Oncology
Abstract
Tumor DNA circulates in the plasma of cancer patients admixed with DNA from noncancerous cells. The genomic landscape of plasma DNA has been characterized in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) but the plasma methylome has not been extensively explored. Here, we performed next-generation sequencing (NGS) on plasma DNA with and without bisulfite treatment from mCRPC patients receiving either abiraterone or enzalutamide in the pre- or post-chemotherapy setting. Principal component analysis on the mCRPC plasma methylome indicated that the main contributor to methylation variance (principal component one, or PC1) was strongly correlated with genomically determined tumor fraction (r = –0.96; P < 10–8) and characterized by hypermethylation of targets of the polycomb repressor complex 2 components. Further deconvolution of the PC1 top-correlated segments revealed that these segments are comprised of methylation patterns specific to either prostate cancer or prostate normal epithelium. To extract information specific to an individual’s cancer, we then focused on an orthogonal methylation signature, which revealed enrichment for androgen receptor binding sequences and hypomethylation of these segments associated with AR copy number gain. Individuals harboring this methylation pattern had a more aggressive clinical course. Plasma methylome analysis can accurately quantitate tumor fraction and identify distinct biologically relevant mCRPC phenotypes.
Authors
Anjui Wu, Paolo Cremaschi, Daniel Wetterskog, Vincenza Conteduca, Gian Marco Franceschini, Dimitrios Kleftogiannis, Anuradha Jayaram, Shahneen Sandhu, Stephen Q. Wong, Matteo Benelli, Samanta Salvi, Giorgia Gurioli, Andrew Feber, Mariana Buongermino Pereira, Anna Maria Wingate, Enrique Gonzalez-Billalebeita, Ugo De Giorgi, Francesca Demichelis, Stefano Lise, Gerhardt Attard
Abstract
Platinum-based chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common causes of dose reduction and discontinuation of life-saving chemotherapy in cancer treatment; it often causes permanent impairment of quality of life in cancer patients. The mechanisms that underlie this neuropathy are not defined, and effective treatment and prevention measures are not available. Here, we demonstrate that SIRT2 protected mice against cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). SIRT2 accumulated in the nuclei of dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons and prevented neuronal cell death following cisplatin treatment. Mechanistically, SIRT2, an NAD+-dependent deacetylase, protected neurons from cisplatin cytotoxicity by promoting transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER) of cisplatin-induced DNA crosslinks. Consistent with this mechanism, pharmacological inhibition of NER using spironolactone abolished SIRT2-mediated TC-NER activity in differentiated neuronal cells and protection of neurons from cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity and CIPN in mice. Importantly, SIRT2’s protective effects were not evident in lung cancer cells in vitro or in tumors in vivo. Taken together, our results identified SIRT2’s function in the NER pathway as a key underlying mechanism of preventing CIPN, warranting future investigation of SIRT2 activation-mediated neuroprotection during platinum-based cancer treatment.
Authors
Manchao Zhang, Wuying Du, Scarlett M. Acklin, Shengkai Jin, Fen Xia
Abstract
The molecular mechanisms responsible for the high immunosuppressive capacity of CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in tumors are poorly known. High-dimensional single cell profiling of T cells from chemotherapy-naïve individuals with non-small cell lung cancer identified the transcription factor IRF4 as specifically expressed by a subset of intratumoral CD4+ effector Tregs with superior suppressive activity. In contrast to the IRF4– counterparts, IRF4+ Tregs expressed a vast array of suppressive molecules, and their presence correlated with multiple exhausted subpopulations of T cells. Integration of transcriptomic and epigenomic data revealed that IRF4, either alone or in combination with its partner BATF, directly controlled a molecular program responsible for immunosuppression in tumors. Accordingly, deletion of Irf4 exclusively in Tregs resulted in delayed tumor growth in mice while the abundance of IRF4+ Tregs correlated with poor prognosis in patients with multiple human cancers. Thus, a common mechanism underlies immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment irrespectively of the tumor type.
