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Dinavahi SS, Chen YC, Punnath K, Berg A, Herlyn M, Foroutan M, Huntington ND, Robertson GP. Targeting WEE1/AKT restores p53-dependent NK cell activation to induce immune checkpoint blockade responses in 'cold' melanoma. Cancer Immunol Res 2022; 10:757-769. [PMID: 35439317 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-21-0587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment. Unfortunately, most tumor types do not respond to immunotherapy due to a lack of immune infiltration or 'cold' tumor microenvironment (TME), a contributing factor in treatment failure. Activation of the p53 pathway can increase apoptosis of cancer cells, leading to enhanced antigen presentation, and can stimulate natural killer (NK) cells through expression of stress ligands. Therefore, modulation of the p53 pathway in cancer cells with wildtype TP53 has the potential to enhance tumor immunogenicity to NK cells, produce an inflammatory TME, and ultimately lead to tumor regression. In this study, we report simultaneous targeting of the AKT/WEE1 pathways is a novel and tolerable approach to synergistically induce p53 activation to inhibit tumor development. This approach reduced the growth of melanoma cells and induced plasma membrane surface localization of the ER-resident protein calreticulin, an indicator of immunogenic cell death (ICD). Increase in ICD led to enhanced expression of stress ligands recognized by the activating NK cell receptor NKG2D, promoting tumor lysis. WEE1/AKT inhibition resulted in recruitment and activation of immune cells, including NK cells, in the TME, triggering an inflammatory cascade that transformed the 'cold' TME of B16F10 melanoma into a 'hot' TME that responded to anti-PD-1, resulting in complete regression of established tumors. These results suggest that AKT/WEE1 pathway inhibition is a potential approach to broaden the utility of class-leading anti-PD-1 therapies by enhancing p53-mediated, NK cell-dependent tumor inflammation and supports the translation of this novel approach to further improve response rates for metastatic melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yu-Chi Chen
- Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
| | - Kishore Punnath
- Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
| | - Arthur Berg
- Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
| | | | | | | | - Gavin P Robertson
- Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
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Kim JS, Kim B, Lee HK, Kim HS, Park EJ, Choi YJ, Ahn GB, Yun J, Hong JT, Kim Y, Han SB. Characterization of morphological changes of B16 melanoma cells under natural killer cell attack. Int Immunopharmacol 2018; 67:366-371. [PMID: 30583235 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2018.12.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Revised: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cell killing of melanoma cells involves perforin-mediated delivery of granzymes from NK cells to cancer cells; however, how melanoma cells die remains poorly characterized. Here, we examined the dying process of melanoma cells by using time-lapse imaging. Upon contact with NK cells, B16-F10 cells rounded and most of them showed membrane rupture (98 min); however, B16 parent cells showed writhing and delayed membrane rupture (235 min). This morphological difference depended on the expression levels of myosin regulatory light chain 9 (MYL9) but not activating ligands (CD112, CD155, Rae-1, and MULT-1), SPI, FasL, or PD-L1. Taken together, our data show that melanoma cells show two distinct types of morphological changes upon contact with NK cells and suggest that a strategy to decrease MYL9 expression by melanoma cells may improve the efficacy of NK cell-based immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Sung Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Boyeong Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Hong Kyung Lee
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyung Sook Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun Jae Park
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeo Jin Choi
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Gi Beom Ahn
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Jieun Yun
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Cheongju University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28503, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Tae Hong
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Youngsoo Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang-Bae Han
- College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28160, Republic of Korea.
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Tarazona R, Duran E, Solana R. Natural Killer Cell Recognition of Melanoma: New Clues for a More Effective Immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2016; 6:649. [PMID: 26779186 PMCID: PMC4703774 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2015.00649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells participate in the early immune response against melanoma and also contribute to the development of an adequate adaptive immune response by their crosstalk with dendritic cells and cytokine secretion. Melanoma resistance to conventional therapies together with its high immunogenicity justifies the development of novel therapies aimed to stimulate effective immune responses against melanoma. However, melanoma cells frequently escape to CD8 T cell recognition by the down-regulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. In this scenario, NK cells emerge as potential candidates for melanoma immunotherapy due to their capacity to recognize and destroy melanoma cells expressing low levels of MHC class I molecules. In addition, the possibility to combine immune checkpoint blockade with other NK cell potentiating strategies (e.g., cytokine induction of activating receptors) has opened new perspectives in the potential use of adoptive NK cell-based immunotherapy in melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Tarazona
- Immunology Unit, University of Extremadura , Caceres , Spain
| | - Esther Duran
- Histology and Pathology Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Extremadura , Caceres , Spain
| | - Rafael Solana
- Immunology Unit, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Reina Sofia University Hospital, University of Cordoba , Cordoba , Spain
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