scholarly journals Targeting T Cell Immunometabolism for Cancer Immunotherapy; Understanding the Impact of the Tumor Microenvironment

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary B. Mockler ◽  
Melissa J. Conroy ◽  
Joanne Lysaght
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals 292 Ex vivo profiling of PD-1 blockade using an organotypic tissue slice model in solid tumors

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A316-A316
Author(s):  
Lina Ding ◽  
Kristin Sullivan ◽  
Chensheng Zhou ◽  
Jimena Trillo-Tinoco ◽  
Anne Lewin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Tissue Slice ◽  
Mechanisms Of Resistance ◽  
Original Tumor ◽  
Organotypic Tissue ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Secretome Profiling

BackgroundTumor explant models provide a powerful ex vivo tool to evaluate complex biological mechanisms in a controlled environment. Ex vivo models retain much of the original tumor biology, heterogeneity, and tumor microenvironment, and therefore provide a useful preclinical platform and functional approach to assess drug responses rapidly and directly.MethodsTo explore mechanisms of resistance to cancer immunotherapy, we established an organotypic tissue slice Air-Liquid Interface (ALI) ex vivo system utilizing surgical tumor specimens from patients to assess the impact of the clinically utilized anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab (OPDIVO). In the present study, we built a real-world patient cohort comprised of six tumor types: non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer. We assessed tissue morphology, histology, PD-L1 IHC (CPS and TPS), CD8 T cell topology, proliferation in the tumor and stromal compartments, and secretome profiling.ResultsOur tumor slice model highly recapitulated features of the original tumor, including tumor architecture, immune phenotypes, and the prognostic markers. To identify responses to aPD-1 treatment, we compared baseline values for the cultured tumor slices with values at different timepoints post treatment. Secretome profiling of tissue explant supernatants using a panel of 94 analytes, revealed alterations to cytokines produced in the tumor microenvironment in response to aPD-1 treatment. We found that soluble expression patterns were associated with T-cell patterns (inflamed, excluded and desert) and PD-L1 score (CPS and TPS) in tumor tissues. These cytokines mediate critical functions across the immune cell cycle. Ongoing efforts to characterize T cell activation, exhaustion, tumor intrinsic responses and microenvironment composition using Imaging Mass Cytometry will be presented.ConclusionsIn this study, we demonstrated the feasibility of using fresh, surgically resected human tumors to test aPD-1 responses in an ex vivo system. Further, this model system has the potential to drive discovery and translational efforts by evaluating mechanisms of resistance to cancer immunotherapy and evaluate new single agent or combination therapies in the ex vivo setting.

scholarly journals Targeting HIF-1 alpha transcriptional activity drives cytotoxic immune effector cells into melanoma and improves combination immunotherapy

Oncogene ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Lequeux ◽  
Muhammad Zaeem Noman ◽  
Malina Xiao ◽  
Kris Van Moer ◽  
Meriem Hasmim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Transcriptional Activity ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Tumor Resistance ◽  
Combination Strategy ◽  
Immune Effector ◽  
Effector Cells ◽  
Melanoma Patients ◽  
The Impact

AbstractHypoxia is a key factor responsible for the failure of therapeutic response in most solid tumors and promotes the acquisition of tumor resistance to various antitumor immune effectors. Reshaping the hypoxic immune suppressive tumor microenvironment to improve cancer immunotherapy is still a relevant challenge. We investigated the impact of inhibiting HIF-1α transcriptional activity on cytotoxic immune cell infiltration into B16-F10 melanoma. We showed that tumors expressing a deleted form of HIF-1α displayed increased levels of NK and CD8+ effector T cells in the tumor microenvironment, which was associated with high levels of CCL2 and CCL5 chemokines. We showed that combining acriflavine, reported as a pharmacological agent preventing HIF-1α/HIF-1β dimerization, dramatically improved the benefit of cancer immunotherapy based on TRP-2 peptide vaccination and anti-PD-1 blocking antibody. In melanoma patients, we revealed that tumors exhibiting high CCL5 are less hypoxic, and displayed high NK, CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell markers than those having low CCL5. In addition, melanoma patients with high CCL5 in their tumors survive better than those having low CCL5. This study provides the pre-clinical proof of concept for a novel triple combination strategy including blocking HIF-1α transcription activity along vaccination and PD-1 blocking immunotherapy.

scholarly journals 322 Melanoma-intrinsic hypoxia-inducible factor-1α results in diminished T cell accumulation within the tumor microenvironment

