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Zhao X, Shao S, Hu L. The recent advancement of TCR-T cell therapies for cancer treatment. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2024; 56:663-674. [PMID: 38557898 PMCID: PMC11187488 DOI: 10.3724/abbs.2024034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Adoptive cell therapies involve infusing engineered immune cells into cancer patients to recognize and eliminate tumor cells. Adoptive cell therapy, as a form of living drug, has undergone explosive growth over the past decade. The recognition of tumor antigens by the T-cell receptor (TCR) is one of the natural mechanisms that the immune system used to eliminate tumor cells. TCR-T cell therapy, which involves introducing exogenous TCRs into patients' T cells, is a novel cell therapy strategy. TCR-T cell therapy can target the entire proteome of cancer cells. Engineering T cells with exogenous TCRs to help patients combat cancer has achieved success in clinical trials, particularly in treating solid tumors. In this review, we examine the progress of TCR-T cell therapy over the past five years. This includes the discovery of new tumor antigens, protein engineering techniques for TCR, reprogramming strategies for TCR-T cell therapy, clinical studies on TCR-T cell therapy, and the advancement of TCR-T cell therapy in China. We also propose several potential directions for the future development of TCR-T cell therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Zhao
- />Key Laboratory of Multi-Cell SystemsShanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell BiologyCenter for Excellence in Molecular Cell ScienceChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai200031China
| | - Shuai Shao
- />Key Laboratory of Multi-Cell SystemsShanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell BiologyCenter for Excellence in Molecular Cell ScienceChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai200031China
| | - Lanxin Hu
- />Key Laboratory of Multi-Cell SystemsShanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell BiologyCenter for Excellence in Molecular Cell ScienceChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai200031China
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Cordani M, Strippoli R, Trionfetti F, Barzegar Behrooz A, Rumio C, Velasco G, Ghavami S, Marcucci F. Immune checkpoints between epithelial-mesenchymal transition and autophagy: A conflicting triangle. Cancer Lett 2024; 585:216661. [PMID: 38309613 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2024.216661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
Inhibitory immune checkpoint (ICP) molecules are pivotal in inhibiting innate and acquired antitumor immune responses, a mechanism frequently exploited by cancer cells to evade host immunity. These evasion strategies contribute to the complexity of cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. For this reason, ICP molecules have become targets for antitumor drugs, particularly monoclonal antibodies, collectively referred to as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), that counteract such cancer-associated immune suppression and restore antitumor immune responses. Over the last decade, however, it has become clear that tumor cell-associated ICPs can also induce tumor cell-intrinsic effects, in particular epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and macroautophagy (hereafter autophagy). Both of these processes have profound implications for cancer metastasis and drug responsiveness. This article reviews the positive or negative cross-talk that tumor cell-associated ICPs undergo with autophagy and EMT. We discuss that tumor cell-associated ICPs are upregulated in response to the same stimuli that induce EMT. Moreover, ICPs themselves, when overexpressed, become an EMT-inducing stimulus. As regards the cross-talk with autophagy, ICPs have been shown to either stimulate or inhibit autophagy, while autophagy itself can either up- or downregulate the expression of ICPs. This dynamic equilibrium also extends to the autophagy-apoptosis axis, further emphasizing the complexities of cellular responses. Eventually, we delve into the intricate balance between autophagy and apoptosis, elucidating its role in the broader interplay of cellular dynamics influenced by ICPs. In the final part of this article, we speculate about the driving forces underlying the contradictory outcomes of the reciprocal, inhibitory, or stimulatory effects between ICPs, EMT, and autophagy. A conclusive identification of these driving forces may allow to achieve improved antitumor effects when using combinations of ICIs and compounds acting on EMT and/or autophagy. Prospectively, this may translate into increased and/or broadened therapeutic efficacy compared to what is currently achieved with ICI-based clinical protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Cordani
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Raffaele Strippoli
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy; Department of Epidemiology, Preclinical Research and Advanced Diagnostics, National Institute for Infectious Diseases L., Spallanzani, IRCCS, Via Portuense, 292, 00149 Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia Trionfetti
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy; Department of Epidemiology, Preclinical Research and Advanced Diagnostics, National Institute for Infectious Diseases L., Spallanzani, IRCCS, Via Portuense, 292, 00149 Rome, Italy
| | - Amir Barzegar Behrooz
- Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Cristiano Rumio
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Via Trentacoste 2, 20134 Milan, Italy
| | - Guillermo Velasco
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Saeid Ghavami
- Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada; Faculty of Medicine in Zabrze, University of Technology in Katowice, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland; Research Institute of Oncology and Hematology, Cancer Care Manitoba, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
| | - Fabrizio Marcucci
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Via Trentacoste 2, 20134 Milan, Italy.
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Pangilinan C, Klionsky DJ, Liang C. Emerging dimensions of autophagy in melanoma. Autophagy 2024:1-12. [PMID: 38497492 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2024.2330261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Macroautophagy/autophagy has previously been regarded as simply a way for cells to deal with nutrient emergency. But explosive work in the last 15 years has given increasingly new knowledge to our understanding of this process. Many of the functions of autophagy that are unveiled from recent studies, however, cannot be reconciled with this conventional view of cell survival but, instead, point to autophagy being integrally involved at a deeper level of cell biology, playing a critical role in maintaining homeostasis and promoting an integrated stress/immune response. The new appreciation of the role of autophagy in the evolutionary trajectory of cancer and cancer interaction with the immune system provides a mechanistic framework for understanding the clinical benefits of autophagy-based therapies. Here, we examine current knowledge of the mechanisms and functions of autophagy in highly plastic and aggressive melanoma as a model disease of human malignancy, while highlighting emerging dimensions indicating that autophagy is at play beyond its classical face.Abbreviation: AMBRA1: autophagy and beclin 1 regulator 1; AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase; ATF4: activating transcription factor 4; ATG: autophagy related; BRAF: B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase; CAFs: cancer-associated fibroblasts; CCL5: C-C motif chemokine ligand 5; CQ: chloroquine; CRISPR: clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats; CTLA4: cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4; CTL: cytotoxic T lymphocyte; DAMPs: danger/damage-associated molecular patterns; EGFR: epidermal growth factor receptor; EIF2A/eIF2α: eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2A; EIF2AK3/PERK: eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 3; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; FITM2: fat storage inducing transmembrane protein 2; HCQ: hydroxychloroquine; ICB: immune checkpoint blockade; ICD: immunogenic cell death; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; MAPK: mitogen-activated protein kinase; MTORC1: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase complex 1; NDP52: nuclear dot protein 52; NFKB/NF-κ B: nuclear factor kappa B; NBR1: the neighbor of BRCA1; NK: natural killer; NRF1: nuclear respiratory factor 1; NSCLC: non-small-cell lung cancer; OPTN: optineurin; PDAC: pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; PDCD1/PD-1: programmed cell death 1; PPT1: palmitoyl-protein thioesterase 1; PTEN: phosphatase and tensin homolog; PTK2/FAK1: protein tyrosine kinase 2; RAS: rat sarcoma; SQSTM1/p62: sequestosome 1; STK11/LKB1: serine/threonine kinase 11; TAX1BP1: Tax1 binding protein 1; TFEB: transcription factor EB; TGFB/TGF-β: transforming growth factor beta; TMB: tumor mutational burden; TME: tumor microenvironment; TSC1: TSC complex subunit 1; TSC2: TSC complex subunit 2; ULK1: unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1; UVRAG: UV radiation resistance associated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Pangilinan
- Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Chengyu Liang
- Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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