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BACKGROUND/AIM: Brain metastasis, a leading cause of cancer death, is a clinical challenge. Recently, genetic characterization of brain metastatic lesions based on next generation sequencing-based advanced technologies, such as single-cell RNA sequencing, has been performed to develop novel efficient therapies. The present study aimed to investigate brain-metastasis-specific biomarkers as well as relevant prognostic factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The genetic profiles and expression levels of immune response-associated genes and 820 cancer-associated genes were compared between primary cancer lesions and metastatic cancer lesions obtained from nine cancer patients at the Shizuoka Cancer Center. Cytokine and chemokine marker genes were analyzed via quantitative PCR. T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire profiling was performed for the same patients. For survival analysis, survival data of 52 cancer patients with brain metastases were utilized. RESULTS: Comparison of driver mutation profiling between primary and metastatic lesions revealed shared core mutations in both lesions and a few new mutations in metastatic lesions. A high tumor mutation burden (TMB) was detected in metastatic lesions. Volcano plot analysis revealed specific features of the metastatic tumor microenvironment, such as cancer signaling promotion and immune suppression due to decreased immune cell infiltration. Survival analysis revealed that three genes, the TREML2 gene, the BTLA gene on activated microglia and the CERS2 gene on metastatic tumor, were potent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: High TMB in metastatic lesions indicates potential benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor usage for brain metastasis and TREML2 and BTLA are factors associated with poor prognosis. Activated microglia may be novel targets for the treatment of brain metastasis.
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Biomarcadores Tumorais , Neoplasias Encefálicas , Humanos , Neoplasias Encefálicas/secundário , Neoplasias Encefálicas/genética , Neoplasias Encefálicas/imunologia , Feminino , Masculino , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Prognóstico , Idoso , Mutação , Microambiente Tumoral/imunologia , Microambiente Tumoral/genética , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão GênicaRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIM: Recently, inactivating somatic mutations of SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling genes in cancers have been reported. However, few studies have been performed regarding the immunological analysis of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in chromatin remodeling complex gene-mutated tumors. In the present study, we identified cancer patients harboring various mammalian SWI/SNF complex mutations and investigated the immunological features in those mutated cancers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cancer patients harboring any type of chromatin remodeling complex gene mutation were selected and clinicopathological features were compared between chromatin remodeling complex gene expression-low and expression-high groups. Specifically, expression levels of immune response-associated genes and cancer-associated genes were compared between the SMARCA4 expression-low and expression-high groups using volcano plot analysis. RESULTS: Among cancers harboring PBRM1, SAMRACA4 and ARID2 gene mutations, T-cell marker and mature B-cell marker genes were up-regulated in the tumor. Specifically, T-cell effector genes (CD8B, CD40LG), central memory marker genes (CD27, CCR7) and mature B-cell marker genes (CD20, CD38, CD79 and IRF4) were up-regulated, and cancer-associated genes including MYB, MYC and AURKB genes were down-regulated in the SMARCA4 expression-low group. Remarkably, heatmap of gene expression and immunohistochemistry (IHC) data demonstrated that the tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) gene signature of mature B cells was up-regulated in SMACA4 gene-mutated stomach cancers. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that immune tumor microenvironment status, such as mature B cell recruitment featuring the TLS gene signature and immune activation mediated by cancer signal down-regulation, might contribute to the classification of SMARCA4 gene-mutated tumors as immune checkpoint blockade therapy-sensitive target tumors.
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Neoplasias , Microambiente Tumoral , Animais , Humanos , Microambiente Tumoral/genética , Mutação , Neoplasias/genética , Mamíferos , DNA Helicases/genética , Proteínas Nucleares/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/genéticaRESUMO
Aneuploidy has been recognized as one of hallmark of tumorigenesis since the early 20th century. Recent developments in structural variation analysis in the human genome have revealed the diversity of aneuploidy in cancer. However, the effects of gene mutation and expression in tumors on aneuploidy remain poorly understood. Here, we performed whole exome analysis of over 5,000 Japanese cancer cases and investigated the impact of somatic mutations and gene expression alterations on aneuploidy. First, we evaluated tumor content and genomic alterations that could influence aneuploidy. Next, we compared the aneuploidy frequency in 18 cancer types and observed that TP53 mutations were associated with the aneuploidy on specific chromosomes in colorectal and gastric cancers. Finally, we used expression analysis to isolate pathways involved in aneuploidy accumulation from tumors without TP53 mutations. Chromosomal instability and cell cycle aberration were associated with aneuploidy in TP53 wild-type tumors, and 26 commonly upregulated genes were identified in aneuploidy-high solid tumors without TP53 mutations. Among them, two cancer-related genes (CENPA and PBK) were involved in aneuploidy. Our integrated analysis revealed that both TP53 mutations and transcriptomic alterations independent of somatic mutations affect aneuploidy accumulation. Our findings will facilitate further understanding of diverse aneuploidies in the tumorigenesis.
