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Zhang J, Li R, Huang S. The immunoregulation effect of tumor microenvironment in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Front Oncol 2022; 12:951019. [PMID: 35965504 PMCID: PMC9365986 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.951019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer has the seventh highest death rate of all cancers. The absence of any serious symptoms, coupled with a lack of early prognostic and diagnostic markers, makes the disease untreatable in most cases. This leads to a delay in diagnosis and the disease progresses so there is no cure. Only about 20% of cases are diagnosed early. Surgical removal is the preferred treatment for cancer, but chemotherapy is standard for advanced cancer, although patients can eventually develop drug resistance and serious side effects. Chemoresistance is multifactorial because of the interaction among pancreatic cancer cells, cancer stem cells, and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Nevertheless, more pancreatic cancer patients will benefit from precision treatment and targeted drugs. This review focuses on the immune-related components of TME and the interactions between tumor cells and TME during the development and progression of pancreatic cancer, including immunosuppression, tumor dormancy and escape. Finally, we discussed a variety of immune components-oriented immunotargeting drugs in TME from a clinical perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Renfeng Li
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Shuai Huang
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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Kasperska A, Borowczak J, Szczerbowski K, Stec E, Ahmadi N, Szylber Ł. Current challenges in targeting tumor desmoplasia to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy. Curr Cancer Drug Targets 2021; 21:919-931. [PMID: 34525931 DOI: 10.2174/1568009621666210825101456] [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: 02/28/2021] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Desmoplasia is crucial for the development, progression and treatment of immune-resistant malignancies. and treatment of immune-resistant malignancies. Targeting desmoplasia-related metabolic pathways appears to be an interesting approach to expand our stock of disposable anti-tumor agents.CXCL12/CXCR4 axis inhibition reduces fibrosis, alleviates immunosuppression and significantly enhances the efficacy of PD-1 immunotherapy. CD40L substitute therapy may increase the activity of T-cells, downregulate CD40+, prolong patients' survival and prevent cancer progression. Although FAPα antagonists used in preclinical models did not lead to permanent cure, an alleviation of immune-resistance, modification of desmoplasia and a decrease in angiogenesis were observed. Targeting DDR2 may enhance the effect of anti-PD-1 treatment in multiple neoplasm cell lines and has the ability to overcome the adaptation to BRAF-targeted therapy in melanoma. Reprogramming desmoplasia could potentially cooperate not only with present treatment, but also other potential therapeutic targets. We present the most promising metabolic pathways related to desmoplasia and discuss the emerging strategies to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Kasperska
- Department of Clinical Pathomorphology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun. Poland
| | - Jędrzej Borowczak
- Department of Clinical Pathomorphology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun. Poland
| | - Krzysztof Szczerbowski
- Department of Clinical Pathomorphology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun. Poland
| | - Ewa Stec
- Department of Clinical Pathomorphology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun. Poland
| | - Navid Ahmadi
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. United Kingdom
| | - Łukasz Szylber
- Department of Clinical Pathomorphology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun. Poland
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Inflammation and Pancreatic Cancer: Focus on Metabolism, Cytokines, and Immunity. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20030676. [PMID: 30764482 PMCID: PMC6387440 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20030676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 198] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Systemic and local chronic inflammation might enhance the risk of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and PDAC-associated inflammatory infiltrate in the tumor microenvironment concurs in enhancing tumor growth and metastasis. Inflammation is closely correlated with immunity, the same immune cell populations contributing to both inflammation and immune response. In the PDAC microenvironment, the inflammatory cell infiltrate is unbalanced towards an immunosuppressive phenotype, with a prevalence of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC), M2 polarized macrophages, and Treg, over M1 macrophages, dendritic cells, and effector CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T lymphocytes. The dynamic and continuously evolving cross-talk between inflammatory and cancer cells might be direct and contact-dependent, but it is mainly mediated by soluble and exosomes-carried cytokines. Among these, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) plays a relevant role in enhancing cancer risk, cancer growth, and cancer-associated cachexia. In this review, we describe the inflammatory cell types, the cytokines, and the mechanisms underlying PDAC risk, growth, and progression, with particular attention on TNFα, also in the light of the potential risks or benefits associated with anti-TNFα treatments.
