Interleukin-27 tackles immunosuppression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common adult leukemia in the western world. It is characterized by a high dependency on interactions with the surrounding immune landscape, highlighting its suitability for immune-mediated therapeutic interventions. We recently revealed that the cytokine IL-27 exerts a strong anti-tumor role in CLL through a T-cell-mediated mechanism.

Inhibition of MYC translation through targeting of the newly identified PHB-eIF4F complex as a therapeutic strategy in CLL.

Dysregulation of messenger RNA (mRNA) translation, including preferential translation of mRNA with complex 5' untranslated regions such as the MYC oncogene, is recognized as an important mechanism in cancer. Here, we show that both human and murine chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells display a high translation rate, which is inhibited by the synthetic flavagline FL3, a prohibitin (PHB)-binding drug. A multiomics analysis performed in samples from patients with CLL and cell lines treated with FL3 revealed the decreased translation of the MYC oncogene and of proteins involved in cell cycle and metabolism. Furthermore, inhibiting translation induced a proliferation arrest and a rewiring of MYC-driven metabolism. Interestingly, contrary to other models, the RAS-RAF-(PHBs)-MAPK pathway is neither impaired by FL3 nor implicated in translation regulation in CLL cells. Here, we rather show that PHBs are directly associated with the eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF)4F translation complex and are targeted by FL3. Knockdown of PHBs resembled FL3 treatment. Importantly, inhibition of translation controlled CLL development in vivo, either alone or combined with immunotherapy. Finally, high expression of translation initiation-related genes and PHBs genes correlated with poor survival and unfavorable clinical parameters in patients with CLL. Overall, we demonstrated that translation inhibition is a valuable strategy to control CLL development by blocking the translation of several oncogenic pathways including MYC. We also unraveled a new and direct role of PHBs in translation initiation, thus creating new therapeutic opportunities for patients with CLL.

The Tumor Microenvironment-Dependent Transcription Factors AHR and HIF-1α Are Dispensable for Leukemogenesis in the Eµ-TCL1 Mouse Model of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most frequent leukemia in the elderly and is characterized by the accumulation of mature B lymphocytes in peripheral blood and primary lymphoid organs. In order to proliferate, leukemic cells are highly dependent on complex interactions with their microenvironment in proliferative niches. Not only soluble factors and BCR stimulation are important for their survival and proliferation, but also the activation of transcription factors through different signaling pathways. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α are two transcription factors crucial for cancer development, whose activities are dependent on tumor microenvironment conditions, such as the presence of metabolites from the tryptophan pathway and hypoxia, respectively. In this study, we addressed the potential role of AHR and HIF-1α in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) development in vivo. To this end, we crossed the CLL mouse model Eµ-TCL1 with the corresponding transcription factor-conditional knock-out mice to delete one or both transcription factors in CD19+ B cells only. Despite AHR and HIF-1α being activated in CLL cells, deletion of either or both of them had no impact on CLL progression or survival in vivo, suggesting that these transcription factors are not crucial for leukemogenesis in CLL.

Method for the Analysis of the Tumor Microenvironment by Mass Cytometry: Application to Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

In the past 20 years, the interest for the tumor microenvironment (TME) has exponentially increased. Indeed, it is now commonly admitted that the TME plays a crucial role in cancer development, maintenance, immune escape and resistance to therapy. This stands true for hematological malignancies as well. A considerable amount of newly developed therapies are directed against the cancer-supporting TME instead of targeting tumor cells themselves. However, the TME is often not clearly defined. In addition, the unique phenotype of each tumor and the variability among patients limit the success of such therapies. Recently, our group took advantage of the mass cytometry technology to unveil the specific TME in the context of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in mice. We found the enrichment of LAG3 and PD1, two immune checkpoints. We tested an antibody-based immunotherapy, targeting these two molecules. This combination of antibodies was successful in the treatment of murine CLL. In this methods article, we provide a detailed protocol for the staining of CLL TME cells aiming at their characterization using mass cytometry. We include panel design and validation, sample preparation and acquisition, machine set-up, quality control, and analysis. Additionally, we discuss different advantages and pitfalls of this technique.