Metabolic interventions combined with CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 blockade for the treatment of tumors: mechanisms and strategies / 医学前沿

Immunotherapies based on immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) have significantly improved patient outcomes and offered new approaches to cancer therapy over the past decade. To date, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) of CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 represent the main class of immunotherapy. Blockade of CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 has shown remarkable efficacy in several specific types of cancers, however, a large subset of refractory patients presents poor responsiveness to ICB therapy; and the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Recently, numerous studies have revealed that metabolic reprogramming of tumor cells restrains immune responses by remodeling the tumor microenvironment (TME) with various products of metabolism, and combination therapies involving metabolic inhibitors and ICIs provide new approaches to cancer therapy. Nevertheless, a systematic summary is lacking regarding the manner by which different targetable metabolic pathways regulate immune checkpoints to overcome ICI resistance. Here, we demonstrate the generalized mechanism of targeting cancer metabolism at three crucial immune checkpoints (CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1) to influence ICB therapy and propose potential combined immunotherapeutic strategies co-targeting tumor metabolic pathways and immune checkpoints.

Liver-directed treatment is associated with improved survival and increased response to immune checkpoint blockade in metastatic uveal melanoma: results from a retrospective multicenter trial / 医学前沿

Metastases of uveal melanoma (UM) spread predominantly to the liver. Due to low response rates to systemic therapies, liver-directed therapies (LDT) are commonly used for tumor control. The impact of LDT on the response to systemic treatment is unknown. A total of 182 patients with metastatic UM treated with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) were included in this analysis. Patients were recruited from prospective skin cancer centers and the German national skin cancer registry (ADOReg) of the German Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group (DeCOG). Two cohorts were compared: patients with LDT (cohort A, n = 78) versus those without LDT (cohort B, n = 104). Data were analyzed for response to treatment, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). The median OS was significantly longer in cohort A than in cohort B (20.1 vs. 13.8 months; P = 0.0016) and a trend towards improved PFS was observed for cohort A (3.0 vs. 2.5 months; P = 0.054). The objective response rate to any ICB (16.7% vs. 3.8%, P = 0.0073) and combined ICB (14.1% vs. 4.5%, P = 0.017) was more favorable in cohort A. Our data suggest that the combination of LDT with ICB may be associated with a survival benefit and higher treatment response to ICB in patients with metastatic UM.

La inhibición de los puntos de control inmunológico, una terapia en evolución: remembranza del Premio Nobel de Medicina 2018 / Immune checkpoint inhibitors: a breakthrough in cancer therapy

Professors James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo were awarded with the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their contributions in cancer immunotherapy. The latter is a breakthrough in cancer therapy, aimed to overcome tumor-induced immunosuppression, leading to the reactivation of the immune system against cancer cells. Under physiological conditions, the CTLA-4 and PD-1 proteins expressed on T-cells and discovered by the awarded scientists, lead to immune tolerance. Cancer cells exploit these control points to enhance the inhibition of T-cells. The expression of PD ligands (PD-L1) in tumor cells and CTLA-4 ligands in antigen presenting cells, which bind the PD-1 receptor and CTLA-4 respectively, block anti-tumor immunity. This situation led to a biotechnological race focused on the development of effective antibodies able to "turn-on" the immune system cheated by the tumor. Anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 antibodies improve life-expectancy in cancer patients. In this review, we perform an historical overview of Professors Allison and Honjo contribution, as well as the immunological basis of this new and powerful therapeutic strategy, highlighting the clinical benefits of such intervention.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors induced pituitary immune-related adverse events: diagnosis and management / 中华肿瘤杂志

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been used in treating a wide variety of cancers, but they challenge clinicians with a series of special immune related adverse events (irAEs) resulting from activated immune system. Since June 2018, when the first programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor, nivolumab, was approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), abundant experience has been accumulated in coping with irAEs from PD-1 and PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade therapies. In October 2021, the first CTLA-4 inhibitor, ipilimumab, which has a different spectrum of irAEs was also approved by NMPA. The discrepancy in clinical features of pituitary irAEs is obvious between these two types of ICIs. Pituitary irAEs include hypophysitis and hypopituitarism. In this review of latest literature, we have summarized the incidence, possible mechanisms, time of onset, clinical presentations, hormone test, pituitary imaging, treatment strategies and recovery patterns of pituitary irAEs. By referring to domestic and foreign clinical guidelines, we have proposed practical suggestions for screening, diagnosing and treating pituitary irAEs.

