scholarly journals Type I Interferon Promotes Antitumor T Cell Response in CRPC by Regulating MDSC

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5574
Author(s):  
Lilv Fan ◽  
Guiliang Xu ◽  
Jingjing Cao ◽  
Min Li ◽  
Huihui Zhang ◽  
...  

Background: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is the leading cause of death among prostate cancer patients. Here, our aim was to ascertain the immune regulatory mechanisms involved in CRPC development and identify potential immunotherapies against CRPC. Methods: A CRPC model was established using Myc-CaP cells in immune-competent FVB mice following castration. The immune cell profile of the tumor microenvironment (TME) was analyzed during CRPC development. Different immunotherapies were screened in the CRPC tumor model, and their efficacies and underlying mechanisms were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Results: During CRPC development, the proportion of granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSCs) in the TME increased. Among the immunotherapies tested, IFNα was more effective than anti-PD-L1, anti-CTLA-4, anti-4-1BB, IL-2, and IL-9 in reducing Myc-CaP CRPC tumor growth. IFNα reduced the number of G-MDSCs both in vitro during differentiation and in vivo in CRPC mice. Furthermore, IFNα reduced the suppressive function of G-MDSCs on T cell proliferation and activation. Conclusion: G-MDSCs are crucial to effective immunotherapy against CRPC. Treatment with IFNα presents a promising therapeutic strategy against CRPC. Besides the direct inhibition of tumor growth and the promotion of T cell priming, IFNα reduces the number and the suppressive function of G-MDSCs and restores T cell activation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A663-A663
Author(s):  
Keegan Cooke ◽  
Juan Estrada ◽  
Jinghui Zhan ◽  
Jonathan Werner ◽  
Fei Lee ◽  
...  

BackgroundNeuroendocrine tumors (NET), including small cell lung cancer (SCLC), have poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. AMG 757 is an HLE BiTE® immune therapy designed to redirect T cell cytotoxicity to NET cells by binding to Delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) expressed on the tumor cell surface and CD3 on T cells.MethodsWe evaluated activity of AMG 757 in NET cells in vitro and in mouse models of neuroendocrine cancer in vivo. In vitro, co-cultures of NET cells and human T cells were treated with AMG 757 in a concentration range and T cell activation, cytokine production, and tumor cell killing were assessed. In vivo, AMG 757 antitumor efficacy was evaluated in xenograft NET and in orthotopic models designed to mimic primary and metastatic SCLC lesions. NSG mice bearing established NET were administered human T cells and then treated once weekly with AMG 757 or control HLE BiTE molecule; tumor growth inhibition was assessed. Pharmacodynamic effects of AMG 757 in tumors were also evaluated in SCLC models following a single administration of human T cells and AMG 757 or control HLE BiTE molecule.ResultsAMG 757 induced T cell activation, cytokine production, and potent T cell redirected killing of DLL3-expressing SCLC, neuroendocrine prostate cancer, and other DLL3-expressing NET cell lines in vitro. AMG 757-mediated redirected lysis was specific for DLL3-expressing cells. In patient-derived xenograft and orthotopic models of SCLC, single-dose AMG 757 effectively engaged human T cells administered systemically, leading to a significant increase in the number of human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in primary and metastatic tumor lesions. Weekly administration of AMG 757 induced significant tumor growth inhibition of SCLC (figure 1) and other NET, including complete regression of established tumors and clearance of metastatic lesions. These findings warranted evaluation of AMG 757 (NCT03319940); the phase 1 study includes dose exploration (monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab) and dose expansion (monotherapy) in patients with SCLC (figure 2). A study of AMG 757 in patients with neuroendocrine prostate cancer is under development based on emerging data from the ongoing phase 1 study.Abstract 627 Figure 1AMG 757 Significantly reduced tumor growth in orthotopic SCLC mouse modelsAbstract 627 Figure 2AMG 757 Phase 1 study designConclusionsAMG 757 engages and activates T cells to kill DLL3-expressing SCLC and other NET cells in vitro and induces significant antitumor activity against established xenograft tumors in mouse models. These preclinical data support evaluation of AMG 757 in clinical studies of patients with NET.Ethics ApprovalAll in vivo work was conducted under IACUC-approved protocol #2009-00046.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi129-vi129
Author(s):  
Marilin Koch ◽  
Mykola Zdioruk ◽  
M Oskar Nowicki ◽  
Estuardo Aguilar ◽  
Laura Aguilar ◽  
...  

