CD45 limits early Natural Killer cell development.

The clinical development of Natural Killer (NK) cell-mediated immunotherapy marks a milestone in the development of new cancer therapies and has gained traction due to the intrinsic ability of the NK cell to target and kill tumor cells. To fully harness the tumor killing ability of NK cells, we need to improve NK cell persistence and to overcome suppression of NK cell activation in the tumor microenvironment. The trans-membrane, protein tyrosine phosphatase CD45, regulates NK cell homeostasis, with the genetic loss of CD45 in mice resulting in increased numbers of mature NK cells. This suggests that CD45-deficient NK cells might display enhanced persistence following adoptive transfer. However, we demonstrate here that adoptive transfer of CD45-deficiency did not enhance NK cell persistence in mice, and instead, the homeostatic disturbance of NK cells in CD45-deficient mice stemmed from a developmental defect in the progenitor population. The enhanced maturation within the CD45-deficient NK cell compartment was intrinsic to the NK cell lineage, and independent of the developmental defect. CD45 is not a conventional immune checkpoint candidate, as systemic loss is detrimental to T and B cell development, compromising the adaptive immune system. Nonetheless, this study suggests that inhibition of CD45 in progenitor or stem cell populations may improve the yield of in vitro generated NK cells for adoptive therapy.

The SOCS1 KIR and SH2 domain are both required for suppression of cytokine signaling in vivo.

Suppressor Of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS) 1 is a critical negative regulator of cytokine signaling and required to protect against an excessive inflammatory response. Genetic deletion of Socs1 results in unrestrained cytokine signaling and neonatal lethality, characterised by an inflammatory immune infiltrate in multiple organs. Overexpression and structural studies have suggested that the SOCS1 kinase inhibitory region (KIR) and Src homology 2 (SH2) domain are important for interaction with and inhibition of the receptor-associated JAK1, JAK2 and TYK2 tyrosine kinases, which initiate downstream signaling. To investigate the role of the KIR and SH2 domain in SOCS1 function, we independently mutated key conserved residues in each domain and analysed the impact on cytokine signaling, and the in vivo impact on SOCS1 function. Mutation of the SOCS1-KIR or SH2 domain had no impact on the integrity of the SOCS box complex, however, mutation within the phosphotyrosine binding pocket of the SOCS1-SH2 domain specifically disrupted SOCS1 interaction with phosphorylated JAK1. In contrast, mutation of the KIR did not affect the interaction with JAK1, but did prevent SOCS1 inhibition of JAK1 autophosphorylation. In human and mouse cell lines, both mutants impacted the ability of SOCS1 to restrain cytokine signaling, and crucially, Socs1-R105A and Socs1-F59A mice displayed a neonatal lethality and excessive inflammatory phenotype similar to Socs1-null mice. This study defines a critical and non-redundant role for both the KIR and SH2 domain in endogenous SOCS1 function.

Unified framework for patient-derived, tumor-organoid-based predictive testing of standard-of-care therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Predictive drug testing of patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs) holds promise for personalizing treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), but prospective data are limited to chemotherapy regimens with conflicting results. We describe a unified framework for PDTO-based predictive testing across standard-of-care chemotherapy and biologic and targeted therapy options. In an Australian community cohort, PDTO predictions based on treatment-naive patients (n = 56) and response rates from first-line mCRC clinical trials achieve 83% accuracy for forecasting responses in patients receiving palliative treatments (18 patients, 29 treatments). Similar assay accuracy is achieved in a prospective study of third-line or later mCRC treatment, AGITG FORECAST-1 (n = 30 patients). "Resistant" predictions are associated with inferior progression-free survival; misclassification rates are similar by regimen. Liver metastases are the optimal site for sampling, with testing achievable within 7 weeks for 68.8% cases. Our findings indicate that PDTO drug panel testing can provide predictive information for multifarious standard-of-care therapies for mCRC.

SOCS2 regulation of growth hormone signaling requires a canonical interaction with phosphotyrosine.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 2 is the critical negative regulator of growth hormone (GH) and prolactin signaling. Mice lacking SOCS2 display gigantism with increased body weight and length, and an enhanced response to GH treatment. Here, we characterized mice carrying a germ-line R96C mutation within the SOCS2-SH2 domain, which disrupts the ability of SOCS2 to interact with tyrosine-phosphorylated targets. Socs2R96C/R96C mice displayed a similar increase in growth as previously observed in SOCS2 null (Socs2-/-) mice, with a proportional increase in body and organ weight, and bone length. Embryonic fibroblasts isolated from Socs2R96C/R96C and Socs2-/- mice also showed a comparable increase in phosphorylation of STAT5 following GH stimulation, indicating the critical role of phosphotyrosine binding in SOCS2 function.