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Abstract
Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy - ranging from immune-checkpoint blockade therapy to adoptive cellular therapy and vaccines - have revolutionized cancer treatment paradigms, yet the variability in clinical responses to these agents has motivated intense interest in understanding how the T cell landscape evolves with respect to response to immune intervention. Over the past decade, the advent of multidimensional single-cell technologies has provided the unprecedented ability to dissect the constellation of cell states of lymphocytes within a tumour microenvironment. In particular, the rapidly expanding capacity to definitively link intratumoural phenotypes with the antigen specificity of T cells provided by T cell receptors (TCRs) has now made it possible to focus on investigating the properties of T cells with tumour-specific reactivity. Moreover, the assessment of TCR clonality has enabled a molecular approach to track the trajectories, clonal dynamics and phenotypic changes of antitumour T cells over the course of immunotherapeutic intervention. Here, we review the current knowledge on the cellular states and antigen specificities of antitumour T cells and examine how fine characterization of T cell dynamics in patients has provided meaningful insights into the mechanisms underlying effective cancer immunotherapy. We highlight those T cell subsets associated with productive T cell responses and discuss how diverse immunotherapies might leverage the pre-existing tumour-reactive T cell pool or instruct de novo generation of antitumour specificities. Future studies aimed at elucidating the factors associated with the elicitation of productive antitumour T cell immunity are anticipated to instruct the design of more efficacious treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Oliveira
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Catherine J Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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52
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Penter L, Liu Y, Wolff JO, Yang L, Taing L, Jhaveri A, Southard J, Patel M, Cullen NM, Pfaff KL, Cieri N, Oliveira G, Kim-Schulze S, Ranasinghe S, Leonard R, Robertson T, Morgan EA, Chen HX, Song MH, Thurin M, Li S, Rodig SJ, Cibulskis C, Gabriel S, Bachireddy P, Ritz J, Streicher H, Neuberg DS, Hodi FS, Davids MS, Gnjatic S, Livak KJ, Altreuter J, Michor F, Soiffer RJ, Garcia JS, Wu CJ. Mechanisms of response and resistance to combined decitabine and ipilimumab for advanced myeloid disease. Blood 2023; 141:1817-1830. [PMID: 36706355 PMCID: PMC10122106 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2022018246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The challenge of eradicating leukemia in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) after initial cytoreduction has motivated modern efforts to combine synergistic active modalities including immunotherapy. Recently, the ETCTN/CTEP 10026 study tested the combination of the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor decitabine together with the immune checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab for AML/myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) either after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or in the HSCT-naïve setting. Integrative transcriptome-based analysis of 304 961 individual marrow-infiltrating cells for 18 of 48 subjects treated on study revealed the strong association of response with a high baseline ratio of T to AML cells. Clinical responses were predominantly driven by decitabine-induced cytoreduction. Evidence of immune activation was only apparent after ipilimumab exposure, which altered CD4+ T-cell gene expression, in line with ongoing T-cell differentiation and increased frequency of marrow-infiltrating regulatory T cells. For post-HSCT samples, relapse could be attributed to insufficient clearing of malignant clones in progenitor cell populations. In contrast to AML/MDS bone marrow, the transcriptomes of leukemia cutis samples from patients with durable remission after ipilimumab monotherapy showed evidence of increased infiltration with antigen-experienced resident memory T cells and higher expression of CTLA-4 and FOXP3. Altogether, activity of combined decitabine and ipilimumab is impacted by cellular expression states within the microenvironmental niche of leukemic cells. The inadequate elimination of leukemic progenitors mandates urgent development of novel approaches for targeting these cell populations to generate long-lasting responses. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02890329.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livius Penter
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Tumorimmunology, Campus Virchow Klinikum, Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | | | - Lin Yang
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Len Taing
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Aashna Jhaveri
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Jackson Southard
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Manishkumar Patel
- Human Immune Monitoring Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Nicole M. Cullen
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Kathleen L. Pfaff
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Nicoletta Cieri
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Giacomo Oliveira
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Seunghee Kim-Schulze
