Interleukin-17 receptor a signaling in transformed enterocytes promotes early colorectal tumorigenesis.

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine linked to rapid malignant progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) and therapy resistance. IL-17A exerts its pro-tumorigenic activity through its type A receptor (IL-17RA). However, IL-17RA is expressed in many cell types, including hematopoietic, fibroblastoid, and epithelial cells, in the tumor microenvironment, and how IL-17RA engagement promotes colonic tumorigenesis is unknown. Here we show that IL-17RA signals directly within transformed colonic epithelial cells (enterocytes) to promote early tumor development. IL-17RA engagement activates ERK, p38 MAPK, and NF-κB signaling and promotes the proliferation of tumorigenic enterocytes that just lost expression of the APC tumor suppressor. Although IL-17RA signaling also controls the production of IL-6, this mechanism makes only a partial contribution to colonic tumorigenesis. Combined treatment with chemotherapy, which induces IL-17A expression, and an IL-17A neutralizing antibody enhanced the therapeutic responsiveness of established colon tumors. These findings establish IL-17A and IL-17RA as therapeutic targets in colorectal cancer.

Immunosuppressive plasma cells impede T-cell-dependent immunogenic chemotherapy.

Cancer-associated genetic alterations induce expression of tumour antigens that can activate CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), but the microenvironment of established tumours promotes immune tolerance through poorly understood mechanisms. Recently developed therapeutics that overcome tolerogenic mechanisms activate tumour-directed CTLs and are effective in some human cancers. Immune mechanisms also affect treatment outcome, and certain chemotherapeutic drugs stimulate cancer-specific immune responses by inducing immunogenic cell death and other effector mechanisms. Our previous studies revealed that B cells recruited by the chemokine CXCL13 into prostate cancer tumours promote the progression of castrate-resistant prostate cancer by producing lymphotoxin, which activates an IκB kinase α (IKKα)-BMI1 module in prostate cancer stem cells. Because castrate-resistant prostate cancer is refractory to most therapies, we examined B cell involvement in the acquisition of chemotherapy resistance. Here we focus on oxaliplatin, an immunogenic chemotherapeutic agent that is effective in aggressive prostate cancer. We show that mouse B cells modulate the response to low-dose oxaliplatin, which promotes tumour-directed CTL activation by inducing immunogenic cell death. Three different mouse prostate cancer models were refractory to oxaliplatin unless genetically or pharmacologically depleted of B cells. The crucial immunosuppressive B cells are plasmocytes that express IgA, interleukin (IL)-10 and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), the appearance of which depends on TGFß receptor signalling. Elimination of these cells, which also infiltrate human-therapy-resistant prostate cancer, allows CTL-dependent eradication of oxaliplatin-treated tumours.

YAP-IL-6ST autoregulatory loop activated on APC loss controls colonic tumorigenesis.

Loss of tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) activates ß-catenin to initiate colorectal tumorigenesis. However, ß-catenin (CTNNB1) activating mutations rarely occur in human colorectal cancer (CRC). We found that APC loss also results in up-regulation of IL-6 signal transducer (IL-6ST/gp130), thereby activating Src family kinases (SFKs), YAP, and STAT3, which are simultaneously up-regulated in the majority of human CRC. Although, initial YAP activation, which stimulates IL6ST gene transcription, may be caused by reduced serine phosphorylation, sustained YAP activation depends on tyrosine phosphorylation by SFKs, whose inhibition, along with STAT3-activating JAK kinases, causes regression of established colorectal tumors. These results explain why APC loss is a more potent initiating event than the mere activation of CTNNB1.

