The landscape of the tumor-infiltrating B cell and its association with T-cell and tumor microenvironment in human cancers.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 76-76
Author(s):  
Young Kwang Chae ◽  
William Han Bae ◽  
Yeonjoo Choi ◽  
Young Suk Kim ◽  
Jonathan Forrest Anker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Cell Infiltration ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Human Cancers

76 Background: Compared to recent advances in our knowledge of T cell biology with success of immunotherapy, little progress has been made in understanding of the effects of B cells in tumor microenvironment and their interactions with T cells. Preclinical studies reported that B cells may have immune suppressive roles in tumor microenvironment via induction of T cell exhaustion. However, this association has not been shown in human tissues. We explored the landscape of tumor infiltrating B and T cells and their association with tumor microenvironment in various human cancers for which the FDA approved the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Methods: Expression patterns for 812 immune related genes from the TCGA database were utilized to define tumor infiltrating cells in 2951 patients with bladder urothelial carcinoma, renal clear cell carcinoma, skin cutaneous melanoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Odds ratios (ORs) of the numbers of tumors with versus without activated B cell infiltration by the presence of activated CD8T cell infiltration were calculated. Results: Immune landscape of the six human cancers showed a consistent inverse association between tumor infiltrating activated B and CD8 T cells (OR = 0.18, p < 0.001). B cell infiltration was associated with increased expressions of immune checkpoints PD-L1, PD-1 and CTLA-4 and regulatory cytokines TGF-β, IL-10 and IL-35, which are known to be secreted by regulatory B cells. Angiogenic markers, such as angiopoietins, VEGF, MMP-9, CXCL10, CXCL11 and Tie2, showed differential expression patterns between B cell high and low groups. Conclusions: This is the first study that reports the inverse association between tumor infiltrating B and CD8 T cells in human tissues. The strong associations between B cell infiltration and increased expressions of suppressive cytokines and immune checkpoints suggest regulatory B cells may play a role in the T cell suppression in tumor microenvironment. Our results implicate that depleting B cells, leading to possible disinhibition of T cell activation, may be a future therapeutic option in potentiating T cell mediated immunity.

Association of activated B-cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment with regulatory T-cell (Treg) infiltration, but not macrophages polarization in immunogenic human cancers.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e23174-e23174
Author(s):  
Young Kwang Chae ◽  
William Han Bae ◽  
Young Suk Kim ◽  
Jonathan Forrest Anker ◽  
Maria Matsangou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Treg Cell ◽  
Macrophage Polarization ◽  
Treg Cells ◽  
Cell Infiltration ◽  
Human Cancers ◽  
Macrophages Polarization

e23174 Background: We reported an inverse association between tumor-infiltrating B and CD8 T cells in human cancers. Preclinical studies suggested that B cells regulate T cell activities via activation of Treg cells and alternative polarization of macrophages. In this study, we investigated the relationship between B cell infiltration, Treg cell infiltration, and macrophage polarization in five human cancers approved for the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors by the FDA. Methods: mRNA expression scores of 812 immune-related genes from the TCGA database were analyzed to calculate tumor infiltrating cells in 2951 patients with bladder urothelial carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, skin melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (Angelova et al., 2015). Expression patterns of Treg markers and M1/M2 phenotypic macrophage polarization markers were compared in relation to the presence of activated B cells (ActB) in human tumor tissues. Odds ratios (OR) of the numbers of tumors with versus without Treg cell infiltration by the presence of ActB cells were calculated. Results: Infiltration by ActB cells was significantly correlated with Treg cell infiltration in human cancers (OR=10.86, p<0.001). In lung adenocarcinoma, ActB cells also demonstrated a significant association with myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs, p<0.05). Tumors infiltrated by ActB cells had significantly elevated expressions of Treg markers and suppressive cytokines (Table), but not macrophage polarization markers. No significant changes in survival outcomes were noted. Conclusions: We report for the first time an association between B cells and Treg cells in human immunogenic cancer tissues. ActB cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment was positively correlated to Treg cell infiltration, but not macrophages polarization in immunogenic human cancers. [Table: see text]