CTLA4 +49AG (rs231775) and CT60 (rs3087243) gene variants are not associated with alopecia areata in a Mexican population from Monterrey Mexico

Abstract Background: Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that produces non-scarring hair loss around the body. Gene variants of the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) gene, a negative regulator of T-cell response, have been associated with a predisposition to autoimmune diseases in different populations; however, the involvement of these genetic variants in the development of AA is controversial. Objective: The present study evaluated the potential association of two CTLA4 gene variants with alopecia areata in a Mexican population. Methods: We genotyped +49AG (rs231775) and CT60 (rs3087243) variants in 50 AA patients and 100 healthy control participants through PCR-RFLP. Results: No statistical difference was observed for either of the gene variants regarding allele or genotype frequencies between AA patients and the controls when the parameters of family/personal history of autoimmune diseases or gender were considered (p > 0.05). Study limitations: Small sample size of patients and the data were obtained from Northeast Mexico population. Conclusion: The genetic variants rs231775 and rs3087243 of the CTLA4 gene are not a risk factor for the development of alopecia areata in the analyzed Mexican population.

Construction, expression and purification of a mammalian secretory recombinant fusion protein rPC / 生物工程学报

Drugs targeting immune checkpoint are used for cancer treatment, but resistance to single drug may occur. Combination therapy blocking multiple checkpoints simultaneously can improve clinical outcome. Therefore, we designed a recombinant protein rPC to block multiple targets, which consists of extracellular domains of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4). The coding sequence was inserted into expression vector and stably transfected into HEK293 cells. The culture supernatant was collected and rPC was affinity-purified. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to evaluate the expression levels of ligands for PD-1 and CTLA-4 in several human cancer cell lines. The binding of rPC with cancer cells was examined by immunofluorescence cell staining, the influence of rPC on cancer cell growth was assayed by CCK-8. The results showed that rPC could be expressed and secreted by stably transfected HEK293 cells, the purified rPC could bind to lung cancer NCI-H226 cells which have high levels of ligands for PD-1 and CTLA-4, no direct impact on cancer cell growth could be observed by rPC treatment. The recombinant protein rPC can be functionally assayed further for developing novel immunotherapeutic drugs for cancer.

Mechanisms of resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors and strategies to reverse drug resistance in lung cancer / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

In recent years, the research of immune checkpoint inhibitors has made a great breakthrough in lung cancer treatment. Currently, a variety of immune checkpoint inhibitors have been applied into clinical practice, including antibodies targeting the programmed cell death-1, programmed cell death-ligand 1, and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4, and so on. However, not all patients can benefit from the treatment. Abnormal antigen presentation, functional gene mutation, tumor microenvironment, and other factors can lead to primary or secondary resistance. In this paper, we reviewed the molecular mechanism of immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance and various combination strategies to overcome resistance, in order to expand the beneficial population and enable precision medicine.

Emerging immunotherapy targets in lung cancer / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Immunotherapy has become the mainstay for lung cancer treatment, providing sustained therapeutic responses and improved prognosis compared with those obtained with surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy. It has the potential for anti-tumor treatment and killing tumor cells by activating human immunity and has moved the targets of anti-cancer therapy from malignant tumor cells to immune cell subsets. Two kinds of immune checkpoints, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), are the main targets of current immunotherapy in lung cancer. Despite the successful outcomes achieved by immune checkpoint inhibitors, a small portion of lung cancer patients remain unresponsive to checkpoint immunotherapy or may ultimately become resistant to these agents as a result of the complex immune modulatory network in the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, it is imperative to exploit novel immunotherapy targets to further expand the proportion of patients benefiting from immunotherapy. This review summarizes the molecular features, biological function, and clinical significance of several novel checkpoints that have important roles in lung cancer immune responses beyond the CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 axes, including the markers of co-inhibitory and co-stimulatory T lymphocyte pathways and inhibitory markers of macrophages and natural killer cells.