- Human Immune Monitoring Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | | | - Rebecca Leonard
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Taylor Robertson
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Elizabeth A. Morgan
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Helen X. Chen
- Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Minkyung H. Song
- Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Magdalena Thurin
- Cancer Diagnosis Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Shuqiang Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Scott J. Rodig
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Carrie Cibulskis
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | - Stacey Gabriel
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | | | - Jerome Ritz
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Howard Streicher
- Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Donna S. Neuberg
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - F. Stephen Hodi
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Center for Immuno-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Matthew S. Davids
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Sacha Gnjatic
- Human Immune Monitoring Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Kenneth J. Livak
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | | | - Franziska Michor
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
| | - Robert J. Soiffer
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Jacqueline S. Garcia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Catherine J. Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
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53
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Wang D, Liu B, Zhang Z. Accelerating the understanding of cancer biology through the lens of genomics. Cell 2023; 186:1755-1771. [PMID: 37059071 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
A core mission of cancer genomics is to comprehensively chart molecular underpinnings of cancer-driving events and to provide personalized therapeutic strategies. Primarily focused on cancer cells, cancer genomics studies have successfully uncovered many drivers for major cancer types. Since the emergence of cancer immune evasion as a critical cancer hallmark, the paradigm has been elevated to the holistic tumor ecosystem, with distinct cellular components and their functional states elucidated. We highlight the milestones of cancer genomics, depict the evolving path of the field, and discuss future directions in completing the understanding of the tumor ecosystem and in advancing therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongfang Wang
- Biomedical Pioneering Innovative Center and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Baolin Liu
- Biomedical Pioneering Innovative Center and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Zemin Zhang
- Biomedical Pioneering Innovative Center and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China.
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54
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CD4 + T cells in cancer. NATURE CANCER 2023; 4:317-329. [PMID: 36894637 DOI: 10.1038/s43018-023-00521-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 99.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Cancer immunology and immunotherapy are driving forces of research and development in oncology, mostly focusing on CD8+ T cells and the tumor microenvironment. Recent progress highlights the importance of CD4+ T cells, corresponding to the long-known fact that CD4+ T cells are central players and coordinators of innate and antigen-specific immune responses. Moreover, they have now been recognized as anti-tumor effector cells in their own right. Here we review the current status of CD4+ T cells in cancer, which hold great promise for improving knowledge and therapies in cancer.
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55
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Abstract
The theory that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are immunosuppressive cells has prevailed throughout the past decade. However, recent high-throughput, high-resolution mesenchyme-directed single-cell studies have harnessed computational advances to functionally characterize cell states, highlighting the existence of immunostimulatory CAFs. Our group and others have uncovered and experimentally substantiated key functions of cancer antigen-presenting CAFs in T cell immunity, both in vitro and in vivo, refuting the conventional assumption that CAFs impede adaptive immune rejection of tumours. In this Perspective, I unify the follicular and non-follicular, non-endothelial stroma of tumours under the 'peripheral adaptive immune mesenchyme' framework and position subsets of CAFs as direct positive regulators of the adaptive immune system. Building on the understanding of cancer antigen presentation by CAFs and the second touch hypothesis, which postulates that full T cell polarization requires interaction with antigen-presenting cells in the non-lymphoid tissue where the antigen resides, I re-design the 'cancer-immunity cycle' to incorporate intratumoural activation of cancer-specific CD4+ T cells. Lastly, a road map to therapeutic harnessing of immunostimulatory CAF states is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Tsoumakidou
- Institute of Bioinnovation, Biomedical Sciences Research Center 'Alexander Fleming', Vari, Greece.
