RESUMO
B cells are frequently found in the margins of solid tumours as organized follicles in ectopic lymphoid organs called tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS)1,2. Although TLS have been found to correlate with improved patient survival and response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), the underlying mechanisms of this association remain elusive1,2. Here we investigate lung-resident B cell responses in patients from the TRACERx 421 (Tracking Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Evolution Through Therapy) and other lung cancer cohorts, and in a recently established immunogenic mouse model for lung adenocarcinoma3. We find that both human and mouse lung adenocarcinomas elicit local germinal centre responses and tumour-binding antibodies, and further identify endogenous retrovirus (ERV) envelope glycoproteins as a dominant anti-tumour antibody target. ERV-targeting B cell responses are amplified by ICB in both humans and mice, and by targeted inhibition of KRAS(G12C) in the mouse model. ERV-reactive antibodies exert anti-tumour activity that extends survival in the mouse model, and ERV expression predicts the outcome of ICB in human lung adenocarcinoma. Finally, we find that effective immunotherapy in the mouse model requires CXCL13-dependent TLS formation. Conversely, therapeutic CXCL13 treatment potentiates anti-tumour immunity and synergizes with ICB. Our findings provide a possible mechanistic basis for the association of TLS with immunotherapy response.
Assuntos
Retrovirus Endógenos , Imunoterapia , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/imunologia , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/terapia , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/virologia , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/imunologia , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/terapia , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/virologia , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Retrovirus Endógenos/imunologia , Imunoterapia/métodos , Pulmão/imunologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/imunologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/terapia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/virologia , Microambiente Tumoral , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Estudos de Coortes , Anticorpos/imunologia , Anticorpos/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
Oncogenic KRAS impairs antitumor immune responses. As effective strategies to combine KRAS inhibitors and immunotherapies have so far proven elusive, a better understanding of the mechanisms by which oncogenic KRAS drives immune evasion is needed to identify approaches that could sensitize KRAS-mutant lung cancer to immunotherapy. In vivo CRISPR-Cas9 screening in an immunogenic murine lung cancer model identified mechanisms by which oncogenic KRAS promotes immune evasion, most notably via upregulation of immunosuppressive COX2 in cancer cells. Oncogenic KRAS potently induced COX2 in both mouse and human lung cancer, which was suppressed using KRAS inhibitors. COX2 acted via prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) to promote resistance to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in lung adenocarcinoma. Targeting COX2/PGE2 remodeled the tumor microenvironment by inducing proinflammatory polarization of myeloid cells and influx of activated cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, which increased the efficacy of ICB. Restoration of COX2 expression contributed to tumor relapse after prolonged KRAS inhibition. These results provide the rationale for testing COX2/PGE2 pathway inhibitors in combination with KRASG12C inhibition or ICB in patients with KRAS-mutant lung cancer. Significance: COX2 signaling via prostaglandin E2 is a major mediator of immune evasion driven by oncogenic KRAS that promotes immunotherapy and KRAS-targeted therapy resistance, suggesting effective combination treatments for KRAS-mutant lung cancer.
Assuntos
Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Ciclo-Oxigenase 2 , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos , Imunoterapia , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras) , Animais , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/imunologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/terapia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Ciclo-Oxigenase 2/metabolismo , Ciclo-Oxigenase 2/genética , Camundongos , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Humanos , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos/genética , Imunoterapia/métodos , Dinoprostona/metabolismo , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/imunologia , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/genética , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/tratamento farmacológico , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/patologia , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/terapia , Microambiente Tumoral/imunologia , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/farmacologia , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/uso terapêutico , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , FemininoRESUMO
P110α is a member of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) enzyme family that functions downstream of RAS. RAS proteins contribute to the activation of p110α by interacting directly with its RAS binding domain (RBD), resulting in the promotion of many cellular functions such as cell growth, proliferation and survival. Previous work from our lab has highlighted the importance of the p110α/RAS interaction in tumour initiation and growth. Here we report the discovery and characterisation of a cyclic peptide inhibitor (cyclo-CRVLIR) that interacts with the p110α-RBD and blocks its interaction with KRAS. cyclo-CRVLIR was discovered by screening a "split-intein cyclisation of peptides and proteins" (SICLOPPS) cyclic peptide library. The primary cyclic peptide hit from the screen initially showed a weak affinity for the p110α-RBD (Kd about 360 µM). However, two rounds of amino acid substitution led to cyclo-CRVLIR, with an improved affinity for p110α-RBD in the low µM (Kd 3 µM). We show that cyclo-CRVLIR binds selectively to the p110α-RBD but not to KRAS or the structurally-related RAF-RBD. Further, using biophysical, biochemical and cellular assays, we show that cyclo-CRVLIR effectively blocks the p110α/KRAS interaction in a dose dependent manner and reduces phospho-AKT levels in several oncogenic KRAS cell lines.
