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Wight AE, Sido JM, Degryse S, Ao L, Nakagawa H, Qiu(Vivian) Y, Shen X, Oseghali O, Kim HJ, Cantor H. Antibody-mediated blockade of the IL23 receptor destabilizes intratumoral regulatory T cells and enhances immunotherapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2200757119. [PMID: 35482921 PMCID: PMC9170135 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2200757119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 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: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Treg) can impede antitumor immunity and currently represent a major obstacle to effective cancer immunotherapy. Targeting tumor-infiltrating regulatory Treg while sparing systemic Treg represents an optimal approach to this problem. Here, we provide evidence that the interleukin 23 receptor (IL23R) expressed by tumor-infiltrating Treg promotes suppressive activity. Disruption of the IL23R results in increased responsiveness of destabilized Treg to the IL12 cytokine, the production of γ-interferon, and the recruitment of CD8 T cells that inhibit tumor growth. Since the Treg destabilization pathway that is initiated by IL23R blockade is distinct and independent from the destabilization pathway coupled to glucocorticoid-induced TNFR-related protein (GITR) activation, we examined the impact of the coordinate induction of the two destabilization pathways on antitumor immune responses. Combined GITR and IL23R antibody treatment of mice inoculated with MC38 tumors resulted in robust and synergistic antitumor responses. These findings indicate that the delineation of independent Treg destabilization pathways may allow improved approaches to the development of combination immunotherapy for cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew E. Wight
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Jessica M. Sido
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Sandrine Degryse
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Lin Ao
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Hidetoshi Nakagawa
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Yiguo Qiu(Vivian)
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Xianli Shen
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Oba Oseghali
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Hye-Jung Kim
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Harvey Cantor
- Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
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Wight AE, Sido JM, Degryse S, Oseghali O, Ao L, Nakagawa H, Kim HJ, Cantor H. A tumor-infiltrating IL23R-expressing CD4+ Treg population represents a safe and potent immunotherapeutic candidate in mice. The Journal of Immunology 2020. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.204.supp.244.11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Interleukin 23 receptor (IL23R) is a signaling protein normally implicated in gut T cell development, but which has also been correlated with poor cancer prognoses. Previous studies have found that interfering with this pathway results in improved cancer outcomes in mice. These studies found that blocking IL23R was more effective than neutralizing IL23, suggesting that an IL23R-expressing cell was responsible for the tumor-protective effects observed in targeting IL23R. Here, we show that Treg-specific targeting of IL23R provides potent tumor immunity that explains previous successes with anti-IL23R therapy in cancer. We show that there is indeed a tumor-infiltrating Treg subset, marked by IL23R expression, that is enriched for markers of potent suppressive activity. Moreover, we find that targeting their IL23R expression is correlated with Treg conversion and increased IFNγ expression on tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells. Preliminary results suggest that this Treg conversion is associated with enhanced IL12 sensitivity as a result of targeting the IL23R chain. In keeping with the tumor-specific expression pattern of IL23R, we did not find these changes in systemic T cells in the tumor-bearing mice. Ultimately, these Treg-specific IL23R-deleted mice do not display overt autoimmune disease at even advanced ages, suggesting this approach could represent a safe avenue of cancer immunotherapeutic research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew E Wight
- 1Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | | | - Sandrine Degryse
- 1Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Oba Oseghali
- 1Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- 3Suffolk University
| | - Lin Ao
- 1Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | | | - Hye-Jung Kim
- 1Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Harvey Cantor
- 1Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
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