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Neoplasias , Transcriptoma , Humanos , Neoplasias/genética , Mutação , Aneuploidia , Carcinogênese/genéticaRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIM: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling inhibitors are potent therapeutic agents for EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer, but the effects of such inhibitors on the localization of EGFR mutations in tumor tissues remain to be elucidated. Thus, a simple and efficient technology for the detection of mutations in tumor tissue specimens needs to be developed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using an EGFR mutation-specific peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-DNA probe, the EGFR mutation-positive part of whole NSCLC tissues was visualized by immunofluorescence. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections obtained from A549, NCI-H1975, HCC827 and PC-9 tumors transplanted into nude mice were subjected to staining using PNA-DNA probes specific for the mRNA sequences producing the L858R, del E746-A750 and T790M mutations. RESULTS: The probes for the L858R mutation showed intense positive staining in H1975 cells, and the probe for the del E746-A750 mutation exhibited positive staining specifically in HCC827 and PC-9 tumors. On the other hand, A549 tumors without EGFR mutation did not show any significant staining for any PNA-DNA probe. In combination staining, the addition of cytokeratin stain increased the positive staining rate of each PNA-DNA probe. In addition, the positive staining rate of the probes for the L858R mutation was comparable to that of the antibody to EGFR L858R mutated protein. CONCLUSION: PNA-DNA probes specific for EGFR mutations might be useful tools to detect heterogeneous mutant EGFR expression in cancer tissues and efficiently evaluate the effect of EGFR signaling inhibitors on tissues of EGFR-mutant cancer.
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Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Ácidos Nucleicos Peptídicos , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/genética , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , DNA , Sondas de DNA/genética , Receptores ErbB/genética , Receptores ErbB/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Camundongos Nus , Mutação , Ácidos Nucleicos Peptídicos/genética , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIM: Anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1)/PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody is a successful treatment for patients with solid cancers; however, there are several disadvantages that need to be resolved. Oral small molecule anti-PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have been developed and have good bioavailability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Potent anti-PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor candidates from the Shizuoka small compound library were screened and investigated for their antitumor activities in vitro and in vivo using a humanized mouse model. A search for small compounds that inhibit PD-1/PD-L1 binding among 67,395 compounds through three rounds of screening procedures identified six compounds. RESULTS: The two compounds (SCL-1 and SCL-2), which have as a key chemical structure of triazolopyridazin backbone with a piperazine residue on the aromatic ring and 1,3-diphenyl pyrazoline with hydrazinylphthalazine were selected based on in vitro assays and absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) scoring and subjected to in vivo experiments using a humanized NOG mouse model. SCL-1 and SCL-2 exhibited moderate inhibitory activities against PD-1/PD-L1 binding compared to an anti-PD-1 antibody, with SCL-1 exerting markedly weaker cytotoxic effects on target cells than the other compounds. In in vivo experiments, SCL-1 exerted significant antitumor effects on PD-L1+ SCC-3 tumors, which were dependent on CD8+ T cell infiltration and PD-L1 expression in tumors. A pharmacokinetic study revealed that it has good bioavailability and distribution as an oral reagent. CONCLUSION: SCL-1 is a novel small compound that inhibits PD-1/PD-L1 binding and exerts potent antitumor effects. Thus, it has potential as an oral reagent for cancer immunotherapy.
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Antígeno B7-H1 , Neoplasias , Camundongos , Animais , Antígeno B7-H1/metabolismo , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/metabolismo , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico , Ligantes , Modelos Animais de Doenças , PiperazinasRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIM: The recurrence rate of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains high; thus the control of recurrence is a clinical problem to be challenged. To clarify the precise mechanism, specific immunological biomarkers responsible for recurrence were investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression levels of immune response-associated and Shizuoka Cancer Center 820 cancer-associated genes, and genetic mutations from whole-exome sequencing were compared between HNSCC patients who developed recurrence (n=8) and HNSCC patients who did not develop recurrence (n=19) using a volcano plot analysis. Cytokine and epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker genes were analyzed using quantitative PCR. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, immune checkpoint molecules, and human papilloma virus status were investigated using immunohistochemistry (IHC). RESULTS: Twenty-seven evaluable patients with HNSCCs received radiation therapy after surgery. Recurrence was identified in 8 patients. TP53 mutations tended to be higher in patients who developed recurrence than in those who did not develop recurrence (75% vs. 31.6%). Gene expression profiling showed the down-regulation of T cell activation genes (ICOS, CD69 and CD83) and the upregulation of the ERBB4, EGFR, VEGF, HIF1A, TGFB1, TWIST1, IL-8, and PAX7 genes, which suggested the activation of the TP53 mutation-TGF-ß1-PAX7 pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Additionally, IHC indicated a tendency toward a reduction in T cell accumulation and an increase in M2-type macrophage infiltration in tumors that recurred. CONCLUSION: A TP53 mutation-mediated immune-suppressive state in the tumor microenvironment and TGF-ß1-PAX7-mediated EMT might contribute to the promotion of recurrence in patients with HNSCC after postoperative radiotherapy.
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Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço , Fator de Crescimento Transformador beta1 , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal/genética , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço/genética , Humanos , Papillomaviridae , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas de Cabeça e Pescoço/genética , Microambiente Tumoral/genéticaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Many reports demonstrate that a high tumor mutation burden (TMB-H) is closely associated with good prognosis of cancer. However, specific studies investigating the association of various TMB statuses with overall survival in patients with solid tumors are scarce. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the present study, we investigated the association of TMB status with overall survival in 5,072 patients with cancer from the HOPE project and clarified the specific mechanism responsible for the good prognosis of the TMB-H group. All tumors were classified into one of four groups based on TMB: ultralow (UL), low (L), intermediate (I) and high (H). RESULTS: The TMB-H group had a better prognosis than the TMB-I and TMB-L groups, but not than the TMB-UL group. Analyzing the expression of 293 immune response-associated genes, 17 genes were up-regulated in the TMB-H group compared to the TMB-I and TNB-L groups, and two genes [CD274 and interferon-γ (IFNG)] were identified as good prognostic factors. Analysis of immune cell populations inside tumors demonstrated that the frequencies of exhausted CD8+ T-cells, activated effector CD8+ T-cells and natural killer cells were significantly higher in the TMB-H group. The T-cell receptor repertoire numbers and the diversity evenness score (DE50) were lower in the TMB-H group than in TMB-UL group; however, no association of the DE50 value with the binding or elution affinity of epitope peptides from neoantigens was found. CONCLUSION: One possible mechanism for the good prognosis of the TMB-UL group compared to the TMB-H group might be that the TMB-UL group features a balance between immunosuppression and immunostimulation.
Assuntos
Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos , Neoplasias , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/patologia , Humanos , Mutação , Neoplasias/patologia , PrognósticoRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIM: With the progress in cancer immunotherapy using immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy, histological observations of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) status are needed to evaluate the antitumor effect of ICB using imaging analysis software. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections obtained from colorectal cancer and gastric cancer patients with more than 500 single nucleotide variants were stained with anti-CD8 and anti-PD-1 antibodies. Based on our own algorithm and imaging analysis software, an automatic TIL measurement method was established and compared to the manual counting methods. RESULTS: In the CD8+ T cell number measurement, there was a good correlation (r=0.738 by Pearson test) between the manual and automated counting methods. However, in the PD-1+ T cell measurement, there was a large difference in TIL numbers in both groups. After adjustment of the parameter settings, the correlation between the manual and automated methods in the PD-1+ T cell measurements improved (r=0.668 by Pearson test). CONCLUSION: An imaging software-based automatic measurement could be a simple and useful tool for evaluating the therapeutic effect of cancer immunotherapies in terms of TIL status.
Assuntos
Antígenos CD8/genética , Neoplasias Colorretais/genética , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/genética , Neoplasias Gástricas/genética , Anticorpos Anti-Idiotípicos/imunologia , Anticorpos Anti-Idiotípicos/farmacologia , Antígenos CD8/isolamento & purificação , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/metabolismo , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/patologia , Neoplasias Colorretais/imunologia , Neoplasias Colorretais/patologia , Neoplasias Colorretais/terapia , Humanos , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/uso terapêutico , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/patologia , Masculino , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único/genética , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/isolamento & purificação , Software , Neoplasias Gástricas/imunologia , Neoplasias Gástricas/patologia , Neoplasias Gástricas/terapiaRESUMO
Project High-tech Omics-based Patient Evaluation (HOPE), which used whole-exome sequencing and gene expression profiling, was launched in 2014. A total of ~2,000 patients were enrolled until March 2016, and the survival time was observed up to July 2019. In our previous study, a tumor microenvironment immune type classification based on the expression levels of the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and CD8B genes was performed based on four types: A, adaptive immune resistance; B, intrinsic induction; C, immunological ignorance; and D, tolerance. Type A (PD-L1+ and CD8B+) exhibited upregulated features of T helper 1 antitumor responses. In the present study, survival time analysis at 5 years revealed that patients in type A had a better prognosis than those in other categories [5 year survival rate (%); A (80.5) vs. B (73.9), C (73.4) and D (72.6), P=0.0005]. Based on the expression data of 293 immune response-associated genes, 62 specific genes were upregulated in the type A group. Among these genes, 18 specific genes, such as activated effector T-cell markers (CD8/CD40LG/GZMB), effector memory T-cell markers (PD-1/CD27/ICOS), chemokine markers (CXCL9/CXCL10) and activated dendritic cell markers (CD80/CD274/SLAMF1), were significantly associated with a good prognosis using overall survival time analysis. Finally, multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses of overall survival demonstrated that four genes (GZMB, HAVCR2, CXCL9 and CD40LG) were independent prognostic markers, and GZMB, CXCL9 and CD40LG may contribute to the survival benefit of patients in the immune type A group.
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With the emergence of next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based cancer gene panel tests in routine oncological practice in Japan, an easily interpretable cancer genome database of Japanese patients in which mutational profiles are unaffected by racial differences is needed to improve the interpretation of the detected gene alterations. Considering this, we constructed the first Japanese cancer genome database, called the Japanese version of the Cancer Genome Atlas (JCGA), which includes multiple tumor types. The database includes whole-exome sequencing data from 4907 surgically resected primary tumor samples obtained from 4753 Japanese patients with cancer and graphically provides genome information on 460 cancer-associated genes, including the 336 genes that are included in two NGS-based cancer gene panel tests approved by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency. Moreover, most of the contents of this database are written in Japanese; this not only helps physicians explain the results of NGS-based cancer gene panel tests but also enables patients and their families to obtain further information regarding the detected gene alterations.
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BACKGROUND/AIM: The enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay is a well-established method used to evaluate the strength of T cell-mediated immune activity, and accepted as a standard functional immunological assay. Cytokine activity is a novel parameter reflecting spot size and intensity, which has not been used in ELISPOT assay before. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, from 113 ELISPOT assay data derived from previous clinical trials with dendritic cell vaccines, both spot number count and cytokine activity data for IFN-γ secretion were obtained using an ELISPOT reader. Comparing the new parameter cytokine activity with the existing parameter spot number, the feasibility of cytokine activity was investigated. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in sensitivity and specificity between spot number and cytokine activity among ELISPOT assay data from CMVpp65 and other antigen peptide-stimulated cytotoxic T lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: Although cytokine activity is a novel parameter unreported so far, it did not show any advantages in the evaluation T cell immune responses compared to the existing spot number parameter.
Assuntos
Citocinas/metabolismo , ELISPOT/métodos , Neoplasias/imunologia , Glioblastoma/imunologia , Humanos , Interferon gama/metabolismo , Leucócitos Mononucleares/imunologia , Melanoma/imunologia , Linfócitos T Citotóxicos/imunologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Mutation analysis using next-generation sequencing highlights the features of tumors with somatic alterations. However, the mutation profile of double cancer remains unclear. Here, we analyzed tumors derived from the same patient using whole exome sequencing (WES) to investigate the coherence of somatic mutations in double cancer. METHODS: First, the tumor mutational burden (TMB) was investigated using WES of 5521 tumor specimens from a Japanese pan-cancer cohort. The frequencies of mutation concordance were then compared in these cancers. Finally, we calculated the expected value of mutational concordance fitting a Poisson distribution to determine the relationship between double and metastatic cancers. RESULTS: In all, 44, 58, and 121 paired samples were diagnosed as double cancer, multifocal lesions (derived from identical tissues), and metastasis, respectively. Our analysis revealed that common somatic mutations were almost entirely absent in double cancer, whereas primary tumors and metastatic foci harbored several identical alterations. Concordance of the mutation profile in the same patient reflects the tumor origin and development, suggesting the potential for identifying double cancer based on common somatic mutations. Furthermore, according to a Poisson distribution, double cancer could be discriminated based on paired samples from the same patient. The probability of double cancer with more than 10 mutations was ≤1 part-per-billion (ppb, 10- 9). In multifocal lesions, 74% of tumor pairs accumulated ≤10 common mutations, implying a difference in tumor origin within identical tissues. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that counting common somatic mutations can indicate the differences in origin between tumors derived from the same patient. Our mutation coherence analysis can thus provide beneficial information for diagnosing double cancer.
Assuntos
Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Mutação , Segunda Neoplasia Primária/genética , Neoplasias/genética , Estudos de Coortes , Biologia Computacional/métodos , Análise Mutacional de DNA/métodos , Bases de Dados Genéticas , Humanos , Japão/epidemiologia , Metástase Neoplásica , Neoplasias/diagnóstico , Neoplasias/epidemiologia , Neoplasias/patologia , Segunda Neoplasia Primária/diagnóstico , Segunda Neoplasia Primária/epidemiologia , Segunda Neoplasia Primária/patologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIM: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an intractable tumor that has a very poor prognosis despite intensive treatment with temozolomide plus radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixteen newly diagnosed patients with high-grade gliomas were enrolled in a phase II study of the α-type-1 DC vaccine. Briefly, DCs obtained from the culture of enriched monocytes in the presence of a cytokine cocktail, were pulsed with a cocktail of 5 synthetic peptides and cryopreserved until injection into patients. RESULTS: The amount of IL-12 produced by activated DCs was higher than that previously reported. Among 15 evaluable patients, 10 showed positive CTL responses to any peptides in an ELISPOT assay. After 6 years of observation, five patients were still alive, and two of these patients were relapse-free. Moreover, a significant survival-prolonging effect was verified in DC-treated glioma patients. CONCLUSION: Peptide-cocktail-pulsed α-type-1 DC vaccines have a potential therapeutic effect on survival when used in combination with the standard regimen, which is partly based on IL-12-IFN-γ-mediated T-cell activation.
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Vacinas Anticâncer/administração & dosagem , Células Dendríticas/imunologia , Glioma/tratamento farmacológico , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/tratamento farmacológico , Adulto , Vacinas Anticâncer/imunologia , Polaridade Celular/imunologia , Intervalo Livre de Doença , Feminino , Glioma/imunologia , Glioma/patologia , Humanos , Interferon gama/genética , Interleucina-12/genética , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Monócitos/imunologia , Monócitos/patologia , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/imunologia , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/patologia , Linfócitos T/imunologia , Vacinação/métodosRESUMO
The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of chemo-radiation on the genetic and immunological status of rectal cancer patients who were treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The expression of immune response-associated genes was compared between rectal cancer patients treated (n = 9) and not-treated (n = 10) with preoperative CRT using volcano plot analysis. Apoptosis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker genes were analysed by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Other markers associated with the tumor microenvironment (TME), such as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) and immune checkpoint molecules, were investigated using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The clinical responses of preoperative CRT for 9 rectal cancer patients were all rated as stable disease, while the pathological tumor regression score (TRG) revealed 6 cases of grade2 and 3 cases of grade1. According to the genetic signature of colon cancers, treated tumors belonged to consensus molecular subtype (CMS)4, while not-treated tumors had signatures of CMS2 or 3. CRT-treated tumors showed significant upregulation of EMT-associated genes, such as CDH2, TGF-beta and FGF, and cancer stem cell-associated genes. Additionally, qPCR and IHC demonstrated a suppressive immunological status derived from the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-beta) and immune checkpoint genes (B7-H3 and B7-H5) and from M2-type macrophage accumulation in the tumor. The induction of EMT and immune-suppressive status in the tumor after strong CRT treatment urges the development of a novel combined therapy that restores immune-suppression and inhibits EMT, ultimately leading to distant metastasis control.
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Quimiorradioterapia , Cuidados Pré-Operatórios , Neoplasias Retais/imunologia , Neoplasias Retais/terapia , Idoso , Apoptose/genética , Citocinas/genética , Citocinas/metabolismo , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal/genética , Feminino , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/imunologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Neoplasias Retais/genética , Neoplasias Retais/patologia , Microambiente Tumoral/genética , Microambiente Tumoral/imunologiaRESUMO
Tumor mutational burden analysis using whole-exome sequencing highlights features of tumors with various mutations or known driver alterations. Cancers with few changes in the exon regions have unclear characteristics, even though low-mutated tumors are often detected in pan-cancer analysis. In the present study, we analyzed tumors with low tumor mutational burden listed in the Japanese version of The Cancer Genome Atlas, a data set of 5020 primary solid tumors. Our analysis revealed that detection rates of known driver mutations and copy number variation were decreased in samples with tumor mutational burden below 1.0 (ultralow tumor), compared with those in samples with low tumor mutational burden (≤5 mutations/Mb). This trend was also observed in The Cancer Genome Atlas data set. In the ultralow tumor mutational burden tumors, expression analysis showed decreased TP53 inactivation and chromosomal instability. TP53 inactivation frequently correlated with PI3K/mTOR-related gene expression, implying suppression of the PI3K/mTOR pathway in ultralow tumor mutational burden tumors. In common with mutational burden, the T cell-inflamed gene expression profiling signature was a potential marker for prediction of an immune checkpoint inhibitor response, and some ultralow tumor mutational burden tumor populations highly expressed this signature. Our analysis focused on how these tumors could provide insight into tumors with low somatic alteration that are difficult to detect solely using whole-exome sequencing.
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Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Neoplasias/genética , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Idoso , Feminino , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/efeitos adversos , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/uso terapêutico , Japão , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Mutação/genética , Neoplasias/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias/patologia , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/genética , Sequenciamento do ExomaRESUMO
Recently, the first series of small molecule inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 were reported by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), which were developed using a homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF)-based screening investigation of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. Additional crystallographic and biophysical studies showed that these compounds inhibited the interaction of PD-1/PD-L1 by inducing the dimerization of PD-L1, in which each dimer binds one molecule of the stabilizer at its interface. However, the immunological mechanism of the antitumor effect of these compounds remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we focused on BMS-202 (a representative of the BMS compounds) and investigated its antitumor activity using in vitro and in vivo experiments. BMS-202 inhibited the proliferation of strongly PD-L1-positive SCC-3 cells (IC50 15 µM) and anti-CD3 antibody-activated Jurkat cells (IC50 10 µM) in vitro. Additionally, BMS-202 had no regulatory effect on the PD-1 or PD-L1 expression level on the cell surface of these cells. In an in vivo study using humanized MHC-double knockout (dKO) NOG mice, BMS-202 showed a clear antitumor effect compared with the controls; however, a direct cytotoxic effect was revealed to be involved in the antitumor mechanism, as there was no lymphocyte accumulation in the tumor site. These results suggest that the antitumor effect of BMS-202 might be partly mediated by a direct off-target cytotoxic effect in addition to the immune response-based mechanism. Also, the humanized dKO NOG mouse model used in this study was shown to be a useful tool for the screening of small molecule inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 binding that can inhibit tumor growth via an immune-response-mediated mechanism.
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Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Antígeno B7-H1/metabolismo , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/metabolismo , Animais , Antineoplásicos/química , Antígeno B7-H1/genética , Proteínas de Transporte/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Expressão Gênica , Técnicas de Silenciamento de Genes , Antígenos de Histocompatibilidade/genética , Humanos , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , Estrutura Molecular , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/genética , Ligação Proteica , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
Recently, clinical studies using anti-immune checkpoint molecule antibodies have been successful in solid tumors, such as melanoma and non-small cell lung cancers. However, pancreatic cancers are still intractable and difficult to treat once recurrence or metastasis occurs; thus, novel combined use of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) with molecular targeted drugs is considered a therapeutic option. Previously, we developed a novel humanized MHC-double knockout (dKO) NOG mouse model and demonstrated that an anti-PD-1 antibody or a STAT3 inhibitor showed anti-tumor effects through an immunological mechanism. In the current study, using a humanized mouse model, we aimed to develop a combination therapy with an anti-PD-1 antibody and a STAT3 inhibitor (STX-0119) for use in vivo against pancreatic cancer. In an in vitro investigation, STX-0119 showed weak to moderate cytotoxic activity against several pancreatic cancer cell lines, which exhibited activated pSTAT3 and weak PD-L1 expression. However, unexpectedly, an in vivo study indicated that the combination of the anti-PD-1 antibody with STX-0119 remarkably reduced the anti-tumor effect and TIL numbers despite the effective anti-tumor activity against pancreatic cancer was produced individually by STX-0119 and the anti-PD-1 antibody. These results suggested that the combination of an anti-PD-1 antibody with specific signal inhibiting drugs should be carefully evaluated to avoid unexpected side effects, and such studies might contribute to the development of an effective combination regimen of ICB with cancer-targeting drugs such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).
Assuntos
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/farmacologia , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/efeitos dos fármacos , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/tratamento farmacológico , Animais , Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Interações Medicamentosas , Genes MHC Classe I/genética , Genes MHC da Classe II/genética , Humanos , Leucócitos Mononucleares/imunologia , Leucócitos Mononucleares/transplante , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/imunologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , Oxidiazóis/farmacologia , Oxidiazóis/uso terapêutico , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/imunologia , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/patologia , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/antagonistas & inibidores , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/imunologia , Quinolinas/farmacologia , Quinolinas/uso terapêutico , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/antagonistas & inibidores , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/efeitos dos fármacos , Transdução de Sinais/imunologia , Quimeras de Transplante/imunologia , Resultado do Tratamento , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
Recent advances in next-generation sequencing have enabled rapid and efficient evaluation of the mutational landscape of cancers. As a result, many cancer-specific neoantigens, which can generate antitumor cytotoxic T-cells inside tumors, have been identified. Previously, we reported a metastatic melanoma case with high tumor mutation burden, who obtained complete remission after anti-PD-1 therapy and surgical resection. The rib metastatic lesion, which was used for whole-exome sequencing and gene expression profiling in the HOPE project, showed upregulated expression of PD-L1 mRNA and a high single-nucleotide variants number of 2712. In the current study, we focused on a metastatic melanoma case and candidate epitopes among nonsynonymous mutant neoantigens of 1348 variants were investigated using a peptide-HLA binding algorithm, in vitro cytotoxic T-cell induction assay and HLA tetramer staining. Specifically, from mutant neoantigen data, a total of 21,066 9-mer mutant epitope candidates including a mutated amino acid anywhere in the sequence were applied to the NetMHC binding prediction algorithm. From in silico data, we identified the top 26 mutant epitopes with strong-binding capacity. A cytotoxic T-cell induction assay using 5 cancer patient-derived PBMCs revealed that the mutant ARMT1 peptide sequence (FYGKTILWF) with HLA-A*2402 restriction was an efficient neoantigen, which was detected at a frequency of approximately 0.04% in the HLA-A24 tetramer stain. The present success in identifying a novel mutant antigen epitope might be applied to clinical neoantigen screening in the context of an NGS-equipped medical facility for the development of the next-generation neoantigen cancer vaccines.