Dual prognostic significance of tumour-associated macrophages in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated or untreated with chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) play key roles in tumour progression. Recent evidence suggests that TAMs critically modulate the efficacy of anticancer therapies, raising the prospect of their targeting in human cancer. DESIGN: In a large retrospective cohort study involving 110 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), we assessed the density of CD68-TAM immune reactive area (%IRA) at the tumour-stroma interface and addressed their prognostic relevance in relation to postsurgical adjuvant chemotherapy (CTX). In vitro, we dissected the synergism of CTX and TAMs. RESULTS: In human PDAC, TAMs predominantly exhibited an immunoregulatory profile, characterised by expression of scavenger receptors (CD206, CD163) and production of interleukin 10 (IL-10). Surprisingly, while the density of TAMs associated to worse prognosis and distant metastasis, CTX restrained their protumour prognostic significance. High density of TAMs at the tumour-stroma interface positively dictated prognostic responsiveness to CTX independently of T-cell density. Accordingly, in vitro, gemcitabine-treated macrophages became tumoricidal, activating a cytotoxic gene expression programme, inhibiting their protumoural effect and switching to an antitumour phenotype. In patients with human PDAC, neoadjuvant CTX was associated to a decreased density of CD206(+) and IL-10(+) TAMs at the tumour-stroma interface. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our data highlight TAMs as critical determinants of prognostic responsiveness to CTX and provide clinical and in vitro evidence that CTX overall directly re-educates TAMs to restrain tumour progression. These results suggest that the quantification of TAMs could be exploited to select patients more likely to respond to CTX and provide the basis for novel strategies aimed at re-educating macrophages in the context of CTX.

Occurrence and significance of tumor-associated neutrophils in patients with colorectal cancer.

Inflammatory cells are an essential component of the tumor microenvironment. Neutrophils have emerged as important players in the orchestration and effector phase of innate and adaptive immunity. The significance of tumor-associated neutrophils (TAN) in colorectal cancer (CRC) has been the subject of conflicting reports and the present study was designed to set up a reliable methodology to assess TAN infiltration in CRC and to evaluate their clinical significance. CD66b and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were assessed as candidate neutrophil markers in CRC using immunohistochemistry. CD66b was found to be a reliable marker to identify TAN in CRC tissues, whereas MPO also identified a subset of CD68(+) macrophages. CRC patients (n = 271) (Stages I-IV) were investigated retrospectively by computer-assisted imaging on whole tumor sections. TAN density dramatically decreases in Stage IV patients as compared to Stage I-III. At Cox analysis, higher TAN density was associated with better prognosis. Importantly, multivariate analysis showed that prognostic significance of TAN can be influenced by clinical stage and 5-fluorouracil(5-FU)-based chemotherapy. On separate analysis of Stage III patients (n = 178), TAN density had a dual clinical significance depending on the use of 5-FU-based chemotherapy. Unexpectedly, higher TAN density was associated with better response to 5-FU-based chemotherapy. Thus, TAN are an important component of the immune cell infiltrate in CRC and assessment of TAN infiltration may help identify patients likely to benefit from 5-FU-based chemotherapy. These results call for a reassessment of the role of neutrophils in cancer using rigorous quantitative methodology.

Mast cells are not associated with systemic insulin resistance.

BACKGROUND: Infiltration of white adipose tissue (WAT) by inflammatory cells in obesity is considered to be a key event in the development of insulin resistance. Recently, mast cells (MCs) have been identified as new players in the pathogenesis of obesity. We aimed to investigate the relationship between MCs and various inflammatory markers in serum and WAT and to determine the role of MCs in the aetiology of insulin resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gene expression was measured in WAT from 20 morbidly obese patients and 20 nonobese control subjects. Homoeostasis Model of Assessment-Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) was used to estimate insulin sensitivity. In addition, wild-type and mast cell-deficient mice were fed a high-fat or low-fat diet to study mast cell influence on inflammatory cell polarization in WAT and overall metabolic changes. RESULTS: WAT levels of MC-specific TPSb2 transcript were increased in obesity and significantly positively correlated with TNF, CCL2, CCL5 and CD68 gene expression levels in our study subjects after adjustment for sex, age and BMI. Accordingly, MC deficiency abrogated increase in expression of pro-inflammatory M1 macrophage marker genes in mouse WAT upon high-fat diet feeding. However, MCs accumulated in obese human WAT independent of insulin resistance and systemic changes in inflammatory mediators. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that MCs contribute to the local pro-inflammatory state within WAT in obesity but do not play a primary role in causing insulin resistance.

