Chemotherapy induces intratumoral expression of chemokines in cutaneous melanoma, favoring T-cell infiltration and tumor control

M Hong, AL Puaux, C Huang, L Loumagne, C Tow… - Cancer research, 2011 - AACR
M Hong, AL Puaux, C Huang, L Loumagne, C Tow, C Mackay, M Kato, A Prévost-Blondel
Cancer research, 2011AACR
T-cell infiltration is known to impact tumor growth and is associated with cancer patient
survival. However, the molecular cues that favor T-cell infiltration remain largely undefined.
Here, using a genetically engineered mouse model of melanoma, we show that CXCR3
ligands and CCL5 synergize to attract effector T cells into cutaneous metastases, and their
expression inhibits tumor growth. Treatment of tumor-bearing mice with chemotherapy
induced intratumoral expression of these chemokines and favored T-cell infiltration into …
Abstract
T-cell infiltration is known to impact tumor growth and is associated with cancer patient survival. However, the molecular cues that favor T-cell infiltration remain largely undefined. Here, using a genetically engineered mouse model of melanoma, we show that CXCR3 ligands and CCL5 synergize to attract effector T cells into cutaneous metastases, and their expression inhibits tumor growth. Treatment of tumor-bearing mice with chemotherapy induced intratumoral expression of these chemokines and favored T-cell infiltration into cutaneous tumors. In patients with melanoma, these chemokines were also upregulated in chemotherapy-sensitive lesions following chemotherapy, and correlated with T-cell infiltration, tumor control, and patient survival. We found that dacarbazine, temozolomide, and cisplatin induced expression of T-cell–attracting chemokines in several human melanoma cell lines in vitro. These data identify the induction of intratumoral expression of chemokines as a novel cell-extrinsic mechanism of action of chemotherapy that results in the recruitment of immune cells with antitumor activity. Therefore, identifying chemotherapeutic drugs able to induce the expression of T-cell–attracting chemokines in cancer cells may represent a novel strategy to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Res; 71(22); 6997–7009. ©2011 AACR.
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