Abstract RATIONALE Dexamethasone is frequently used in symptomatic treatment of glioma patients, although it is known to cause immune suppression. Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies have not yet been successful in glioma treatments. Gene-mediated cytotoxic immunotherapy (GMCI) is an immunotherapeutic approach that uses aglatimagene besadenovec with an anti-herpetic prodrug to induce immunogenic tumor cell death and immune cell attraction to the tumor site with potent CD8 T cell activation. GMCI is currently in clinical trials for solid tumors including glioblastoma, where it showed encouraging survival results in a Phase 2 study that did not limit the use of dexamethasone. However, the effects of dexamethasone on its efficacy have not been explored. METHODS We investigated the effects of dexamethasone on GMCI in vitro using cytotoxicity and T-cell-killing assays in glioblastoma cell lines. The impact of dexamethasone in vivo was assessed in an orthotopic syngeneic murine glioblastoma model. RESULTS Cyotoxicity assays showed that Dexamethasone has a slight impact on GMCI in vitro. In contrast, we observed a highly significant effect in T-cell-functional assays in which killing was greatly impaired. Immune cell response assays revealed a reduced T-cell proliferation after co-culture with supernatant from dexamethasone or combination treated glioblastoma cells in contrast to GMCI alone. In a murine model, the combination of GMCI and dexamethasone resulted in a significant reduction in median symptom-free survival (29d) in comparison to GMCI alone (39.5d) (P = 0.0184). CONCLUSION Our data suggest that high doses of dexamethasone may negatively impact the efficacy of immunotherapy for glioma, which may be a consequence of impaired T cell function. These results support the idea that there is a need in identifying possible alternatives to dexamethasone to maximize the effectiveness of immunostimulatory therapies such as GMCI.


1998 ◽  
Vol 188 (12) ◽  
pp. 2335-2342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siquan Sun ◽  
Xiaohong Zhang ◽  
David F. Tough ◽  
Jonathan Sprent

