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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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Schatton T, Itoh Y, Martins C, Rasbach E, Singh P, Silva M, Mucciarone K, Heppt MV, Geddes-Sweeney J, Stewart K, Brandenburg A, Liang J, Dimitroff CJ, Mihm MC, Landsberg J, Schlapbach C, Lian CG, Murphy GF, Kupper TS, Ramsey MR, Barthel SR. Inhibition of melanoma cell-intrinsic Tim-3 stimulates MAPK-dependent tumorigenesis. Cancer Res 2022; 82:3774-3784. [PMID: 35980306 PMCID: PMC9598011 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-22-0970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (Tim-3) is an immune checkpoint receptor that dampens effector functions and causes terminal exhaustion of cytotoxic T-cells. Tim-3 inhibitors are under investigation in immuno-oncology (IO) trials, because blockade of T-cell-Tim-3 enhances antitumor immunity. Here, we identify an additional role for Tim-3 as a growth-suppressive receptor intrinsic to melanoma cells. Inhibition of melanoma cell-Tim-3 promoted tumor growth in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised mice, while melanoma-specific Tim-3 overexpression attenuated tumorigenesis. Antibody (Ab)-mediated Tim-3 blockade inhibited growth of immunogenic murine melanomas in T-cell-competent hosts, consistent with established antitumor effects of T-cell Tim-3 inhibition. In contrast, Tim-3 Ab administration stimulated tumorigenesis of both highly and lesser immunogenic murine and human melanomas in T-cell-deficient mice, confirming growth-promoting effects of melanoma-Tim-3 antagonism. Melanoma-Tim-3 activation suppressed, while its blockade enhanced, phosphorylation of pro-proliferative downstream mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling mediators. Finally, pharmacologic MAPK inhibition reversed unwanted Tim-3 Ab-mediated tumorigenesis in T-cell-deficient mice and promoted desired antitumor activity of Tim-3 interference in T-cell-competent hosts. These results identify melanoma-Tim-3 blockade as a mechanism that antagonizes T-cell-Tim-3-directed IO therapeutic efficacy. They further reveal MAPK targeting as a combination strategy for circumventing adverse consequences of unintended melanoma-Tim-3 inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Schatton
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, 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
- Corresponding Authors: Steven R. Barthel, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115. Phone: 617-525-5698; Fax: 617-525-5571; ; and Tobias Schatton, Phone: 617-525-5533;
| | - Yuta Itoh
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Christina Martins
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Erik Rasbach
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68167 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Praveen Singh
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Mariana Silva
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, 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
| | - Markus V. Heppt
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, 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) Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jenna Geddes-Sweeney
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Kate Stewart
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Anne Brandenburg
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Jennifer Liang
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Charles J. Dimitroff
- Department of Translational Medicine, Translational Glycobiology Institute at FIU, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Martin C. Mihm
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Jennifer Landsberg
- Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Christine G. Lian
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - George F. Murphy
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Thomas S. Kupper
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Matthew R. Ramsey
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Steven R. Barthel
- Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Corresponding Authors: Steven R. Barthel, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115. Phone: 617-525-5698; Fax: 617-525-5571; ; and Tobias Schatton, Phone: 617-525-5533;
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