Authors
Giorgia Alvisi, Jolanda Brummelman, Simone Puccio, Emilia Maria Cristina Mazza, Elisa Paoluzzi Tomada, Agnese Losurdo, Veronica Zanon, Clelia Peano, Federico S. Colombo, Alice Scarpa, Marco Alloisio, Ajithkumar Vasanthakumar, Rahul Roychoudhuri, Marinos Kallikourdis, Massimiliano Pagani, Egesta Lopci, Pierluigi Novellis, Jonas Blume, Axel Kallies, Giulia Veronesi, Enrico Lugli
Abstract
Loss of androgen receptor (AR) signaling dependence occurs in approximately 15%–20% of advanced treatment-resistant prostate cancers, and this may manifest clinically as transformation from a prostate adenocarcinoma histology to a castration-resistant neuroendocrine prostate cancer (CRPC-NE). The diagnosis of CRPC-NE currently relies on a metastatic tumor biopsy, which is invasive for patients and sometimes challenging to diagnose due to morphologic heterogeneity. By studying whole-exome sequencing and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of cell free DNA (cfDNA) and of matched metastatic tumor biopsies from patients with metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma and CRPC-NE, we identified CRPC-NE features detectable in the circulation. Overall, there was markedly higher concordance between cfDNA and biopsy tissue genomic alterations in patients with CRPC-NE compared with castration-resistant adenocarcinoma, supporting greater intraindividual genomic consistency across metastases. Allele-specific copy number and serial sampling analyses allowed for the detection and tracking of clonal and subclonal tumor cell populations. cfDNA methylation was indicative of circulating tumor content fraction, reflective of methylation patterns observed in biopsy tissues, and was capable of detecting CRPC-NE–associated epigenetic changes (e.g., hypermethylation of ASXL3 and SPDEF; hypomethylation of INSM1 and CDH2). A targeted set combining genomic (TP53, RB1, CYLD, AR) and epigenomic (hypo- and hypermethylation of 20 differential sites) alterations applied to ctDNA was capable of identifying patients with CRPC-NE.
Authors
Himisha Beltran, Alessandro Romanel, Vincenza Conteduca, Nicola Casiraghi, Michael Sigouros, Gian Marco Franceschini, Francesco Orlando, Tarcisio Fedrizzi, Sheng-Yu Ku, Emma Dann, Alicia Alonso, Juan Miguel Mosquera, Andrea Sboner, Jenny Xiang, Olivier Elemento, David M. Nanus, Scott T. Tagawa, Matteo Benelli, Francesca Demichelis
Abstract
Mutations in APC promote colorectal cancer (CRC) progression through uncontrolled WNT signaling. Patients with desmoplastic CRC have a significantly worse prognosis and do not benefit from chemotherapy, but the mechanisms underlying the differential responses of APC-mutant CRCs to chemotherapy are not well understood. We report that expression of the transcription factor prospero homeobox 1 (PROX1) was reduced in desmoplastic APC-mutant human CRCs. In genetic Apc-mutant mouse models, loss of Prox1 promoted the growth of desmoplastic, angiogenic, and immunologically silent tumors through derepression of Mmp14. Although chemotherapy inhibited Prox1-proficient tumors, it promoted further stromal activation, angiogenesis, and invasion in Prox1-deficient tumors. Blockade of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2) combined with CD40 agonistic antibodies promoted antiangiogenic and immunostimulatory reprogramming of Prox1-deficient tumors, destroyed tumor fibrosis, and unleashed T cell–mediated killing of cancer cells. These results pinpoint the mechanistic basis of chemotherapy-induced hyperprogression and illustrate a therapeutic strategy for chemoresistant and desmoplastic CRCs.
Authors
Simone Ragusa, Borja Prat-Luri, Alejandra González-Loyola, Sina Nassiri, Mario Leonardo Squadrito, Alan Guichard, Sabrina Cavin, Nikolce Gjorevski, David Barras, Giancarlo Marra, Matthias P. Lutolf, Jean Perentes, Emily Corse, Roberta Bianchi, Laureline Wetterwald, Jaeryung Kim, Guillermo Oliver, Mauro Delorenzi, Michele De Palma, Tatiana V. Petrova
Abstract
Despite advancements in targeting the immune checkpoints program cell death protein 1 (PD-1), programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) for cancer immunotherapy, a large number of patients and cancer types remain unresponsive. Current immunotherapies focus on modulating an antitumor immune response by directly or indirectly expanding antitumor CD8 T cells. A complementary strategy might involve inhibition of Tregs that otherwise suppress antitumor immune responses. Here, we sought to identify functional immune molecules preferentially expressed on tumor-infiltrating Tregs. Using genome-wide RNA-Seq analysis of purified Tregs sorted from multiple human cancer types, we identified a conserved Treg immune checkpoint signature. Using immunocompetent murine tumor models, we found that antibody-mediated depletion of 4-1BB–expressing cells (4-1BB is also known as TNFRSF9 or CD137) decreased tumor growth without negatively affecting CD8 T cell function. Furthermore, we found that the immune checkpoint 4-1BB had a high selectivity for human tumor Tregs and was associated with worse survival outcomes in patients with multiple tumor types. Thus, antibody-mediated depletion of 4-1BB–expressing Tregs represents a strategy with potential activity across cancer types.