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56
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Jia W, Guo H, Wang M, Li J, Yu J, Zhu H, Wu G. High post-chemotherapy TIL and increased CD4+TIL are independent prognostic factors of surgically resected NSCLC following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. MedComm (Beijing) 2023; 4:e213. [PMID: 36789099 PMCID: PMC9911612 DOI: 10.1002/mco2.213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) has significantly improved the overall survival of patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Chemotherapy can remodel the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and has an important influence on antitumor immunity. For patients who underwent surgery for resected NSCLC following NCT (NCT-NSCLC), a prognostic value comparison between naïve and post-chemotherapy TIME is absent. We enrolled 89 patients with NCT-NSCLC in this study; the tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL), CD4+TIL, and CD8+TIL levels in naïve and post-chemotherapy tumor tissues were detected using immunohistochemistry staining and divided into high and low groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that major pathology response, pathological tumor, node, and metastasis stage post-NCT (ypTNM), high post-chemotherapy TIL, high post-chemotherapy CD8+TIL, low naïve CD4+TIL, low naïve CD4+/CD8+TIL ratio, and increased CD4+TIL levels post-chemotherapy were favorable prognostic factors in patients with NCT-NSCLC. Multivariate Cox analysis found that ypTNM, high post-chemotherapy TIL, and increased CD4+TIL levels post-chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors in patients with NCT-NSCLC. These results indicate that a TIME remodeled by chemotherapy plays an important role in antitumor immunity and has a better prognostic value than the naïve TIME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenxiao Jia
- Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanHubeiChina,Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical UniversityShandong Academy of Medical SciencesJinanShandongChina
| | - Hongbo Guo
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical UniversityShandong Academy of Medical SciencesJinanShandongChina
| | - Min Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical UniversityShandong Academy of Medical SciencesJinanShandongChina
| | - Ji Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical UniversityShandong Academy of Medical SciencesJinanShandongChina
| | - Jinming Yu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical UniversityShandong Academy of Medical SciencesJinanShandongChina
| | - Hui Zhu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical UniversityShandong Academy of Medical SciencesJinanShandongChina
| | - Gang Wu
- Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanHubeiChina
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57
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Nagler A, Wu CJ. The end of the beginning: application of single-cell sequencing to chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Blood 2023; 141:369-379. [PMID: 36095842 PMCID: PMC9936302 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2021014669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Single-cell analysis has emerged over the past decade as a transformative technology informative for the systematic analysis of complex cell populations such as in cancers and the tumor immune microenvironment. The methodologic and analytical advancements in this realm have evolved rapidly, scaling from but a few cells at its outset to the current capabilities of processing and analyzing hundreds of thousands of individual cells at a time. The types of profiling attainable at individual cell resolution now range from genetic and transcriptomic characterization and extend to epigenomic and spatial analysis. Additionally, the increasing ability to achieve multiomic integration of these data layers now yields ever richer insights into diverse molecular disease subtypes and the patterns of cellular circuitry on a per-cancer basis. Over the years, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) consistently has been at the forefront of genomic investigation, given the ready accessibility of pure leukemia cells and immune cells from circulating blood of patients with this disease. Herein, we review the recent forays into the application of single-cell analysis to CLL, which are already revealing a new understanding of the natural progression of CLL, the impact of novel therapies, and the interactions with coevolving nonmalignant immune cell populations. As we emerge from the end of the beginning of this technologic revolution, CLL stands poised to reap the benefits of single-cell analysis from the standpoints of uncovering fresh fundamental biological knowledge and of providing a path to devising regimens of personalized diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adi Nagler
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | - Catherine J. Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
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58
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Brightman SE, Naradikian MS, Thota RR, Becker A, Montero L, Bahmanof M, Premlal ALR, Greenbaum JA, Peters B, Cohen EE, Miller AM, Schoenberger SP. Tumor cells fail to present MHC-II-restricted epitopes derived from oncogenes to CD4+ T cells. JCI Insight 2023; 8:165570. [PMID: 36512410 PMCID: PMC9977289 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.165570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
