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BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy (NAC) followed by cystectomy is the standard of care for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Pathologic complete response (pCR) is associated with favorable outcomes, but only 30%-40% of patients achieve that response. The aim of this study is to investigate the role played by the Tumor and Immune Microenvironment (TIME) in association with the clinical outcome of patients with MIBC undergoing NAC. METHODS: Nineteen patients received NAC and were classified as pCR (n = 10) or non-pCR (n = 9). Bulk RNA-seq and immune protein evaluations using Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) were performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor biopsies collected before NAC (baseline). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) evaluation focused on CD3 and CD20 expression was performed on baseline and end-of-treatment (EOT) FFPEs. Baseline peripheral blood was assessed for lymphocyte and neutrophil counts. Kaplan-Meier analyses and Cox PH regression models were used for survival analyses (OS). RESULTS: In the periphery, pCR patients showed lower neutrophil counts, and neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio (NLR) when compared to non-pCR patients. In the tumor microenvironment (TME), gene expression analysis and protein evaluations highlighted an abundance of B cells and CD3+ T cells in pCR versus non-pCR patients. On the contrary, increased protein expression of ARG1+ cells, and cells expressing immune checkpoints such as LAG3, ICOS, and STING were observed in the TME of patients with non-pCR. CONCLUSIONS: In the current study, we demonstrated that lower NLR levels and increased CD3+ T cells and B cell infiltration are associated with improved response and long-term outcomes in patients with MIBC receiving NAC. These findings suggest that the impact of immune environment should be considered in determining the clinical outcome of MIBC patients treated with NAC.
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Cisplatino , Terapia Neoadjuvante , Microambiente Tumoral , Neoplasias da Bexiga Urinária , Humanos , Neoplasias da Bexiga Urinária/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias da Bexiga Urinária/imunologia , Neoplasias da Bexiga Urinária/mortalidade , Neoplasias da Bexiga Urinária/patologia , Cisplatino/uso terapêutico , Masculino , Feminino , Terapia Neoadjuvante/métodos , Idoso , Microambiente Tumoral/imunologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Invasividade Neoplásica , Cistectomia , Resultado do Tratamento , Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Prognóstico , Neutrófilos/imunologia , Neutrófilos/metabolismoRESUMO
In recent years, immunotherapy has become a powerful therapeutic option against multiple malignancies. The unique capacity of natural killer (NK) cells to attack cancer cells without antigen specificity makes them an optimal immunotherapeutic tool for targeting tumors. Several approaches are currently being pursued to maximize the anti-tumor properties of NK cells in the clinic, including the development of NK cell expansion protocols for adoptive transfer, the establishment of a favorable microenvironment for NK cell activity, the redirection of NK cell activity against tumor cells, and the blockage of inhibitory mechanisms that constrain NK cell function. We here summarize the recent strategies in NK cell-based immunotherapies and discuss the requirement to further optimize these approaches for enhancement of the clinical outcome of NK cell-based immunotherapy targeting tumors.
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Imunoterapia , Neoplasias , Transferência Adotiva , Humanos , Imunoterapia/métodos , Células Matadoras Naturais , Neoplasias/patologia , Microambiente TumoralRESUMO
Mutations in the STK11 (LKB1) gene regulate resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. This study evaluated this association in patients with nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) enrolled in three phase I/II trials. STK11 mutations were associated with resistance to the anti-PD-L1 antibody durvalumab (alone/with the anti-CTLA4 antibody tremelimumab) independently of KRAS mutational status, highlighting STK11 as a potential driver of resistance to checkpoint blockade. Retrospective assessments of tumor tissue, whole blood, and serum revealed a unique immune phenotype in patients with STK11 mutations, with increased expression of markers associated with neutrophils (i.e., CXCL2, IL6), Th17 contexture (i.e., IL17A), and immune checkpoints. Associated changes were observed in the periphery. Reduction of STAT3 in the tumor microenvironment using an antisense oligonucleotide reversed immunotherapy resistance in preclinical STK11 knockout models. These results suggest that STK11 mutations may hinder response to checkpoint blockade through mechanisms including suppressive myeloid cell biology, which could be reversed by STAT3-targeted therapy. SIGNIFICANCE: Patients with nonsquamous STK11-mutant (STK11mut) NSCLC are less likely than STK11 wild-type (STK11wt) patients to respond to anti-PD-L1 ± anti-CTLA4 immunotherapies, and their tumors show increased expression of genes and cytokines that activate STAT3 signaling. Preclinically, STAT3 modulation reverses this resistance, suggesting STAT3-targeted agents as potential combination partners for immunotherapies in STK11mut NSCLC.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 2659.
