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Song X, Chen R, Li J, Zhu Y, Jiao J, Liu H, Chen Z, Geng J. Fragile Treg cells: Traitors in immune homeostasis? Pharmacol Res 2024; 206:107297. [PMID: 38977207 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2024.107297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Regulatory T (Treg) cells play a key role in maintaining immune tolerance and tissue homeostasis. However, in some disease microenvironments, Treg cells exhibit fragility, which manifests as preserved FoxP3 expression accompanied by inflammation and loss of immunosuppression. Fragile Treg cells are formatively, phenotypically and functionally diverse in various diseases, further complicating the role of Treg cells in the immunotherapeutic response and offering novel targets for disease treatment by modulating specific Treg subsets. In this review, we summarize findings on fragile Treg cells to provide a framework for characterizing the formation and role of fragile Treg cells in different diseases, and we discuss how this information may guide the development of more specific Treg-targeted immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiyu Song
- National Translational Science Center for Molecular Medicine & Department of Cell Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China.
| | - Ruo Chen
- National Translational Science Center for Molecular Medicine & Department of Cell Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China.
| | - Jiaxin Li
- Student Brigade of Basic Medicine School, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China.
| | - Yumeng Zhu
- National Translational Science Center for Molecular Medicine & Department of Cell Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China.
| | - Jianhua Jiao
- Department of Urology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China.
| | - Hongjiao Liu
- National Translational Science Center for Molecular Medicine & Department of Cell Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China.
| | - Zhinan Chen
- National Translational Science Center for Molecular Medicine & Department of Cell Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China.
| | - Jiejie Geng
- National Translational Science Center for Molecular Medicine & Department of Cell Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China; State Key Laboratory of New Targets Discovery and Drug Development for Major Diseases, PR China.
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Zhang J, Wang X, Li K, Rao W, Jiao X, Liang W, Gao H, Wang D, Cao Y, Wei X, Yang J. Hyperosmotic Stress Induces Inflammation and Excessive Th17 Response to Blunt T-Cell Immunity in Tilapia. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2024; 212:1877-1890. [PMID: 38700398 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Despite the advances in study on osmotic physiology in bony fish, the mechanism by which the immune system, especially T-cell immunity, adapts and responds to osmotic stress remains unknown. In the current study, we investigated the response of T cells to hyperosmotic stress in the bony fish Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). As a euryhaline fish, tilapia was able to adapt to a wide range of salinities; however, hypertonic stress caused inflammation and excessive T-cell activation. Furthermore, hypertonic stress increased the expression of IL-17A in T cells, upregulated the transcription factor RORα, and activated STAT3 signaling, along with IL-6- and TGF-β1-mediated pathways, revealing an enhanced Th17 response in this early vertebrate. These hypertonic stress-induced events collectively resulted in an impaired antibacterial immune response in tilapia. Hypertonic stress elevated the intracellular ROS level, which in turn activated the p38-MK2 signaling pathway to promote IL-17A production by T cells. Both ROS elimination and the p38-MK2 axis blockade diminished the increased IL-17A production in T cells under hypertonic conditions. Moreover, the produced proinflammatory cytokines further amplified the hypertonic stress signaling via the MKK6-p38-MK2 axis-mediated positive feedback loop. To our knowledge, these findings represent the first description of the mechanism by which T-cell immunity responds to hypertonic stress in early vertebrates, thus providing a novel perspective for understanding the adaptive evolution of T cells under environmental stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiansong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaodan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenzhuo Rao
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xinying Jiao
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Haiyou Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ding Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yi Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiumei Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jialong Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, China