Assuntos
Antígenos de Neoplasias/imunologia , Antineoplásicos Imunológicos/uso terapêutico , Epitopos/imunologia , Melanoma/tratamento farmacológico , Melanoma/imunologia , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/antagonistas & inibidores , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Antígenos de Neoplasias/genética , Antineoplásicos Imunológicos/administração & dosagem , Antineoplásicos Imunológicos/efeitos adversos , Citocinas/biossíntese , Epitopos/genética , Antígeno HLA-A24/genética , Antígeno HLA-A24/imunologia , Sequenciamento de Nucleotídeos em Larga Escala , Humanos , Imuno-Histoquímica , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/metabolismo , Melanoma/metabolismo , Melanoma/patologia , Mutação , Peptídeos/química , Peptídeos/genética , Peptídeos/imunologia , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos T , Resultado do Tratamento , Sequenciamento do ExomaRESUMO
PURPOSE: The B7 homolog 4 (B7-H4, VTCN1) is an immune checkpoint molecule that negatively regulates immune responses and is known to be overexpressed in many human cancers. Previously, we generated a mouse anti-human B7-H4 mAb that did not have a significant antitumor effect in vivo probably because of molecule instability. In this study, we designed a B7-H4/CD3-bispecific antibody (BsAb) and investigated its antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo using a humanized mouse model. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: cDNAs of the antibody-binding fragment (Fab)-single-chain variable fragment (scFv) and scFv-scFv of the anti-B7-H4/CD3 BsAb were synthesized, and the BsAb antibodies were produced in HEK293 cells. The antitumor activity against human breast cancer cells by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC) with BsAb was measured by lactate dehydrogenase release in vitro, and in vivo using hPBMC-transplanted MHC class I- and class II-deficient NOG mice. RESULTS: hPBMCs with anti-B7-H4/CD3 BsAbs successfully lysed the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-468 (EC50: 0.2 ng/mL) and other B7-H4+ cell lines in vitro. When BsAb was injected in a humanized mouse model, there was an immediate and strong antitumor activity against MDA-MB-468, HCC-1954, and HCC-1569 tumors and CD8+ and granzyme B+ CTL infiltration into the tumor, and there were no adverse effects after long-term observation. CD8+ T-cell depletion by an anti-CD8 antibody mostly reduced the antitumor effect of BsAb in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: An anti-B7-H4/CD3 BsAb may be a good therapeutic tool for patients with B7-H4+ breast cancers.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Biespecíficos/farmacologia , Neoplasias da Mama/terapia , Complexo CD3/imunologia , Fragmentos Fab das Imunoglobulinas/imunologia , Anticorpos de Cadeia Única/imunologia , Linfócitos T/imunologia , Inibidor 1 da Ativação de Células T com Domínio V-Set/imunologia , Animais , Anticorpos Biespecíficos/farmacocinética , Antígenos de Neoplasias/imunologia , Apoptose , Biomarcadores Tumorais/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Mama/imunologia , Neoplasias da Mama/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Proliferação de Células , Feminino , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Leucócitos Mononucleares/efeitos dos fármacos , Leucócitos Mononucleares/imunologia , Leucócitos Mononucleares/metabolismo , Leucócitos Mononucleares/patologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos NOD , Camundongos SCID , Prognóstico , Distribuição Tecidual , Células Tumorais Cultivadas , Inibidor 1 da Ativação de Células T com Domínio V-Set/metabolismo , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
In 2014, the Shizuoka Cancer Center launched project Hightech Omicsbased Patient Evaluation (HOPE), which features whole exome sequencing (WES) and gene expression profiling (GEP) of fresh surgical specimens from cancer patients. With the development of clinical trials of programmed death1 (PD1)/PDligand 1 (PDL1) blockade, PDL1 expression and a high tumor mutation burden become possible biomarkers that could be used to predict immune responses. In this study, based on WES and GEP data from 1,734 tumors from the HOPE project, we established a tumor microenvironment (TME) immunetype classification consisting of 4 types to evaluate the immunological status of cancer patients and analyze immunological pathways specific for immune types. Project HOPE was conducted in accordance with the Ethical Guidelines for Human Genome and Genetic Analysis Research with the approval of the Institutional Review Board. Based on the expression level of the PDL1 and CD8B genes, the immunological status was divided into 4 types as follows: A, PDL1+CD8B+; B, PDL1+CD8B; C, PDL1CD8B; and D, PDL1CD8B+. Type A, with PDL1+ and CD8B+, exhibited an upregulation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) killingassociated genes, Tcell activation genes, antigenpresentation and dendritic cell (DC) maturation genes, and Tcellattracting chemokine genes, which promoted Th1 antitumor responses. By contrast, type C, with PDL1 and CD8B, exhibited a low expression of Tcellactivating genes and an upregulation of cancer driver gene signaling, which suggested an immunesuppressive status. With regard to hypermutator tumors, PDL1+ hypermutator cases exhibited a specific upregulation of the IL6 gene compared with the PDL1 cases. On the whole, our data indicate that the classification of the TME immune types may prove to be a useful tool for evaluating the immunological status and predicting antitumor responses and prognosis.