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Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Quinases Proteína-Quinases Ativadas por AMP , Anticorpos Monoclonais , Anticorpos Monoclonais Humanizados , Antígeno B7-H1/metabolismo , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/genética , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Mutação , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/genética , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/genética , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/metabolismo , Microambiente TumoralRESUMO
BACKGROUND: There is limited knowledge on the origin and development from CD34+ precursors of the ample spectrum of human natural killer (NK) cells, particularly of specialized NK subsets. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to characterize the NK-cell progeny of CD34+DNAM-1brightCXCR4+ and of other precursors circulating in the peripheral blood of patients with chronic viral infections (eg, HIV, hepatitis C virus, cytomegalovirus reactivation). METHODS: Highly purified precursors were obtained by flow cytometric sorting and cultured in standard NK-cell differentiation media (ie, SCF, FLT3, IL-7, IL-15). Phenotypic and functional analyses on progenies were performed by multiparametric cytofluorimetric assays. Transcriptional signatures of NK-cell progenies were studied by microarray analysis. Inhibition of cytomegalovirus replication was studied by PCR. RESULTS: Unlike conventional CD34+ precursors, Lin-CD34+DNAM-1brightCXCR4+ precursors from patients with chronic infection, rapidly differentiate into cytotoxic, IFN-γ-secreting CD94/NKG2C+KIR+CD57+ NK-cell progenies. An additional novel subset of common lymphocyte precursors was identified among Lin-CD34-CD56-CD16+ cells and characterized by expression of CXCR4 and lack of perforin and CD94. Lin-CD34-CD56-CD16+Perf-CD94-CXCR4+ precursors are also endowed with generation potential toward memory-like NKG2C+NK cells. Maturing NK-cell progenies mediated strong human cytomegalovirus-inhibiting activity. Microarray analysis confirmed a transcriptional signature compatible with NK-cell progenies and with maturing adaptive NK cells. CONCLUSIONS: During viral infections, precursors of adaptive NK cells are released and circulate in the peripheral blood.
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Infecções por Citomegalovirus/imunologia , Infecções por Citomegalovirus/metabolismo , Citomegalovirus/imunologia , Interações Hospedeiro-Patógeno/imunologia , Células Matadoras Naturais/imunologia , Células Matadoras Naturais/metabolismo , Subfamília C de Receptores Semelhantes a Lectina de Células NK/metabolismo , Biomarcadores , Diferenciação Celular , Citocinas/metabolismo , Infecções por Citomegalovirus/virologia , Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/citologia , Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/metabolismo , Humanos , Imunofenotipagem , Mediadores da Inflamação/metabolismo , Ativação Linfocitária/imunologiaRESUMO
Following publication of the original article [1], the author reported that an author name, Roberta Zappasodi, was missed in the authorship list.
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Tumor immunology has changed the landscape of cancer treatment. Yet, not all patients benefit as cancer immune responsiveness (CIR) remains a limitation in a considerable proportion of cases. The multifactorial determinants of CIR include the genetic makeup of the patient, the genomic instability central to cancer development, the evolutionary emergence of cancer phenotypes under the influence of immune editing, and external modifiers such as demographics, environment, treatment potency, co-morbidities and cancer-independent alterations including immune homeostasis and polymorphisms in the major and minor histocompatibility molecules, cytokines, and chemokines. Based on the premise that cancer is fundamentally a disorder of the genes arising within a cell biologic process, whose deviations from normality determine the rules of engagement with the host's response, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) convened a task force of experts from various disciplines including, immunology, oncology, biophysics, structural biology, molecular and cellular biology, genetics, and bioinformatics to address the complexity of CIR from a holistic view. The task force was launched by a workshop held in San Francisco on May 14-15, 2018 aimed at two preeminent goals: 1) to identify the fundamental questions related to CIR and 2) to create an interactive community of experts that could guide scientific and research priorities by forming a logical progression supported by multiple perspectives to uncover mechanisms of CIR. This workshop was a first step toward a second meeting where the focus would be to address the actionability of some of the questions identified by working groups. In this event, five working groups aimed at defining a path to test hypotheses according to their relevance to human cancer and identifying experimental models closest to human biology, which include: 1) Germline-Genetic, 2) Somatic-Genetic and 3) Genomic-Transcriptional contributions to CIR, 4) Determinant(s) of Immunogenic Cell Death that modulate CIR, and 5) Experimental Models that best represent CIR and its conversion to an immune responsive state. This manuscript summarizes the contributions from each group and should be considered as a first milestone in the path toward a more contemporary understanding of CIR. We appreciate that this effort is far from comprehensive and that other relevant aspects related to CIR such as the microbiome, the individual's recombined T cell and B cell receptors, and the metabolic status of cancer and immune cells were not fully included. These and other important factors will be included in future activities of the taskforce. The taskforce will focus on prioritization and specific actionable approach to answer the identified questions and implementing the collaborations in the follow-up workshop, which will be held in Houston on September 4-5, 2019.