Inflammation and prostate cancer: friends or foe?

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous malignancy diagnosed in men. Moving from histological observations since a long time, it has been recognized that innate and adaptive immunity actively participates in the pathogenesis, surveillance, and progression of prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A PubMed and Web of Science databases search was performed for studies providing evidence on the roles of the innate and adaptive immunity during the development and progression of prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: There are growing evidences that chronic inflammation is involved in the regulation of cellular events in prostate carcinogenesis, including disruption of the immune response and regulation of the tumor microenvironment. This review discusses the role played by the innate and adaptive immune system in the local progression of prostate cancer, and the prognostic information that we can currently understand and exploit.

Presence of Twist1-positive neoplastic cells in the stroma of chromosome-unstable colorectal tumors.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Cancer cells undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to become invasive, allowing tumors to progress. However, there is no direct evidence that human cancer cells undergo an EMT. In mouse cancer cells, up-regulation of transcription factor Twist1 was shown to promote an EMT. We searched the stroma of human colorectal tumor samples for TWIST1-positive cells with a mesenchymal phenotype and neoplastic genotype. METHODS: We measured the expression of TWIST1 in human colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines and examined the effects of overexpression or knockdown in vitro and in mice. We used immunohistochemistry to measure levels of TWIST1 in 201 colorectal tumor samples. In 20 samples, immunostaining was combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses. Levels of TWIST1 messenger RNA (mRNA) were measured in blood samples from 15 patients. RESULTS: TWIST1 was required to maintain the mesenchymal phenotype and invasiveness of the microsatellite-stable CoLo741 cells (which express endogenous TWIST1) and SW480 (expressing transgenic TWIST1). TWIST1 mRNA was not translated in CRC cells with microsatellite instability (HCT116). Syngenic TWIST1-positive colon carcinoma cells (CT26) that invaded tissues surrounding tumors acquired a mesenchymal phenotype. The presence of TWIST1-positive cells in the stroma of human colorectal tumors correlated with microsatellite stability (P = .05), stage IV cancer (P = .02), and disease-free survival time (P < .01). Trisomies of chromosome 7 and/or chromosome 20 were detected in 17 of 20 colorectal tumor samples, each of which contained TWIST1-positive cells with matching chromosomal gains in the tumor stroma (86 of 776 counted cells; 11.1%). No trisomy was observed in TWIST1-negative stromal cells (0 of 1249 cells; P < .001). Levels of TWIST1 mRNA were significantly higher in blood samples from patients with CRC than controls. CONCLUSIONS: The stroma of human colorectal tumors contains TWIST1-positive cancer cells with mesenchymal phenotypes. Patients with CRC have higher levels of TWIST1 mRNA than healthy individuals.

Immune cells: plastic players along colorectal cancer progression.

Inflammatory cells are involved in tumour initiation and progression. In parallel, the adaptive immune response plays a key role in fighting tumour growth and dissemination. The double-edged role of the immune system in solid tumours is well represented in colorectal cancer (CRC). The development and progression of CRC are affected by the interactions between the tumour and the host's response, occurring in a milieu named tumour microenvironment. The role of immune cells in human CRC is being unravelled and there is a strong interest in understanding their dynamics as to tumour promotion, immunosurveillance and immunoevasion. A better definition of immune infiltration would be important not only with respect to the 'natural history' of CRC, but in a clinically relevant perspective in the 21st century, with respect to its post-surgical management, including chemotherapy responsiveness. While it is becoming established that the amount of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes influences the post-surgical progression of early-stage CRC, the relevance of this immune parameter as to chemotherapy responsiveness remains to be clarified. Despite recent experimental work supporting the notion that infiltrating immune cells may influence chemotherapy-mediated tumour cell death, tumour-infiltrating cells are not employed to identify patients who are more likely to benefit from adjuvant treatment. This review focuses on studies addressing the role of innate and adaptive immune cells along the occurrence and the progression of potentially curable CRC.