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Wang J, Lou Y, Wang S, Zhang Z, You J, Zhu Y, Yao Y, Hao Y, Liu P, Xu LX. IFNγ at the early stage induced after cryo-thermal therapy maintains CD4 + Th1-prone differentiation, leading to long-term antitumor immunity. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1345046. [PMID: 38827732 PMCID: PMC11140566 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1345046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Recently, more and more research illustrated the importance of inducing CD4+ T helper type (Th)-1 dominant immunity for the success of tumor immunotherapy. Our prior studies revealed the crucial role of CD4+ Th1 cells in orchestrating systemic and durable antitumor immunity, which contributes to the satisfactory outcomes of the novel cryo-thermal therapy in the B16F10 tumor model. However, the mechanism for maintaining the cryo-thermal therapy-mediated durable CD4+ Th1-dominant response remains uncovered. Additionally, cryo-thermal-induced early-stage CD4+ Th1-dominant T cell response showed a correlation with the favorable prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRCLM). We hypothesized that CD4+ Th1-dominant differentiation induced during the early stage post cryo-thermal therapy would affect the balance of CD4+ subsets at the late phase. Methods To understand the role of interferon (IFN)-γ, the major effector of Th1 subsets, in maintaining long-term CD4+ Th1-prone polarization, B16F10 melanoma model was established in this study and a monoclonal antibody was used at the early stage post cryo-thermal therapy for interferon (IFN)-γ signaling blockade, and the influence on the phenotypic and functional change of immune cells was evaluated. Results IFNγ at the early stage after cryo-thermal therapy maintained long-lasting CD4+ Th1-prone immunity by directly controlling Th17, Tfh, and Tregs polarization, leading to the hyperactivation of Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) represented by abundant interleukin (IL)-1β generation, and thereby further amplifying Th1 response. Discussion Our finding emphasized the key role of early-phase IFNγ abundance post cryo-thermal therapy, which could be a biomarker for better prognosis after cryo-thermal therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ping Liu
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lisa X. Xu
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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Séguier D, Adams ES, Kotamarti S, D'Anniballe V, Michael ZD, Deivasigamani S, Olivier J, Villers A, Hoimes C, Polascik TJ. Intratumoural immunotherapy plus focal thermal ablation for localized prostate cancer. Nat Rev Urol 2024; 21:290-302. [PMID: 38114768 DOI: 10.1038/s41585-023-00834-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Major advances have been made in the use of immunotherapy for the treatment of solid tumours, including the use of intratumourally injected immunotherapy instead of systemically delivered immunotherapy. The success of immunotherapy in prostate cancer treatment has been limited to specific populations with advanced disease, which is thought to be a result of prostate cancer being an immunologically 'cold' cancer. Accordingly, combining intratumoural immunotherapy with other treatments that would increase the immunological heat of prostate cancer is of interest. Thermal ablation therapy is currently one of the main strategies used for the treatment of localized prostate cancer and it causes immunological activation against prostate tissue. The use of intratumoural immunotherapy as an adjunct to thermal ablation offers the potential to elicit a systemic and lasting adaptive immune response to cancer-specific antigens, leading to a synergistic effect of combination therapy. The combination of thermal ablation and immunotherapy is currently in the early stages of investigation for the treatment of multiple solid tumour types, and the potential for this combination therapy to also offer benefit to prostate cancer patients is exciting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Séguier
- Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA.
- Department of Urology, Lille University, Lille, France.
- Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies (CANTHER; UMR9020-U1277), Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France.
| | - Eric S Adams
- Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA
| | - Srinath Kotamarti
- Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA
| | - Vincent D'Anniballe
- Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA
| | - Zoe D Michael
- Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA
| | - Sriram Deivasigamani
- Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA
| | - Jonathan Olivier
- Department of Urology, Lille University, Lille, France
- Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies (CANTHER; UMR9020-U1277), Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Arnauld Villers
- Department of Urology, Lille University, Lille, France
- Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies (CANTHER; UMR9020-U1277), Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Christopher Hoimes
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, USA
| | - Thomas J Polascik
- Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA
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Du P, Zheng J, Wang S, Lou Y, Zhang Z, Wang J, Zhu Y, You J, Zhang A, Liu P. Combining Cryo-Thermal Therapy with Anti-IL-6 Treatment Promoted the Maturation of MDSCs to Induce Long-Term Survival in a Mouse Model of Breast Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087018. [PMID: 37108179 PMCID: PMC10138396 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunosuppression plays a significant role in tumor recurrence and metastasis, ultimately causing poor survival outcomes. Overcoming immunosuppression and stimulating durable antitumor immunity are essential for tumor treatment. In our previous study, a novel cryo-thermal therapy involving liquid nitrogen freezing and radiofrequency heating could reduce the proportion of Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), but the remaining MDSCs produced IL-6 by the NF-κB pathway, resulting in an impaired therapeutic effect. Therefore, here we combined cryo-thermal therapy with anti-IL-6 treatment to target the MDSC-dominant immunosuppressive environment, thereby optimizing the efficacy of cryo-thermal therapy. We found that combinational treatment significantly increased the long-term survival rate of breast cancer-bearing mice. Mechanistic investigation revealed that combination therapy was capable of reducing the proportion of MDSCs in the spleen and blood while promoting their maturation, which resulted in increased Th1-dominant CD4+ T-cell differentiation and enhancement of CD8+ T-mediated tumor killing. In addition, CD4+ Th1 cells promoted mature MDSCs to produce IL-7 through IFN-γ, indirectly contributing to the maintenance of Th1-dominant antitumor immunity in a positive feedback loop. Our work suggests an attractive immunotherapeutic strategy targeting the MDSC-dominant immunosuppressive environment, which would offer exciting opportunities for highly immunosuppressive and unresectable tumors in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peishan Du
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Jiamin Zheng
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Shicheng Wang
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Yue Lou
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Zelu Zhang
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Junjun Wang
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Yongxin Zhu
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Jiaqi You
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Aili Zhang
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Ping Liu
- School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
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Lou Y, Peng P, Wang S, Wang J, Du P, Zhang Z, Zheng J, Liu P, Xu LX. Combining all-trans retinoid acid treatment targeting myeloid-derived suppressive cells with cryo-thermal therapy enhances antitumor immunity in breast cancer. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1016776. [PMID: 36389684 PMCID: PMC9664198 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1016776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Targeting myeloid-derived suppressive cells (MDSCs) has been considered a potential strategy in tumor therapy. However, a single drug targeting MDSCs remains a challenge in the clinic. An increasing number of studies have shown that combination agents targeting MDSCs and immunotherapy may provide exciting new insights and avenues to explore in tumor therapy. In our previous study, a novel cryo-thermal therapy was developed for metastatic tumors that systematically activate innate and adaptive immunity. Moreover, cryo-thermal therapy was shown to dramatically decrease the levels of MDSCs and induce their differentiation toward potent antigen-presenting cells. However, the therapeutic effects of cryo-thermal therapy on the 4T1 mouse breast cancer model were still not satisfactory because of the high level of MDSCs before and after treatment. Therefore, in this study, we combined cryo-thermal therapy with all-trans retinoid acid (ATRA), a small molecule drug that can induce the inflammatory differentiation of MDSCs. We found that combination therapy notably upregulated the long-term survival rate of mice. Mechanically, combination therapy promoted the phenotype and functional maturation of MDSCs, efficiently decreasing suppressive molecule expression and inhibiting glutamine and fatty acid metabolism. Moreover, MDSCs at an early stage after combination therapy significantly decreased the proportions of Th2 and Treg subsets, which eventually resulted in Th1-dominant CD4+ T-cell differentiation, as well as enhanced cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells at the late stage. This study suggests a potential therapeutic strategy for combination ATRA treatment targeting MDSCs with cryo-thermal therapy to overcome the resistance of MDSC-induced immunosuppression in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ping Liu
- *Correspondence: Lisa X. Xu, ; Ping Liu,
| | - Lisa X. Xu
- *Correspondence: Lisa X. Xu, ; Ping Liu,
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Dai Q, Cao B, Zhao S, Zhang A. Synergetic Thermal Therapy for Cancer: State-of-the-Art and the Future. Bioengineering (Basel) 2022; 9:bioengineering9090474. [PMID: 36135020 PMCID: PMC9495761 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9090474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
As a safe and minimal-invasive modality, thermal therapy has become an effective treatment in cancer treatment. Other than killing the tumor cells or destroying the tumor entirely, the thermal modality results in profound molecular, cellular and biological effects on both the targeted tissue, surrounding environments, and even the whole body, which has triggered the combination of the thermal therapy with other traditional therapies as chemotherapy and radiation therapy or new therapies like immunotherapy, gene therapy, etc. The combined treatments have shown encouraging therapeutic effects both in research and clinic. In this review, we have summarized the outcomes of the existing synergistic therapies, the underlying mechanisms that lead to these improvements, and the latest research in the past five years. Limitations and future directions of synergistic thermal therapy are also discussed.
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