Tumor Microenvironment In Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL) Influences Occurrence of Relapses and Progression to Large Cell Lymphoma

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 2684-2684
Author(s):  
Nasir Bakshi ◽  
Mansoor Aljabry ◽  
Saad Akhter ◽  
Irfan Maghfoor ◽  
Ayman Mashi
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Hodgkin Lymphoma ◽  
Clinical Course ◽  
Cell Lymphoma ◽  
Lp Cells

Abstract Abstract 2684 NLPHL accounts for 6.5% of all Hodgkin lymphoma cases in the West. It is characterized by a nodular or a nodular & diffuse proliferation of scattered large atypical CD20+ neoplastic B-cells referred to as lymphocyte predominant (LP) cells and typically associated with small lymphocytes mainly of B-cell type. Patients with NLPHL typically have an indolent clinical course but can frequently relapse. Progression to a higher grade lymphoma, notably T-cell/Histiocyte rich B-cell lymphoma (T/HRBCL) has been described in a relatively small number of cases. Because of its rarity, limited information is available about the role of non-neoplastic lymphocytes in NLPHL. Some studies suggest that NLPHL with T-cell rich background may behave differently than the conventional type with predominance of B-cells within the nodules. The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes of differential tumor microenvironment namely B-cell versus T-cell rich in patients with NLPHL. We document the clinicopathologic profiles of 29 patients with biopsy proven NLPHL, consisting of 22 male & 7 female, median age 26 years (range, 13–80 years). All patients had lymphoadenopathy & 2 cases showed extranodal involvement in addition to nodal disease. Two patients had a bulky mass, and three had stage 4 disease at presentation. The pathological diagnoses was reviewed and confirmed by an expert hematopathologist in all 29 cases. The LP cells in all cases had a prototypic immunophenotype of CD20+, CD79a+, PU.1+, Bcl-6+, CD15− CD30− & Fascin−. T/HRBCL was excluded as all cases demonstrated preservation of follicular dendritic meshwork by CD21 staining. The meshwork was expanded in 20 cases & in 9 cases it was partially disrupted evincing an irregular architectural pattern. Epstein-Barr Virus encoded RNA by in situ hybridization was negative in 8/8 cases tested. 27/29 patients received systemic multi-agent chemotherapy consisting of: doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbacin (ABVD), 24 patients; cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristin, and prednisone (CHOP), 2 patients; Rituximab + CHOP (R-CHOP), 1 patient. 9/29 (31%) cases underwent autologous stem cell transplant. One patient in stage 2A refused therapy and one patient (stage 3A) developed significantly decreased cardiac ejection fraction following initial 2 cycles of ABVD. Both of these cases did not have adequate follow-up information available. Results: Twelve of the 29 cases (42%) were designated as having T-cell rich background population, whereas 17 (58%) were considered as conventional variant with a vast predominance of non-neoplastic small lymphocytes being B-cells. A few of the cases seemed to show admixture of both B-cells & T-cells. Comparing T-cell rich & B-cell rich background NLPHL no significant differences were detected in clinical parameters: age, sex, and stage at presentation, absolute lymphocyte count, LDH & Hb. All 27 (100%) patients in this study responded to first-line treatment: 23 with complete response & 4 with partial response. 13/27 (48%) had relapse/s. Five cases had more than one relapses. No patient died within a clinical follow-up period ranging from 18 to 84 months. When the overall survival (OS) of T-cell rich NLPHL was compared with the conventional variant there was no statistical significance between the two groups (log rank p= 0.1206). However, comparison of relapse rate showed that cases with T-cell rich background had higher relapse rate as well as greater incidence of multiple relapses as compared to B-cell rich type of NLPHL even after adjusting for the type of treatment received (log rank p= 0.003). Moreover, 2/12 (17%) T-cell rich NLPHL cases showed transformation to a high grade lymphoma (both T/HRBCL) at the time of recurrence. These findings suggest that in NLPHL a tumor microenvironment rich in T-cells rather than B-cells is characterized by an unfavorable clinical course although OS appears to be similar. These cases perhaps represent a distinctive clinicopathologic variant within the framework of NLPHL. Lately, the term ‘NLPHL with nodules resembling T/HRBCL’ has been used to express the immunobiological overlap between these two entities. It is possible that such cases could be regarded as “intermediate lymphomas” treading between NLPHL and T/HRLBCL. Further studies using gene array profiling analysis may help clarify the molecular differences between these closely related entities. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