Mast cells and the liver aging process.

It has now ascertained that the clinical manifestations of liver disease in the elderly population reflect both the cumulative effects of longevity on the liver and the generalized senescence of the organism ability to adjust to metabolic, infectious, and immunologic insults. Although liver tests are not significantly affected by age, the presentation of liver diseases such as viral hepatitis may be subtler in the elderly population than that of younger patients.Human immunosenescence is a situation in which the immune system, particularly T lymphocyte function, deteriorates with age, while innate immunity is negligibly affected and in some cases almost up-regulated.We here briefly review the relationships between the liver aging process and mast cells, the key effectors in a more complex range of innate immune responses than originally though.

Fructose stimulated de novo lipogenesis is promoted by inflammation.

Benign hepatosteatosis, affected by lipid uptake, de novo lipogenesis and fatty acid (FA) oxidation, progresses to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) on stress and inflammation. A key macronutrient proposed to increase hepatosteatosis and NASH risk is fructose. Excessive intake of fructose causes intestinal-barrier deterioration and endotoxaemia. However, how fructose triggers these alterations and their roles in hepatosteatosis and NASH pathogenesis remain unknown. Here we show, using mice, that microbiota-derived Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists promote hepatosteatosis without affecting fructose-1-phosphate (F1P) and cytosolic acetyl-CoA. Activation of mucosal-regenerative gp130 signalling, administration of the YAP-induced matricellular protein CCN1 or expression of the antimicrobial peptide Reg3b (beta) peptide counteract fructose-induced barrier deterioration, which depends on endoplasmic-reticulum stress and subsequent endotoxaemia. Endotoxin engages TLR4 to trigger TNF production by liver macrophages, thereby inducing lipogenic enzymes that convert F1P and acetyl-CoA to FA in both mouse and human hepatocytes.

Tumor-associated macrophages and response to 5-fluorouracil adjuvant therapy in stage III colorectal cancer.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a role in tumor development and progression. We hypothesized that abundance of TAMs might modify efficacy of 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy in colorectal cancer. We measured the density of CD68+ TAMs at the invasive front of primary tumor of colorectal carcinoma (PT-TAMs; n = 208), at available matched metastatic lymph node (LN-TAMs; n = 149), and in an independent set of primary colorectal cancers (PT-TAMs, n = 111). The hazard ratios for disease-free survival were computed by Cox proportional-hazards model. In exploratory analysis, the interaction between TAMs and 5-fluorouracil adjuvant therapy was significant (PT-TAMs, p = 0.02; LN-TAMs, p = 0.005). High TAMs were independently associated with better disease-free survival only in 5-fluorouracil-treated patients (PT-TAMs, HR 0.23; 95%CI, 0.08-0.65; p = 0.005; LN-TAMs, HR 0.13; 95%CI, 0.04-0.43; p = 0.001). The independent predictive value of PT-TAMs was replicated in the external set (HR, 0.14; 95%CI 0.02-1.00; p = 0.05). In an in vitro experiment, 5-fluorouracil and macrophages showed a synergistic effect and increased colorectal cancer cell death. High densities of TAMs, particularly in metastatic lymph-nodes, identify stage III colorectal cancer patients benefitting from 5-fluorouracil adjuvant therapy.

Stress-Activated NRF2-MDM2 Cascade Controls Neoplastic Progression in Pancreas.