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Imunoterapia , Neoplasias/terapia , Microambiente Tumoral/imunologia , Comitês Consultivos , Animais , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Biomarcadores Tumorais/imunologia , Congressos como Assunto , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Humanos , Oncologia/organização & administração , Neoplasias/genética , Neoplasias/imunologia , Sociedades Médicas/organização & administração , Resultado do Tratamento , Microambiente Tumoral/genéticaRESUMO
The size of lentiviral DNA reservoirs reflects the effectiveness of immune responses against lentiviruses. So far, abundant information has been gathered on the control of HIV-1 replication. Understanding the innate mechanisms contributing to containment of the HIV DNA reservoir, however, are only partly clarified and are relevant to guiding interventions for reservoir containment or eradication. We studied the contribution of natural killer (NK) cell functional features in HIV patients controlling replication either spontaneously (HIV controllers [HIC]) or after progression and antiretroviral treatment (progressor patients [PP]). An inverse correlation between HIV DNA copy numbers (either total or integrated) in circulating CD4+ cells and NK cell function was observed. Induced interferon gamma (IFN-γ) production and NKp46/NKp30 activating receptor-induced expression correlated inversely with reservoir size. The correlation was present not only for a homogeneous cohort of HIC patients but also when PP were included in the analysis. Adaptive (NKG2C+ CD57+) NK cell features were not associated with reservoir size. However, a distinct set of 370 differentially expressed transcripts was found to underlie functional differences in NK cells controlling HIV DNA reservoir size. In proof-of-principle in vitro experiments of CD4+ cell infection with HIV-1, purified NK cells with the above-mentioned functional/transcriptional features displayed 10- and 30-fold higher abilities to control HIV replication and DNA burdens in vitro, respectively, than those of other NK cells. Thus, NK cells with a specific functional and transcriptional signature contribute to control of the HIV reservoir in CD4+ cells. Their selection, expansion, and/or adoptive transfer may support strategies to eradicate HIV-1 infection or to safely deescalate antiretroviral treatment.IMPORTANCE The most relevant feature of HIV-1 infection is represented by its DNA reservoir size in the body, which guarantees lifelong infection and resumption of virus replication after antiretroviral treatment interruption. So far, there has been little success in the identification of factors contributing to HIV-1 reservoir containment. In this study, by studying quantitative total and integrated HIV-1 DNA levels and NK cells in HIV-1 patients with either progressive or nonprogressive disease, we observed that inducible IFN-γ and natural cytotoxicity receptor (NCR) expression in a specific subset of NK cells with a characteristic transcriptional signature represents a correlate for HIV-1 reservoir control. This represents an advance in our understanding of the mechanism(s) that controls the lentivirus reservoir. Monitoring, selection, expansion, and adoptive transfer of these NK cells may allow monitoring of treatment efficacy and the likelihood of reservoir control and may support protocols for HIV-1 eradication.