IL-21 and IL-6 Mediate Interactions Between T Cells and Malignant B Cells in the Bone Marrow Microenvironment in Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia

Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 1554-1554
Author(s):  
Lucy S. Hodge ◽  
Steve Ziesmer ◽  
Frank J Secreto ◽  
Zhi-Zhang Yang ◽  
Anne Novak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Bone Marrow Microenvironment ◽  
Waldenström’S Macroglobulinemia ◽  
Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia

Abstract Abstract 1554 T cells in the tumor microenvironment influence the biology of malignant cells in many hematologic malignancies, often through cytokine-mediated interactions. Recent studies involving healthy B cells and CD4+T cells identified an interplay between IL-6 and IL-21, whereby IL-6 increased IL-21 production by T cells, driving the differentiation and IL-6 secretion of nearby B cells. In addition to their known effects on healthy B cell function, IL-6 and IL-21 have also been implicated in the pathology of various lymphomas. In Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM), IL-6 is elevated in the bone marrow and is associated with increased IgM production. However, the function of IL-21 in the WM tumor microenvironment and its relationship to IL-6 is poorly understood. Our objective in this study was to characterize IL-21 production and function in WM and to examine the role of IL-6 and IL-21 in regulating interactions between malignant B cells and T cells in the tumor microenvironment. Immunohistochemistry revealed significant IL-21 staining in bone marrows of patients with WM (n=5), but the areas of infiltration by WM in the bone marrow sections appeared negative for IL-21 staining. To better understand the origin of IL-21 in in the tumor microenvironment, IL-21 expression was assessed by PCR in the CD19−CD138− fraction of cells remaining in patient bone marrow aspirates after positive selection for malignant B cells (n=5). IL-21 transcript was detected in 4/5 samples. CD19−CD138− cells activated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies expressed higher levels of IL-21 transcript and secreted significantly higher levels of IL-21 protein compared to unstimulated cells, suggesting that IL-21 in the WM bone marrow is derived from activated T cells. Intracellular expression of IL-21 protein was confirmed in CD4+ and CD8+ cells within the CD19−CD138− population using flow cytometry. Furthermore, dual staining of WM bone marrow sections with antibodies against IL-21 and CD3 or CD20 revealed co-staining of IL-21 with CD3+ T cells but not with CD20+ B cells. The response of WM B cells to T-cell derived IL-21 was then assessed in positively selected CD19+CD138+ WM B cells (n=5) and in the MWCL-1 cell line. Using flow cytometry, both the IL-21 receptor and the required common gamma chain subunit were detected on all patient samples as well as on MWCL-1 cells. Treatment of MWCL-1 cells with IL-21 (100 ng/mL) for 72 h increased proliferation by 35% (p<0.05) and IgM secretion by 80% (p<0.005). Similarly, in primary CD19+CD138+ WM cells (n=5), proliferation increased on average by 38% and IgM secretion by 71%. No apoptotic effects were associated with IL-21 in WM. Characterization of STAT activation in response to IL-21 revealed significant phosphorylation of STAT3 in both CD19+CD138+ WM cells and MWCL-1 cells and was associated with increases in BLIMP-1 and XBP-1 protein and decreases in PAX5. As STAT3 activation is known to regulate IL-6, we assessed the effect of IL-21 on B cell-mediated IL-6 secretion using ELISA. IL-21 significantly increased IL-6 secretion by both primary CD19+CD138+ WM cells (n=4) and MWCL-1 cells (87.9 +/− 10.9 ng/mL vs. 297.8 +/− 129.2 ng/mL, p<0.05). Treatment with IL-6 and IL-21 together had no additional effect over IL-21 alone on proliferation or IgM secretion in MWCL-1 cells, but culturing anti-CD3/anti-CD28-activated CD19−CD138−cells from WM bone marrows with IL-6 significantly increased IL-21 secretion (n=3). Overall, these data indicate that T-cell derived IL-21 significantly promotes growth and immunoglobulin production by malignant WM B cells and that subsequent IL-6 secretion by malignant B cells may enhance the secretion of IL-21 by T cells within the bone marrow microenvironment. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Acute Bone Marrow GvHD Is Associated With Delayed B Cell Neogenesis and Impaired Natural Antibody Response After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 4605-4605
Author(s):  
Angela Mensen ◽  
Korinna Jöhrens ◽  
Ioannis Anagnostopoulos ◽  
Sonya Demski ◽  
Christoph Ochs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bone Marrow ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Cell Infiltration ◽  
Strong Increase ◽  
Cell Recovery ◽  
T Cell Infiltration ◽  
Transitional B Cells

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and severe infections are main complications limiting the success of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantion (alloHSCT). Delayed B cell reconstitution followed by B cell immune dysfunction considerably contributes to an increased risk for life-threatening infections. Several studies have shown that B cell regeneration is impaired in patients with systemic GvHD. Bone marrow (BM) suppression is often observed in parallel as GvHD symptoms appear suggesting the BM as a target of GvHD. Thus far, little is known about mechanisms of BM dysfunction during GvHD in alloHSCT patients. In this study, we investigated the reconstitution kinetics of peripheral blood B cell subsets in adult acute leukemic patients (n=52) before and within six months after alloHSCT by flow cytometry and correlated the data with RT-PCR quantified numbers of kappa-deleting-recombination-excision-circles (KREC), which are stable episomal plasmids generated during BM B cell development. Furthermore, we determined specific B cell antibody responses after in vitrostimulation with CpG, CD40L and T cell cytokines by EliSPOT analysis. To investigate BM as a direct target of allo-reactive T cells we performed histopathological stainings of BM biopsy samples obtained 3-4 weeks after alloHSCT. T cells were detected by specific anti-CD3 antibody staining and osteoblasts were morphologically evaluated. We observed in all patients a profound B cell immune deficiency already pre-transplant that proceeded within the first months post alloHSCT (mean B cells/ml blood±SEM: 11±3 pretransplant, 3±1 day14, 3±1 day28 post alloHSCT; 83±13 healthy control). Onset of B cell reconstitution is characterized by transitional B cell recovery representing the first B cell subset which emigrates from the BM. B cell reconstitution occurred either early (37% of patients) with a strong increase of transitional B cells between days 60-90 (mean transitional B cells/ml blood±SEM: Day 60, 36±10) or late (33% of patients) with delayed recovering transitional B cells (Day 180, 5±2). KREC copy numbers correlated highly positive and significantly with transitional B cell numbers (Spearman 0.94, p=0.017). Less correlation was obtained with naïve and CD27+ memory B cell recovery. Delayed onset of B cell reconstitution was significantly associated with both presence of systemic acute GvHD and full-intensity conditioning therapy (GvHD 71% vs non-GvHD 32%, Fisher´s exact p=0.044; full-intensity 41% vs reduced-intensity 5%, p=0.016). Supporting the hypothesis of bone marrow GvHD we could show a stronger infiltration of CD3+ T cells in the BM in late than in early recovering patients (≥5% T cell infiltration: 64% vs 17%, p=0.010). This increased T-cell infiltration was associated with reduced numbers of osteoblasts, known in mice to support B cell lymphopoiesis (no/few osteoblasts: 65% vs 17%, p=0.011). Impaired B cell lymphopoiesis further resulted in a delayed naïve and IgM memory B cell recovery compared to early recovering patients. No recovery of switched-memory B cells was seen for both patient groups within the analyzed time-period. Functionally, ex vivoactivation of patient B cells revealed higher numbers of IgM producing B cells specific for pneumococcal polysaccharide (PnP) at day 180 post alloHSCT in early than in late recovering patients. Polyclonal IgG producing B cells were significantly diminished in all patients. We conclude from these data, that early onset of B cell reconstitution is characterized by strong increase in regenerating transitional B cells within three months after alloHSCT. Herein, KREC appears as a suitable biomarker to monitor BM B cell output post-transplant. B cell regeneration is significantly delayed in patients showing increased occurrence of systemic acute GvHD and stronger T cell infiltration with loss of osteoblasts in the BM. Thus, delayed onset of B cell reconstitution might result from acute BM GvHD in which alloreactive T cells lead to an osteoblast niche destruction. Increased PnP specific IgM antibody responses are most likely result of higher numbers of early reconstituted transitional and IgM memory B cells but not naïve B cells that were shown not to produce IgM upon CpG stimulation (Capolunghi F et al. 2008). Thus, early B cell reconstitution might provide a first natural antibody immunity after alloHSCT, emphasizing the importance of a functional bone marrow niche. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals Landscape of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in human immunogenic cancers:B cells are inversely associated with CD8T cells, but positively correlated with Treg cells

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Kwang Chae ◽  
William Han Bae ◽  
Minji Jung ◽  
Young Suk Kim ◽  
Jonathan Forrest Anker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Survival Outcomes ◽  
Cancer Tissue ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Human Cancers ◽  
Activated B Cells

AbstractThe composition of tumor-infiltrating immune cells may be a strong predictor of cancer treatment responses and survival outcomes. While B cells have been suggested to suppress T cell cytotoxicity in preclinical studies, it has been less understood whether B cells will exert immune-regulatory roles in human cancers. We explored immune cell landscapes in six human immunogenic cancers, including bladder cancer, head and neck cancer, lung adenocarcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, and renal cell carcinoma by calculating gene expression patterns of immune cell-specific metagenes in a total of 2951 cancers. We demonstrated that tumor-infiltrating activated B cells was correlated with regulatory T cell (Treg) infiltration, but had an inverse association with activated CD8 T cell infiltration consistently across all six human cancers. Tumors infiltrated by activated B cells (ActB+ tumors) demonstrated an elevated expression of regulatory cytokines and immune checkpoints, compared to tumors without infiltration by activated B cells (ActB-tumors). Activated B infiltration was not significantly associated with survival outcomes.PrécisThis human cancer tissue analysis showed that tumor infiltration by activated B cells correlates with decreased infiltration by activated CD8 T cells in immunogenic solid tumors, implicating B cell inhibition may enhance T cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

TGF-β Is Selectively Expressed on Lymphoma B Cells and Regulates the Differentiation of Intratumoral T Cells in B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)

Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 1586-1586
Author(s):  
Zhi-Zhang Yang ◽  
Deanna Grote ◽  
Steven C. Ziesmer ◽  
Thomas E. Witzig ◽  
Anne J. Novak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Treg Cells ◽  
Lymphoma Cell ◽  
Lymphoma Cells

Abstract Abstract 1586 Transformation growth factor (TGF-β) is a highly pleiotropic cytokine critical to a variety of cellular events such as cell differentiation and apoptosis. TGF-β is synthesized as a prepro-TGF-β precursor and secreted after being processed in Golgi apparatus as a latent form that non-covalently combines both TGF-β and latency-associated protein (LAP). Our previous work in B-cell NHL has shown that the intratumoral T cell composition results in the establishment of a profoundly inhibitory tumor microenvironment. However, the underlying mechanism is only partially understood. In this study, using patient specimens and lymphoma cell lines, we evaluated the role of TGF-β in the tumor microenvironment and determined the effect of TGF-β on the generation of intratumoral TH1, TH17 and Treg cells in B-cell NHL. First, we determined expression of TGF-β and found that a latent form of TGF-β was specifically expressed on the surface of CD19+ B cells, but not on other types of cells from B-cell lymphoma biopsy specimens. By screening cell lines, we found that latent TGF-β was also expressed on the surface of lymphoma cell lines, confirming the finding. Second, we tested whether surface expression by lymphoma cells led to the secretion of TGF-β in culture medium. Using an ELISA assay, we detected variable levels of latent TGF-β in the culture medium of primary malignant B cells (median 100 pg/ml per million cells, range: undetectable −229 pg/ml, n=7). Similarly, lymphoma cell lines secreted variable amounts of TGF-β from undetectable to 200 pg/ml per million cells. Next, we determined the effect of TGF-b on intratumoral T cell proliferation and differentiation. As expected, exogenous addition of TGF-β inhibited the proliferation of T cells. Notably, the proliferation of intratumoral T cells was significantly reduced when co-cultured with lymphoma cells bearing an active form of TGF-β compared to that with lymphoma cells without TGF-β. Using flow cytometry, we showed that the addition of exogenous TGF-β enhanced Foxp3 expression in activated CD4+, CD4+CD45RA+ or CD4+CD45RO+ intratumoral T cells, suggesting that TGF-β promotes the generation of Treg cells in tumor microenvironment. In contrast, TGF-β suppressed the expression of IFN-γ in activated CD4+ T cells and inhibited the up-regulation of IL-12 and IL-23-induced IFN-γ expression in CD4+ cells, indicating that TGF-β suppresses the generation of TH1 cells. TGF-β alone slightly inhibited IL-17 expression in CD4+ T cells; however, TGF-β, in the presence of IL-6 and IL-23, up-regulated IL-17 expression in CD4+ T cells, suggesting proinflammatory cytokines are able to reverse the suppression induced by TGF-β. These results suggest that TGF-β controls the generation of TH1, TH17 and Treg cells contributing to the imbalance of effector TH cells and inhibitory Treg cells in the tumor microenvironment of B-cell NHL. Since malignant B-cells produce TGF-β, these results further support the important role of malignant B cells in the regulation of intratumoral T cell differentiation and the host immune response. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Support Follicular Lymphoma-Associated Follicular Helper T-Cells, in Part, Through an IL-6 and IL-21-Dependent Mechanism.

Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 2707-2707
Author(s):  
Michael T. Brady ◽  
Shannon P. Hilchey ◽  
Steven H. Bernstein
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Stromal Cells ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Immune Effector ◽  
Follicular Helper ◽  
Survival Signals

Abstract Abstract 2707 The biology of follicular lymphoma (FL) is largely dictated by the immune-effector and stromal cells that comprise its tumor microenvironment. Recent studies have demonstrated that various infiltrating T-cell populations can be predictive of clinical outcome, with two such populations, follicular helper T-cells (TFH) and regulatory T-cells (Treg) likely playing critical roles in the biology of this disease. TFH are normally responsible for the activation and maintenance of germinal center B-cells while Tregs suppress effector T-cell priming and function as well as suppress normal B-cell proliferation and differentiation. There is also data to support the notion that both of these cells have direct and/or indirect effects on FL B-cells. These cells and other immune-effector cells within the FL microenvironment have dynamic interactions with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), multipotent cells residing in most adult tissues, which can be recruited by FL B-cells into the tumor microenvironment where they inhibit anti-lymphoma T-cell responses and FL B-cell apoptosis. We hypothesized that such MSC play a role in modulating TFH viability, similar to what has been previously reported for Treg, and herein we show such a novel role for MSC, that being the selective support of FL-derived TFH populations. To determine the effect of MSC on the viability of discrete T-cell populations infiltrating FL lymph nodes (FLN), un-separated single cell suspensions (SCS) from FLN (n=13) were cultured for 48 hours alone or with normal tonsillar-derived MSC. The fold change in the proportion of CD4 T-cells that are TFH (CXCR5+PD-1+Bcl-6+), Tregs (CD25+FoxP3+), TH1 (T-bet+), TH2 (GATA-3+) or TH17 (ROR-gamma-t+) cells in SCS incubated with MSC was compared to that of SCS incubated without MSC. A 2.3-fold increase in the percentage of TFH (p=0.006) cells and a 2-fold increase in the percentage of Tregs (p=0.007) were observed in the SCS cultured with MSC compared to those cultured without MSC. The effect of MSC in maintaining TFH and Tregs was selective, as in contrast, the proportion of T-cells expressing the canonical TH1, TH2 and TH17 transcription factors was not increased after culture with MSC. B-cells provide survival signals to TFH and stromal cells provide survival signals to B-cells, therefore we next determined whether the stromal support of TFH was mediated via B-cells. Both purified FL T-cells and B-cell-depleted FL SCS cultured on MSC showed a similar increase in TFH (and Treg) populations as seen with un-separated FL-B SCS, indicating that MSC support of TFH and Tregs was independent of B-cells. MSC only partially supported TFH and Treg populations in transwell experiments suggesting a role for both cell-cell contact and soluble factors. In this regard, IL-6 and IL-21 are known to be secreted by MSC and to signal through gp130 receptors on TFH to induce the transcription of Bcl-6, which is required for TFH differentiation. Blocking IL-6 and IL-21 decreased MSC support of TFH by 42% (p=0.021), while reducing MSC support of Tregs by only 17% (p=0.018) suggesting that IL-6 and IL-21 mediate, in part, the protective effect that MSC have on TFH but that other cytokines are likely to play a role in supporting Tregs. Finally, we have shown that FLN-derived MSC support both FL T-cells and normal lymph node T-cells to a similar extent as the tonsillar MSC used in these experiments. This provides support for the use of tonsillar MSC in these experiments as we were able to generate and expand these more consistently than MSC from FLN, which allowed us to use a consistent MSC product for all experiments. These findings therefore demonstrate a new role for MSC in FL, that being to support FL TFH in addition to Treg populations in the tumor microenvironment. MSCs have been shown to support FL B-cell viability and suppress anti-lymphoma T-cell responses. This finding that MSCs support TFH cells, a population that may provide survival signals to FL B-cells, further supports the potential of targeting MSC as a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with FL. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals B cell depletion impairs vaccination-induced CD8+ T cell responses in a type I interferon-dependent manner