Despite expression of oncogenic KRAS, premalignant pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia 1 (PanIN1) lesions rarely become fully malignant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The molecular mechanisms through which established risk factors, such as chronic pancreatitis, acinar cell damage, and/or defective autophagy increase the likelihood of PDAC development are poorly understood. We show that accumulation of the autophagy substrate p62/SQSTM1 in stressed KrasG12D acinar cells is associated with PDAC development and maintenance of malignancy in human cells and mice. p62 accumulation promotes neoplastic progression by controlling the NRF2-mediated induction of MDM2, which acts through p53-dependent and -independent mechanisms to abrogate checkpoints that prevent conversion of differentiated acinar cells to proliferative ductal progenitors. MDM2 targeting may be useful for preventing PDAC development in high-risk individuals.

Circulating Inflammatory Mediators as Potential Prognostic Markers of Human Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cytokines and chemokines in the tumor microenvironment drive metastatic development and their serum levels might mirror the ongoing inflammatory reaction at the tumor site. Novel highly sensitive tools are needed to identify colorectal cancer patients at high risk of recurrence that should be more closely monitored during post-surgical follow up. Here we study whether circulating inflammatory markers might be used to predict recurrence in CRC patients. METHODS: Circulating levels of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, TNFalpha, CCL2, CXCL8, VEGF and the acute phase protein Pentraxin-3 were measured by ELISA in preoperative serum samples prospectively collected from a cohort of sixty-nine patients undergoing surgical resection for stage 0-IV CRC and associated with post-operative disease recurrence. RESULTS: Cox multivariate analysis showed that combined high levels (≥ROC cut off-value) of CXCL8, VEGF and Pentraxin3 were associated with increased risk of disease recurrence [HR: 14.28; 95%CI: (3.13-65.1)] independently of TNM staging. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that CXCL8, VEGF and Pentraxin3 levels were significantly associated with worse survival (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Circulating inflammatory mediators efficiently predicted postoperative recurrence after CRC surgery. Therefore, this study suggest that their validation in large-scale clinical trials may help in tailoring CRC post-surgical management.

Correction: Circulating Inflammatory Mediators as Potential Prognostic Markers of Human Colorectal Cancer.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148186.].

Spatial distribution of B cells predicts prognosis in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

B-cell responses are emerging as critical regulators of cancer progression. In this study, we investigated the role of B lymphocytes in the microenvironment of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), in a retrospective consecutive series of 104 PDAC patients and in PDAC preclinical models. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that B cells occupy two histologically distinct compartments in human PDAC, either scatteringly infiltrating (CD20-TILs), or organized in tertiary lymphoid tissue (CD20-TLT). Only when retained within TLT, high density of B cells predicted longer survival (median survival 16.9 mo CD20-TLThi vs. 10.7 mo CD20-TLTlo; p = 0.0085). Presence of B cells within TLT associated to a germinal center (GC) immune signature, correlated with CD8-TIL infiltration, and empowered their favorable prognostic value. Immunotherapeutic vaccination of spontaneously developing PDAC (KrasG12D-Pdx1-Cre) mice with α-enolase (ENO1) induced formation of TLT with active GCs and correlated with increased recruitment of T lymphocytes, suggesting induction of TLT as a strategy to favor mobilization of immune cells in PDAC. In contrast, in an implanted tumor model devoid of TLT, depletion of B cells with an anti-CD20 antibody reinstated an antitumor immune response. Our results highlight B cells as an essential element of the microenvironment of PDAC and identify their spatial organization as a key regulator of their antitumor function. A mindfully evaluation of B cells in human PDAC could represent a powerful prognostic tool to identify patients with distinct clinical behaviors and responses to immunotherapeutic strategies.

Tertiary lymphoid tissue in the tumor microenvironment: from its occurrence to immunotherapeutic implications.

