Research Article
Abstract
Programmed death–ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression on tumor cells is essential for T cell impairment, and PD-L1 blockade therapy has shown unprecedented durable responses in several clinical studies. Although higher expression of PD-L1 on tumor cells is associated with a better immune response after Ab blockade, some PD-L1–negative patients also respond to this therapy. In the current study, we explored whether PD-L1 on tumor or host cells was essential for anti–PD-L1–mediated therapy in 2 different murine tumor models. Using real-time imaging in whole tumor tissues, we found that anti–PD-L1 Ab accumulates in tumor tissues regardless of the status of PD-L1 expression on tumor cells. We further observed that, while PD-L1 on tumor cells was largely dispensable for the response to checkpoint blockade, PD-L1 in host myeloid cells was essential for this response. Additionally, PD-L1 signaling in defined antigen presenting cells (APCs) negatively regulated and inhibited T cell activation. PD-L1 blockade inside tumors was not sufficient to mediate regression, as limiting T cell trafficking reduced the efficacy of the blockade. Together, these findings demonstrate that PD-L1 expressed in APCs, rather than on tumor cells, plays an essential role in checkpoint blockade therapy, providing an insight into the mechanisms of this therapy.
Authors
Haidong Tang, Yong Liang, Robert A. Anders, Janis M. Taube, Xiangyan Qiu, Aditi Mulgaonkar, Xin Liu, Susan M. Harrington, Jingya Guo, Yangchun Xin, Yahong Xiong, Kien Nham, William Silvers, Guiyang Hao, Xiankai Sun, Mingyi Chen, Raquibul Hannan, Jian Qiao, Haidong Dong, Hua Peng, Yang-Xin Fu
Abstract
Programmed death-1 receptor (PD-L1, B7-H1) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) pathway blockade is a promising therapy for treating cancer. However, the mechanistic contribution of host and tumor PD-L1 and PD-1 signaling to the therapeutic efficacy of PD-L1 and PD-1 blockade remains elusive. Here, we evaluated 3 tumor-bearing mouse models that differ in their sensitivity to PD-L1 blockade and demonstrated a loss of therapeutic efficacy of PD-L1 blockade in immunodeficient mice and in PD-L1– and PD-1–deficient mice. In contrast, neither knockout nor overexpression of PD-L1 in tumor cells had an effect on PD-L1 blockade efficacy. Human and murine studies showed high levels of functional PD-L1 expression in dendritic cells and macrophages in the tumor microenvironments and draining lymph nodes. Additionally, expression of PD-L1 on dendritic cells and macrophages in ovarian cancer and melanoma patients correlated with the efficacy of treatment with either anti–PD-1 alone or in combination with anti–CTLA-4. Thus, PD-L1–expressing dendritic cells and macrophages may mechanistically shape and therapeutically predict clinical efficacy of PD-L1/PD-1 blockade.
Authors
Heng Lin, Shuang Wei, Elaine M. Hurt, Michael D. Green, Lili Zhao, Linda Vatan, Wojciech Szeliga, Ronald Herbst, Paul W. Harms, Leslie A. Fecher, Pankaj Vats, Arul M. Chinnaiyan, Christopher D. Lao, Theodore S. Lawrence, Max Wicha, Junzo Hamanishi, Masaki Mandai, Ilona Kryczek, Weiping Zou
Abstract
Isolated left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) results from excessive trabeculation and impaired myocardial compaction during heart development. The extracellular matrix (ECM) that separates endocardium from myocardium plays a critical but poorly understood role in ventricular trabeculation and compaction. In an attempt to characterize solute carrier family 39 member 8–null (Slc39a8-null) mice, we discovered that homozygous null embryos do not survive embryogenesis, and exhibit a cardiac phenotype similar to human LVNC. Slc39a8 encodes a divalent metal cation importer that has been implicated in ECM degradation through the zinc/metal regulatory transcription factor 1 (Zn/MTF1) axis, which promotes the expression of ECM-degrading enzymes, including Adamts metalloproteinases. Here, we have shown that Slc39a8 is expressed by endothelial cells in the developing mouse heart, where it serves to maintain cellular Zn levels. Furthermore, Slc39a8-null hearts exhibited marked ECM accumulation and reduction of several Adamts metalloproteinases. Consistent with the in vivo observations, knockdown of SLC39A8 in HUVECs decreased ADAMTS1 transcription by decreasing cellular Zn uptake, and as a result, MTF1 transcriptional activity. Our study thus identifies a gene underlying ventricular trabeculation and compaction development, and a pathway regulating ECM during myocardial morphogenesis.