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DNA Viral/sangue , Infecções por HIV/imunologia , HIV-1/genética , Interferon gama/biossíntese , Células Matadoras Naturais/imunologia , Receptor 1 Desencadeador da Citotoxicidade Natural/genética , Receptor 3 Desencadeador da Citotoxicidade Natural/genética , Adulto , Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/virologia , Estudos de Coortes , Variações do Número de Cópias de DNA , Feminino , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , Infecções por HIV/virologia , HIV-1/imunologia , HIV-1/fisiologia , Humanos , Interferon gama/imunologia , Células Matadoras Naturais/classificação , Células Matadoras Naturais/metabolismo , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Receptor 1 Desencadeador da Citotoxicidade Natural/imunologia , Receptor 3 Desencadeador da Citotoxicidade Natural/imunologia , Integração Viral/genética , Replicação ViralRESUMO
Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) is a neoplasm characterized by robust inflammatory infiltrates and heightened expression of the immunosuppressive PD-1/PD-L1 pathway. Although anti-PD-1 therapy can be effective in >60% of patients with refractory CHL, improved treatment options are needed for CHLs which are resistant to anti-PD-1 or relapse after this form of immunotherapy. A deeper understanding of immunologic factors in the CHL microenvironment might support the design of more effective treatment combinations based on anti-PD-1. In addition, because the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) residing in some CHL tumors is strongly immunogenic, we hypothesized that characteristics of the tumor immune microenvironment in EBV+ CHL would be distinct from EBV- CHL, with specific implications for designing combination treatment regimens. Employing immunohistochemistry for immune cell subsets and checkpoint molecules, as well as gene expression profiling, we characterized 32 CHLs from the Johns Hopkins archives, including 12 EBV+ and 20 EBV- tumors. Our results revealed a dichotomous cellular and cytokine immune milieu in EBV+ vs EBV- CHL. EBV+ tumors displayed a T helper 1 (Th1) profile typical of effective antitumor immunity, with increased infiltration of CD8+ T cells and coordinate expression of the canonical Th1 transcription factor Tbet (TBX21), interferon-γ (IFNG), and the IFN-γ-inducible immunosuppressive enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase. In contrast, EBV- tumors manifested a pathogenic Th17 profile and ongoing engagement of the interleukin-23 (IL-23)/IL-17 axis, with heightened phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 expression in infiltrating lymphocytes. These findings suggest that drugs blocking the IL-23/IL-17 axis, which are already in the clinic for treating certain autoimmune disorders, may enhance the therapeutic impact of anti-PD-1 therapy in EBV- CHL.
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Pretreatment tumor PD-L1 expression has been shown to correlate with response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies. Yet, most patients with PD-L1(+) tumors do not respond to treatment. The current study was undertaken to investigate mechanisms underlying the failure of PD-1-targeted therapies in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) whose tumors express PD-L1. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded pretreatment tumor biopsies expressing PD-L1 were derived from 13 RCC patients. RNA was isolated from PD-L1(+) regions and subjected to whole genome microarray and multiplex quantitative (q)RT-PCR gene expression analysis. A balance between gene expression profiles reflecting metabolic pathways and immune functions was associated with clinical outcomes following anti-PD-1 therapy. In particular, the expression of genes involved in metabolic and solute transport functions such as UGT1A family members, also found in kidney cancer cell lines, was associated with treatment failure in patients with PD-L1(+) RCC. Conversely, tumors from responding patients overexpressed immune markers such as BACH2, a regulator of CD4(+) T-cell differentiation, and CCL3 involved in leukocyte migration. These findings suggest that tumor cell-intrinsic metabolic factors may contribute to treatment resistance in RCC, thus serving as predictive markers for treatment outcomes and potential new targets for combination therapy regimens with anti-PD-1. Cancer Immunol Res; 4(9); 726-33. ©2016 AACRSee related Spotlight by Ohashi, p. 719.
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Carcinoma de Células Renais/etiologia , Carcinoma de Células Renais/metabolismo , Metabolismo Energético/genética , Imunidade/genética , Neoplasias Renais/etiologia , Neoplasias Renais/metabolismo , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/antagonistas & inibidores , Antineoplásicos Imunológicos/farmacologia , Antineoplásicos Imunológicos/uso terapêutico , Antígeno B7-H1/metabolismo , Carcinoma de Células Renais/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma de Células Renais/mortalidade , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Análise por Conglomerados , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Glucuronosiltransferase/genética , Humanos , Imunomodulação/efeitos dos fármacos , Imunomodulação/genética , Neoplasias Renais/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Renais/mortalidade , Melanoma/tratamento farmacológico , Melanoma/genética , Melanoma/imunologia , Melanoma/metabolismo , Prognóstico , TranscriptomaRESUMO
During chronic inflammatory disorders, a persistent natural killer (NK) cell derangement is observed. While increased cell turnover is expected, little is known about whether and how NK-cell homeostatic balance is maintained. Here, flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in chronic inflammatory disorders, both infectious and non-infectious, reveals the presence of a CD34(+)CD226(DNAM-1)(bright)CXCR4(+) cell population displaying transcriptional signatures typical of common lymphocyte precursors and giving rise to NK-cell progenies with high expression of activating receptors and mature function and even to α/ß T lymphocytes. CD34(+)CD226(bright)CXCR4(+) cells reside in bone marrow, hardly circulate in healthy donors and are absent in cord blood. Their proportion correlates with the degree of inflammation, reflecting lymphoid cell turnover/reconstitution during chronic inflammation. These findings provide insight on intermediate stages of NK-cell development, a view of emergency recruitment of cell precursors, and upgrade our understanding and monitoring of chronic inflammatory conditions.
