RESUMO
Glioblastoma, IDH wild-type is the most common and aggressive form of glial tumors. The exact mechanisms of glioblastoma oncogenesis, including the identification of the glioma-initiating cell, are yet to be discovered. Recent studies have led to the hypothesis that glioblastoma arises from neural stem cells and glial precursor cells and that cell lineage constitutes a key determinant of the glioblastoma molecular subtype. These findings brought significant advancement to the comprehension of gliomagenesis. However, the cellular origin of glioblastoma with mesenchymal molecular features remains elusive. Mesenchymal stromal cells emerge as potential glioblastoma-initiating cells, especially with regard to the mesenchymal molecular subtype. These fibroblast-like cells, which derive from the neural crest and reside in the perivascular niche, may underlie gliomagenesis and exert pro-tumoral effects within the tumor microenvironment. This review synthesizes the potential roles of mesenchymal stromal cells in the context of glioblastoma and provides novel research avenues to better understand this lethal disease.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Encefálicas , Glioblastoma , Glioma , Células-Tronco Mesenquimais , Humanos , Glioblastoma/patologia , Neuroglia/patologia , Linhagem da Célula , Microambiente TumoralRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The discovery of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has revolutionized the systemic approach to cancer treatment. Most patients receiving ICIs, however, do not derive benefits. Therefore, it is crucial to identify reliable predictive biomarkers of response to ICIs. One important pathway in regulating immune cell reactivity is L-arginine (ARG) metabolism, essential to T-cell activation. We therefore aimed to evaluate the association between baseline plasma ARG levels and the clinical benefit of ICIs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The correlation between ARG levels and clinical ICI activity was assessed by analyzing plasma samples obtained before treatment onset in two independent cohorts of patients with advanced cancer included in two institutional molecular profiling programs (BIP, NCT02534649, n = 77; PREMIS, NCT03984318, n = 296) and from patients in a phase 1 first-in-human study of budigalimab monotherapy (NCT03000257). Additionally, the correlation between ARG levels and ICI efficacy in preclinical settings was evaluated using a syngeneic mouse model of colorectal cancer responsive to ICIs. Using matched peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) plasma samples, we analyzed the correlation between ARG levels and PBMC features through multiplexed flow cytometry analysis. RESULTS: In both discovery and validation cohorts, low ARG levels at baseline (<42 µM) were significantly and independently associated with a worse clinical benefit rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival. Moreover, at the preclinical level, the tumor rejection rate was significantly higher in mice with high baseline ARG levels than in those with low ARG levels (85.7% versus 23.8%; P = 0.004). Finally, PBMC immunophenotyping showed that low ARG levels were significantly associated with increased programmed death-ligand 1 expression in several immune cell subsets from the myeloid lineage. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that baseline ARG levels predict ICI response. Plasma ARG quantification may therefore represent an attractive biomarker to tailor novel therapeutic regimens targeting the ARG pathway in combination with ICIs.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos Imunológicos , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Animais , Anticorpos Monoclonais Humanizados , Antineoplásicos Imunológicos/efeitos adversos , Arginina/uso terapêutico , Biomarcadores , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Humanos , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/farmacologia , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/uso terapêutico , Leucócitos Mononucleares , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , CamundongosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Acetaminophen (APAP) use has been associated with blunted vaccine immune responses. This study aimed to assess APAP impact on immunotherapy efficacy in patients with cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Exposure to APAP was assessed by plasma analysis and was correlated with clinical outcome in three independent cohorts of patients with advanced cancer who were treated with immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs). The immunomodulatory effects of APAP were evaluated on a preclinical tumor model and on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors. RESULTS: Detectable plasma APAP levels at treatment onset were associated with a significantly worse clinical outcome in ICB-treated cancer patients, independently of other prognostic factors. APAP significantly reduced ICB efficacy in the preclinical MC38 model, as well as the production of PD-1 blockade-related interferon-γ secretion by human PBMCs. Moreover, reduction of ICB efficacy in vivo was associated with significantly increased tumor infiltration by regulatory T cells (Tregs). Administration of APAP over 24 h induced a significant expansion of peripheral Tregs in healthy individuals. In addition, interleukin-10, a crucial mediator of Treg-induced immune suppression, was significantly up-regulated upon treatment with ICB in cancer patients taking APAP. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides strong preclinical and clinical evidence of the role of APAP as a potential suppressor of antitumor immunity. Hence, APAP should be used with caution in patients treated with ICB.
Assuntos
Acetaminofen , Neoplasias , Acetaminofen/farmacologia , Humanos , Fatores Imunológicos/uso terapêutico , Imunoterapia , Leucócitos Mononucleares , Neoplasias/tratamento farmacológico , Linfócitos T Reguladores/patologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) are now widely used in oncology. Most patients, however, do not derive benefit from these agents. Therefore, there is a crucial need to identify novel and reliable biomarkers of resistance to such treatments in order to prescribe potentially toxic and costly treatments only to patients with expected therapeutic benefits. In the wake of genomics, the study of proteins is now emerging as the new frontier for understanding real-time human biology. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed the proteome of plasma samples, collected before treatment onset, from two independent prospective cohorts of cancer patients treated with ICB (discovery cohort n = 95, validation cohort n = 292). We then investigated the correlation between protein plasma levels, clinical benefit rate, progression-free survival and overall survival by Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: By using an unbiased proteomics approach, we show that, in both discovery and validation cohorts, elevated baseline serum level of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is associated with a poor clinical outcome in cancer patients treated with ICB, independently of other prognostic factors. We also demonstrated that the circulating level of LIF is inversely correlated with the presence of tertiary lymphoid structures in the tumor microenvironment. CONCLUSION: This novel clinical dataset brings strong evidence for the role of LIF as a potential suppressor of antitumor immunity and suggests that targeting LIF or its pathway may represent a promising approach to improve efficacy of cancer immunotherapy in combination with ICB.
Assuntos
Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico , Proteômica , Biomarcadores Tumorais , Humanos , Fator Inibidor de Leucemia , Estudos ProspectivosRESUMO
The authors report a case of 84-year-old women, with dysphagia to liquids and solid foods, and with infiltration of right stemocleidomastoid muscle that compressed the upper third of the esophagus to the thoracic hull. The biopsy of sternocleidomastoid muscle permitted the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer relapse after 22 years.