RESUMO
Relatlimab (rela; anti-LAG-3) plus nivolumab (nivo; anti-PD-1) is safe and effective for treatment of advanced melanoma. We designed a trial (NCT03743766) where advanced melanoma patients received rela, nivo, or rela+nivo to interrogate the immunologic mechanisms of rela+nivo. Analysis of biospecimens from this ongoing trial demonstrated that rela+nivo led to enhanced capacity for CD8+ T cell receptor signaling and altered CD8+ T cell differentiation, leading to heightened cytotoxicity despite the retention of an exhaustion profile. Co-expression of cytotoxic and exhaustion signatures was driven by PRDM1, BATF, ETV7, and TOX. Effector function was upregulated in clonally expanded CD8+ T cells that emerged after rela+nivo. A rela+nivo intratumoral CD8+ T cell signature was associated with a favorable prognosis. This intratumoral rela+nivo signature was validated in peripheral blood as an elevated frequency of CD38+TIM3+CD8+ T cells. Overall, we demonstrated that cytotoxicity can be enhanced despite the retention of exhaustion signatures, which will inform future therapeutic strategies.
Assuntos
Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos , Proteína do Gene 3 de Ativação de Linfócitos , Melanoma , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1 , Humanos , Antígenos CD/metabolismo , Antígenos CD/genética , Fatores de Transcrição de Zíper de Leucina Básica/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição de Zíper de Leucina Básica/genética , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/metabolismo , Diferenciação Celular , Citotoxicidade Imunológica , Proteínas de Grupo de Alta Mobilidade , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/uso terapêutico , Inibidores de Checkpoint Imunológico/farmacologia , Proteína do Gene 3 de Ativação de Linfócitos/antagonistas & inibidores , Melanoma/imunologia , Melanoma/tratamento farmacológico , Melanoma/genética , Nivolumabe/uso terapêutico , Nivolumabe/farmacologia , Fator 1 de Ligação ao Domínio I Regulador Positivo/metabolismo , Fator 1 de Ligação ao Domínio I Regulador Positivo/genética , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/antagonistas & inibidores , Transdução de SinaisRESUMO
Overcoming immune-mediated resistance to PD-1 blockade remains a major clinical challenge. Enhanced efficacy has been demonstrated in melanoma patients with combined nivolumab (anti-PD-1) and relatlimab (anti-LAG-3) treatment, the first in its class to be FDA approved. However, how these two inhibitory receptors synergize to hinder anti-tumor immunity remains unknown. Here, we show that CD8+ T cells deficient in both PD-1 and LAG-3, in contrast to CD8+ T cells lacking either receptor, mediate enhanced tumor clearance and long-term survival in mouse models of melanoma. PD-1- and LAG-3-deficient CD8+ T cells were transcriptionally distinct, with broad TCR clonality and enrichment of effector-like and interferon-responsive genes, resulting in enhanced IFN-γ release indicative of functionality. LAG-3 and PD-1 combined to drive T cell exhaustion, playing a dominant role in modulating TOX expression. Mechanistically, autocrine, cell-intrinsic IFN-γ signaling was required for PD-1- and LAG-3-deficient CD8+ T cells to enhance anti-tumor immunity, providing insight into how combinatorial targeting of LAG-3 and PD-1 enhances efficacy.
Assuntos
Antígenos CD , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos , Interferon gama , Proteína do Gene 3 de Ativação de Linfócitos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1 , Receptor de Morte Celular Programada 1/metabolismo , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/metabolismo , Animais , Interferon gama/metabolismo , Camundongos , Antígenos CD/metabolismo , Comunicação Autócrina , Humanos , Melanoma/imunologia , Melanoma/tratamento farmacológico , Feminino , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Melanoma Experimental/imunologia , Exaustão das Células TRESUMO
Impaired chronic viral and tumor clearance has been attributed to CD8+ T cell exhaustion, a differentiation state in which T cells have reduced and altered effector function that can be partially reversed upon blockade of inhibitory receptors. The role of the exhaustion program and transcriptional networks that control CD8+ T cell function and fate in autoimmunity is not clear. Here we show that intra-islet CD8+ T cells phenotypically, transcriptionally, epigenetically and metabolically possess features of canonically exhausted T cells, yet maintain important differences. This 'restrained' phenotype can be perturbed and disease accelerated by CD8+ T cell-restricted deletion of the inhibitory receptor lymphocyte activating gene 3 (LAG3). Mechanistically, LAG3-deficient CD8+ T cells have enhanced effector-like functions, trafficking to the islets, and have a diminished exhausted phenotype, highlighting a physiological role for an exhaustion program in limiting autoimmunity and implicating LAG3 as a target for autoimmune therapy.