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Células da Medula Óssea/imunologia , Infecções por HIV/imunologia , Hepatite C Crônica/imunologia , Células Matadoras Naturais/imunologia , Leucócitos Mononucleares/imunologia , Células Progenitoras Linfoides/imunologia , Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica/imunologia , Tuberculose Pulmonar/imunologia , Antígenos CD34/metabolismo , Antígenos de Diferenciação de Linfócitos T/metabolismo , Medula Óssea/imunologia , Células da Medula Óssea/citologia , Células da Medula Óssea/metabolismo , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Sangue Fetal/citologia , Citometria de Fluxo , Imunofluorescência , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Infecções por HIV/genética , Hepatite C Crônica/genética , Humanos , Células Matadoras Naturais/citologia , Células Matadoras Naturais/metabolismo , Leucócitos Mononucleares/citologia , Leucócitos Mononucleares/metabolismo , Células Progenitoras Linfoides/citologia , Células Progenitoras Linfoides/metabolismo , Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica/genética , Receptores CXCR4/metabolismo , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Linfócitos T/citologia , Linfócitos T/imunologia , Linfócitos T/metabolismo , Tuberculose Pulmonar/genéticaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Constitutive MET signaling promotes invasiveness in most primary and recurrent GBM. However, deployment of available MET-targeting agents is confounded by lack of effective biomarkers for selecting suitable patients for treatment. Because endogenous HGF overexpression often causes autocrine MET activation, and also indicates sensitivity to MET inhibitors, we investigated whether it drives the expression of distinct genes which could serve as a signature indicating vulnerability to MET-targeted therapy in GBM. METHODS: Interrogation of genomic data from TCGA GBM (Student's t test, GBM patients with high and low HGF expression, p ≤ 0.00001) referenced against patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models (Student's t test, sensitive vs. insensitive models, p ≤ 0.005) was used to identify the HGF-dependent signature. Genomic analysis of GBM xenograft models using both human and mouse gene expression microarrays (Student's t test, treated vs. vehicle tumors, p ≤ 0.01) were performed to elucidate the tumor and microenvironment cross talk. A PDX model with EGFR(amp) was tested for MET activation as a mechanism of erlotinib resistance. RESULTS: We identified a group of 20 genes highly associated with HGF overexpression in GBM and were up- or down-regulated only in tumors sensitive to MET inhibitor. The MET inhibitors regulate tumor (human) and host (mouse) cells within the tumor via distinct molecular processes, but overall impede tumor growth by inhibiting cell cycle progression. EGFR (amp) tumors undergo erlotinib resistance responded to a combination of MET and EGFR inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: Combining TCGA primary tumor datasets (human) and xenograft tumor model datasets (human tumor grown in mice) using therapeutic efficacy as an endpoint may serve as a useful approach to discover and develop molecular signatures as therapeutic biomarkers for targeted therapy. The HGF dependent signature may serve as a candidate predictive signature for patient enrollment in clinical trials using MET inhibitors. Human and mouse microarrays maybe used to dissect the tumor-host interactions. Targeting MET in EGFR (amp) GBM may delay the acquired resistance developed during treatment with erlotinib.