Assuntos
Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinase , Transdução de Sinais , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinase/metabolismo , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/metabolismo , Peptídeos Cíclicos/farmacologia , Peptídeos Cíclicos/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/metabolismoRESUMO
Germ-line hypomorphism of the pleiotropic transcription factor Myc in mice, either through Myc gene haploinsufficiency or deletion of Myc enhancers, delays onset of various cancers while mice remain viable and exhibit only relatively mild pathologies. Using a genetically engineered mouse model in which Myc expression may be systemically and reversibly hypomorphed at will, we asked whether this resistance to tumour progression is also emplaced when Myc hypomorphism is acutely imposed in adult mice. Indeed, adult Myc hypomorphism profoundly blocked KRasG12D-driven lung and pancreatic cancers, arresting their evolution at the early transition from indolent pre-tumour to invasive cancer. We show that such arrest is due to the incapacity of hypomorphic levels of Myc to drive release of signals that instruct the microenvironmental remodelling necessary to support invasive cancer. The cancer protection afforded by long-term adult imposition of Myc hypomorphism is accompanied by only mild collateral side effects, principally in haematopoiesis, but even these are circumvented if Myc hypomorphism is imposed metronomically whereas potent cancer protection is retained.
Assuntos
Genes ras , Neoplasias Pancreáticas , Camundongos , Animais , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/patologia , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Linhagem Celular TumoralRESUMO
Recently developed KRASG12C inhibitory drugs are beneficial to lung cancer patients harboring KRASG12C mutations, but drug resistance frequently develops. Because of the immunosuppressive nature of the signaling network controlled by oncogenic KRAS, these drugs can indirectly affect antitumor immunity, providing a rationale for their combination with immune checkpoint blockade. In this study, we have characterized how KRASG12C inhibition reverses immunosuppression driven by oncogenic KRAS in a number of preclinical lung cancer models with varying levels of immunogenicity. Mechanistically, KRASG12C inhibition up-regulates interferon signaling via Myc inhibition, leading to reduced tumor infiltration by immunosuppressive cells, enhanced infiltration and activation of cytotoxic T cells, and increased antigen presentation. However, the combination of KRASG12C inhibitors with immune checkpoint blockade only provides synergistic benefit in the most immunogenic tumor model. KRASG12C inhibition fails to sensitize cold tumors to immunotherapy, with implications for the design of clinical trials combining KRASG12C inhibitors with anti-PD1 drugs.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Pulmonares , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras) , Humanos , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico , Interferons , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Mutação , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genéticaRESUMO
The signature features of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are its fibroinflammatory stroma, poor immune activity, and dismal prognosis. We show that acute activation of Myc in indolent pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasm (PanIN) epithelial cells in vivo is, alone, sufficient to trigger immediate release of instructive signals that together coordinate changes in multiple stromal and immune-cell types and drive transition to pancreatic adenocarcinomas that share all the characteristic stromal features of their spontaneous human counterpart. We also demonstrate that this Myc-driven PDAC switch is completely and immediately reversible: Myc deactivation/inhibition triggers meticulous disassembly of advanced PDAC tumor and stroma and concomitant death of tumor cells. Hence, both the formation and deconstruction of the complex PDAC phenotype are continuously dependent on a single, reversible Myc switch. SIGNIFICANCE: We show that Myc activation in indolent Kras G12D-induced PanIN epithelium acts as an immediate pleiotropic switch, triggering tissue-specific signals that instruct all the diverse signature stromal features of spontaneous human PDAC. Subsequent Myc deactivation or inhibition immediately triggers a program that coordinately disassembles PDAC back to PanIN.See related commentary by English and Sears, p. 495.