Type 1 diabetes induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

With the increasing use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) including anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) in cancers, ICI-induced type 1 diabetes has been reported throughout the world. In this review, we aim to summarize the characteristics of this disease and discuss the mechanism of it. As an immune-related adverse event, type 1 diabetes developed after the administration of anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in the combination with or without anti-CTLA-4. It usually presented with acute onset, and 62.1% of the reported cases had diabetic ketoacidosis. Only a third of them had positive autoantibodies associated with type 1 diabetes. Susceptible HLA genotypes might be associated. T-cell-stimulation by blocking of the interaction of PD-1 and PD-L1 in pancreatic β cells was the main mechanism involved in the pathology. Insulin was the only effective treatment of ICI-induced type 1 diabetes. In conclusions, ICI-induced type 1 diabetes is a potentially life-threating adverse event after the immunotherapy of cancers. Screening and early recognition is important. Further investigation of the mechanism may help to better understand the pathology of type 1 diabetes.

Efectos adversos inmunomediados por inhibidores de PD-1 / PD-1 inhibitors immune-mediated side effects

Los anticuerpos monoclonales que inhiben los puntos de control PD-1 y CTLA-4 se usan actualmente en el tratamiento del melanoma y cáncer metastásico de pulmón de células no pequeñas, entre otros. Se refiere el caso de una paciente con cáncer de pulmón en tratamiento con pembrolizumab. La paciente se presentó con edema facial y parálisis facial periférica. En el laboratorio se observó la hormona tirotrofina (TSH) elevada y se llegó al diagnóstico de hipotiroidismo por pembrolizumab. Inició tratamiento con levotiroxina con mejoría clínica. Se presenta este caso por el importante papel del dermatólogo en el manejo multidisciplinario del paciente oncológico. (AU)

Monoclonal antibodies that inhibit PD-1 and CTLA-4 control points are currently used in the treatment of melanoma and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, among others. The case of a patient, with lung cancer being treated with Pembrolizumab. The patient was presented with facial edema and peripheral facial paralysis and in the laboratory the elevated hormone Tyrotrophin (TSH) was observed, the diagnosis of pembrolizumab hypothyroidism was reached. She started treatment with levothyroxine with clinical improvement. This case is presented by the important role of the dermatologist in the multidisciplinary management of the cancer patient. (AU)

Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte-associated Antigen 4 Polymorphisms Correlated with Graves' Disease in Patients of Han Ethnicity in Yunnan, China / Polimorfismos del antígeno 4 del linfocito T citotóxico correlacionados con la enfermedad de Graves en pacientes de la etnia Han en Yunnan, China