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Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Glioblastoma/tratamento farmacológico , Glioblastoma/genética , Fator de Crescimento de Hepatócito/metabolismo , Terapia de Alvo Molecular , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-met/antagonistas & inibidores , Animais , Comunicação Autócrina/efeitos dos fármacos , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Receptores ErbB/metabolismo , Cloridrato de Erlotinib/farmacologia , Cloridrato de Erlotinib/uso terapêutico , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Genômica , Glioblastoma/patologia , Humanos , Camundongos , Modelos Biológicos , Invasividade Neoplásica , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/farmacologia , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/uso terapêutico , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-met/metabolismo , Resultado do Tratamento , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
After Coley's observation in 1891 of tumor regression in a patient who developed a postoperative infection, the field of immunotherapy is finally reborn. Avoiding immune destruction is now considered a hallmark of cancer, and the immunotherapy arena has exploded with the recent advances demonstrating an improvement in survival and a durability of response in patients with different cancer types, which translates into improved overall survival benefit. Here, we provide an overview of the main immune-oncology treatment strategies that, either alone or in combination, are undergoing clinical development. Namely, we will refer to those immunotherapeutic strategies that include adoptive transfer of ex vivo activated T cells, immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies, and cancer vaccines. Our major focus will be to describe these approaches in melanoma, a cancer type transformed by immunotherapy into a potentially curable disease.
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BACKGROUND: Differences in the expression of Natural Killer cell receptors have been reported to reflect divergent clinical courses in patients with chronic infections or tumors. However, extensive molecular characterization at the transcriptional level to support this view is lacking. The aim of this work was to characterize baseline differences in purified NK cell transcriptional activity stratified by response to treatment with PEG-IFNα/RBV in patients chronically infected with HCV. METHODS: To this end we here studied by flow cytometer and gene expression profile, phenotypic and transcriptional characteristics of purified NK cells in patients chronically infected with HCV genotype-1 virus who were subsequently treated with PEG-IFNα/RBV. Results were further correlated with divergent clinical response obtained after treatment. RESULTS: The pre-treatment transcriptional patterns of purified NK cells from patients subsequently undergoing a sustained virologic response (SVR) clearly segregated from those of non-responder (NR) patients. A set of 476 transcripts, including molecules involved in RNA processing, ubiquitination pathways as well as HLA class II signalling were differently expressed among divergent patients. In addition, treatment outcome was associated with differences in surface expression of NKp30 and NKG2D. A complex relationship was observed that suggested for extensive post-transcriptional editing. Only a small number of the NK cell transcripts identified were correlated with chronic HCV infection/replication indicating that inherent transcriptional activity prevails over environment effects such as viral infection. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, inherent/genetic modulation of NK cell transcription is involved in setting the path to divergent treatment outcomes and could become useful to therapeutic advantage.
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Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Hepacivirus/efeitos dos fármacos , Hepatite C Crônica/tratamento farmacológico , Hepatite C Crônica/genética , Interferon-alfa/uso terapêutico , Células Matadoras Naturais/metabolismo , Ribavirina/uso terapêutico , Transcrição Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Estudos de Coortes , Humanos , Interferon-alfa/farmacologia , Interferons , Interleucinas/genética , Células Matadoras Naturais/efeitos dos fármacos , Subfamília K de Receptores Semelhantes a Lectina de Células NK/metabolismo , Receptor 3 Desencadeador da Citotoxicidade Natural/metabolismo , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único/genética , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Ribavirina/farmacologia , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The existence of a dichotomy between immunologically active and quiescent tumor phenotypes has been recently recognized in several types of cancer. The activation of a Th1 type of immune signature has been shown to confer better prognosis and likelihood to respond to immunotherapy. However, whether such dichotomy depends on the genetic make-up of individual cancers is not known yet. BRAF and NRAS mutations are commonly acquired during melanoma progression. Here we explored the role of BRAF and NRAS mutations in influencing the immune phenotype based on a classification previously identified by our group. METHODS: One-hundred-thirteen melanoma metastases underwent microarray analysis and BRAF and NRAS genotyping. Allele-specific PCR was also performed in order to exclude low-frequency mutations. RESULTS: Comparison between BRAF and NRAS mutant versus wild type samples identified mostly constituents or regulators of MAPK and related pathways. When testing gene lists discriminative of BRAF, NRAS and MAPK alterations, we found that 112 BRAF-specific transcripts were able to distinguish the two immune-related phenotypes already described in melanoma, with the poor phenotype associated mostly with BRAF mutation. Noteworthy, such association was stronger in samples displaying low BRAF mRNA expression. However, when testing NRAS mutations, we were not able to find the same association. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that BRAF mutation-related specific transcripts associate with a poor phenotype in melanoma and provide a nest for further investigation.