Assuntos
Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos , Neoplasias , Autoimunidade , Humanos , Neoplasias/patologia , FenótipoRESUMO
The composition of the intestinal microbiota is associated with both the development of tumors and the efficacy of anti-tumor immunity. Here, we examined the impact of microbiota-specific T cells in anti-colorectal cancer (CRC) immunity. Introduction of Helicobacter hepaticus (Hhep) in a mouse model of CRC did not alter the microbial landscape but increased tumor infiltration by cytotoxic lymphocytes and inhibited tumor growth. Anti-tumor immunity was independent of CD8+ T cells but dependent upon CD4+ T cells, B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells. Hhep colonization induced Hhep-specific T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, increased the number of colon Tfh cells, and supported the maturation of Hhep+ tumor-adjacent tertiary lymphoid structures. Tfh cells were necessary for Hhep-mediated tumor control and immune infiltration, and adoptive transfer of Hhep-specific CD4+ T cells to Tfh cell-deficient Bcl6fl/flCd4Cre mice restored anti-tumor immunity. Thus, introduction of immunogenic intestinal bacteria can promote Tfh-associated anti-tumor immunity in the colon, suggesting therapeutic approaches for the treatment of CRC.
Assuntos
Subpopulações de Linfócitos B/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/imunologia , Colo/patologia , Neoplasias Colorretais/imunologia , Microbioma Gastrointestinal/imunologia , Infecções por Helicobacter/imunologia , Helicobacter hepaticus/fisiologia , Células Matadoras Naturais/imunologia , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/imunologia , Células T Auxiliares Foliculares/imunologia , Estruturas Linfoides Terciárias/imunologia , Animais , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Humanos , Camundongos , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-bcl-6/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-bcl-6/metabolismoRESUMO
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) arises through exposure to environmental carcinogens or malignant transformation by human papillomavirus (HPV). Here, we assessed the transcriptional profiles of 131,224 single cells from peripheral and intra-tumoral immune populations from patients with HPV- and HPV+ HNSCC and healthy donors. Immune cells within tumors of HPV- and HPV+ HNSCC displayed a spectrum of transcriptional signatures, with helper CD4+ T cells and B cells being relatively divergent and CD8+ T cells and CD4+ regulatory T cells being relatively similar. Transcriptional results were contextualized through multispectral immunofluorescence analyses and evaluating putative cell-cell communication based on spatial proximity. These analyses defined a gene expression signature associated with CD4+ T follicular helper cells that is associated with longer progression-free survival in HNSCC patients. The datasets and analytical approaches herein provide a resource for the further study of the impact of immune cells on viral- and carcinogen-induced cancers.
Assuntos
Linfócitos B/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço/imunologia , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas de Cabeça e Pescoço/imunologia , Linfócitos T Auxiliares-Indutores/imunologia , Linfócitos T Reguladores/imunologia , Alphapapillomavirus/imunologia , Diferenciação Celular/imunologia , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço/genética , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço/virologia , Humanos , Imunoterapia , Intervalo Livre de Progressão , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas de Cabeça e Pescoço/genética , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas de Cabeça e Pescoço/virologiaRESUMO
In the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART), a subset of individuals, termed HIV controllers, have levels of plasma viremia that are orders of magnitude lower than non-controllers (NC) who are at higher risk for HIV disease progression. In addition to having fewer infected cells resulting in fewer cells with HIV RNA, it is possible that lower levels of plasma viremia in controllers are due to a lower fraction of the infected cells having HIV-1 unspliced RNA (HIV usRNA) compared with NC. To directly test this possibility, we used sensitive and quantitative single-cell sequencing methods to compare the fraction of infected cells that contain one or more copies of HIV usRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from controllers and NC. The fraction of infected cells containing HIV usRNA did not differ between the two groups. Rather, the levels of viremia were strongly associated with the total number of infected cells that had HIV usRNA, as reported by others, with controllers having 34-fold fewer infected cells per million PBMC. These results reveal that viremic control is not associated with a lower fraction of proviruses expressing HIV usRNA, unlike what is reported for elite controllers, but is only related to having fewer infected cells overall, maybe reflecting greater immune clearance of infected cells. Our findings show that proviral silencing is not a key mechanism for viremic control and will help to refine strategies toward achieving HIV remission without ART.