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the correlations between polymorphisms at position 49 in exon 1 and position 318 in the promoter of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) gene and autoimmune thyroid diseases in a Han Chinese population. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was utilized. The MseI and BbvI restriction endonucleases were used to detect and analyse position 49 in exon 1 and position 318 in the promoter as well as the T/C alleles of the CTLA-4 gene in peripheral blood samples from 112 patients with Graves' disease (GD), 101 with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and 100 healthy individuals. Results: At position 49 of exon 1, the frequencies of the GG genotype and the G allele in the GD group (χ2 = 12.147; p = 0.002) were statistically significantly higher than those in the control group (χ2 = 9.925; p = 0.002), while no statistically significant differences were found between the frequencies of the GG genotype and the G allele in the HT group (χ2 = 1.195; p = 0.550) and those in the control group (χ2 = 0.984; p = 0.321). No statistically significant differences in the promoter (−318) or the T/C alleles were observed among the three groups. Position 49 in the 17th codon of exon 1 of the CTLA-4 gene may be a candidate susceptibility marker in patients of Han ethnicity with GD. Conclusion: This finding helps us to better understand the genetic risks for GD and provides a direction for targeted gene therapy.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Investigar las correlaciones entre los polimorfismos en la posición 49 en el exón 1 y la posición 318 en el promotor del gen del antígeno 4 asociado al linfocito T citotóxico (CTLA-4), con las enfermedades autoinmunes de la tiroides en una población China de Han. Métodos: Se utilizó la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa-polimorfismo de la longitud de los fragmentos de restricción. Las endonucleasas de restricción de MseI y BbvI se utilizaron para detectar y analizar la posición 49 en el exón 1 y la posición 318 en el promotor, así como los alelos T/C del gen CTLA-4 en muestras de sangre periférica de 112 pacientes con enfermedad de Graves (EG), 101 con tiroiditis de Hashimoto (TH) y 100 individuos sanos. Resultados: En la posición 49 de exón 1, las frecuencias del genotipo GG y el alelo G en el grupo de EG (χ2 = 12.147; p = 0.002) fueron estadísticamente significativamente más altas que las del grupo de control (χ2 = 9.925; p = 0.002), pero no se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las frecuencias del genotipo GG y el alelo G en el grupo de TH (χ2 = 1.195; p = 0.550) y las del grupo de control (χ2 = 0.984; p = 0.321). No se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el promotor (−318) ni en los alelos T/C entre los tres grupos. La posición 49 en el codón17.° del exón 1 del gen CTLA-4 puede ser un marcador de susceptibilidad candidato en pacientes de la etnia Han con EG. Conclusión: Este hallazgo nos ayuda a comprender mejor los riesgos genéticos de la EG y ofrece una dirección para la terapia génica dirigida.

Single-cell Analysis of CAR-T Cell Activation Reveals A Mixed T1/T2 Response Independent of Differentiation / 基因组蛋白质组与生物信息学报·英文版

The activation mechanism of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells may differ substantially from T cells carrying native T cell receptor, but this difference remains poorly understood. We present the first comprehensive portrait of single-cell level transcriptional and cytokine signatures of anti-CD19/4-1BB/CD28/CD3ζ CAR-T cells upon antigen-specific stimulation. Both CD4 helper T (T) cells and CD8 cytotoxic CAR-T cells are equally effective in directly killing target tumor cells and their cytotoxic activity is associated with the elevation of a range of T1 and T2 signature cytokines, e.g., interferon γ, tumor necrotic factor α, interleukin 5 (IL5), and IL13, as confirmed by the expression of master transcription factor genes TBX21 and GATA3. However, rather than conforming to stringent T1 or T2 subtypes, single-cell analysis reveals that the predominant response is a highly mixed T1/T2 function in the same cell. The regulatory T cell activity, although observed in a small fraction of activated cells, emerges from this hybrid T1/T2 population. Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is produced from the majority of cells regardless of the polarization states, further contrasting CAR-T to classic T cells. Surprisingly, the cytokine response is minimally associated with differentiation status, although all major differentiation subsets such as naïve, central memory, effector memory, and effector are detected. All these suggest that the activation of CAR-engineered T cells is a canonical process that leads to a highly mixed response combining both type 1 and type 2 cytokines together with GM-CSF, supporting the notion that polyfunctional CAR-T cells correlate with objective response of patients in clinical trials. This work provides new insights into the mechanism of CAR activation and implies the necessity for cellular function assays to characterize the quality of CAR-T infusion products and monitor therapeutic responses in patients.