Authors
Wen Lin, Deqiang Li, Lan Cheng, Li Li, Feiyan Liu, Nicholas J. Hand, Jonathan A. Epstein, Daniel J. Rader
Abstract
Islet amyloidosis is characterized by the aberrant accumulation of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) in pancreatic islets, resulting in β cell toxicity, which exacerbates type 2 diabetes and islet transplant failure. It is not fully clear how IAPP induces cellular stress or how IAPP-induced toxicity can be prevented or treated. We recently defined the properties of toxic IAPP species. Here, we have identified a receptor-mediated mechanism of islet amyloidosis–induced proteotoxicity. In human diabetic pancreas and in cellular and mouse models of islet amyloidosis, increased expression of the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) correlated with human IAPP–induced (h-IAPP–induced) β cell and islet inflammation, toxicity, and apoptosis. RAGE selectively bound toxic intermediates, but not nontoxic forms of h-IAPP, including amyloid fibrils. The isolated extracellular ligand–binding domains of soluble RAGE (sRAGE) blocked both h-IAPP toxicity and amyloid formation. Inhibition of the interaction between h-IAPP and RAGE by sRAGE, RAGE-blocking antibodies, or genetic RAGE deletion protected pancreatic islets, β cells, and smooth muscle cells from h-IAPP–induced inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. sRAGE-treated h-IAPP Tg mice were protected from amyloid deposition, loss of β cell area, β cell inflammation, stress, apoptosis, and glucose intolerance. These findings establish RAGE as a mediator of IAPP-induced toxicity and suggest that targeting the IAPP/RAGE axis is a potential strategy to mitigate this source of β cell dysfunction in metabolic disease.
Authors
Andisheh Abedini, Ping Cao, Annette Plesner, Jinghua Zhang, Meilun He, Julia Derk, Sachi A. Patil, Rosa Rosario, Jacqueline Lonier, Fei Song, Hyunwook Koh, Huilin Li, Daniel P. Raleigh, Ann Marie Schmidt
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the loss of dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area are more resistant to this degeneration than those in the SNc, though the mechanisms for selective resistance or vulnerability remain poorly understood. A key to elucidating these processes may lie within the subset of DA neurons that corelease glutamate and express the vesicular glutamate transporter VGLUT2. Here, we addressed the potential relationship between VGLUT expression and DA neuronal vulnerability by overexpressing VGLUT in DA neurons of flies and mice. In Drosophila, VGLUT overexpression led to loss of select DA neuron populations. Similarly, expression of VGLUT2 specifically in murine SNc DA neurons led to neuronal loss and Parkinsonian behaviors. Other neuronal cell types showed no such sensitivity, suggesting that DA neurons are distinctively vulnerable to VGLUT2 expression. Additionally, most DA neurons expressed VGLUT2 during development, and coexpression of VGLUT2 with DA markers increased following injury in the adult. Finally, conditional deletion of VGLUT2 made DA neurons more susceptible to Parkinsonian neurotoxins. These data suggest that the balance of VGLUT2 expression is a crucial determinant of DA neuron survival. Ultimately, manipulation of this VGLUT2-dependent process may represent an avenue for therapeutic development.
Authors
Thomas Steinkellner, Vivien Zell, Zachary J. Farino, Mark S. Sonders, Michael Villeneuve, Robin J. Freyberg, Serge Przedborski, Wei Lu, Zachary Freyberg, Thomas S. Hnasko
Abstract
Blockade of the checkpoint inhibitor programmed death 1 (PD1) has demonstrated remarkable success in the clinic for the treatment of cancer; however, a majority of tumors are resistant to anti-PD1 monotherapy. Numerous ongoing clinical combination therapy studies will likely reveal additional therapeutics that complement anti-PD1 blockade. Recent studies found that immunogenic cell death (ICD) improves T cell responses against different tumors, thus indicating that ICD may further augment antitumor immunity elicited by anti-PD1. Here, we observed antitumor activity following combinatorial therapy with anti-PD1 Ab and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor dinaciclib in immunocompetent mouse tumor models. Dinaciclib induced a type I IFN gene signature within the tumor, leading us to hypothesize that dinaciclib potentiates the effects of anti-PD1 by eliciting ICD. Indeed, tumor cells treated with dinaciclib showed the hallmarks of ICD including surface calreticulin expression and release of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and ATP. Mice treated with both anti-PD1 and dinaciclib showed increased T cell infiltration and DC activation within the tumor, indicating that this combination improves the overall quality of the immune response generated. These findings identify a potential mechanism for the observed benefit of combining dinaciclib and anti-PD1, in which dinaciclib induces ICD, thereby converting the tumor cell into an endogenous vaccine and boosting the effects of anti-PD1.
Authors
Dewan Md Sakib Hossain, Sarah Javaid, Mingmei Cai, Chunsheng Zhang, Anandi Sawant, Marlene Hinton, Manjiri Sathe, Jeff Grein, Wendy Blumenschein, Elaine M. Pinheiro, Alissa Chackerian
Abstract
Dravet syndrome (DS) is a severe childhood-onset epilepsy commonly due to mutations of the sodium channel gene SCN1A. DS patients have a high risk of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP), believed to be due to cardiac mechanisms. Here we show that DS patients have peri-ictal respiratory dysfunction. One patient who had severe and prolonged postictal hypoventilation later died of SUDEP. Mice with an Scn1aR1407X/+ loss of function mutation died after spontaneous and heat-induced seizures due to central apnea followed by progressive bradycardia. Death could be prevented with mechanical ventilation after seizures induced by hyperthermia or maximal electroshock. Muscarinic receptor antagonists did not prevent bradycardia or death when given at doses selective for peripheral parasympathetic blockade, whereas apnea was prevented at doses known to be high enough to cross the blood brain barrier. Anoxia causes bradycardia due to a direct effect on the heart. We conclude that SUDEP in DS may result in some cases from primary central apnea, which can cause bradycardia presumably via an effect of hypoxemia on cardiac muscle.