Assuntos
Infecções por HIV , HIV-1 , Leucócitos Mononucleares , RNA Viral , Viremia , Humanos , HIV-1/genética , HIV-1/fisiologia , Infecções por HIV/virologia , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , RNA Viral/genética , Viremia/virologia , Leucócitos Mononucleares/virologia , Masculino , Carga Viral , Feminino , Adulto , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
Little is known about the fraction of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) proviruses that express unspliced viral RNA in vivo or about the levels of HIV RNA expression within single infected cells. We developed a sensitive cell-associated HIV RNA and DNA single-genome sequencing (CARD-SGS) method to investigate fractional proviral expression of HIV RNA (1.3-kb fragment of p6, protease, and reverse transcriptase) and the levels of HIV RNA in single HIV-infected cells from blood samples obtained from individuals with viremia or individuals on long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). Spiking experiments show that the CARD-SGS method can detect a single cell expressing HIV RNA. Applying CARD-SGS to blood mononuclear cells in six samples from four HIV-infected donors (one with viremia and not on ART and three with viremia suppressed on ART) revealed that an average of 7% of proviruses (range: 2-18%) expressed HIV RNA. Levels of expression varied from one to 62 HIV RNA molecules per cell (median of 1). CARD-SGS also revealed the frequent expression of identical HIV RNA sequences across multiple single cells and across multiple time points in donors on suppressive ART consistent with constitutive expression of HIV RNA in infected cell clones. Defective proviruses were found to express HIV RNA at levels similar to those proviruses that had no obvious defects. CARD-SGS is a useful tool to characterize fractional proviral expression in single infected cells that persist despite ART and to assess the impact of experimental interventions on proviral populations and their expression.
Assuntos
Antirretrovirais/administração & dosagem , Regulação Viral da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , HIV-1/metabolismo , Leucócitos Mononucleares/metabolismo , Provírus/metabolismo , RNA Viral/biossíntese , Transcrição Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Feminino , Humanos , Leucócitos Mononucleares/virologia , MasculinoRESUMO
Quantifying induced virion production from single proviruses is important for assessing the effects of HIV-1 latency reversal agents. Limiting dilution ex vivo cultures of resting CD4(+) T cells from 14 HIV-positive volunteers revealed that virion production after T-cell activation from individual proviruses varies by 10,000-fold to 100,000-fold. High-producing proviruses were associated with increases in cell-associated HIV-1 DNA levels, suggesting that reactivated proviruses proliferate. Single-cell analyses are needed to investigate differences in proviral expansion and virus production following latency reversal.
Assuntos
Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/virologia , HIV-1/fisiologia , Ativação Linfocitária , Provírus/fisiologia , Vírion/isolamento & purificação , Ativação Viral , Replicação Viral , Células Cultivadas , DNA Viral/análise , Infecções por HIV/imunologia , Infecções por HIV/virologia , HumanosRESUMO
We have developed and tested two linked but separable structured inquiry exercises using a set of Drosophila melanogaster GAL4 enhancer trap strains for an upper-level undergraduate laboratory methods course at Bucknell University. In the first, students learn to perform inverse PCR to identify the genomic location of the GAL4 insertion, using FlyBase to identify flanking sequences and the primary literature to synthesize current knowledge regarding the nearest gene. In the second, we cross each GAL4 strain to a UAS-CD8-GFP reporter strain, and students perform whole mount CNS dissection, immunohistochemistry, confocal imaging, and analysis of developmental expression patterns. We have found these exercises to be very effective in teaching the uses and limitations of PCR and antibody-based techniques as well as critical reading of the primary literature and scientific writing. Students appreciate the opportunity to apply what they learn by generating novel data of use to the wider research community.