Immune-related Adverse Events: Overview and Management Strategies for the Use of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Recent studies on T cell immunology have been instrumental in developing therapies to overcome cancer immune escape, and immune checkpoint inhibitors have emerged as one of the most promising therapeutic tools in advanced cancer patients. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs) are monoclonal antibodies that modulate the effects of immune checkpoints. These include cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 and programmed cell death protein 1, which are co-inhibitory signals responsible for immune suppression. Despite their clinical benefits, ICPIs behave as general immune activators, exerting to several toxic effects called immune-related adverse events attributed to organ-specific inflammation. Here, we review ICPI toxicities, highlighting the importance of their early identification and proper management.

Cancer Immunotherapy Related Endocrine Adverse Effects

Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a promising therapy for a wide variety of tumors. Immune checkpoint inhibitors including anti cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4), programmed death 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) monoclonal antibodies have proven to be especially effective in various advanced cancers. However, cancer the immunotherapy disturbs the immune system and may also cause immune related side effects (IRAE) distinguished from cytotoxic chemotherapy toxicity. Among them, endocrine IRAE has been reported with a higher incidence than other organ IRAE. We focus on the most relevant and new aspects related to endocrine IRAE due to cancer immunotherapy in this review.

Roles of Programmed Cell Death-1/Programmed Cell Death-ligand 1 and Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated Protein 4 Signaling Pathways in Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma / 中国医学科学院学报

Bladder urothelial carcinoma(BUC)is a common malignant tumor in the urinary system.Pt-based chemotherapy has long been a standard therapeutic method for resectable or metastatic BUC,but with poor outcomes.Immune checkpoint inhibitors specific to programmed death 1(PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1)and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4(CTLA-4)pathways have shown significant antitumor activities,safety,and enduring reactivity in clinical trials,thus creating a new epoch for the treatment of advanced-stage BUC.This article reviews the relationships of BUC with PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 pathways,as demonstrated in clinical trials.In particular,the authors elucidate the clinical studies on the application of immune checkpoint inhibitors in different BUC stages and their optimal combining strategies,with an attempt to improve the clinical use of immune inhibitors for BUC treatment.

Inmunoterapia en cáncer: Perspectivas actuales, desafíos y nuevos horizontes / Immunotherapy in cancer. Current prospects, challenges and new horizons

La activación del sistema inmunológico en pacientes con cáncer ha sido un objetivo histórico en el campo de la oncología. En las últimas décadas, nuestro entendimiento de la respuesta inmunológica antitumoral ha promovido el desarrollo de novedosas estrategias terapéuticas dando como resultado un cambio de paradigma en el tratamiento del cáncer. La utilización de agentes bloqueantes de puntos de chequeo del sistema inmunológico como PD-1/PD-L1 y CTLA-4, de agonistas de moléculas co-estimuladoras como CD137 y OX-40 y la transferencia adoptiva de células T antitumorales modificadas genéticamente han generado importantes beneficios clínicos, reflejados en respuestas objetivas y durader as, en enfermos sin tratamientos convencionales disponibles. Sin embargo, un gran número de pacientes no responde a dichas terapias generando resistencia o sufriendo recaídas de la enfermedad debido a la aparición de circuitos inhibitorios o compensatorios. La combinación racional de estrategias terapéuticas permite eliminar mecanismos de resistencia, mientras que la identificación de biomarcadores predictivos facilita la selección de pacientes respondedores a dichos tratamientos. Recientes ensayos clínicos y estudios pre-clínicos permiten vislumbrar un escenario optimista con importantes desafíos en la implementación de estrategias de inmunoterapia en cáncer.

Recent under-standing of the mechanisms that control immune system homeostasis and orchestrate antitumor responses has prompted the development of novel immunotherapeutic modalities. These include antibodies that target immune checkpoints such as PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4, agonistic antibodies of costimulatory molecules such as CD137 and OX-40 and the adoptive transfer of genetically-modified antitumor T cells. However, a large number of patients do not respond to these therapies and develop resistance as a result of activation of compensatory circuits. Rational combination of immunotherapeutic modalities will help overcome resistance and will increase the number of patients who will benefit from these treatments. Moreover, identification of predictive biomarkers will allow selection of patients responding to these treatments. Emerging clinical trials and pre-clinical studies have shown exciting results anticipating new horizons in the design and implementation of cancer immunotherapeutic modalities.