Authors
YuJaung Kim, Eduardo Bravo, Caitlin K. Thirnbeck, Lori A. Smith-Mellecker, Se Hee Kim, Brian K. Gehlbach, Linda C. Laux, Douglas R. Nordli Jr., George B. Richerson
Abstract
Epithelial tumor cells undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to gain metastatic activity. Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) have binding sites for a common set of microRNAs (miRs) and regulate each other’s expression by sponging miRs. Here, we address whether ceRNAs govern EMT–driven metastasis. High miR-181b levels were correlated with an improved prognosis in human lung adenocarcinomas, and metastatic tumor cell lines derived from a murine lung adenocarcinoma model in which metastasis is EMT–driven were enriched in miR-181b targets. The EMT–activating transcription factor ZEB1 relieved a strong basal repression of integrin-α1 (ITGA1), which in turn upregulated adenylyl cyclase 9 (ADCY9) by sponging miR181b. Ectopic expression of the ITGA1 3’ untranslated region reversed miR-181b–mediated metastasis suppression and increased the levels of ADCY9, which promoted ZEB1–driven tumor cell migration and metastasis. In human lung adenocarcinomas, ITGA1 and ADCY9 levels were positively correlated, and an ADCY9–activated transcriptomic signature had poor-prognostic value. Thus, ZEB1 initiates a miR-181b–regulated ceRNA network to drive metastasis.
Authors
Xiaochao Tan, Priyam Banerjee, Xin Liu, Jiang Yu, Don L. Gibbons, Ping Wu, Kenneth L. Scott, Lixia Diao, Xiaofeng Zheng, Jing Wang, Ali Jalali, Milind Suraokar, Junya Fujimoto, Carmen Behrens, Xiuping Liu, Chang-gong Liu, Chad J. Creighton, Ignacio I. Wistuba, Jonathan M. Kurie
Abstract
During epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) epithelial cancer cells trans-differentiate into highly-motile, invasive, mesenchymal-like cells giving rise to disseminating tumor cells. Only few of these disseminated cells successfully metastasize. Immune cells and inflammation in the tumor microenvironment was shown to drive EMT, but few studies investigated the consequences of EMT on tumor immunosurveillance. In addition to initiating metastasis, we demonstrate that EMT confers increased susceptibility to NK cells and contributes, in part, to the inefficiency of the metastatic process. Depletion of NK cells allowed spontaneous metastasis without effecting primary tumor growth. EMT-induced modulation of E-cadherin and cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1) mediated increased susceptibility to NK cytotoxicity. Higher CADM1 expression correlates with improved patient survival in two lung and one breast adenocarcinoma patient cohorts and decreased metastasis. Our observation reveal a novel NK-mediated, metastasis-specific, immunosurveillance in lung cancer and presents a window of opportunity for the prevention of metastasis by boosting NK cell activity.
Authors
Peter J. Chockley, Jun Chen, Guoan Chen, David G. Beer, Theodore J. Standiford, Venkateshwar G. Keshamouni
Abstract
The human lung harbors a large population of resident memory T cells (Trm cells). These cells are perfectly positioned to mediate rapid protection against respiratory pathogens such as influenza virus, a highly contagious respiratory pathogen that continues to be a major public health burden. Animal models show that influenza-specific lung CD8+ Trm cells are indispensable for crossprotection against pulmonary infection with different influenza virus strains. However, it is not known whether influenza-specific CD8+ Trm cells present within the human lung have the same critical role in modulating the course of the disease. Here, we showed that human lung contains a population of CD8+ Trm cells that are highly proliferative and have polyfunctional progeny. We observed that different influenza virus–specific CD8+ T cell specificities differentiated into Trm cells with varying efficiencies and that the size of the influenza-specific CD8+ T cell population persisting in the lung directly correlated with the efficiency of differentiation into Trm cells. To our knowledge, we provide the first ex vivo dissection of paired T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires of human influenza–specific CD8+ Trm cells. Our data reveal diverse TCR profiles within the human lung Trm cells and a high degree of clonal sharing with other CD8+ T cell populations, a feature important for effective T cell function and protection against the generation of viral-escape mutants.
Authors
Angela Pizzolla, Thi H.O. Nguyen, Sneha Sant, Jade Jaffar, Tom Loudovaris, Stuart I. Mannering, Paul G. Thomas, Glen P. Westall, Katherine Kedzierska, Linda M. Wakim
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ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)