CD4+ T cells play a critical role in antitumor immunity via recognition of peptide antigens presented on MHC class II (MHC-II). Although some solid cancers can be induced to express MHC-II, the extent to which this enables direct recognition by tumor-specific CD4+ T cells is unclear. We isolated and characterized T cell antigen receptors (TCRs) from naturally primed CD4+ T cells specific for 2 oncoproteins, HPV-16 E6 and the activating KRASG12V mutation, from patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, respectively, and determined their ability to recognize autologous or human leukocyte antigen-matched antigen-expressing tumor cells. We found in both cases that the TCRs were capable of recognizing peptide-loaded target cells expressing the relevant MHC-II or B cell antigen-presenting cells (APCs) when the antigens were endogenously expressed and directed to the endosomal pathway but failed to recognize tumor cells expressing the source protein even after induction of surface MHC-II expression by IFN-γ or transduction with CIITA. These results suggest that priming and functional recognition of both a nuclear (E6) and a membrane-associated (KRAS) oncoprotein are predominantly confined to crosspresenting APCs rather than via direct recognition of tumor cells induced to express MHC-II.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer E. Brightman
- Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA.,Biomedical Sciences Program, School of Medicine, UCSD, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Martin S. Naradikian
- Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA.,Division of Hematology and Oncology, UCSD Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, California, USA.,Novartis, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Rukman R. Thota
- Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Angelica Becker
- Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA.,IconOVir Bio, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Leslie Montero
- Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Milad Bahmanof
- Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA
| | | | | | - Bjoern Peters
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA.,Department of Medicine, UCSD, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Ezra E.W. Cohen
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, UCSD Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Aaron M. Miller
- Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA.,Division of Hematology and Oncology, UCSD Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Stephen P. Schoenberger
- Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA
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59
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Landscape of antitumor CD4 + T cells in melanoma:unraveling novel HLA class II-driven immune escape. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2023; 8:34. [PMID: 36646683 PMCID: PMC9842727 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-022-01307-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
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60
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Hudson WH, Wieland A. Technology meets TILs: Deciphering T cell function in the -omics era. Cancer Cell 2023; 41:41-57. [PMID: 36206755 PMCID: PMC9839604 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2022.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
T cells are at the center of cancer immunology because of their ability to recognize mutations in tumor cells and directly mediate cancer cell killing. Immunotherapies to rejuvenate exhausted T cell responses have transformed the clinical management of several malignancies. In parallel, the development of novel multidimensional analysis platforms, such as single-cell RNA sequencing and high-dimensional flow cytometry, has yielded unprecedented insights into immune cell biology. This convergence has revealed substantial heterogeneity of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in single tumors, across tumor types, and among individuals with cancer. Here we discuss the opportunities and challenges of studying the complex tumor microenvironment with -omics technologies that generate vast amounts of data, highlighting the opportunities and limitations of these technologies with a particular focus on interpreting high-dimensional studies of CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- William H Hudson
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Andreas Wieland
- Department of Otolaryngology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
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61
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Consensus Clustering and Survival-Related Genes of Cuproptosis in Cutaneous Melanoma. Mediators Inflamm 2023; 2023:3615688. [PMID: 36891324 PMCID: PMC9988387 DOI: 10.1155/2023/3615688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
As a highly malignant tumor, the morbidity and mortality of cutaneous melanoma (CM) are increasing year by year. A novel type of cell death connected to mitochondrial metabolism is called cuproptosis. Cuproptosis regulates tumor biological behavior. Thus, genes controlling cuproptosis could be a promising candidate bioindicator for cancer therapy. Datasets of CM patients were obtained from the public database that includes clinical information and RNA-seq data. We divided CM patients into three different subgroups by unsupervised clustering method and explored the differences in functional pathways among the three subgroups by GSVA to prove the possible potential mechanism of copper death-related genes in the formation and development of CM. Secondly, we used differential analysis and Cox regression analysis to find the differential genes related to prognosis, constructed the CRG score, found the critical score for dividing high and low CRG score groups, and then analyzed the prognosis and immune infiltration of high and low CRG score groups. The results show a great correlation between OS and CRG scores. Compared with patients with high CRG scores, patients with low CRG scores have a significantly higher survival rate. In a word, copper sagging plays a certain role in the progress of CM.