Polimorfismos de un solo nucleótido representativos para los alelos clásicos del antígeno leucocitario humano en familias antioqueñas con diabetes mellitus tipo 1 / Classical HLA alleles tag SNP in families from Antioquia with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Resumen Introducción. La región del antígeno leucocitario humano (Human Leukocyte Antigen, HLA) se ha asociado claramente con enfermedades autoinmunitarias, como la diabetes mellitus de tipo 1. Los polimorfismos representativos de un solo nucleótido (tag Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, tag SNP) constituyen una forma alternativa de evaluar los alelos clásicos del HLA. En la población europea se ha reportado un grupo de tag SNP para múltiples alelos clásicos relacionados con la predisposición o la resistencia frente a dicha enfermedad. Objetivo. Validar la metodología basada en los tag SNP enfocada en la inferencia de alelos HLA clásicos, y evaluar su asociación con la diabetes mellitus de tipo 1 en una muestra de familias antioqueñas. Materiales y métodos. Se estudió una muestra de 200 familias antioqueñas con uno a dos hijos afectados por diabetes mellitus de tipo 1. Se genotipificaron 13 SNP mediante el ARMS-PCR (Amplification Refractory Mutation System-Polymerase Chain Reaction) con cuatro iniciadores, o mediante la PCR-RFLP (PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism). Además, se evaluó la validez de los tag SNP de 1.000 genomas reportados en europeos en una muestra de 60 individuos de la población colombiana de Medellín. Se hicieron las pruebas de desequilibrio de la transmisión, de desequilibrio de ligamiento y de equilibrio de Hardy-Weinberg. Resultados. En la población de estudio no se encontró suficiente desequilibrio de ligamiento entre los SNP y los alelos clásicos evaluados, por lo cual no fue posible inferir los alelos clásicos del HLA para el conjunto de familias con diabetes mellitus de tipo 1. El estudio de asociación evidenció que esta región aporta factores tanto de riesgo como de protección para el desarrollo de la enfermedad. Los tag SNP apropiados para la muestra de estudio se determinaron usando los SNP ubicados en la región HLA en la base de datos del 1000 Genomes Project en la mencionada población. Conclusiones. Los patrones de desequilibrio de ligamiento en la población estudiada fueron diferentes a los reportados para la población europea. A pesar de esto, se encontró evidencia clara sobre el papel de la región HLA en el riesgo de padecer diabetes mellitus de tipo 1 en la población de estudio.

abstract Introduction: The HLA region strongly associates with autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes. An alternative way to test classical HLA alleles is by using tag SNP. A set of tag SNP for several classical HLA alleles has been reported as associated with susceptibility or resistance to this disease in Europeans. Objective: We aimed at validating the methodology based on tag SNP focused on the inference of classical HLA alleles, and at evaluating their association with type 1 diabetes mellitus in a sample of 200 families from Antioquia. Materials and methods: We studied a sample of 200 families from Antioquia. Each family had one or two children with T1D. We genotyped 13 SNPs using tetra-primer ARMS-PCR or PCRRFLP. In addition, we tested the validity of the tag SNP reported for Europeans in 60 individuals from a population of Colombians living in Medellín (CLM) from the 1000 Genomes Project database. Statistical analyses included the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the transmission disequilibrium and the linkage disequilibrium tests. Results: The linkage disequilibrium was low in reported tag SNP and classical HLA alleles in this CLM population. Association analyses revealed both risk and protection factors to develop type 1 diabetes mellitus. Appropriate tag SNPs for the CLM population were determined by using the genotype information available in the 1000 Genome Project database. Conclusions: Although linkage disequilibrium patterns in this CLM population were different from those reported in Europeans, we did find strong evidence of the role of HLA in the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus in the study population.

