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Stinson JA, Sheen A, Momin N, Hampel J, Bernstein R, Kamerer R, Fadl-Alla B, Samuelson J, Fink E, Fan TM, Wittrup KD. Collagen-Anchored Interleukin-2 and Interleukin-12 Safely Reprogram the Tumor Microenvironment in Canine Soft-Tissue Sarcomas. Clin Cancer Res 2023; 29:2110-2122. [PMID: 37014656 PMCID: PMC10239368 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-23-0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Cytokine therapies such as IL2 and IL12 suffer from impractically small therapeutic windows driven by their on-target, off-tumor activity, limiting their clinical potential despite potent antitumor effects. We previously engineered cytokines that bind and anchor to tumor collagen following intratumoral injection, and sought to test their safety and biomarker activity in spontaneous canine soft-tissue sarcomas (STS). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Collagen-binding cytokines were canine-ized to minimize immunogenicity and were used in a rapid dose-escalation study in healthy beagles to identify a maximum tolerated dose. Ten client-owned pet dogs with STS were then enrolled into trial, receiving cytokines at different intervals prior to surgical tumor excision. Tumor tissue was analyzed through IHC and NanoString RNA profiling for dynamic changes within treated tumors. Archived, untreated STS samples were analyzed in parallel as controls. RESULTS Intratumorally administered collagen-binding IL2 and IL12 were well tolerated by STS-bearing dogs, with only Grade 1/2 adverse events observed (mild fever, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia). IHC revealed enhanced T-cell infiltrates, corroborated by an enhancement in gene expression associated with cytotoxic immune function. We found concordant increases in expression of counter-regulatory genes that we hypothesize would contribute to a transient antitumor effect, and confirmed in mouse models that combination therapy to inhibit this counter-regulation can improve responses to cytokine therapy. CONCLUSIONS These results support the safety and activity of intratumorally delivered, collagen-anchoring cytokines for inflammatory polarization of the canine STS tumor microenvironment. We are further evaluating the efficacy of this approach in additional canine cancers, including oral malignant melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan A. Stinson
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Allison Sheen
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Noor Momin
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jordan Hampel
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Rebecca Bernstein
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Rebecca Kamerer
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Bahaa Fadl-Alla
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Jonathan Samuelson
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Elizabeth Fink
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Timothy M. Fan
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Cancer Center at Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - K. Dane Wittrup
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Lenz JA, Assenmacher CA, Costa V, Louka K, Rau S, Keuler NS, Zhang PJ, Maki RG, Durham AC, Radaelli E, Atherton MJ. Increased tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte density is associated with favorable outcomes in a comparative study of canine histiocytic sarcoma. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2022; 71:807-818. [PMID: 34415404 PMCID: PMC8858331 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-021-03033-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is a rare and aggressive tumor in humans with no universally agreed standard of care therapy. Spontaneous canine HS exhibits increased prevalence in specific breeds, shares key genetic and biologic similarities with the human disease, and occurs in an immunocompetent setting. Previous data allude to the immunogenicity of this disease in both species, highlighting the potential for their successful treatment with immunotherapy. Quantification of CD3 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in five cases of human HS revealed variable intra-tumoral T cell infiltration. Due to the paucity of human cases and lack of current model systems in which to appraise associations between anti-tumor immunity and treatment-outcome in HS, we analyzed clinical data and quantified TIL in 18 dogs that were previously diagnosed with localized HS and treated with curative-intent tumor resection with or without adjuvant chemotherapy. As in humans, assessment of TIL in biopsy tissues taken at diagnosis reveal a spectrum of immunologically "cold" to "hot" tumors. Importantly, we show that increased CD3 and granzyme B TIL are positively associated with favorable outcomes in dogs following surgical resection. NanoString transcriptional analyses revealed increased T cell and antigen presentation transcripts associated with prolonged survival in canine pulmonary HS and a decreased tumor immunogenicity profile associated with shorter survivals in splenic HS. Based on these findings, we propose that spontaneous canine HS is an accessible and powerful novel model to study tumor immunology and will provide a unique platform to preclinically appraise the efficacy and tolerability of anti-cancer immunotherapies for HS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Lenz
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Charles-Antoine Assenmacher
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Victoria Costa
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Katie Louka
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Suzanne Rau
- Metropolitan Veterinary Associates, Norristown, PA, USA
| | - Nicholas S Keuler
- Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Paul J Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Robert G Maki
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Amy C Durham
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Enrico Radaelli
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Matthew J Atherton
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Zhao J, Zhao Y, Ma X, Feng H, Cui R. Immunological and prognostic significance of novel ferroptosis-related genes in soft tissue sarcoma. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262234. [PMID: 34982796 PMCID: PMC8726495 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Ferroptosis has exhibited great potential in the treatment of cancer and has gained widespread attention in soft tissue sarcoma (STS). The aim was to explore the immunological and prognostic significance of novel ferroptosis-related genes in STS.