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62
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Hofland T, Danelli L, Cornish G, Donnarumma T, Hunt DM, de Carvalho LPS, Kassiotis G. CD4 + T cell memory is impaired by species-specific cytotoxic differentiation, but not by TCF-1 loss. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1168125. [PMID: 37122720 PMCID: PMC10140371 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1168125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
CD4+ T cells are typically considered as 'helper' or 'regulatory' populations that support and orchestrate the responses of other lymphocytes. However, they can also develop potent granzyme (Gzm)-mediated cytotoxic activity and CD4+ cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) have been amply documented both in humans and in mice, particularly in the context of human chronic infection and cancer. Despite the established description of CD4+ CTLs, as well as of the critical cytotoxic activity they exert against MHC class II-expressing targets, their developmental and memory maintenance requirements remain elusive. This is at least in part owing to the lack of a murine experimental system where CD4+ CTLs are stably induced. Here, we show that viral and bacterial vectors encoding the same epitope induce distinct CD4+ CTL responses in challenged mice, all of which are nevertheless transient in nature and lack recall properties. Consistent with prior reports, CD4+ CTL differentiation is accompanied by loss of TCF-1 expression, a transcription factor considered essential for memory T cell survival. Using genetic ablation of Tcf7, which encodes TCF-1, at the time of CD4+ T cell activation, we further show that, contrary to observations in CD8+ T cells, continued expression of TCF-1 is not required for CD4+ T cell memory survival. Whilst Tcf7-deficient CD4+ T cells persisted normally following retroviral infection, the CD4+ CTL subset still declined, precluding conclusive determination of the requirement for TCF-1 for murine CD4+ CTL survival. Using xenotransplantation of human CD4+ T cells into murine recipients, we demonstrate that human CD4+ CTLs develop and persist in the same experimental conditions where murine CD4+ CTLs fail to persist. These observations uncover a species-specific defect in murine CD4+ CTL persistence with implications for their use as a model system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Hofland
- Retroviral Immunology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Luca Danelli
- Retroviral Immunology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Georgina Cornish
- Retroviral Immunology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tiziano Donnarumma
- Retroviral Immunology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Deborah M. Hunt
- Mycobacterial Metabolism and Antibiotic Research Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Luiz P. S. de Carvalho
- Mycobacterial Metabolism and Antibiotic Research Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - George Kassiotis
- Retroviral Immunology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: George Kassiotis,
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Palomero J, Panisello C, Lozano-Rabella M, Tirtakasuma R, Díaz-Gómez J, Grases D, Pasamar H, Arregui L, Dorca Duch E, Guerra Fernández E, Vivancos A, de Andrea CE, Melero I, Ponce J, Vidal A, Piulats JM, Matias-Guiu X, Gros A. Biomarkers of tumor-reactive CD4 + and CD8 + TILs associate with improved prognosis in endometrial cancer. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2022-005443. [PMID: 36581331 PMCID: PMC9806064 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-005443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite the growing interest in immunotherapeutic interventions for endometrial cancer (EC), the prevalence, phenotype, specificity and prognostic value of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in this tumor type remains unclear. METHODS To better understand the role of TILs in EC, we analyzed the phenotypic traits of CD8+ and CD4+ EC-resident T cells from 47 primary tumors by high-dimensional flow cytometry. In addition, CD8+ and CD4+ TIL subpopulations were isolated based on the differential expression of programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) (negative, dim and high) and CD39 (positive or negative) by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), expanded in vitro, and screened for autologous tumor recognition. We further investigated whether phenotypic markers preferentially expressed on CD8+ and CD4+ tumor-reactive TIL subsets were associated with the four distinct molecular subtypes of EC, tumor mutational burden and patient survival. RESULTS We found that CD8+TILs expressing high levels of PD-1 (PD-1hi) co-expressed CD39, TIM-3, HLA-DR and CXCL13, as compared with TILs lacking or displaying intermediate levels of PD-1 expression (PD-1- and PD-1dim, respectively). Autologous tumor