RESUMO
Iron accumulation in tumors contributes to disease progression and chemoresistance. While targeting this process can influence various hallmarks of cancer, the immunomodulatory effects of iron chelation in the tumor microenvironment are unknown. Here, we report that treatment with deferiprone, an FDA-approved iron chelator, unleashes innate immune responses that restrain ovarian cancer. Deferiprone reprogrammed ovarian cancer cells towards an immunostimulatory state characterized by production of type I interferon (IFN) and overexpression of molecules that activate natural killer (NK) cells. Mechanistically, these effects were driven by innate sensing of mitochondrial DNA in the cytosol and concomitant activation of nuclear DNA damage responses triggered upon iron chelation. Deferiprone synergized with chemotherapy and prolonged the survival of mice with ovarian cancer by bolstering type I IFN responses that drove NK cell-dependent control of metastatic disease. Hence, iron chelation may represent an alternative immunotherapeutic strategy for malignancies that are refractory to current T cell-centric modalities.
RESUMO
IRE1α-XBP1 signaling is emerging as a central orchestrator of malignant progression and immunosuppression in various cancer types. Employing a computational XBP1s detection method applied to TCGA datasets, we demonstrate that expression of the XBP1s mRNA isoform predicts poor survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Ablation of IRE1α in malignant cells delays tumor progression and extends survival in mouse models of NSCLC. This protective effect is accompanied by alterations in intratumoral immune cell subsets eliciting durable adaptive anti-cancer immunity. Mechanistically, cancer cell-intrinsic IRE1α activation sustains mPGES-1 expression, enabling production of the immunosuppressive lipid mediator prostaglandin E2. Accordingly, restoring mPGES-1 expression in IRE1αKO cancer cells rescues normal tumor progression. We have developed an IRE1α gene signature that predicts immune cell infiltration and overall survival in human NSCLC. Our study unveils an immunoregulatory role for cancer cell-intrinsic IRE1α activation and suggests that targeting this pathway may help enhance anti-tumor immunity in NSCLC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas , Endorribonucleases , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/genética , Endorribonucleases/genética , Endorribonucleases/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/genética , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Proteína 1 de Ligação a X-Box/genética , Proteína 1 de Ligação a X-Box/metabolismoRESUMO
Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive lipid enriched in the tumor microenvironment of immunosuppressive malignancies such as ovarian cancer. Although LPA enhances the tumorigenic attributes of cancer cells, the immunomodulatory activity of this phospholipid messenger remains largely unexplored. Here, we report that LPA operates as a negative regulator of type I interferon (IFN) responses in ovarian cancer. Ablation of the LPA-generating enzyme autotaxin (ATX) in ovarian cancer cells reprogrammed the tumor immune microenvironment, extended host survival, and improved the effects of therapies that elicit protective responses driven by type I IFN. Mechanistically, LPA sensing by dendritic cells triggered PGE2 biosynthesis that suppressed type I IFN signaling via autocrine EP4 engagement. Moreover, we identified an LPA-controlled, immune-derived gene signature associated with poor responses to combined PARP inhibition and PD-1 blockade in patients with ovarian cancer. Controlling LPA production or sensing in tumors may therefore be useful to improve cancer immunotherapies that rely on robust induction of type I IFN. SIGNIFICANCE: This study uncovers that ATX-LPA is a central immunosuppressive pathway in the ovarian tumor microenvironment. Ablating this axis sensitizes ovarian cancer hosts to various immunotherapies by unleashing protective type I IFN responses. Understanding the immunoregulatory programs induced by LPA could lead to new biomarkers predicting resistance to immunotherapy in patients with cancer. See related commentary by Conejo-Garcia and Curiel, p. 1841. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1825.
Assuntos
Interferon Tipo I , Lisofosfolipídeos , Neoplasias Ovarianas , Feminino , Humanos , Lisofosfolipídeos/genética , Lisofosfolipídeos/metabolismo , Neoplasias Ovarianas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Ovarianas/genética , Neoplasias Ovarianas/patologia , Receptores de Ácidos Lisofosfatídicos/genética , Receptores de Ácidos Lisofosfatídicos/metabolismo , Microambiente TumoralRESUMO
Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes capable of rapid cytotoxicity, cytokine secretion, and clonal expansion. To sustain such energetically demanding processes, NK cells must increase their metabolic capacity upon activation. However, little is known about the metabolic requirements specific to NK cells in vivo. To gain greater insight, we investigated the role of aerobic glycolysis in NK cell function and demonstrate that their glycolytic rate increases rapidly following viral infection and inflammation, prior to that of CD8+ T cells. NK cell-specific deletion of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) reveals that activated NK cells rely on this enzyme for both effector function and clonal proliferation, with the latter being shared with T cells. As a result, LDHA-deficient NK cells are defective in their anti-viral and anti-tumor protection. These findings suggest that aerobic glycolysis is a hallmark of NK cell activation that is key to their function.
Assuntos
Glicólise , Células Matadoras Naturais/imunologia , Lactato Desidrogenase 5/metabolismo , Muromegalovirus/imunologia , Neoplasias/imunologia , Aerobiose , Animais , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Proliferação de Células , Células Clonais , Infecções por Citomegalovirus/imunologia , Infecções por Citomegalovirus/patologia , Infecções por Citomegalovirus/virologia , Homeostase , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Neoplasias/patologia , Regulação para CimaRESUMO
Dendritic cells (DCs) are fundamental for the initiation and maintenance of immune responses against malignant cells. Despite the unique potential of DCs to elicit robust anticancer immunity, the tumor microenvironment poses a variety of challenges that hinder competent DC function and consequently inhibit the development of protective immune responses. Here, we discuss recent studies uncovering new molecular pathways and metabolic programs that tumors manipulate in DCs to disturb their homeostasis and evade immune control. We also examine certain state-of-the-art strategies that seek to improve DC function and elicit antitumor responses in hosts with cancer. Understanding and modulating DC metabolism and activity within tumors might help improve the efficacy of T cell-centric immunotherapies.