2021 ◽  
pp. annrheumdis-2021-220435
Author(s):  
Theresa Graalmann ◽  
Katharina Borst ◽  
Himanshu Manchanda ◽  
Lea Vaas ◽  
Matthias Bruhn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Cell Expansion ◽  
De Novo ◽  
T Cell Responses ◽  
Type I ◽  
Cell Responses ◽  
T Cell Expansion

ObjectivesThe monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody rituximab is frequently applied in the treatment of lymphoma as well as autoimmune diseases and confers efficient depletion of recirculating B cells. Correspondingly, B cell-depleted patients barely mount de novo antibody responses during infections or vaccinations. Therefore, efficient immune responses of B cell-depleted patients largely depend on protective T cell responses.MethodsCD8+ T cell expansion was studied in rituximab-treated rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and B cell-deficient mice on vaccination/infection with different vaccines/pathogens.ResultsRituximab-treated RA patients vaccinated with Influvac showed reduced expansion of influenza-specific CD8+ T cells when compared with healthy controls. Moreover, B cell-deficient JHT mice infected with mouse-adapted Influenza or modified vaccinia virus Ankara showed less vigorous expansion of virus-specific CD8+ T cells than wild type mice. Of note, JHT mice do not have an intrinsic impairment of CD8+ T cell expansion, since infection with vaccinia virus induced similar T cell expansion in JHT and wild type mice. Direct type I interferon receptor signalling of B cells was necessary to induce several chemokines in B cells and to support T cell help by enhancing the expression of MHC-I.ConclusionsDepending on the stimulus, B cells can modulate CD8+ T cell responses. Thus, B cell depletion causes a deficiency of de novo antibody responses and affects the efficacy of cellular response including cytotoxic T cells. The choice of the appropriate vaccine to vaccinate B cell-depleted patients has to be re-evaluated in order to efficiently induce protective CD8+ T cell responses.

Single Cell Profiling Reveals Unique CXCL13 Positive T Cell Subsets in the Tumor Microenvironment of Lymphocyte Rich Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma

Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 32-33
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Aoki ◽  
Lauren C. Chong ◽  
Katsuyoshi Takata ◽  
Katy Milne ◽  
Elizabeth Chavez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
The Other ◽  
Tfh Cells