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Melanoma/genética , Melanoma/imunologia , Mutação , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas B-raf/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas B-raf/imunologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Feminino , GTP Fosfo-Hidrolases/genética , GTP Fosfo-Hidrolases/metabolismo , Humanos , Masculino , Melanoma/patologia , Proteínas de Membrana/genética , Proteínas de Membrana/metabolismo , Análise de Sequência com Séries de Oligonucleotídeos , Células Th1/imunologia , Células Th1/patologiaRESUMO
Natural killer (NK) cell function is regulated by a balance between the triggering of activating and inhibitory receptors expressed on their surface. A relevant effort has been focused so far on the study of KIR carriage/expression setting the basis for NK cell education and self-tolerance. Focus on the evolution and regulation of activating NK receptors has lagged behind so far. Our understanding of activating receptor expression and regulation has recently improved by evidences derived from in vitro and in vivo studies. Virus infection - either acute or chronic - determines preferential expansion of NK cells with specific phenotype, activating receptors, and with recall-like functional activity. Studies on patients with viral infection (HIV and HCV) and specific diverging clinical courses confirm that inter-individual differences may exist in baseline expression of natural cytotoxicity receptors (NKp46 and NKp30). The findings that patients with divergent clinical courses have different kinetics of activating receptor density expression upon NK cell activation in vitro provide an additional, time-dependent, functional parameter. Kinetic changes in receptor expression thus represent an additional parameter to basal receptor density expression. Different expression and inducibilities of activating receptors on NK cells contribute to the high diversity of NK cell populations and may help our understanding of the inter-individual differences in innate responses that underlie divergent disease courses.
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In multiple forms of cancer, constitutive activation of type I IFN signaling is a critical consequence of immune surveillance against cancer; however, PBMCs isolated from cancer patients exhibit depressed STAT1 phosphorylation in response to IFN-α, suggesting IFN signaling dysfunction. Here, we demonstrated in a coculture system that melanoma cells differentially impairs the IFN-α response in PBMCs and that the inhibitory potential of a particular melanoma cell correlates with NOS1 expression. Comparison of gene transcription and array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) between melanoma cells from different patients indicated that suppression of IFN-α signaling correlates with an amplification of the NOS1 locus within segment 12q22-24. Evaluation of NOS1 levels in melanomas and IFN responsiveness of purified PBMCs from patients indicated a negative correlation between NOS1 expression in melanomas and the responsiveness of PBMCs to IFN-α. Furthermore, in an explorative study, NOS1 expression in melanoma metastases was negatively associated with patient response to adoptive T cell therapy. This study provides a link between cancer cell phenotype and IFN signal dysfunction in circulating immune cells.
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Regulação Enzimológica da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Interferon-alfa/metabolismo , Melanoma/metabolismo , Proteínas de Neoplasias/biossíntese , Óxido Nítrico Sintase Tipo I/biossíntese , Transdução de Sinais , Transferência Adotiva , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Técnicas de Cocultura , Hibridização Genômica Comparativa , Feminino , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Interferon-alfa/genética , Masculino , Melanoma/genética , Melanoma/patologia , Melanoma/terapia , Proteínas de Neoplasias/genética , Óxido Nítrico Sintase Tipo I/genética , Análise de Sequência com Séries de OligonucleotídeosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Recent observations suggest that immune-mediated tissue destruction is dependent upon coordinate activation of immune genes expressed by cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems. METHODS: Here, we performed a retrospective pilot study to investigate whether the coordinate expression of molecular signature mostly associated with NK cells could be used to segregate breast cancer patients into relapse and relapse-free outcomes. RESULTS: By analyzing primary breast cancer specimens derived from patients who experienced either 58-116 months (~5-9 years) relapse-free survival or developed tumor relapse within 9-76 months (~1-6 years) we found that the expression of molecules involved in activating signaling of NK cells and in NK cells: target interaction is increased in patients with favorable prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: The parameters identified in this study, together with the prognostic signature previously reported by our group, highlight the cooperation between the innate and adaptive immune components within the tumor microenvironment.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama/genética , Neoplasias da Mama/imunologia , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Células Matadoras Naturais/imunologia , Antígenos CD1d/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Moléculas de Adesão Celular/genética , Moléculas de Adesão Celular/metabolismo , Contagem de Células , Intervalo Livre de Doença , Feminino , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Ativação Linfocitária/genética , Antígeno-1 Associado à Função Linfocitária/metabolismo , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/genética , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/imunologia , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/patologia , Recidiva , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Máquina de Vetores de Suporte , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-5 is a transcription factor involved in type I interferon signaling whose germ line variants have been associated with autoimmune pathogenesis. Since relationships have been observed between development of autoimmunity and responsiveness of melanoma to several types of immunotherapy, we tested whether polymorphisms of IRF5 are associated with responsiveness of melanoma to adoptive therapy with tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). METHODS: 140 TILs were genotyped for four single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs10954213, rs11770589, rs6953165, rs2004640) and one insertion-deletion in the IRF5 gene by sequencing. Gene-expression profile of the TILs, 112 parental melanoma metastases (MM) and 9 cell lines derived from some metastases were assessed by Affymetrix Human Gene ST 1.0 array. RESULTS: Lack of A allele in rs10954213 (G > A) was associated with non-response (p < 0.005). Other polymorphisms in strong linkage disequilibrium with rs10954213 demonstrated similar trends. Genes differentially expressed in vitro between cell lines carrying or not the A allele could be applied to the transcriptional profile of 112 melanoma metastases to predict their responsiveness to therapy, suggesting that IRF5 genotype may influence immune responsiveness by affecting the intrinsic biology of melanoma. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to analyze associations between melanoma immune responsiveness and IRF5 polymorphism. The results support a common genetic basis which may underline the development of autoimmunity and melanoma immune responsiveness.