Methods
We identified ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in STS to construct the networks of enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction. Subsequently, hub genes with prognostic significance were localized and a series of prognostic and immune analyses were performed.
Results
40 ferroptosis-related DEGs were identified, of which HELLS, STMN1 EPAS1, CXCL2, NQO1, and IL6 were classified as hub genes and were associated with the prognosis in STS patients. In the results of the immune analysis, PDCD1, CTLA4, TIGIT, IDO1 and CD27 exhibited consistent intense correlations as immune checkpoint genes, as well as macrophage, neutrophil, cytotoxic cell, dendritic cell, interdigitating dendritic cell and plasmacytoid dendritic cell as immune cells. EPAS1 and HELLS might be independent prognostic factors for STS patients, and separate prognostic models were constructed by using them.
Conclusions
We recognized novel ferroptosis-related genes with prognostic value in STS. Furthermore, we searched out potential immune checkpoints and critical immune cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiazheng Zhao
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, P. R. China
| | - Yi Zhao
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, P. R. China
| | - Xiaowei Ma
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, P. R. China
| | - Helin Feng
- Department of Orthopedics, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, P. R. China
| | - Rongmin Cui
- Department of Operating Room, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, P. R. China
- * E-mail:
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Avdonkina NA, Danilova AB, Nekhaeva TL, Prosekina EA, Emelyanova NV, Novik AV, Girdyuk DV, Gafton GI, Baldueva IA. Clinical and immunological characteristics of sarcomas patients with clonogenic tumors. Immunobiology 2021; 226:152094. [PMID: 34052775 DOI: 10.1016/j.imbio.2021.152094] [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: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 04/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Tumorigenesis is related to the generation of heterogeneous tumor cell population, which is the result of genetic and epigenetic alterations followed by clonal selections and subsequent expansion. In basic studies genetic, histological and morphological diversity of different clones within a patient's neoplasm and specifics of their interrelation with patient's immune system are investigated mostly on the models of tumors of epithelial origin. Mesenchymal tumors such as soft tissue and bone-derived sarcomas (STBS) have been poorly studied in this regard. The molecular genetic methods used to examine intratumoral heterogeneity do not currently provide insight into which portion of the identified subclones are able to grow autonomously. Limiting dilution cloning demonstrates the existence of self-regulating tumor cells in the population and can serve as an independent prognostic predictor of poor prognosis. Intratumoral heterogeneity results not only in differences in growth dynamics, gene expression, and phenotypic markers, but also in the resistance to treatment, especially immunotherapy, thus causing tumor eluding immune escape. The changes that accompany this process can be affected by the cellular immune system, resulting in an imbalance between populations. The variations in the population composition of immune system cells are now widely debated as a predictor of response to immunotherapy, which is of obvious interest for sarcomas, where the effectiveness of chemotherapy is low and the prognosis is unfavorable, especially in case of metastatic disease development. The search for new predictive markers of disease prognosis and treatment efficacy is an important task, to which this study is focused. Our results demonstrate that clonogenic tumor characteristics such as clonogenic potential is independent predictor of unfavorable prognosis in cases of cancer and correlate with the clinical characteristics of the tumor such as overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). It was found that patients with clonogenic sarcomas had a lower content of activated cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) with the CD3+CD8+HLA-DR+ phenotype and an increased number of natural NK killers (p < 0.05) compared to nonclonogenic tumors. In addition, according to our data, a high neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a low value of major T-lymphocyte populations, and a higher number of natural killer cells (NK) in the blood can be negative prognostic factors for the immunotherapy of this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- N A Avdonkina
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation.
| | - A B Danilova
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation
| | - T L Nekhaeva
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation
| | - E A Prosekina
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation
| | - N V Emelyanova
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation
| | - A V Novik
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation
| | - D V Girdyuk
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation
| | - G I Gafton
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation
| | - I A Baldueva
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Pesochny, Leningradskaya Street 68, St. Petersburg 197758, Russian Federation
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