Introduction: Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) features a unique crosstalk between malignant cells and different types of normal immune cells in the tumor-microenvironment (TME). On the basis of histomorphologic and immunophenotypic features of the malignant Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells and infiltrating immune cells, four histological subtypes of CHL are recognized: Nodular sclerosing (NS), Mixed cellularity, Lymphocyte-rich (LR) and Lymphocyte-depleted CHL. Recently, our group described the high abundance of various types of immunosuppressive CD4+ T cells including LAG3+ and/or CTLA4+ cells in the TME of CHL using single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). However, the TME of LR-CHL has not been well characterized due to the rarity of the disease. In this study, we aimed at characterizing the immune cell profile of LR-CHL at single cell resolution. METHODS: We performed scRNAseq on cell suspensions collected from lymph nodes of 28 primary CHL patients, including 11 NS, 9 MC and 8 LR samples, with 5 reactive lymph nodes (RLN) serving as normal controls. We merged the expression data from all cells (CHL and RLN) and performed batch correction and normalization. We also performed single- and multi-color immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tissue microarray (TMA) slides from the same patients. In addition, an independent validation cohort of 31 pre-treatment LR-CHL samples assembled on a TMA, were also evaluated by IHC. Results: A total of 23 phenotypic cell clusters were identified using unsupervised clustering (PhenoGraph). We assigned each cluster to a cell type based on the expression of genes described in published transcriptome data of sorted immune cells and known canonical markers. While most immune cell phenotypes were present in all pathological subtypes, we observed a lower abundance of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in LR-CHL in comparison to the other CHL subtypes. Conversely, we found that B cells were enriched in LR-CHL when compared to the other subtypes and specifically, all four naïve B-cell clusters were quantitatively dominated by cells derived from the LR-CHL samples. T follicular helper (TFH) cells support antibody response and differentiation of B cells. Our data show the preferential enrichment of TFH in LR-CHL as compared to other CHL subtypes, but TFH cells were still less frequent compared to RLN. Of note, Chemokine C-X-C motif ligand 13 (CXCL13) was identified as the most up-regulated gene in LR compared to RLN. CXCL13, which is a ligand of C-X-C motif receptor 5 (CXCR5) is well known as a B-cell attractant via the CXCR5-CXCL13 axis. Analyzing co-expression patterns on the single cell level revealed that the majority of CXCL13+ T cells co-expressed PD-1 and ICOS, which is known as a universal TFH marker, but co-expression of CXCR5, another common TFH marker, was variable. Notably, classical TFH cells co-expressing CXCR5 and PD-1 were significantly enriched in RLN, whereas PD-1+ CXCL13+ CXCR5- CD4+ T cells were significantly enriched in LR-CHL. These co-expression patterns were validated using flow cytometry. Moreover, the expression of CXCR5 on naïve B cells in the TME was increased in LR-CHL compared to the other CHL subtypes We next sought to understand the spatial relationship between CXCL13+ T cells and malignant HRS cells. IHC of all cases revealed that CXCL13+ T cells were significantly enriched in the LR-CHL TME compared to other subtypes of CHL, and 46% of the LR-CHL cases showed CXCL13+ T cell rosettes closely surrounding HRS cells. Since PD-1+ T cell rosettes are known as a specific feature of LR-CHL, we confirmed co-expression of PD-1 in the rosetting cells by IHC in these cases. Conclusions: Our results reveal a unique TME composition in LR-CHL. LR-CHL seems to be distinctly characterized among the CHL subtypes by enrichment of CXCR5+ naïve B cells and CD4+ CXCL13+ PD-1+ T cells, indicating the importance of the CXCR5-CXCL13 axis in the pathogenesis of LR-CHL. Figure Disclosures Savage: BeiGene: Other: Steering Committee; Merck, BMS, Seattle Genetics, Gilead, AstraZeneca, AbbVie: Honoraria; Roche (institutional): Research Funding; Merck, BMS, Seattle Genetics, Gilead, AstraZeneca, AbbVie, Servier: Consultancy. Scott:Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; NanoString: Patents & Royalties: Named inventor on a patent licensed to NanoString, Research Funding; NIH: Consultancy, Other: Co-inventor on a patent related to the MCL35 assay filed at the National Institutes of Health, United States of America.; Roche/Genentech: Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy. Steidl:AbbVie: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy; Curis Inc: Consultancy; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding.

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