Assuntos
Fatores Reguladores de Interferon/genética , Melanoma/genética , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único , Sequência de Bases , Primers do DNA , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Melanoma/patologia , Metástase Neoplásica , Reação em Cadeia da PolimeraseRESUMO
HRAS belongs to the RAS genes superfamily. RAS genes are important players in several human tumors and the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs12628 has been shown to contribute to the risk of bladder, colon, gastrointestinal, oral, and thyroid carcinoma. We hypothesized that this SNP may affect the risk of cutaneous melanoma as well. HRAS gene contains a polymorphic region (rs112587690), a repeated hexanucleotide -GGGCCT- located in intron 1. Three alleles of this region, P1, P2, and P3, have been identified that contain two, three, and four repeats of the hexanucleotide, respectively. We investigated the clinical impact of these polymorphisms in a case-control study. A total of 141 melanoma patients and 118 healthy donors from the North America Caucasian population were screened for rs12628 and rs112587690 polymorphisms. Genotypes were assessed by capillary sequencing or fragment analysis, respectively, and rs12628 CC and rs112587690 P1P1 genotypes significantly associated with increased melanoma risk (OR = 3.83, p = 0.003; OR = 11.3, p = 0.033, respectively), while rs112587690 P1P3 frequency resulted significantly higher in the control group (OR = 0.5, p = 0.017). These results suggest that rs12628 C homozygosis may be considered a potential risk factor for melanoma development in the North American population possibly through the linkage to rs112587690.
Assuntos
Predisposição Genética para Doença/genética , Melanoma/genética , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Neoplasias Cutâneas/genética , Genótipo , Humanos , América do Norte , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Fatores de Risco , População BrancaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The weight that gene copy number plays in transcription remains controversial; although in specific cases gene expression correlates with copy number, the relationship cannot be inferred at the global level. We hypothesized that genes steadily expressed by 15 melanoma cell lines (CMs) and their parental tissues (TMs) should be critical for oncogenesis and their expression most frequently influenced by their respective copy number. RESULTS: Functional interpretation of 3,030 transcripts concordantly expressed (Pearson's correlation coefficient p-value < 0.05) by CMs and TMs confirmed an enrichment of functions crucial to oncogenesis. Among them, 968 were expressed according to the transcriptional efficiency predicted by copy number analysis (Pearson's correlation coefficient p-value < 0.05). We named these genes, "genomic delegates" as they represent at the transcriptional level the genetic footprint of individual cancers. We then tested whether the genes could categorize 112 melanoma metastases. Two divergent phenotypes were observed: one with prevalent expression of cancer testis antigens, enhanced cyclin activity, WNT signaling, and a Th17 immune phenotype (Class A). This phenotype expressed, therefore, transcripts previously associated to more aggressive cancer. The second class (B) prevalently expressed genes associated with melanoma signaling including MITF, melanoma differentiation antigens, and displayed a Th1 immune phenotype associated with better prognosis and likelihood to respond to immunotherapy. An intermediate third class (C) was further identified. The three phenotypes were confirmed by unsupervised principal component analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that clinically relevant phenotypes of melanoma can be retraced to stable oncogenic properties of cancer cells linked to their genetic back bone, and offers a roadmap for uncovering novel targets for tailored anti-cancer therapy.