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Mahata B, Pramanik J, van der Weyden L, Polanski K, Kar G, Riedel A, Chen X, Fonseca NA, Kundu K, Campos LS, Ryder E, Duddy G, Walczak I, Okkenhaug K, Adams DJ, Shields JD, Teichmann SA. Tumors induce de novo steroid biosynthesis in T cells to evade immunity. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3588. [PMID: 32680985 PMCID: PMC7368057 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17339-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumors subvert immune cell function to evade immune responses, yet the complex mechanisms driving immune evasion remain poorly understood. Here we show that tumors induce de novo steroidogenesis in T lymphocytes to evade anti-tumor immunity. Using a transgenic steroidogenesis-reporter mouse line we identify and characterize de novo steroidogenic immune cells, defining the global gene expression identity of these steroid-producing immune cells and gene regulatory networks by using single-cell transcriptomics. Genetic ablation of T cell steroidogenesis restricts primary tumor growth and metastatic dissemination in mouse models. Steroidogenic T cells dysregulate anti-tumor immunity, and inhibition of the steroidogenesis pathway is sufficient to restore anti-tumor immunity. This study demonstrates T cell de novo steroidogenesis as a mechanism of anti-tumor immunosuppression and a potential druggable target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bidesh Mahata
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QP, UK.
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK.
| | - Jhuma Pramanik
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | | | - Krzysztof Polanski
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Gozde Kar
- EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
- Translational Medicine, Research and Early Development, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Angela Riedel
- Medical Research Council Cancer Unit, Hutchison/Medical Research Council Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Xi Chen
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Nuno A Fonseca
- EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Kousik Kundu
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
- Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Long Road, Cambridge, CB2 0PT, UK
| | - Lia S Campos
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Edward Ryder
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Graham Duddy
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Izabela Walczak
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Klaus Okkenhaug
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QP, UK
| | - David J Adams
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Jacqueline D Shields
- Medical Research Council Cancer Unit, Hutchison/Medical Research Council Research Centre, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Sarah A Teichmann
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK.
- Theory of Condensed Matter, Cavendish Laboratory, 19 JJ Thomson Ave, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK.
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Preisler HD, Walczak I, Renick J, Rustum YM. Separation of leukemic cells into proliferative and quiescent subpopulations by centrifugal elutriation. Cancer Res 1977; 37:3876-80. [PMID: 71201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Centrifugal elutriation was used to separate human acute leukemia cells into proliferative and quiescent subpopulations. Ten bone marrow specimens and 5 peripheral blood specimens were subjected to centrifugal elutriations. From each patient, leukemic cell subpopulations were obtained for which the [3H]thymidine labeling index differed by 10- to 30-fold. In 6 of the marrow specimens and in 2 of the peripheral blood specimens, cell subpopulations were obtained for which the labeling index exceeded 20%. In 5 marrow specimens, subpopulations were obtained for which the labeling index exceeded 40%. Preliminary studies of the uptake of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine and 5-azacytidine failed to show any correlation between drug uptake and the proliferative characteristics of the leukemic subpopulations.
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Preisler HD, Rustum Y, Walczak I. Drug uptake and ribonucleotide profiles of blast-enriched and blast-depleted human bone marrow cell populations. Br J Haematol 1977; 37:223-30. [PMID: 603755 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1977.tb06838.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
A density cut method was used to prepare two subpopulations of bone marrow cells which were enriched (BE) and depleted (BD) respectively of blast cells. Marrow aspirates were obtained from 32 patients, 26 of whom had acute leukaemia. The uptake of a variety of chemotherapeutic agents by these two subpopulations and the acid-soluble ribonucleotide profiles of the populations were compared and significant differences were found in drug uptake by BE and BD subpopulations. For some drugs such as cytosine arabinoside, uptake was greatest by the BE cells, while for 5-azacytidine the BD subpopulation took up the greatest amount of the drug. The preparation of the BE subpopulation also permitted the recognition of several patients with acute leukaemia whose blast cells possess nondetectable levels of ATP, UTP, and GTP components in their acid-soluble fractions. The studies presented demonstrate the necessity of using purified cell populations when characterizing the drug uptake patterns and the soluble ribonucleotide profiles of the leukaemic cells. A simple method for enriching bone marrow aspirates for leukaemic cells is also presented.
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