Immunostimulatory DNA and oligodeoxynucleotides containing unmethylated CpG motifs (CpG DNA) are strongly stimulatory for B cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs). We report here that, as manifested by CD69 and B7-2 upregulation, CpG DNA also induces partial activation of T cells, including naive-phenotype T cells, both in vivo and in vitro. Under in vitro conditions, CpG DNA caused activation of T cells in spleen cell suspensions but failed to stimulate highly purified T cells unless these cells were supplemented with APCs. Three lines of evidence suggested that APC-dependent stimulation of T cells by CpG DNA was mediated by type I interferons (IFN-I). First, T cell activation by CpG DNA was undetectable in IFN-IR−/− mice. Second, in contrast to normal T cells, the failure of purified IFN-IR−/− T cells to respond to CpG DNA could not be overcome by adding normal IFN-IR+ APCs. Third, IFN-I (but not IFN-γ) caused the same pattern of partial T cell activation as CpG DNA. Significantly, T cell activation by IFN-I was APC independent. Thus, CpG DNA appeared to stimulate T cells by inducing APCs to synthesize IFN-I, which then acted directly on T cells via IFN-IR. Functional studies suggested that activation of T cells by IFN-I was inhibitory. Thus, exposing normal (but not IFN-IR−/−) T cells to CpG DNA in vivo led to reduced T proliferative responses after TCR ligation in vitro.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 3721-3721
Author(s):  
Eugene Zhukovsky ◽  
Uwe Reusch ◽  
Carmen Burkhardt ◽  
Stefan Knackmuss ◽  
Ivica Fucek ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 3721 Background: CD19 is expressed from early B cell development through differentiation into plasma cells, and is an attractive alternative to CD20 as a target for the development of therapeutic antibodies to treat B cell malignancies. T cells are potent tumor-killing effector cells that cannot be recruited by native antibodies. The CD3 RECRUIT-TandAb AFM11, a humanized bispecific tetravalent antibody with two binding sites for both CD3 and CD19, is a novel therapeutic for the treatment of NHL that harnesses the cytotoxic nature of T cells. Methods: We engineered a bispecific anti-CD19/anti-CD3e tetravalent TandAb with humanized and affinity-matured variable domains. The TandAb's binding properties, T cell-mediated cytotoxic activity, and target-mediated T cell activation were characterized in a panel of in vitro assays. In vivo efficacy was evaluated in a murine NOD/scid xenograft model reconstituted with human PBMC. Results: AFM11 mediates highly potent CD19+ tumor cell lysis in cytotoxicity assays performed on a panel of cell lines (JOK-1, Raji, Nalm-6, MEC-1, VAL, Daudi) and primary B-CLL tumors: EC50 values are in the low- to sub-picomolar range and do not correlate with the expression density of CD19 on the target cell lines. The cytotoxic activity of tetravalent AFM11 is superior to that of alternative bivalent antibody formats possessing only a single binding site for both CD19 and CD3. High affinity binding of AFM11 to CD19 and to CD3 is essential for efficacious T cell recruitment. Both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells mediate cytotoxicity however the former exhibit much faster killing. We observe that AFM11 displays similar cytotoxic efficacy at different effector to target ratios (from 5:1 to 1:5) in cytotoxicity assays; this suggests that T cells are engaged in the serial killing of CD19+ target cells. In the absence of CD19+ target cells in vitro, AFM11 does not elicit T cell activation as manifested by cytokine release (from a panel of ten cytokines associated with T cell activation), their proliferation, or their expression of activation markers. AFM11 activates T cells exclusively in the presence of its targets and mediates lysis of CD19+ cells while sparing antigen-negative bystanders. In the absence of CD19+ target cells, AFM11 concentrations in excess of 500-fold over EC50 induce down-modulation of the CD3/TCR complex. Yet, AFM11-treated T cells can be re-engaged for target cell lysis. All of these features of AFM11-induced T cell activation may contribute additional safety without compromising its efficacy. In vivo AFM11 demonstrates a robust dose-dependent inhibition of subcutaneous Raji tumors in mice. At 5 mg/kg AFM11 demonstrates a complete suppression of tumor growth, and even at 5 ug/kg tumor growth is reduced by 60%. Moreover, we observe that a single administration of AFM11 produces inhibition of tumor growth similar to that of 5 consecutive administrations. Conclusions: In summary, our in vitro and in vivo experiments with AFM11 demonstrate the high potency and efficacy of its anti-tumor cytotoxicity. Thus, AFM11 is a novel highly efficacious drug candidate for the treatment of B cell malignancies with an advantageous safety profile. Disclosures: Zhukovsky: Affimed Therapeutics AG: Employment, Equity Ownership. Reusch:Affimed Therapeutics AG: Employment. Burkhardt:Affimed Therapeutics AG: Employment. Knackmuss:Affimed Therapeutics AG: Employment. Fucek:Affimed Therapeutics AG: Employment. Eser:Affimed Therapeutics AG: Employment. McAleese:Affimed Therapeutics AG: Employment. Ellwanger:Affimed Therapeutics AG: Employment.


2003 ◽  
Vol 197 (6) ◽  
pp. 777-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Laure Santiago-Raber ◽  
Roberto Baccala ◽  
Katarina M. Haraldsson ◽  
Divaker Choubey ◽  
Timothy A. Stewart ◽  
...  