Assuntos
Currículo , Proteínas de Drosophila/genética , Drosophila melanogaster/genética , Elementos Facilitadores Genéticos , Laboratórios , Aprendizagem , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Universidades , Animais , Sequência de Bases , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Genes de Insetos , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Corpos Pedunculados/metabolismo , Reação em Cadeia da PolimeraseRESUMO
Reversal of proviral latency is being pursued as a curative strategy for HIV-1 infection. Recent clinical studies of in vivo administration of the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA; vorinostat) show increases in unspliced cellular HIV-1 RNA levels in resting CD4(+) T cells. A critical unknown, however, is the proportion of latent proviruses that can be transcriptionally reactivated by SAHA or T-cell activation. In this study, we quantified the fraction of HIV-1 proviruses in resting CD4(+) T cells from patients on suppressive antiretroviral therapy that were reactivated ex vivo with SAHA or antibodies to CD3/CD28. At concentrations of SAHA achieved clinically, only 0.079% of proviruses in resting CD4(+) T cells were reactivated to produce virions, compared with 1.5% of proviruses in cells treated with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies after correcting for spontaneous virion production in the medium control. A significant positive correlation (ρ = 0.67, P < 0.001) was found between levels of virions in the supernatant and unspliced cellular HIV-1 RNA following anti-CD3/CD28 treatment, but not following SAHA treatment (ρ = 0.21, P = 0.99). These results reveal that the majority of HIV-1 proviruses are not reactivated by current therapeutic approaches and that more effective means of reversing proviral latency will likely be required to deplete HIV-1 reservoirs.
Assuntos
Antirretrovirais/uso terapêutico , Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/virologia , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , HIV-1/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Ácidos Hidroxâmicos/uso terapêutico , Latência Viral/efeitos dos fármacos , Adulto , Idoso , Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/citologia , Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/imunologia , Feminino , Regulação Viral da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Infecções por HIV/imunologia , Infecções por HIV/virologia , HIV-1/genética , Inibidores de Histona Desacetilases/uso terapêutico , Humanos , Ativação Linfocitária/imunologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Provírus/genética , Provírus/crescimento & desenvolvimento , RNA Viral/genética , Viremia/tratamento farmacológico , Viremia/imunologia , Viremia/virologia , Latência Viral/imunologia , VorinostatRESUMO
Although a number of PCR-based quantitative assays for measuring HIV-1 persistence during suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) have been reported, a simple, sensitive, reproducible method is needed for application to large clinical trials. We developed novel quantitative PCR assays for cell-associated (CA) HIV-1 DNA and RNA, targeting a highly conserved region in HIV-1pol, with sensitivities of 3 to 5 copies/1 million cells. We evaluated the performance characteristics of the assays using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 5 viremic patients and 20 patients receiving effective ART. Total and resting CD4(+)T cells were isolated from a subset of patients and tested for comparison with PBMCs. The estimated standard deviations including interassay variability and intra-assay variability of the assays were modest, i.e., 0.15 and 0.10 log10copies/10(6)PBMCs, respectively, for CA HIV-1 DNA and 0.40 and 0.19 log10copies/10(6)PBMCs for CA HIV-1 RNA. Testing of longitudinally obtained PBMC samples showed little variation for either viremic patients (median fold differences of 0.80 and 0.88 for CA HIV-1 DNA and RNA, respectively) or virologically suppressed patients (median fold differences of 1.14 and 0.97, respectively). CA HIV-1 DNA and RNA levels were strongly correlated (r= 0.77 to 1;P= 0.0001 to 0.037) for assays performed using PBMCs from different sources (phlebotomy versus leukapheresis) or using total or resting CD4(+)T cells purified by either bead selection or flow cytometric sorting. Their sensitivity, reproducibility, and broad applicability to small numbers of mononuclear cells make these assays useful for observational and interventional studies that examine longitudinal changes in the numbers of HIV-1-infected cells and their levels of transcription.
