TGFß blocks IFNα/ß release and tumor rejection in spontaneous mammary tumors.

Type I interferons (IFN) are being rediscovered as potent anti-tumoral agents. Activation of the STimulator of INterferon Genes (STING) by DMXAA (5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid) can induce strong production of IFNα/ß and rejection of transplanted primary tumors. In the present study, we address whether targeting STING with DMXAA also leads to the regression of spontaneous MMTV-PyMT mammary tumors. We show that these tumors are refractory to DMXAA-induced regression. This is due to a blockade in the phosphorylation of IRF3 and the ensuing IFNα/ß production. Mechanistically, we identify TGFß, which is abundant in spontaneous tumors, as a key molecule limiting this IFN-induced tumor regression by DMXAA. Finally, blocking TGFß restores the production of IFNα by activated MHCII+ tumor-associated macrophages, and enables tumor regression induced by STING activation. On the basis of these findings, we propose that type I IFN-dependent cancer therapies could be greatly improved by combinations including the blockade of TGFß.

The STING agonist DMXAA triggers a cooperation between T lymphocytes and myeloid cells that leads to tumor regression.

Regressing tumors are usually associated with a large immune infiltrate, but the molecular and cellular interactions that govern a successful anti-tumor immunity remain elusive. Here, we have triggered type I Interferon (IFN) signaling in a breast tumor model (MMTV-PyMT) using 5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA), a ligand of the STimulator of Interferon Genes, STING. The 2 main events rapidly triggered by DMXAA in transplanted PyMT tumors are 1) the disruption of the tumor vasculature, followed by hypoxia and cell death; 2) the release of chemokines. Both events converged to trigger the recruitment of 2 waves of immune cells: a swift, massive recruitment of neutrophils, followed by a delayed rise in monocytes and CD8 T cells in the tumor mass. Depletion experiments in vivo revealed that myeloid cell subsets and T cells need to cooperate to achieve full-blown recruitment and activation at the tumor site and to induce effective secondary cell death leading to tumor regression (Illustration 1). Altogether, our study highlights that the tumor regression induced by the STING agonist DMXAA results from a cascade of events, with an initial vessel destruction followed by several infiltration waves of immune cells which have to cooperate to amplify and sustain the initial effect. We thus provide the first global and detailed kinetic analysis of the anti-tumoral effect of DMXAA and of its different articulated steps.