Indirect evidence suggests that type-I interferons (IFN-α/β) play a significant role in the pathogenesis of lupus. To directly examine the contribution of these pleiotropic molecules, we created congenic NZB mice lacking the α-chain of IFN-α/βR, the common receptor for the multiple IFN-α/β species. Compared with littermate controls, homozygous IFN-α/βR-deleted NZB mice had significantly reduced anti-erythrocyte autoantibodies, erythroblastosis, hemolytic anemia, anti-DNA autoantibodies, kidney disease, and mortality. These reductions were intermediate in the heterozygous-deleted mice. The disease-ameliorating effects were accompanied by reductions in splenomegaly and in several immune cell subsets, including B-1 cells, the major producers of anti-erythrocyte autoantibodies. Decreases of B and T cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, and of dendritic cell maturation and T cell stimulatory activity in vitro were also detected. Absence of signaling through the IFN-α/βR, however, did not affect increased basal levels of the IFN-responsive p202 phosphoprotein, encoded by a polymorphic variant of the Ifi202 gene associated with the Nba2 predisposing locus in NZB mice. The data indicate that type-I IFNs are important mediators in the pathogenesis of murine lupus, and that reducing their activity in the human counterpart may be beneficial.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A928-A928
Author(s):  
Steve Sazinsky ◽  
Phuong Nguyen ◽  
Mohammad Zafari ◽  
Ryan Phennicie ◽  
Joe Wahle ◽  
...  

BackgroundVSIG4 (V-set immunoglobulin-domain-containing 4) is a B7 family related protein with known roles as a complement receptor involved in pathogen clearance as well as a negative regulator of T cell activation by an undetermined mechanism.1–3 VSIG4 is expressed in tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) with exquisite specificity. In cancer, increased expression of VSIG4 has been associated with worse survival in multiple indications, including non-small cell lung cancer, multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, and glioma, suggesting an important role in tumor immune evasion.3–6 Based upon computational analysis of transcript data across thousands of primary cancer and normal tissue samples, we hypothesized that VSIG4 has an important regulatory role in promoting M2-like immune suppressive macrophages in the tumor microenvironment, and that targeting VSIG4 via a monoclonal antibody could relieve VSIG4-mediated macrophage suppression by repolarizing TAMs to an inflammatory phenotype capable of coordinating an anti-tumor immune response.MethodsThe ability of anti-VSIG4 antibodies to repolarize M2-like macrophages and induce T cell activation was assessed in vitro and ex vivo, by measuring production of inflammatory mediators. In vitro assays were performed primarily with M-CSF plus IL-10 driven monocyte-derived M2c macrophages from healthy donors. Ex vivo assays were performed with fresh, patient-derived tumor samples in culture. To determine whether targeting VSIG4 can lead to an anti-tumor effect in vivo, syngeneic mouse models were dosed with anti-mouse VSIG4 antibodies and characterized for changes in tumor volume and immune cell populations.ResultsIn in vitro and ex vivo assays anti-VSIG4 antibodies repolarize M2 macrophages and induce an immune response culminating in T cell activation. Targeting VSIG4 upregulates pro-inflammatory cytokines in M2c macrophages, as well as upregulates pro-inflammatory myeloid-derived cytokines and T cell-derived cytokines in M2c macrophages co-cultured with autologous T cells in the presence of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) activation. To assess targeting VSIG4 in a relevant translational model, fresh, patient-derived tumor samples were treated ex vivo with anti-VSIG4. Across multiple tumor types, anti-VSIG4 treatment resulted in a significant upregulation of cytokines involved in TAM repolarization and T cell activation, and chemokines involved in immune cell recruitment, at levels greater than observed by treatment with anti-PD-1 or a clinical macrophage repolarizing agent (anti-ILT-4). In vivo, tumor growth inhibition is observed in syngeneic mouse models dosed with anti-mouse-VSIG4 alone and in combination with anti-PD-1.ConclusionsTaken together, these data suggest that VSIG4 represents a promising new target capable of stimulating an anti-cancer response via multiple key immune mechanisms.Referencesvan Lookeren Campagne M, Verschoor A. Pathogen clearance and immune adherence “revisited”: immuno-regulatory roles for CRIg. Semin Immunol 2018;37:4–11.Xu S, Sun Z, Li L, Liu J, He J, Song D, Shan G, Liu H, Wu X. Induction of T cells suppression by dendritic cells transfected with VSIG4 recombinant adenovirus. Immunol Lett 2010;128(1):46–50.Liao Y, Guo S, Chen Y, Cao D, Xu H, Yang C, Fei L, Ni B, Ruan Z. VSIG4 expression on macrophages facilitates lung cancer development. Lab Invest 2014;94(7):706–715.Roh J, Jeon Y, Lee A, Lee S, Kim Y, Sung C, Park C, Hong J, Yoon D, Suh C, Huh J, Choi I, Park C. The immune checkpoint molecule V-set Ig domain-containing 4 is an independent prognostic factor for multiple myeloma. Oncotarget 2017;8(35):58122–58132.Xu T, Jiang Y, Yan Y, Wang H, Lu C, Xu H, Li W, Fu D, Lu Y, Chen J. VSIG4 is highly expressed and correlated with poor prognosis of high-grade glioma patients. Am J Transl Res 2015;7(6):1172–1180.Byun J, Jeong D, Choi I, Lee D, Kang M, Jung K, Jeon Y, Kim Y, Jung E, Lee K, Sung M, Kim K. The significance of VSIG4 expression in ovarian cancer. Int J Gynecol Cancer 2017;27(5):872–878.Ethics ApprovalAll legal and ethical requirements were met with regards to the humane treatment of animals described in the study. The animal study was conducted in compliance with CRL IACUC under IACUC No. I033.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Yan ◽  
Weiwei Chen ◽  
Hua Song ◽  
Xianming Long ◽  
Zhuoya Zhang ◽  
...  