Assuntos
DNA Viral/análise , Infecções por HIV/virologia , HIV-1/isolamento & purificação , Leucócitos Mononucleares/virologia , RNA Viral/análise , Carga Viral/métodos , Adulto , DNA Viral/genética , Feminino , HIV-1/genética , Humanos , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , RNA Viral/genética , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
Simian immunodeficiency virus SIVsab infection is completely controlled in rhesus macaques (RMs) through functional immune responses. We report that in SIVsab-infected RMs, (i) viral replication is controlled to <0 to 3 copies/ml, (ii) about one-third of the virus strains in reservoirs are replication incompetent, and (iii) rebounding virus after CD8(+) cell depletion is replication competent and genetically similar to the original virus stock, suggesting early reservoir seeding. This model permits assessment of strategies aimed at depleting the reservoir without multidrug antiretroviral therapy.
Assuntos
Tolerância Imunológica , Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida dos Símios/imunologia , Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida dos Símios/virologia , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Símia/imunologia , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Símia/fisiologia , Replicação Viral , Animais , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Macaca mulatta , Masculino , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Símia/genéticaRESUMO
A quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay with single-copy sensitivity targeting HIV-1 gag RNA (the gag single-copy assay [gSCA]) has been used widely to quantify plasma viremia below the limit of detection of clinical assays in patients on effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), but viral RNA in 15 to 30% of samples amplifies inefficiently because of primer/probe mismatches. We sought to develop improved single-copy assays with increased sensitivity by improving nucleic acid recovery, designing qRT-PCR primers and a probe for a highly conserved region of integrase in the HIV-1 pol gene (the integrase single-copy assay [iSCA]), and increasing the plasma volume tested (Mega-iSCA). We evaluated gSCA versus iSCA in paired plasma samples from 10 consecutive patients with viremia of >1,000 copies/ml and 25 consecutive patients on suppressive ART. Three of 10 viremic samples amplified inefficiently with gSCA compared to the Roche Cobas Ampliprep/TaqMan 2.0, whereas all 10 samples amplified efficiently with iSCA. Among 25 samples from patients on suppressive ART, 8 of 12 samples that were negative for HIV-1 RNA by gSCA had detectable HIV-1 RNA by iSCA, and iSCA detected 3-fold or higher HIV-1 RNA levels compared to gSCA in 10 of 25 samples. Large-volume plasma samples (>20 ml) from 7 patients were assayed using Mega-iSCA, and HIV-1 RNA was quantifiable in 6, including 4 of 5 that were negative by standard-volume iSCA. These improved assays with superior sensitivity will be useful for evaluating whether in vivo interventions can reduce plasma viremia and for assessing relationships between residual viremia and other virologic parameters, including the inducible proviral reservoir.
Assuntos
Antirretrovirais/uso terapêutico , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , Infecções por HIV/virologia , HIV-1/isolamento & purificação , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real/métodos , Carga Viral/métodos , Viremia/virologia , Primers do DNA/genética , Humanos , Sondas de Oligonucleotídeos/genética , RNA Viral/análise , RNA Viral/sangue , RNA Viral/genética , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to define viral kinetics after initiation of raltegravir (RAL)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART). METHODS: ART-naive patients received RAL, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, and emtricitabine for 72 weeks. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA were measured by ultrasensitive and single-copy assays, and first (d1)-, second (d2)-, and, third (d3)-phase decay rates were estimated by mixed-effects models. Decay data were compared to historical estimates for efavirenz (EFV)- and ritonavir/lopinavir (LPV/r)-based regimens. RESULTS: Bi- and tri-exponential models for ultrasensitive assay (n = 38) and single-copy assay (n = 8) data, respectively, provided the best fits over 8 and 72 weeks. The median d1 with ultrasensitive data was 0.563/day (interquartile range [IQR], 0.501-0.610/day), significantly slower than d1 for EFV-based regimens [P < .001]). The median duration of d1 was 15.1 days, transitioning to d2 at an HIV-1 RNA of 91 copies/mL, indicating a longer duration of d1 and a d2 transition at lower viremia levels than with EFV. Median patient-specific decay estimates with the single-copy assay were 0.607/day (IQR, 0.582-0.653) for d1, 0.070/day (IQR, 0.042-0.079) for d2, and 0.0016/day (IQR, 0.0005-0.0022) for d3; the median d1 duration was 16.1 days, transitioning to d2 at 69 copies/mL. d3 transition occurred at 110 days, at 2.6 copies/mL, similar to values for LPV/r-based regimens. CONCLUSIONS: Models using single-copy assay data revealed 3 phases of decay with RAL-containing ART, with a longer duration of first-phase decay consistent with RAL-mediated blockade of productive infection from preintegration complexes.