Authors
Zachary T. Freeman, Thomas R. Nirschl, Daniel H. Hovelson, Robert J. Johnston, John J. Engelhardt, Mark J. Selby, Christina M. Kochel, Ruth Y. Lan, Jingyi Zhai, Ali Ghasemzadeh, Anuj Gupta, Alyza M. Skaist, Sarah J. Wheelan, Hui Jiang, Alexander T. Pearson, Linda A. Snyder, Alan J. Korman, Scott A. Tomlins, Srinivasan Yegnasubramanian, Charles G. Drake
Abstract
An in-depth understanding of immune escape mechanisms in cancer are likely to lead to innovative advances in immunotherapeutic strategies. However, much remains unknown regarding these mechanisms and how they impact immunotherapy resistance. Using several pre-clinical tumor models as well as clinical specimens, we report a newly identified mechanism whereby CD8+ T cell activation in response to PD-1 blockade induced a PD-L1-NLRP3 inflammasome signaling cascade that ultimately led to the recruitment of granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) into tumor tissues, thereby dampening the resulting anti-tumor immune response. The genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of NLRP3 suppressed PMN-MDSC tumor infiltration and significantly augmented the efficacy of anti-PD-1 antibody immunotherapy. This pathway therefore represents a tumor-intrinsic adaptive resistance mechanism to anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy and is a promising target for future translational research.
Authors
Balamayooran Theivanthiran, Kathy S. Evans, Nicholas C. DeVito, Michael P. Plebanek, Michael Sturdivant, Lucas P. Wachsmuth, April K.S. Salama, Yubin Kang, David Hsu, Justin M. Balko, Douglas B. Johnson, Mark Starr, Andrew B. Nixon, Alisha Holtzhausen, Brent A. Hanks
Abstract
Background: Neurofibroma/schwannoma hybrid nerve sheath tumors (N/S HNSTs) are neoplasms associated with larger nerves that occur sporadically and in the context of schwannomatosis or neurofibromatosis type 2 or 1. Clinical management of N/S HNST is challenging, especially for large tumors, and established systemic treatments are lacking. Methods: We used next-generation sequencing and array-based DNA methylation profiling to determine the clinically actionable genomic and epigenomic landscapes of N/S HNST. Results: Whole-exome sequencing within a precision oncology program identified an activating mutation (p.Asp769Tyr) in the catalytic domain of the ERBB2 receptor tyrosine kinase in a patient with schwannomatosis-associated N/S HNST, and targeted treatment with the small-molecule ERBB inhibitor lapatinib led to prolonged clinical benefit and a lasting radiographic and metabolic response. Analysis of a multicenter validation cohort revealed recurrent ERBB2 mutations (p.Leu755Ser, p.Asp769Tyr, p.Val777Leu) in N/S HNSTs occurring in patients who met diagnostic criteria for sporadic schwannomatosis (3 of 7 patients), but not in N/S HNSTs arising in the context of neurofibromatosis (6 patients) or outside a tumor syndrome (1 patient), and showed that ERBB2-mutant N/S HNSTs cluster in a distinct subgroup of peripheral nerve sheath tumors based on genome-wide DNA methylation patterns. Conclusion: These findings uncover a key biological feature of N/S HNST that may have important diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Funding: This work was supported by grant H021 from DKFZ-HIPO. MWR and PNH have received fellowships from UCT Frankfurt, and MWR has received funding from the Frankfurt Research Funding Clinician Scientist Program.
