtual.

scholarly journals Direct and Indirect endocrine-mediated suppression of human endometrial CD8+T cell cytotoxicity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Shen ◽  
M. Rodriguez-Garcia ◽  
M. V. Patel ◽  
C. R. Wira
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Cytotoxic Activity ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Cd8 T Cell ◽  
Gynecological Cancers ◽  
Protective Strategies ◽  
T Cell Cytotoxicity

AbstractRegulation of endometrial (EM) CD8+T cells is essential for successful reproduction and protection against pathogens. Suppression of CD8+T cells is necessary for a tolerogenic environment that promotes implantation and pregnancy. However, the mechanisms regulating this process remain unclear. Sex hormones are known to control immune responses directly on immune cells and indirectly through the tissue environment. When the actions of estradiol (E2), progesterone (P) and TGFβ on EM CD8+T cells were evaluated, cytotoxic activity, perforin and granzymes were directly suppressed by E2 and TGFβ but not P. Moreover, incubation of polarized EM epithelial cells with P, but not E2, increased TGFβ secretion. These findings suggest that E2 acts directly on CD8+T cell to suppress cytotoxic activity while P acts indirectly through induction of TGFβ production. Understanding the mechanisms involved in regulating endometrial CD8+T cells is essential for optimizing reproductive success and developing protective strategies against genital infections and gynecological cancers.

Engineered immunostimulatory cells can convert PBMCs from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients into potent tumor killing immune cells.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 7517-7517
Author(s):  
Joshua W. Keegan ◽  
Frank Borriello ◽  
Stacey M. Fernandes ◽  
Jennifer R. Brown ◽  
James A. Lederer
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Nk Cells ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Killing Activity ◽  
Tumor Killing ◽  
Tumor Cell Killing ◽  
Potent Tumor

7517 Background: Alloplex Biotherapeutics has developed a cellular therapeutic that uses ENgineered Leukocyte ImmunoSTimulatory cell lines called ENLIST cells to activate and expand populations of tumor killing effector cells from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). This process leads to a 300-fold expansion of NK cells, CD8+ T cells, NKT cells, and TCRγδ T cells that are called SUPLEXA cells, which will be cryopreserved and transferred back into patients as an autologous immune cell therapy for cancer. In this study, PBMCs from CLL patients were used to generate SUPLEXA cells as a first approach to comparatively profile SUPLEXA cells from cancer patients and normal healthy volunteers (NHVs). Methods: ENLIST cell lines were engineered by expressing curated immunomodulatory proteins in the SK-MEL-2 melanoma cell line. Two million (M) PBMCs from 10 CLL patients or 2 NHVs were incubated with 0.4 M freeze/thaw killed ENLIST cells for 5 days in XVIVO-15 medium with 2% heat-inactivated human AB serum (XAB2) and then split 1:15 in XAB2 containing IL-7 and IL-15 to expand. After 9 days, SUPLEXA cells were harvested and cryopreserved. Results: Original PBMCs and matched SUPLEXA cells from each donor were thawed and characterized by mass cytometry (CyTOF) using a 47-marker antibody panel. CyTOF staining results of PBMCs from CLL patients demonstrated approximately 95% leukemia cells and few T cells, NK cells, B cells, and monocytes. CyTOF staining of SUPLEXA cells from all 10 CLL patients showed expansion of NK cells (17%), CD8 T cells (11%), and CD4 T cells (7.5%) that were similar in phenotype to SUPLEXA cells from NHVs showing high expression of granzymes and perforin that are indicative of potent tumor cell killing activity. Cancer cells in the original CLL PBMC samples were reduced to 0.78%. However, a population of non-T/non-B cells (60% ± 9.5%) was detected in SUPLEXA cells from all CLL patients that require further characterization. Next, SUPLEXA cells from CLL and NHV patients were comparatively tested for tumor cell killing activity at 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2 effector to target cell (MEL-14 melanoma cells expressing RFP) ratios. Percent killing of tumor cells by SUPLEXA cells prepared from CLL patients (77.8% ± 2.6% at 2:1) and NHVs (81.5% ± 0.3% at 2:1) were nearly identical at all effector to target ratios. Conclusions: We demonstrate for the first time that PBMCs from CLL patients can be converted into SUPLEXA cells despite low numbers of normal immune cells at baseline and the known immunologic impairment present in CLL patients. Importantly, SUPLEXA cells derived from CLL patients acquire potent tumor killing activity that is indistinguishable from SUPLEXA cells prepared from NHVs. Taken together, these findings support the feasibility of converting PBMCs from CLL patients with low percentages of NK and T cells into an autologous cellular therapy for cancer.

scholarly journals 708 Novel ways to exploit IL-21 to augment adoptive T cell transfer therapy against tumors

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A737-A737
Author(s):  
Anna Cole ◽  
Guillermo Rangel RIvera ◽  
Aubrey Smith ◽  
Megan Wyatt ◽  
Brandon Ware ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Striking Difference ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Cell Immunity ◽  
Emory University

BackgroundIL-21 enhances the anti-tumor capacity of adoptively transferred CD8+ T cells, while IL-2 and IL-15 impair T cell immunity by driving their expansion to a more differentiated status. Yet, these cytokines can act on many different immune cells. Given the potency of IL-21, we tested if this cytokine directly augments T cells or rather if it enhances other immune cells in the culture that indirectly improves T cell therapy.MethodsTo test this question, splenocytes from pmel-1 transgenic mice were used, as all CD8+ T cells express a transgenic TCR specific for tumor-antigen gp10025–33 overexpressed on melanoma. We then peptide activated naïve CD8+ T cells enriched or not from the spleen of pmel-1 mice and expanded them in the presence of IL-21 or IL-2 (10 ng/mL) for four days. Expanded pmel-1 from these various cultures were then restimulated with irradiated splenocytes pulsed with gp10025–33 and grown an additional seven days with IL-2 (10 ng/mL), irrespective of their initial cytokine condition. The in vitro memory phenotype, exhaustion profile, and cytokine secretion of these cultures were then assayed. Furthermore, mice bearing B16KVP melanoma tumors were infused with pmel-1 T cells expanded via these various approaches and compared for their relative capacity to engraft, persist, and regress tumor in vivo.ResultsInterestingly, we discovered that IL-21-treated T cells generated from bulk splenocytes are phenotypically and functionally distinct from IL-21-treated isolated T cells. Upon restimulation, IL-21-treated T cells from bulk splenocytes exhibited an exhausted phenotype that was like anergic IL-2-treated T cells. Moreover, few cells expressed CD62L but expressed heightened markers of suppression, including TIM3, PD-1, and EOMES. Moreover, they produced more effector molecules, including granzyme B and IFN-gamma. In vivo IL-21-treated T cells expanded from bulk splenocytes engrafted and persisted poorly, in turn mediating suboptimal regression of melanoma. Conversely, IL-21 dramatically bolstered the engraftment and antitumor activity of T cells only if they were first isolated from the spleen prior to their expansion and infusion into the animal.ConclusionsCollectively, our data shows that IL-21 may improve ACT therapy best when used directly on antitumor CD8+ T cells. Further studies will illuminate the mechanism behind this striking difference and determine whether other cell subsets reactive to IL-21 cause T cell dysfunction and/or reduced bioavailability. These findings are important for defining the best culture conditions in which to use IL-21 for ACT.AcknowledgementsWe would like to acknowledge Emory University, The Winship Cancer Institute, and the Pediatrics/Winship Flow Cytometry Core.Ethics ApprovalAll animal procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Emory University, protocol number 201900225.

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