Assuntos
Fármacos Anti-HIV/uso terapêutico , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , HIV-1/efeitos dos fármacos , Pirrolidinonas/uso terapêutico , Estabilidade de RNA/efeitos dos fármacos , Adenina/análogos & derivados , Adenina/uso terapêutico , Adulto , Alcinos , Benzoxazinas/uso terapêutico , Ciclopropanos , Feminino , Infecções por HIV/sangue , Infecções por HIV/virologia , HIV-1/genética , Humanos , Lopinavir/uso terapêutico , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Organofosfonatos/uso terapêutico , Projetos Piloto , Estudos Prospectivos , RNA Viral/metabolismo , Raltegravir Potássico , Ritonavir/uso terapêutico , Tenofovir , Carga ViralRESUMO
Ewing sarcoma (ES) is an aggressive cancer diagnosed in adolescents and young adults. The fusion oncoprotein (EWSR1::FLI1) that drives Ewing sarcoma is known to downregulate TGFBR2 expression (part of the TGFß receptor). Because TGFBR2 is downregulated, it was thought that TGFß likely plays an inconsequential role in Ewing biology. However, the expression of TGFß in the Ewing tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and functional impact of TGFß in the TIME remains largely unknown given the historical lack of immunocompetent preclinical models. Here, we use single-cell RNAseq analysis of human Ewing tumors to show that immune cells, such as NK cells, are the largest source of TGFß production in human Ewing tumors. We develop a humanized (immunocompetent) mouse model of ES and demonstrate distinct TME signatures and metastatic potential in these models as compared to tumors developed in immunodeficient mice. Using this humanized model, we study the effect of TGFß inhibition on the Ewing TME during radiation therapy, a treatment that both enhances TGFß activation and is used to treat aggressive ES. Utilizing a trivalent ligand TGFß TRAP to inhibit TGFß, we demonstrate that in combination with radiation, TGFß inhibition both increases ES immune cell infiltration and decreases lung metastatic burden in vivo . The culmination of these data demonstrates the value of humanized models to address immunobiologic preclinical questions in Ewing sarcoma and suggests TGFß inhibition as a promising intervention during radiation therapy to promote metastatic tumor control.
RESUMO
Diffuse gliomas are epigenetically dysregulated, immunologically cold, and fatal tumors characterized by mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). Although IDH mutations yield a uniquely immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, the regulatory mechanisms that drive the immune landscape of IDH mutant (IDHm) gliomas remain unknown. Here, we reveal that transcriptional repression of retinoic acid (RA) pathway signaling impairs both innate and adaptive immune surveillance in IDHm glioma through epigenetic silencing of retinol binding protein 1 (RBP1) and induces a profound anti-inflammatory landscape marked by loss of inflammatory cell states and infiltration of suppressive myeloid phenotypes. Restorative retinoic acid therapy in murine glioma models promotes clonal CD4 + T cell expansion and induces tumor regression in IDHm, but not IDH wildtype (IDHwt), gliomas. Our findings provide a mechanistic rationale for RA immunotherapy in IDHm glioma and is the basis for an ongoing investigator-initiated, single-center clinical trial investigating all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in recurrent IDHm human subjects.
