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Roberts A, Bentley L, Tang T, Stewart F, Pallini C, Juvvanapudi J, Wallace GR, Cooper AJ, Scott A, Thickett D, Lugg ST, Bancroft H, Hemming B, Ferris C, Langman G, Robinson A, Chapman J, Naidu B, Pinkney T, Taylor GS, Brock K, Stamataki Z, Brady CA, Curnow SJ, Gordon J, Qureshi O, Barnes NM. Ex vivo modelling of PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockade under acute, chronic, and exhaustion-like conditions of T-cell stimulation. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4030. [PMID: 33597595 PMCID: PMC7889918 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83612-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Blockade of PD-1/PD-L1 interactions is proving an exciting, durable therapeutic modality in a range of cancers whereby T cells are released from checkpoint inhibition to revive their inherent anti-tumour activity. Here we have studied various ways to model ex vivo T cell function in order to compare the impact of the clinically utilised anti-PD-1 antibody, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) on the activation of human T cells: focussing on the release of pro-inflammatory IFNγ and anti-inflammatory IL-10 to assess functionality. Firstly, we investigated the actions of pembrolizumab in an acute model of T-cell activation with either immature or mature allogeneic dendritic cells (DCs); pembrolizumab enhanced IFNγ and IL-10 release from purified CD4+ T-cells in the majority of donors with a bias towards pro-inflammatory cytokine release. Next, we modelled the impact of pembrolizumab in settings of more chronic T-cell activation. In a 7-day antigen-specific response to EBV peptides, the presence of pembrolizumab resulted in a relatively modest increase in both IFNγ and IL-10 release. Where pembrolizumab was assessed against long-term stimulated CD4+ cells that had up-regulated the exhaustion markers TIM-3 and PD-1, there was a highly effective enhancement of the otherwise exhausted response to allogeneic DCs with respect to IFNγ production. By contrast, the restoration of IL-10 production was considerably more limited. Finally, to assess a direct clinical relevance we investigated the consequence of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in the disease setting of dissociated cells from lung and colon carcinomas responding to allogeneic DCs: here, pembrolizumab once more enhanced IFNγ production from the majority of tumour preparations whereas, again, the increase in IL-10 release was modest at best. In conclusion, we have shown that the contribution of PD-1-revealed by using a canonical blocking antibody to interrupt its interaction with PD-L1-to the production of an exemplar pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine, respectively, depends in magnitude and ratio on the particular stimulation setting and activation status of the target T cell. We have identified a number of in vitro assays with response profiles that mimic features of dissociated cell populations from primary tumours thereby indicating these represent disease-relevant functional assays for the screening of immune checkpoint inhibitors in current and future development. Such in vitro assays may also support patient stratification of those likely to respond to immuno-oncology therapies in the wider population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Roberts
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Lindsay Bentley
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - Tina Tang
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - Fay Stewart
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - Chiara Pallini
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - Joel Juvvanapudi
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - Graham R Wallace
- Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Alison J Cooper
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Aaron Scott
- Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - David Thickett
- Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Sebastian T Lugg
- Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Hollie Bancroft
- MIDRU, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham, B9 5SS, UK
| | - Bridget Hemming
- MIDRU, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham, B9 5SS, UK
| | - Charlotte Ferris
- MIDRU, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham, B9 5SS, UK
| | - Gerald Langman
- MIDRU, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham, B9 5SS, UK
| | - Andrew Robinson
- MIDRU, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham, B9 5SS, UK
| | - Joanne Chapman
- MIDRU, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham, B9 5SS, UK
| | - Babu Naidu
- MIDRU, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham, B9 5SS, UK
| | - Thomas Pinkney
- Academic Department of Surgery, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2GW, UK
| | - Graham S Taylor
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Kristian Brock
- Diagnostics, Drugs, Devices and Biomarkers, Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Zania Stamataki
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Catherine A Brady
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - S John Curnow
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - John Gordon
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - Omar Qureshi
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
- Celentyx Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SQ, UK
| | - Nicholas M Barnes
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
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