reactivity of sorted and in vitro expanded CD8+ TILs demonstrated that the CD8+PD-1dimCD39+ and PD-1hiCD39+ T cell subsets both contained tumor-reactive TILs and that a higher level of PD-1 expression was associated with increased CD39 and a superior frequency of tumor reactivity. With respect to CD4+ T conventional (Tconv) TILs, co-expression of inhibitory and activation markers was more apparent on PD-1hi compared with PD-1- or PD-1dim T cells, and in fact, it was the CD4+PD-1hi subpopulation that accumulated the antitumor T cells irrespective of CD39 expression. Most importantly, detection of CD8+PD-1hiCD39+ and CD4+PD-1hi tumor-reactive T-cell subsets, but also markers specifically expressed by these subpopulations of TILs, that is, PD-1hi, CD39, CXCL13 and CD103 by CD8+ TILs and PD-1hi and CXCL13 by CD4+ Tconv TILs, correlated with prolonged survival of patients with EC. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that EC are frequently infiltrated by tumor-reactive TILs, and that expression of PD-1hi and CD39 or PD-1hi can be used to select and expand CD8+ and CD4+ tumor-reactive TILs, respectively. In addition, biomarkers preferentially expressed on tumor-reactive TILs, rather than the frequency of CD3+, CD8+ and CD4+ lymphocytes, hold prognostic value suggesting their protective role in antitumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jara Palomero
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carla Panisello
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria Lozano-Rabella
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ricky Tirtakasuma
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Judit Díaz-Gómez
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniela Grases
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Helena Pasamar
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Arregui
- HUB-ICO-IDIBELL Biobank, Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Eduard Dorca Duch
- Pathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | | | - Ana Vivancos
- Cancer Genomics, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos E de Andrea
- Pathology, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain,Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ignacio Melero
- Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain,Program of Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMA Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain,Navarra Institute for Health Research IDISNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Jordi Ponce
- Department of Gynaecology, Bellvitge University Hospital, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - August Vidal
- Pathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain,Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Josep Maria Piulats
- Medical Oncology, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), IDIBELL-OncoBell, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Xavier Matias-Guiu
- Pathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain,Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain,Pathology, Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital, University of LLeida, IRBLLEIDA, Lleida, Spain
| | - Alena Gros
- Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain
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64
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Liu S, Iorgulescu JB, Li S, Borji M, Barrera-Lopez IA, Shanmugam V, Lyu H, Morriss JW, Garcia ZN, Murray E, Reardon DA, Yoon CH, Braun DA, Livak KJ, Wu CJ, Chen F. Spatial maps of T cell receptors and transcriptomes reveal distinct immune niches and interactions in the adaptive immune response. Immunity 2022; 55:1940-1952.e5. [PMID: 36223726 PMCID: PMC9745674 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
T cells mediate antigen-specific immune responses to disease through the specificity and diversity of their clonotypic T cell receptors (TCRs). Determining the spatial distributions of T cell clonotypes in tissues is essential to understanding T cell behavior, but spatial sequencing methods remain unable to profile the TCR repertoire. Here, we developed Slide-TCR-seq, a 10-μm-resolution method, to sequence whole transcriptomes and TCRs within intact tissues. We confirmed the ability of Slide-TCR-seq to map the characteristic locations of T cells and their receptors in mouse spleen. In human lymphoid germinal centers, we identified spatially distinct TCR repertoires. Profiling T cells in renal cell carcinoma and melanoma specimens revealed heterogeneous immune responses: T cell states and infiltration differed intra- and inter-clonally, and adjacent tumor and immune cells exhibited distinct gene expression. Altogether, our method yields insights into the spatial relationships between clonality, neighboring cell types, and gene expression that drive T cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Liu
- Biophysics Program, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - J Bryan Iorgulescu