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A347-A347
Author(s):  
Emily Higgs ◽  
Thomas Gajewski ◽  
Jonathan Trujillo
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Cancer Cell ◽  
Gene Expression Analysis ◽  
Hypoxia Inducible Factor ◽  
Gene Signature ◽  
T Cell Response ◽  
Pathway Activation ◽  
Cell Accumulation ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundThe hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) system, consisting of the transcription factors HIF-1α and HIF-2α, mediates cellular adaptation to hypoxia, and can promote cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis. HIF pathway activation in the tumor microenvironment has been implicated in cancer immune evasion; however, a direct causal role for tumor cell-intrinsic HIF-1α and HIF-2α activation in mediating T cell exclusion and cancer cell resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy has not been demonstrated.MethodsWe performed gene expression analysis of melanoma tumors in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data set to determine whether increased HIF-1α pathway activation correlated with reduced T cell-based inflammation. The magnitude of HIF-1α pathway activation across melanoma samples was determined by applying a quantitative scoring system on the expression of a melanocyte-specific hypoxia-induced, HIF-1α-target gene signature consisting of 81 genes. The Pearson correlation test was used to compare the HIF-1α activation score and our 160-gene T-cell-inflamed gene signature. To determine the impact of cancer cell-intrinsic HIF-1α or HIF-2α activation on the endogenous anti-tumor T cell response, we developed an inducible autochthonous mouse melanoma model driven by BRAFV600E expression and PTEN-deletion, with or without inducible expression of either a stabilized variant of HIF-1α or HIF-2α. These murine tumor models are being used to determine the impact of cancer cell-intrinsic HIF-1α or HIF-2α activation on tumor sensitivity to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 and anti-CTLA-4 treatment.ResultsGene expression analysis of human melanomas in the TCGA demonstrated a statistically significant inverse correlation between the HIF-1α activation score and T cell-inflammation score. Braf/PTEN murine melanomas with and without stabilized HIF-1α expression developed with comparable tumor onset and growth kinetics. Multiparameter immunofluorescence staining of melanoma tissue revealed a significant decrease in tumor-infiltrating T cells within Braf/PTEN melanoma tumors expressing stabilized HIF-1α compared to control Braf/PTEN melanomas.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate that tumor-cell intrinsic HIF-1α activation leads to diminished T cell accumulation within the tumor microenvironment, which has implications for cancer immunotherapy. The mechanism of this effect is being elucidated. These novel murine models will help elucidate the roles of cancer cell-intrinsic HIF-1α and HIF-2α activation in modulating the anti-tumor T cell response, providing mechanistic insight that will inform the evaluation of novel selective HIF inhibitors, which are showing promising anti-tumor activity in clinical trials in patients with advanced solid tumors.

scholarly journals Antigen Selection for Enhanced Affinity T-Cell Receptor–Based Cancer Therapies

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 769-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma S. Hickman ◽  
Martine E. Lomax ◽  
Bent K. Jakobsen
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
T Cell Response ◽  
Adoptive Cell Transfer ◽  
Cytotoxic T Cell ◽  
Discovery Process ◽  
Cancer Antigens ◽  
The Impact

Evidence of adaptive immune responses in the prevention of cancer has been accumulating for decades. Spontaneous T-cell responses occur in multiple indications, bringing the study of de novo expressed cancer antigens to the fore and highlighting their potential as targets for cancer immunotherapy. Circumventing the immune-suppressive mechanisms that maintain tumor tolerance and driving an antitumor cytotoxic T-cell response in cancer patients may eradicate the tumor or block disease progression. Multiple strategies are being pursued to harness the cytotoxic potential of T cells clinically. Highly promising results are now emerging. The focus of this review is the target discovery process for cancer immune therapeutics based on affinity-matured T-cell receptors (TCRs). Target cancer antigens in the context of adoptive cell transfer technologies and soluble biologic agents are discussed. To appreciate the impact of TCR-based technology and understand the TCR discovery process, it is necessary to understand key differences between TCR-based therapy and other immunotherapy approaches. The review first summarizes key advances in the cancer immunotherapy field and then discusses the opportunities that TCR technology provides. The nature and breadth of molecular targets that are tractable to this approach are discussed, together with the challenges associated with finding them.

scholarly journals Cancer Immunotherapy Employing an Innovative Strategy to Enhance CD4+ T Cell Help in the Tumor Microenvironment

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. e115711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liwen Song ◽  
Ming-Chieh Yang ◽  
Jayne Knoff ◽  
T.-C. Wu ◽  
Chien-Fu Hung
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Cd4 T Cell ◽  
Innovative Strategy ◽  
Cd4 T Cell Help ◽  
T Cell Help

scholarly journals Checkpoint protein expression in the tumor microenvironment defines the outcome of classical Hodgkin lymphoma patients

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristiina Karihtala ◽  
Suvi-Katri Leivonen ◽  
Marja-Liisa Karjalainen-Lindsberg ◽  
Fong Chun Chan ◽  
Christian Steidl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Hodgkin Lymphoma ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Immune Escape ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma ◽  
Checkpoint Protein ◽  
The Impact