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Liu X, Zhou Z, Cheng Q, Wang H, Cao H, Xu Q, Tuo Y, Jiang L, Zou Y, Ren H, Xiang M. Acceleration of pancreatic tumorigenesis under immunosuppressive microenvironment induced by Reg3g overexpression. Cell Death Dis 2017; 8:e3033. [PMID: 28880262 PMCID: PMC5636971 DOI: 10.1038/cddis.2017.424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Revised: 07/18/2017] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Reg3g is a potential risk for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We previously demonstrated that Reg3g promoted pancreatic carcinogenesis via a STAT3 signaling pathway in a murine model of chronic pancreatitis. Whether the immune response is involved in tumorigenesis induced by Reg3g remains unknown. In this study, Reg3g-regulated tumor immunity was evaluated in tumor-implanted murine models, immune cells, and tumor microenvironment. In mice that had been orthotopically or ectopically implanted with Panc02 cells, Reg3g overexpression increased EGFR and Ki67, diminished MHC-I and caspase-3 expression, and accelerated growth of tumors. By interacting with PD-1/PD-L1, Reg3g also promoted differentiation of Tregs and recruitment of MDSC, retarded maturation of DCs and inactivation of CD8+ T cells, and suppressed cross-priming of CD8+ T-cell responses by DCs in tumor-bearing mice. Knockdown of Reg3g delayed tumor development in normal mice, but not in CD8+ T-cell-deficient mice. In vitro, Reg3g upregulated EGFR in DCs, activated heme oxygenase-1 (Hmox1) involved JAK2/STAT3 signaling, raised levels of Th2 cytokines in and suppressed maturation of DCs, and enhanced tumor cell proliferation. These results reveal a novel role of Reg3g as an immunosuppressive promoter that weakens tumor-specific antigenicity and suppresses antitumor effects of CD8+ T cells in a murine model of pancreatic cancer. Reg3g produces these effects by activating the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in DCs, triggering the generation of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiulan Liu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
| | - Zhongshi Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
| | - Qi Cheng
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
| | - Hongjie Wang
- Section of Neurobiology, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA
| | - Hui Cao
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
| | - Qianqian Xu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
| | - Yali Tuo
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
| | - Li Jiang
- Department of Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
| | - You Zou
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
| | - Hongyu Ren
- Department of Digestive Disease, Affiliated Xiehe Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China
| | - Ming Xiang
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430000, China
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Colombo F, Meldolesi J. L1-CAM and N-CAM: From Adhesion Proteins to Pharmacological Targets. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2015; 36:769-781. [PMID: 26478212 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2015.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Revised: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1-CAM) and neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM), key members of the immunoglobulin-like CAM (Ig-CAM) family, were first recognized to play critical roles in surface interactions of neurons, by binding with each other and with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Subsequently, adhesion was recognized to include signaling due to both activation of β-integrin, with the generation of intracellular cascades, and integration with the surface cytoskeleton. The importance of the two Ig-CAMs was revealed by their activation of the tyrosine kinase receptors of fibroblast growth factor (FGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and nerve growth factor (NGF). Based on these complex signaling properties, L1-CAM and N-CAM have become of great potential pharmacological interest in neurons and cancers. Treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and cognitive deficits of neurons is aimed to increase the cell Ig-CAM tone, possibly provided by synthetic/mimetic peptides. In cancer cells, where Ig-CAMs are often overexpressed, the proteins are employed for prognosis. The approaches to therapy are based on protein downregulation, antibodies, and adoptive immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Colombo
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and S. Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Jacopo Meldolesi
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and S. Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, 20132 Milan, Italy.
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Goebel L, Grage-Griebenow E, Gorys A, Helm O, Genrich G, Lenk L, Wesch D, Ungefroren H, Freitag-Wolf S, Sipos B, Röcken C, Schäfer H, Sebens S. CD4 + T cells potently induce epithelial-mesenchymal-transition in premalignant and malignant pancreatic ductal epithelial cells-novel implications of CD4 + T cells in pancreatic cancer development. Oncoimmunology 2015; 4:e1000083. [PMID: 26137395 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2014.1000083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2014] [Revised: 12/15/2014] [Accepted: 12/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a risk factor of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and characterized by a pronounced desmoplastic reaction with CD4+ T cells accounting for the majority of the stromal T cell infiltrate. Epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) is a critical process for metastasis by which epithelial/carcinoma cells become enabled to disseminate probably prior to tumor formation. To investigate whether CD4+ T cells induce EMT in human pancreatic ductal epithelial cells, premalignant H6c7 cells were mono- or co-cultured with human CD4+CD25+CD127-CD49d- regulatory T cells (T-regs) or CD4+CD25- T-effector cells (T-effs) being isolated by negative magnetic bead separation from blood of healthy donors. Particularly in the presence of activated T-effs, H6c7 cells acquired a spindle-shaped morphology, reduced E-cadherin expression, and elevated expression of the mesenchymal proteins vimentin, L1CAM, and ZEB-1. This was accompanied by an increased invasive behavior. Moreover, activated T-effs exerted similar effects in the PDAC cell line T3M4. Blocking of TNF-α and IL-6 being released at greater amounts into supernatants during co-cultures with activated T-effs attenuated the EMT-associated alterations in H6c7 cells. Supporting these findings, EMT-associated alterations (exemplified by reduced E-cadherin expression and enhanced expression of vimentin and L1CAM) were predominantly detected in ductal epithelium of CP tissues surrounded by a dense stroma enriched with CD4+ T cells. Overall this study points to a novel role of CD4+ T cells beyond their immune function in pancreatic tumorigenesis and underscores the view that EMT induction in pancreatic ductal epithelial cells represents an early event in PDAC development being essentially promoted by inflammatory processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Goebel
- Group Inflammatory Carcinogenesis; Institute for Experimental Medicine; Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | - Evelin Grage-Griebenow
- Group Inflammatory Carcinogenesis; Institute for Experimental Medicine; Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | - Artur Gorys
- Group Inflammatory Carcinogenesis; Institute for Experimental Medicine; Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | - Ole Helm
- Group Inflammatory Carcinogenesis; Institute for Experimental Medicine; Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | - Geeske Genrich
- Group Inflammatory Carcinogenesis; Institute for Experimental Medicine; Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | - Lennart Lenk
- Group Inflammatory Carcinogenesis; Institute for Experimental Medicine; Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | - Daniela Wesch
- Institute of Immunology; Christian-Albrechts-University and UKSH Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Sandra Freitag-Wolf
- Institute of Medical Informatics and Statistics; UKSH Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | - Bence Sipos
- Department of Pathology and Neuropathology; University Hospital Tübingen ; Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Heiner Schäfer
- Laboratory of Molecular Gastroenterology & Hepatology; Department of Internal Medicine I; UKSH Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
| | - Susanne Sebens
- Group Inflammatory Carcinogenesis; Institute for Experimental Medicine; Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Campus Kiel ; Kiel, Germany
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