Enhanced Antitumor Immune Response in 2'-5' Oligoadenylate Synthetase-Like 1- (OASL1-) Deficient Mice upon Cisplatin Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy.

Type I interferon (IFN-I) plays a critical role in the antitumor immune response. In our previous study, we showed that IFN-I-inducible 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase-like 1 (OASL1) negatively regulated IFN-I production upon tumor challenge similar to that of viral infection. Thus, OASL1-deficient (Oasl1 -/-) mice were more resistant to implanted tumor growth than wild-type (WT) mice. In this study, we investigated whether targeting or suppressing OASL1 could show synergistic effects on tumor clearance with conventional cancer therapies (such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy) using Oasl1 -/- mice and a transplantable lung metastatic tumor cell model. Upon treatment with the anticancer drug cisplatin, we found that Oasl1 -/- mice showed enhanced resistance to injected tumors compared to untreated Oasl1 -/- mice. Similarly, irradiated Oasl1 -/- mice showed better resistance to tumor challenge than untreated Oasl1 -/- mice. Additionally, we found that Oasl1 -/- mice applied with both types of the cancer therapies contained more cytotoxic effector cells, such as CD8+ T cells and NK cells, and produced more cytotoxic effector cytokine IFN-γ as well as IFN-I in their tumor-containing lungs compared to untreated Oasl1 -/- mice. Collectively, these results show that targeting OASL1 together with conventional cancer therapies could be an effective strategy to enhance treatment efficacy.

Retained or altered expression of major histocompatibility complex class I in patient-derived xenograft models in breast cancer.

The expression of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) in tumor cells is regulated by interferon signaling, and it is an important factor in the efficacy of cytotoxic T cell-dependent immunotherapy. To determine the impact of immune cells in MHC I expression on tumor cells, we compared the expression of MHC I in tumor cells derived from primary breast cancers and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. MHC I and myxovirus resistance gene A (MxA) expression were analyzed using immunohistochemistry in 23 cases of tumor tissue and corresponding primary and secondary PDXs. The median H score of MHC I was 210 (0-300) in patient tumor tissues, 197.5 (0-300) in primary PDX tumors, and 157.5 (5-300) in secondary PDX tumors. Cases were divided into four groups based on the difference in MHC I expression between the patient tumor tissues and secondary PDXs. Eleven cases constituted the high MHC I group, four constituted the low MHC I group, six comprised the decreased MHC I group, and two comprised the increased MHC I group. MHC I and MxA expressions in each tumor were weakly correlated within patients' tumors, while strongly correlated within PDX models. Retained or altered expression of MHC I in breast cancer PDXs reveals the presence of intrinsic and extrinsic interferon signaling pathways in tumor cells. Thus, considering MHC I expression in PDX is important when using PDX models to evaluate the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy in a preclinical setting.

Novel Compound Heterozygote Mutation in IL10RA in a Patient With Very Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

BACKGROUND: Very early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEO-IBD) is often associated with monogenetic disorders. IL-10RA deficiency is one of the major causal mutations in VEO-IBD. Here, we aimed to identify the causal mutation associated with severe IBD in a 1-year-old patient, validate the pathogenicity of the mutation, and characterize the mutant protein. METHODS: To identify the causal mutation, targeted exome sequencing (ES) was performed using the genomic DNA from the patient. To validate the pathogenicity, IL-10RA functional tests were performed using the patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Additionally, flow cytometry analysis, confocal microscopy on overexpressed green fluorescent protein-fused mutants, and computational analysis on the structures of IL-10RA proteins were performed. RESULTS: We identified a novel compound heterozygote mutation p.[Tyr91Cys];[Pro146Alafs*40] in the IL10RA gene of the patient. The missense variant p.Tyr91Cys was previously identified but not functionally tested, and a frameshift variant, p.Pro146Alafs*40, is novel and nonfunctional. PBMCs from the patient showed defective signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activation. The p.Tyr91Cys mutant protein failed to properly localize on the plasma membrane. The p.Tyr91Cys mutation seems to disrupt the hydrophobic core structure surrounding the tyrosine 91 residue, causing structural instability. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted ES and linkage analysis identified novel compound heterozygous mutations p.[Tyr91Cys];[Pro146Alafs*40] in the IL10RA gene of a child with severe VEO-IBD. p.Tyr91Cys proteins were functionally defective in IL-10RA signaling and failed to properly localize on the plasma membrane, probably due to its structural instability.

Expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and their potential for application as adoptive cell transfer therapy in human breast cancer.