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Shuqiang Li
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Mehdi Borji
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | | | - Vignesh Shanmugam
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Haoxiang Lyu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Julia W Morriss
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Zoe N Garcia
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Evan Murray
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - David A Reardon
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Charles H Yoon
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - David A Braun
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Yale Center of Cellular and Molecular Oncology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Kenneth J Livak
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Catherine J Wu
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
| | - Fei Chen
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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65
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Mempel TR, Krappmann D. Combining precision oncology and immunotherapy by targeting the MALT1 protease. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:e005442. [PMID: 36270731 PMCID: PMC9594517 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-005442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
An innovative strategy for cancer therapy is to combine the inhibition of cancer cell-intrinsic oncogenic signaling with cancer cell-extrinsic immunological activation of the tumor microenvironment (TME). In general, such approaches will focus on two or more distinct molecular targets in the malignant cells and in cells of the surrounding TME. In contrast, the protease Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue protein 1 (MALT1) represents a candidate to enable such a dual approach by engaging only a single target. Originally identified and now in clinical trials as a lymphoma drug target based on its role in the survival and proliferation of malignant lymphomas addicted to chronic B cell receptor signaling, MALT1 proteolytic activity has recently gained additional attention through reports describing its tumor-promoting roles in several types of non-hematological solid cancer, such as breast cancer and glioblastoma. Besides cancer cells, regulatory T (Treg) cells in the TME are particularly dependent on MALT1 to sustain their immune-suppressive functions, and MALT1 inhibition can selectively reprogram tumor-infiltrating Treg cells into Foxp3-expressing proinflammatory antitumor effector cells. Thereby, MALT1 inhibition induces local inflammation in the TME and synergizes with anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade to induce antitumor immunity and facilitate tumor control or rejection. This new concept of boosting tumor immunotherapy in solid cancer by MALT1 precision targeting in the TME has now entered clinical evaluation. The dual effects of MALT1 inhibitors on cancer cells and immune cells therefore offer a unique opportunity for combining precision oncology and immunotherapy to simultaneously impair cancer cell growth and neutralize immunosuppression in the TME. Further, MALT1 targeting may provide a proof of concept that modulation of Treg cell function in the TME represents a feasible strategy to augment the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Here, we review the role of MALT1 protease in physiological and oncogenic signaling, summarize the landscape of tumor indications for which MALT1 is emerging as a therapeutic target, and consider strategies to increase the chances for safe and successful use of MALT1 inhibitors in cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorsten R Mempel
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Daniel Krappmann
- Research Unit Cellular Signal Integration, Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Center, Helmholtz Center Munich - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
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66
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Sellars MC, Wu CJ, Fritsch EF. Cancer vaccines: Building a bridge over troubled waters. Cell 2022; 185:2770-2788. [PMID: 35835100 PMCID: PMC9555301 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Cancer vaccines aim to direct the immune system to eradicate cancer cells. Here we review the essential immunologic concepts underpinning natural immunity and highlight the multiple unique challenges faced by vaccines targeting cancer. Recent technological advances in mass spectrometry, neoantigen prediction, genetically and pharmacologically engineered mouse models, and single-cell omics have revealed new biology, which can help to bridge this divide. We particularly focus on translationally relevant aspects, such as antigen selection and delivery and the monitoring of human post-vaccination responses, and encourage more aggressive exploration of novel approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- MacLean C Sellars