Perspectives on the clinical development of immunotherapy in prostate cancer / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Despite impressive survival benefits with immunotherapy in patients with various solid tumors, the full potential of these agents in prostate cancer has yet to be realized. Sipuleucel-T demonstrated a survival benefit in this population, indicating that prostate cancer is an immunoresponsive disease; however, these results have not been matched by other agents. A large trial with ipilimumab in prostate cancer failed to meet its primary objective, and small trials with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors did not yield a significant improvement in overall response. However, several late-stage clinical trials are underway with other vaccines in prostate cancer. Reports of clinical benefit with immunotherapies, particularly when used in combination or a select population, have provided the framework to develop sound clinical trials. Understanding immunogenic modulation, antigen spread, biomarkers, and DNA-repair defects will also help mold future strategies. Through rational patient selection and evidence-based combination approaches, patients with prostate cancer may soon derive durable survival benefits with immunotherapies.

Blocking Two Signals of Immuno-Activated T Cells from Antigen Presenting Cells Can Prevent Chronic GVHD of Murine / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of blocking TCR-CD3 and B7-CD28 signals on immune function of mice with chronic GVHD by using TJU103 and CTLA4-Ig.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>On the basis of foregoing murine model of chronic GVHD, according to interference modes after infusion 6×10 spleen cells of donor mice, the recipients were divided into 5 groups: blank control, cGVHD, TJU103 interference, CTLA4-Ig interference and TJU103+CTLA4-Ig interference groups. The score of clinical manifestation and tissue histopathology were used to evaluate the effects of all the interferences on chronic GVHD.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>TJU103 and CTLA4-Ig could not influence the formation of the mouse chimera. The analysis of Kaplan survival curve of mice with chronic GVHD showed that the CTLA4-Ig and TJU103+CTLA4-Ig reduced the incidence of chronic GVHD, the TJU103 could delay the occurrence of chronic GVHD, but all the interference factors could not change the severity of chronic GVHD.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TJU103 can delay the onset time of chronic GVHD, and the CTLA4-Ig can reduce the incidences of cGVHD, the combining use of TJU103 and CTLA4-Ig can significantly reduce the incidence of chronic GVHD, but can not change the severity of chronic GVHD.</p>

Diagnostic value of peripheral blood immune profiling in colorectal cancer

PURPOSE: Little is known about the clinical value of peripheral blood immune profiling. Here, we aimed to identify colorectal cancer (CRC)-related peripheral blood immune cells and develop liquid biopsy-based immune profiling models for CRC diagnosis. METHODS: Peripheral blood from 131 preoperative patients with CRC and 174 healthy controls was analyzed by flow cytometry and automated hematology. CRC-related immune factors were identified by comparing the mean values of immune cell percentages and counts. Subsequently, CRC diagnostic algorithms were constructed using binary logistic regression. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in percentages and counts of white blood cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils, regulatory T cells, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) of patients and controls. The neutrophil/lymphocyte and Th1/Th2 ratios were also significantly different. Likewise, the percentages and counts of peripheral blood programed death 1, cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4, B-and T-lymphocyte attenuator, and lymphocyte activation gene-3 were higher in patients with CRC. The binary logistic regression model included 12 variables, age, CD3+%, NK%, CD4+CD279+%, CD4+CD25+%, CD4+CD152+%, CD3+CD366+%, CD3+CD272+%, CD3+CD223+%, CD158b−CD314+CD3−CD56+%, Th2%, and MDSCs cells/µL, for the prediction of cancer. Results of retrospective and prospective evaluation of the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.980 and 0.940, 91.53% and 85.80%, and 93.50% and 86.20%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Peripheral blood immune profiling may be valuable in evaluating the immunity of CRC patients. Our liquid biopsy-based immune diagnostic method and its algorithms may serve as a novel tool for CRC diagnosis. Future largescale studies are needed for better characterization of its diagnostic value and potential for clinical application.