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of ex vivo expanded tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has been successful in treating a considerable proportion of patients with metastatic melanoma. In addition, some patients with several other solid tumors were recently reported to have benefited clinically from such ACT. However, it remains unclear whether ACT using TILs is broadly applicable in breast cancer, the most common cancer in women. In this study, the utility of TILs as an ACT source in breast cancers was explored by deriving TILs from a large number of breast cancer samples and assessing their biological potentials. We successfully expanded TILs ex vivo under a standard TIL culture condition from over 100 breast cancer samples, including all breast cancer subtypes. We also found that the information about the percentage of TIL and presence of tertiary lymphoid structure in the tumor tissues could be useful for estimating the number of obtainable TILs after ex vivo culture. The ex vivo expanded TILs contained a considerable level of central memory phenotype T cells (about 20%), and a large proportion of TIL samples were reactive to autologous tumor cells in vitro. Furthermore, the in vitro tumor-reactive autologous TILs could also function in vivo in a xenograft mouse model implanted with the primary tumor tissue. Collectively, these results strongly indicate that ACT using ex vivo expanded autologous TILs is a feasible option in treating patients with breast cancer.

Establishment of IL-7 Expression Reporter Human Cell Lines, and Their Feasibility for High-Throughput Screening of IL-7-Upregulating Chemicals.

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a cytokine essential for T cell homeostasis, and is clinically important. However, the regulatory mechanism of IL-7 gene expression is not well known, and a systematic approach to screen chemicals that regulate IL-7 expression has not yet been developed. In this study, we attempted to develop human reporter cell lines using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing technology. For this purpose, we designed donor DNA that contains an enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) gene, drug selection cassette, and modified homologous arms which are considered to enhance the translation of the eGFP reporter transcript, and also a highly efficient single-guide RNA with a minimal off-target effect to target the IL-7 start codon region. By applying this system, we established IL-7 eGFP reporter cell lines that could report IL-7 gene transcription based on the eGFP protein signal. Furthermore, we utilized the cells to run a pilot screen campaign for IL-7-upregulating chemicals in a high-throughput format, and identified a chemical that can up-regulate IL-7 gene transcription. Collectively, these results suggest that our IL-7 reporter system can be utilized in large-scale chemical library screening to reveal novel IL-7 regulatory pathways and to identify potential drugs for development of new treatments in immunodeficiency disease.

2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase-like 1 (OASL1) deficiency suppresses central nervous system damage in a murine MOG-induced multiple sclerosis model.

Type I Interferon (IFN-I) is critical for antiviral and antitumor defense. Additionally, IFN-I has been used for treating multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Recently, we reported that 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase-like 1 (OASL1) negatively regulates IFN-I production upon viral infection and tumor challenge. Therefore, OASL1 deficient (Oasl1(-)(/)(-)) mice are resistant to viral infections and tumor challenge. In this study, we examined whether OASL1 plays a negative role in the development of autoimmune MS by using Oasl1(-)(/)(-) mice and a murine MS model, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Oasl1(-)(/)(-) mice showed enhanced resistance to EAE development compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Additionally, EAE-induced Oasl1(-)(/)(-) mice showed fewer infiltrated immune cells such as T cells and macrophages in the CNS and less CNS inflammation, compared to WT mice. Collectively, these results indicate that OASL1 deficiency suppresses the development of MS-like autoimmunity and suggest that negative regulators of IFN-I could be good therapeutic targets for treating MS in humans.

2'-5' Oligoadenylate synthetase-like 1 (OASL1) deficiency in mice promotes an effective anti-tumor immune response by enhancing the production of type I interferons.

Type I interferon (IFN-I) plays a critical role in antiviral and antitumor defense. In our previous studies, we showed that IFN-I-inducible 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase-like 1 (OASL1) negatively regulates IFN-I production upon viral infection by specifically inhibiting translation of the IFN-I-regulating master transcription factor, interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7). In this study, we investigated whether OASL1 plays a negative role in the anti-tumor immune response by using OASL1-deficient (Oasl1 (-/-)) mice and transplantable syngeneic tumor cell models. We found that Oasl1 (-/-) mice demonstrate enhanced resistance to lung metastatic tumors and subcutaneously implanted tumors compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Additionally, we found that cytotoxic effector cells such as CD8(+) T cells (including tumor antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells) and NK cells as well as CD8α(+) DCs (the major antigen cross-presenting cells) were much more frequent (>fivefold) in the Oasl1 (-/-) mouse tumors. Furthermore, the cytotoxic effector cells in Oasl1 (-/-) mouse tumors seemed to be more functionally active. However, the proportion of immunosuppressive myeloid-derived suppressor cells within hematopoietic cells and of regulatory T cells within CD4(+) T cells in Oasl1 (-/-) mouse tumors did not differ significantly from that of WT mice. Tumor-challenged Oasl1 (-/-) mice expressed increased levels of IFN-I and IRF7 protein in the growing tumor, indicating that the enhanced antitumor immune response observed in Oasl1 (-/-) mice was caused by higher IFN-I production in Oasl1 (-/-) mice. Collectively, these results show that OASL1 deficiency promotes the antitumor immune response, and thus, OASL1 could be a good therapeutic target for treating tumors.