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Catherine J Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Edward F Fritsch
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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67
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Liang Y, Xu Q, Liu S, Li J, Wang F, Li Z, Liao L, Lu Y, Li Y, Mu F, Sun HX, Zhu L. Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveals Killing Mechanisms of Antitumor Cytotoxic CD4+ TCR-T Cells. Front Immunol 2022; 13:939940. [PMID: 35928827 PMCID: PMC9343810 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.939940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
T cell receptor-engineered T cells (TCR-Ts) have emerged as potent cancer immunotherapies. While most research focused on classical cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, the application of CD4+ T cells in adoptive T cell therapy has gained much interest recently. However, the cytotoxic mechanisms of CD4+ TCR-Ts have not been fully revealed. In this study, we obtained an MHC class I-restricted MART-127-35-specific TCR sequence based on the single-cell V(D)J sequencing technology, and constructed MART-127-35-specific CD4+ TCR-Ts and CD8+ TCR-Ts. The antitumor effects of CD4+ TCR-Ts were comparable to those of CD8+ TCR-Ts in vitro and in vivo. To delineate the killing mechanisms of cytotoxic CD4+ TCR-Ts, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing and found that classical granule-dependent and independent cytolytic pathways were commonly used in CD4+ and CD8+ TCR-Ts, while high expression of LTA and various costimulatory receptors were unique features for cytotoxic CD4+ TCR-Ts. Further signaling pathway analysis revealed that transcription factors Runx3 and Blimp1/Tbx21 were crucial for the development and killing function of cytotoxic CD4+ T cells. Taken together, we report the antitumor effects and multifaceted killing mechanisms of CD4+ TCR-Ts, and also indicate that MHC class I-restricted CD4+ TCR-Ts could serve as potential adoptive T cell therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanling Liang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qumiao Xu
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Qumiao Xu, ; Feng Mu, ; Hai-Xi Sun, ; Linnan Zhu,
| | - Songming Liu
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jie Li
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ziyi Li
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lijuan Liao
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuting Lu
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yijian Li
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Feng Mu
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Qumiao Xu, ; Feng Mu, ; Hai-Xi Sun, ; Linnan Zhu,
| | - Hai-Xi Sun
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Beijing, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Qumiao Xu, ; Feng Mu, ; Hai-Xi Sun, ; Linnan Zhu,
| | - Linnan Zhu
- Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC), Peking University, Beijing, China
- Institute of Cancer Research, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Qumiao Xu, ; Feng Mu, ; Hai-Xi Sun, ; Linnan Zhu,
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Integration of tumor extrinsic and intrinsic features associates with immunotherapy response in non-small cell lung cancer. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4053. [PMID: 35831288 PMCID: PMC9279502 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31769-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) varies greatly among metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Loss of heterozygosity at the HLA-I locus (HLA-LOH) has been identified as an important immune escape mechanism. However, despite HLA-I disruptions in their tumor, many patients have durable ICB responses. Here we seek to identify HLA-I-independent features associated with ICB response in NSCLC. We use single-cell profiling to identify tumor-infiltrating, clonally expanded CD4+ T cells that express a canonical cytotoxic gene program and NSCLC cells with elevated HLA-II expression. We postulate cytotoxic CD4+ T cells mediate anti-tumor activity via HLA-II on tumor cells and augment HLA-I-dependent cytotoxic CD8+ T cell interactions to drive ICB response in NSCLC. We show that integrating tumor extrinsic cytotoxic gene expression with tumor mutational burden is associated with longer time to progression in a real-world cohort of 123 NSCLC patients treated with ICB regimens, including those with HLA-LOH. Some cancer patients with impaired HLA-I still respond to immunotherapy. Here the authors combine a cytotoxic gene signature from CD4+ and CD8+ T cells with tumor mutational burden to predict immunotherapy response in NSCLC patients, including those with HLA-LOH.
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