Emerging evidence indicates a major impact for the tumor microenvironment (TME) and immune escape in the pathogenesis and clinical course of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). We used gene expression profiling (n=88), CIBERSORT, and multiplex immunohistochemistry (n=131) to characterize the immunoprofile of cHL TME, and correlated the findings with survival. Gene expression analysis divided tumors into subgroups with T cell-inflamed and non-inflamed TME. Several macrophage-related genes were upregulated in samples with the non-T cell-inflamed TME, and based on the immune cell proportions, the samples clustered according to the content of T cells and macrophages. A cluster with high proportions of checkpoint protein (PD-1, PD-L1, IDO-1, LAG-3, and TIM-3) positive immune cells translated to unfavorable overall survival (OS) (5-year OS 76% vs. 96%, P=0.010), and remained as an independent prognostic factor for OS in multivariable analysis (HR 4.34, 95% CI 1.05-17.91, P=0.043). cHLs with high proportions of checkpoint proteins overexpressed genes coding for cytolytic factors, proposing paradoxically that they were immunologically active. This checkpoint molecule gene signature translated to inferior survival in a validation cohort of 290 diagnostic cHL samples (P<0.001) and in an expansion cohort of 84 cHL relapse samples (P=0.048). Our findings demonstrate the impact of T cell- and macrophage-mediated checkpoint system on the survival of patients with cHL.

scholarly journals Oncolytic Newcastle disease virus delivered by Mesenchymal stem cells-engineered system enhances the therapeutic effects altering tumor microenvironment in a murine papillomavirus tumor model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
mohsen Keshavarz ◽  
Mir Saeed Ebrahimzadeh ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Miri ◽  
Hassan Dianat-Moghadam ◽  
Seyedeh Sara Ghorbanhosseini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Newcastle Disease Virus ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Disease Virus ◽  
Newcastle Disease ◽  
Caspase 3

Abstract Background: Cervical cancer is the most common human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer caused by persistent genital high-risk HPV infection. Cancer immunotherapy has represented great potential as a new promising cancer therapeutic approach. Here, we report Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a carrier for the delivery of oncolytic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) for the treatment of HPV-associated tumor.Methods: For this purpose, MSCs obtained from the bone marrow of C57BL mice, then cultured and characterized subsequently by the flow cytometry analysis for the presence of cell surface markers. In this study, we sought out to determine the impacts of MSCs loaded with oncolytic NDV on splenic T cell and cytokine immune responses, caspase-3 and -9 expression, and myeloid and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) by histological and immunohistochemical studies in the tumor microenvironment (TME).Results: our findings proved that MSCs possess both migratory capacity and tumor tropism toward transplanted tumor tissue after peritumoral administration. Tumor therapy experiments indicated that oncolytic NDV delivered by MSCs-engineered system significantly reduces tumor growth, which is associated with the enhancement of E7-specific lymphocyte proliferation, CD8+ T cell cytolysis responses, and splenic IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-12 responses compared with control groups. Moreover, the treatment upregulated the concentration of apoptotic proteins (caspase 3 and 9) and increased infiltration of tumor microenvironment with CD11b+myeloid and Gr1+MDSCs cells.Conclusions: Our data suggest MSCs carrying oncolytic NDV as a potentially effective strategy for cancer immunotherapy through inducing splenic Th1 immune responses and MDSCs expansion in the tumor microenvironment.

scholarly journals Therapeutic Induction of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Cancer Through Stromal Remodeling

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Johansson-Percival ◽  
Ruth Ganss
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Tumor Rejection ◽  
Cell Infiltration ◽  
Cytotoxic T Cell ◽  
T Cell Infiltration ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Tertiary Lymphoid Structures ◽  
Lymphoid Structures

Improving the effectiveness of anti-cancer immunotherapy remains a major clinical challenge. Cytotoxic T cell infiltration is crucial for immune-mediated tumor rejection, however, the suppressive tumor microenvironment impedes their recruitment, activation, maturation and function. Nevertheless, solid tumors can harbor specialized lymph node vasculature and immune cell clusters that are organized into tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). These TLS support naïve T cell infiltration and intratumoral priming. In many human cancers, their presence is a positive prognostic factor, and importantly, predictive for responsiveness to immune checkpoint blockade. Thus, therapeutic induction of TLS is an attractive concept to boost anti-cancer immunotherapy. However, our understanding of how cancer-associated TLS could be initiated is rudimentary. Exciting new reagents which induce TLS in preclinical cancer models provide mechanistic insights into the exquisite stromal orchestration of TLS formation, a process often associated with a more functional or “normalized” tumor vasculature and fueled by LIGHT/LTα/LTβ, TNFα and CC/CXC chemokine signaling. These emerging insights provide innovative opportunities to induce and shape TLS in the tumor microenvironment to improve immunotherapies.

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