RESUMO
T cell-centric immunotherapies have shown modest clinical benefit thus far for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. Despite accounting for 70% of all breast cancers, relatively little is known about the immunobiology of ER+ breast cancer in women with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). To investigate this, we performed phenotypic, transcriptional and functional analyses for a cohort of treatment-naive IDC (n = 94) and ILC (n = 87) tumors. We show that macrophages, and not T cells, are the predominant immune cells infiltrating the tumor bed and the most transcriptionally diverse cell subset between IDC and ILC. Analysis of cellular neighborhoods revealed an interplay between macrophages and T cells associated with longer disease-free survival in IDC but not ILC. Our datasets provide a rich resource for further interrogation into immune cell dynamics in ER+ IDC and ILC and highlight macrophages as a potential target for ER+ breast cancer.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama , Carcinoma Ductal de Mama , Carcinoma Lobular , Feminino , Humanos , Carcinoma Lobular/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias da Mama/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma Ductal de Mama/tratamento farmacológico , Resultado do Tratamento , Intervalo Livre de Doença , Microambiente TumoralRESUMO
Human regulatory T cells (Tregs) are crucial regulators of tissue repair, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. However, it is challenging to inhibit the suppressive function of Tregs for cancer therapy without affecting immune homeostasis. Identifying pathways that may distinguish tumor-restricted Tregs is important, yet the transcriptional programs that control intratumoral Treg gene expression, and that are distinct from Tregs in healthy tissues, remain largely unknown. We profiled single-cell transcriptomes of CD4+ T cells in tumors and peripheral blood from patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) and those in nontumor tonsil tissues and peripheral blood from healthy donors. We identified a subpopulation of activated Tregs expressing multiple tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) genes (TNFR+ Tregs) that is highly enriched in the tumor microenvironment (TME) compared with nontumor tissue and the periphery. TNFR+ Tregs are associated with worse prognosis in HNSCC and across multiple solid tumor types. Mechanistically, the transcription factor BATF is a central component of a gene regulatory network that governs key aspects of TNFR+ Tregs. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated BATF knockout in human activated Tregs in conjunction with bulk RNA sequencing, immunophenotyping, and in vitro functional assays corroborated the central role of BATF in limiting excessive activation and promoting the survival of human activated Tregs. Last, we identified a suite of surface molecules reflective of the BATF-driven transcriptional network on intratumoral Tregs in patients with HNSCC. These findings uncover a primary transcriptional regulator of highly suppressive intratumoral Tregs, highlighting potential opportunities for therapeutic intervention in cancer without affecting immune homeostasis.
Assuntos
Fatores de Transcrição de Zíper de Leucina Básica , Redes Reguladoras de Genes , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço , Humanos , Doenças Autoimunes , Fatores de Transcrição de Zíper de Leucina Básica/genética , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço/genética , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas de Cabeça e Pescoço/genética , Linfócitos T ReguladoresRESUMO
Quantification of plasma HIV-1 RNA below the limit of FDA-approved assays by a single copy quantitative PCR assays (SCA) has provided significant insights into HIV-1 persistence despite potent antiretroviral therapy as well as a means to assess the impact of therapeutic strategies, such as treatment intensification, on residual viremia. In this review, we discuss insights gained from plasma HIV-1 RNA SCA and highlight the need for additional assays to characterize better the cellular and tissue reservoirs of HIV-1. Accurate, reproducible, and sensitive assays to quantify HIV-1 reservoirs, before and after therapeutic interventions, are essential tools in the quest for a cure of HIV-1 infection.
Assuntos
Reservatórios de Doenças/virologia , Infecções por HIV/virologia , HIV-1/isolamento & purificação , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase/métodos , RNA Viral/sangue , HIV-1/genética , Humanos , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Viremia/virologiaRESUMO
Immunotherapy targeting coinhibitory receptors has been highly successful in treating a wide variety of malignancies; however, only a subset of patients exhibits durable responses. The first FDA-approved immunotherapeutics targeting coinhibitory receptors PD1 and CTLA4, alone or in combination, significantly improved survival but were also accompanied by substantial toxicity in combination. The third FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitor targets LAG3, a coinhibitory receptor expressed on activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, especially in settings of long-term antigenic stimulation, such as chronic viral infection or cancer. Mechanistically, LAG3 expression limits both the expansion of activated T cells and the size of the memory pool, suggesting that LAG3 may be a promising target for immunotherapy. Importantly, the mechanism(s) by which LAG3 contributes to CD8+ T-cell exhaustion may be distinct from those governed by PD1, indicating that the combination of anti-LAG3 and anti-PD1 may synergistically enhance antitumor immunity. Clinical studies evaluating the role of anti-LAG3 in combination with anti-PD1 are underway, and recent phase III trial results in metastatic melanoma demonstrate both the efficacy and safety of this combination. Further ongoing clinical trials are evaluating this combination across multiple tumor types and the adjuvant setting, with accompanying translational and biomarker-focused studies designed to elucidate the molecular pathways that lead to improved antitumor T-cell responses following dual blockade of PD1 and LAG3. Overall, LAG3 plays an important role in limiting T-cell activation and has now become part of the repertoire of combinatorial immunotherapeutics available for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.