Authors
Michael W. Ronellenfitsch, Patrick N. Harter, Martina Kirchner, Christoph Heining, Barbara Hutter, Laura Gieldon, Jens Schittenhelm, Martin U. Schuhmann, Marcos Tatagiba, Gerhard Marquardt, Marlies Wagner, Volker Endris, Christian H. Brandts, Victor-Felix Mautner, Evelin Schröck, Wilko Weichert, Benedikt Brors, Andreas von Deimling, Michel Mittelbronn, Joachim P. Steinbach, David E. Reuss, Hanno Glimm, Albrecht Stenzinger, Stefan Fröhling
Abstract
Increased rates of locoregional recurrence are observed in patients with basal-like breast cancer (BC) despite the use of radiation therapy (RT); therefore, approaches that result in radiosensitization of basal-like BC are critically needed. Using patients’ tumor gene expression data from 4 independent data sets, we correlated gene expression with recurrence to find genes significantly correlated with early recurrence after RT. The highest-ranked gene, TTK, was most highly expressed in basal-like BC across multiple data sets. Inhibition of TTK by both genetic and pharmacologic methods enhanced radiosensitivity in multiple basal-like cell lines. Radiosensitivity was mediated, at least in part, through persistent DNA damage after treatment with TTK inhibition and RT. Inhibition of TTK impaired homologous recombination (HR) and repair efficiency, but not nonhomologous end-joining, and decreased the formation of Rad51 foci. Reintroduction of wild-type TTK rescued both radioresistance and HR repair efficiency after TTK knockdown, however, reintroduction of kinase-dead TTK did not. In vivo, TTK inhibition combined with RT led to a significant decrease in tumor growth in both heterotopic and orthotopic, including patient-derived xenograft, BC models. These data support the rationale for clinical development of TTK inhibition as a radiosensitizing strategy for patients with basal-like BC, and efforts toward this end are currently underway.
Authors
Benjamin C. Chandler, Leah Moubadder, Cassandra L. Ritter, Meilan Liu, Meleah Cameron, Kari Wilder-Romans, Amanda Zhang, Andrea M. Pesch, Anna R. Michmerhuizen, Nicole Hirsh, Marlie Androsiglio, Tanner Ward, Eric Olsen, Yashar S. Niknafs, Sofia Merajver, Dafydd G. Thomas, Powel H. Brown, Theodore S. Lawrence, Shyam Nyati, Lori J. Pierce, Arul Chinnaiyan, Corey Speers
Abstract
Antigen receptor–dependent (AgR-dependent) stimulation of the NF-κB transcription factor in lymphocytes is a required event during adaptive immune response, but dysregulated activation of this signaling pathway can lead to lymphoma. AgR stimulation promotes assembly of the CARMA1-BCL10-MALT1 complex, wherein MALT1 acts as (a) a scaffold to recruit components of the canonical NF-κB machinery, and (b) a protease to cleave and inactivate specific substrates, including negative regulators of NF-κB. In multiple lymphoma subtypes, malignant B cells hijack AgR signaling pathways to promote their own growth and survival, and inhibiting MALT1 reduces the viability and growth of these tumors. As such, MALT1 has emerged as a potential pharmaceutical target. Here, we identified G protein–coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) as a new MALT1-interacting protein. We demonstrated that GRK2 binds the death domain of MALT1 and inhibits MALT1 scaffolding and proteolytic activities. We found that lower GRK2 levels in activated B cell–type diffuse large B cell lymphoma (ABC-DLBCL) are associated with reduced survival, and that GRK2 knockdown enhances ABC-DLBCL tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Together, our findings suggest that GRK2 can function as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting MALT1 and provide a roadmap for developing new strategies to inhibit MALT1-dependent lymphomagenesis.
Authors
Jing Cheng, Linda R. Klei, Nathaniel E. Hubel, Ming Zhang, Rebekka Schairer, Lisa M. Maurer, Hanna B. Klei, Heejae Kang, Vincent J. Concel, Phillip C. Delekta, Eric V. Dang, Michelle A. Mintz, Mathijs Baens, Jason G. Cyster, Narayanan Parameswaran, Margot Thome, Peter C. Lucas, Linda M. McAllister-Lucas
Copyright © 2020 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)