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Martins C, Rasbach E, Heppt MV, Singh P, Kulcsar Z, Holzgruber J, Chakraborty A, Mucciarone K, Kleffel S, Brandenburg A, Hoetzenecker W, Rahbari NN, DeCaprio JA, Thakuria M, Murphy GF, Ramsey MR, Posch C, Barthel SR, Schatton T. Tumor cell-intrinsic PD-1 promotes Merkel cell carcinoma growth by activating downstream mTOR-mitochondrial ROS signaling. Sci Adv 2024; 10:eadi2012. [PMID: 38241371 PMCID: PMC10798567 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive skin cancer. Inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint have improved MCC patient outcomes by boosting antitumor T cell immunity. Here, we identify PD-1 as a growth-promoting receptor intrinsic to MCC cells. In human MCC lines and clinical tumors, RT-PCR-based sequencing, immunoblotting, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence analyses demonstrated PD-1 gene and protein expression by MCC cells. MCC-PD-1 ligation enhanced, and its inhibition or silencing suppressed, in vitro proliferation and in vivo tumor xenograft growth. Consistently, MCC-PD-1 binding to PD-L1 or PD-L2 induced, while antibody-mediated PD-1 blockade inhibited, protumorigenic mTOR signaling, mitochondrial (mt) respiration, and ROS generation. Last, pharmacologic inhibition of mTOR or mtROS reversed MCC-PD-1:PD-L1-dependent proliferation and synergized with PD-1 checkpoint blockade in suppressing tumorigenesis. Our results identify an MCC-PD-1-mTOR-mtROS axis as a tumor growth-accelerating mechanism, the blockade of which might contribute to clinical response in patients with MCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Martins
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program of Glyco-Immunology and Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Erik Rasbach
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program of Glyco-Immunology and Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68167 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Markus V. Heppt
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Praveen Singh
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program of Glyco-Immunology and Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Zsofi Kulcsar
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program of Glyco-Immunology and Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Julia Holzgruber
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program of Glyco-Immunology and Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Johannes Kepler University, 4020 Linz, Austria
| | - Asmi Chakraborty
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program of Glyco-Immunology and Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Kyla Mucciarone
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Sonja Kleffel
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Anne Brandenburg
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Wolfram Hoetzenecker
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Johannes Kepler University, 4020 Linz, Austria
| | - Nuh N. Rahbari
- Department of Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68167 Mannheim, Germany
| | - James A. DeCaprio
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program in Virology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma Center of Excellence, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Manisha Thakuria
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma Center of Excellence, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - George F. Murphy
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Matthew R. Ramsey
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Christian Posch
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Dermatology, Vienna Healthcare Group, 1130 Vienna, Austria
- Faculty of Medicine, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Steven R. Barthel
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program of Glyco-Immunology and Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Tobias Schatton
- Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Program of Glyco-Immunology and Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Ettinger M, Burner T, Lackner A, Schoeftner LC, Holzgruber J, Gruber R, Guenova E, Schuetz-Bergmayr M, Fischer T, Gratz IK, Kimeswenger S, Hoetzenecker W. Precision medicine approach in a rare case of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges 2022; 20:1651-1653. [PMID: 36442141 DOI: 10.1111/ddg.14923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Monika Ettinger
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Kepler University Clinic Linz, Linz, Austria
| | - Teresa Burner
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Medical Faculty, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
| | - Angelika Lackner
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Medical Faculty, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
| | - Leonie C Schoeftner
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Julia Holzgruber
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Kepler University Clinic Linz, Linz, Austria.,Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Medical Faculty, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
| | - Robert Gruber
- Department of Dermatology, Venerology and Allergy, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Emmanuella Guenova
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Tobias Fischer
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Kepler University Clinic Linz, Linz, Austria
| | - Iris K Gratz
- Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Susanne Kimeswenger
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Medical Faculty, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
| | - Wolfram Hoetzenecker
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Kepler University Clinic Linz, Linz, Austria.,Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Medical Faculty, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
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3
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Ettinger M, Burner T, Lackner A, Schoeftner LC, Holzgruber J, Gruber R, Guenova E, Schuetz-Bergmayr M, Fischer T, Gratz IK, Kimeswenger S, Hoetzenecker W. Präzisionsmedizinischer Ansatz bei einem seltenen Fall von autosomal rezessiver kongenitaler Ichthyose. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges 2022; 20:1651-1654. [PMID: 36508377 DOI: 10.1111/ddg.14923_g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Monika Ettinger
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Kepler Universitätsklinikum Linz, Linz, Österreich
| | - Teresa Burner
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, Österreich
| | - Angelika Lackner
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, Österreich
| | - Leonie C Schoeftner
- Fachbereich Biowissenschaften und Medizinische Biologie, Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Österreich
| | - Julia Holzgruber
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Kepler Universitätsklinikum Linz, Linz, Österreich.,Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, Österreich
| | - Robert Gruber
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie und Allergologie, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Österreich
| | - Emmanuella Guenova
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie, Fachbereich Biologie und Medizin, Universität Lausanne, Lausanne, Schweiz
| | - Martina Schuetz-Bergmayr
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Kepler Universitätsklinikum Linz, Linz, Österreich
| | - Tobias Fischer
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Kepler Universitätsklinikum Linz, Linz, Österreich
| | - Iris K Gratz
- Fachbereich Biowissenschaften und Medizinische Biologie, Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Österreich
| | - Susanne Kimeswenger
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, Österreich
| | - Wolfram Hoetzenecker
- Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Kepler Universitätsklinikum Linz, Linz, Österreich.,Univ.-Klinik für Dermatologie und Venerologie, Medizinische Fakultät, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, Österreich
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