Autoreactive T cells play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). TGF-β type I receptor (TGFβRI) is pivotal in determining T cell activation. Here, we showed that TGFβRI expression in naïve CD4+ T cells was decreased in SLE patients, especially in those with high disease activity. Moreover, IL-6 was found to downregulate TGFβRI expression through JAK/STAT3 pathway in SLE patients. In vitro, the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib inhibited SLE T cell activating by upregulating TGFβRI expression in a dose-dependent manner. In MRL/lpr mice, tofacitinib treatment ameliorated the clinical indicators and lupus nephritis, as evidenced by reduced plasma anti-dsDNA antibody levels, decreased proteinuria, and lower renal histopathological score. Consistently, tofacitinib enhanced TGFβRI expression and inhibited T cell activation in vivo. TGFβRI inhibitor SB431542 reversed the effects of tofacitinib on T cell activation. Thus, our results have indicated that tofacitinib can suppress T cell activation by upregulating TGFβRI expression, which provides a possible molecular mechanism underlying clinical efficacy of tofacitinib in treating SLE patients.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 817
Author(s):  
Mehreen Ishfaq ◽  
Timothy Pham ◽  
Cooper Beaman ◽  
Pablo Tamayo ◽  
Alice L. Yu ◽  
...  

MDSCs are immune cells of myeloid lineage that plays a key role in promoting tumor growth. The expansion of MDSCs in tumor-bearing hosts reduces the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T therapies, and hence strategies that deplete or block the recruitment of MDSCs have shown benefit in improving responses to immunotherapy in various cancers, including NB. Ibrutinib, an irreversible molecular inhibitor of BTK, has been widely studied in B cell malignancies, and recently, this drug is repurposed for the treatment of solid tumors. Herein we report that BTK is highly expressed in both granulocytic and monocytic murine MDSCs isolated from mice bearing NB tumors, and its increased expression correlates with a poor relapse-free survival probability of NB patients. Moreover, in vitro treatment of murine MDSCs with ibrutinib altered NO production, decreased mRNA expression of Ido, Arg, Tgfβ, and displayed defects in T-cell suppression. Consistent with these findings, in vivo inhibition of BTK with ibrutinib resulted in reduced MDSC-mediated immune suppression, increased CD8+ T cell infiltration, decreased tumor growth, and improved response to anti-PDL1 checkpoint inhibitor therapy in a murine model of NB. These results demonstrate that ibrutinib modulates immunosuppressive functions of MDSC and can be used either alone or in combination with immunotherapy for augmenting antitumor immune responses in NB.


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