Recruitment of immune and inflammatory cells in the microenvironment of solid tumors is highly heterogeneous and follows patterns, varying according to the organ of origin and stage of disease, with critical roles in the process of cancer onset and progression. While adaptive cells are endowed with anti-tumor activities, inflammatory components of the immune infiltrate orchestrate an immunosuppressive microenvironment that reveals ambivalent functions of the immune contexture in the tumor milieu. The balance between opposing pro-tumoral and anti-tumoral immune pathways, which occur concomitantly in the tumor microenvironment, and the regulatory networks of these phenomena have been the target of several immunotherapeutic strategies. While the scarcity of adaptive immune effectors in tumors correlates with dismal prognosis, the pathways of activation of tumor-specific lymphocytes are yet to be fully elucidated. Recently, the occurrence of tertiary lymphoid tissue was revealed to be critical in mediating the dynamics of T cell recruitment and local activation of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Thus, tertiary lymphoid tissue assessment and targeting emerge as a promising approach for the design of novel prognostic immune signatures and immunotherapeutic strategies. The immunological behavior of tertiary lymphoid tissue, its occurrence in the tumor immune microenvironment and its clinical relevance are discussed here.

Tertiary lymphoid tissue: A gateway for T cells in the tumor microenvironment.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes influence colorectal cancer progression. We have recently documented that tertiary lymphoid tissue in the colorectal cancer microenvironment orchestrates lymphocyte infiltration and that tertiary lymphoid tissue and lymphocytes cooperate in a coordinated antitumor immune response to improve patient outcome. Thus, tertiary lymphoid tissue represents a potential target in the design of tailored immune-based therapeutic approaches.

Immune mediators as potential diagnostic tools for colorectal cancer: from experimental rationale to early clinical evidence.

At the tumor site, solid tumors recruit native and adaptive infiltrating cell subtypes with a unique pattern, varying according to the organ of origin and the stage of the disease, which contributes to the complexity of the cancer microenvironment. The recruitment and activation of immune cells depend on a plethora of soluble immune mediators, including cytokines and chemokines that have a critical role in the process of cancer onset and progression. In colorectal cancer, measurement of soluble immune mediators in the serum seems to reflect the specific inflammatory reaction at the tumor site, and thus they might serve in clinical practice to improve available colorectal cancer detection and screening strategies. Clinical translation of data from experimental models could lead to the earlier detection of colorectal cancer resulting in a decreased burden of metastatic disease. These models and the most promising candidates for immune-based serum screening tests in colorectal cancer are discussed here.

Occurrence of tertiary lymphoid tissue is associated with T-cell infiltration and predicts better prognosis in early-stage colorectal cancers.

PURPOSE: Tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes (TIL) play a key role in the clinical outcome of human colorectal cancer; however, the dynamics of their recruitment along colorectal cancer clinical progression have not been fully elucidated. Tertiary lymphoid tissue (TLT) is an ectopic organized lymph node-like structure that typically forms at sites of chronic inflammation and is involved in adaptive immune responses. Its occurrence in cancer is sporadically documented and its role and clinical relevance is largely unknown. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The occurrence of TLT, the correlation with TILs, and the clinical relevance were evaluated retrospectively, in a cohort study involving a consecutive series of 351 patients with stage II and III colorectal cancer. The role of TLT in lymphocyte recruitment was assessed in a preclinical model of colorectal cancer. RESULTS: In both human colorectal cancer and in a murine model of colorectal cancer, we identified organized TLT, highly vascularized (including high endothelial venules), and correlated with the density of CD3(+) TILs. Intravenous injection in mice of GFP splenocytes resulted in homing of lymphocytes to TLT, suggesting an active role of TLT in the recruitment of lymphocytes to tumor areas. Accordingly, TLT density and TIL infiltration correlated and were coordinated in predicting better patient's outcome among patients with stage II colorectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: We provide evidence that TLT is associated with lymphocyte infiltration in colorectal cancer, providing a pathway of recruitment for TILs. TLT cooperates with TILs in a coordinated antitumor immune response, when identifying patients with low-risk early-stage colorectal cancer, thus, representing a novel prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer.