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Lu C, Talukder A, Savage NM, Singh N, Liu K. JAK-STAT-mediated chronic inflammation impairs cytotoxic T lymphocyte activation to decrease anti-PD-1 immunotherapy efficacy in pancreatic cancer. Oncoimmunology 2017; 6:e1291106. [PMID: 28405527 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1291106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2016] [Revised: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Human pancreatic cancer does not respond to immune check point blockade immunotherapy. One key feature of pancreatic cancer is the association between its progression and chronic inflammation. Emerging evidence supports a key role for the JAK-STAT pathway in pancreatic cancer inflammation. We aimed at testing the hypothesis that sustained JAK-STAT signaling suppresses cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activation to counteract anti-PD-1 immunotherapy-induced CTL activity in pancreatic cancer. We show that human pancreatic carcinomas express high level of PD-L1 and exhibit low level of CTL infiltration. JAK-STAT inhibitor Ruxolitinib selectively inhibits STAT1 and STAT3 activation and increases CTL infiltration to induce a Tc1/Th1 immune response in the tumor microenvironment in an orthotopic pancreatic cancer mouse model. Ruxilitinib-mediated tumor suppressive efficacy diminishes in T-cell-deficient mice. Pancreatic tumor grows significantly faster in IFNγ-deficient mice. However, neutralizing IFNγ does not alter tumor growth but diminishes Ruxolitinib-induced tumor suppression in vivo, indicating that lymphocytes and IFNγ are essential for Ruxolitinib-induced host antitumor immune response. Both type I and type II interferons upregulate PD-L1 expression through the JAK-STAT signaling pathway in mouse pancreatic tumor cells. Tumor cells respond to activated T cells by activating STAT3. The inhibition of STAT3 downregulates immune suppressive cytokines production by tumor cells, resulting in increased T cell activation and effector function. Consequently, Ruxolitinib significantly improves the efficacy of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Our data demonstrate that Ruxolitinib is effective in the inhibition of systemic inflammation in the tumor microenvironment and therefore upregulates CTL infiltration and activation to overcome pancreatic cancer resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunwan Lu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA; Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta, GA, USA; Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Asif Talukder
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA; Department of Surgery, Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA
| | | | - Nagendra Singh
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA; Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Kebin Liu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA; Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta, GA, USA; Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA, USA
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Viry E, Noman MZ, Arakelian T, Lequeux A, Chouaib S, Berchem G, Moussay E, Paggetti J, Janji B. Hijacker of the Antitumor Immune Response: Autophagy Is Showing Its Worst Facet. Front Oncol 2016; 6:246. [PMID: 27917371 PMCID: PMC5114287 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2016.00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy) is a housekeeping process constitutively executed at basal level in all cells to promote cellular homeostasis by regulating organelle and protein turnover. However, autophagy deregulation caused by several stress factors, such as hypoxia, is prevalent in many cancers. It is now well established that autophagy can act as tumor suppressor or tumor promoter depending on tumor type, stage, and genetic context. In developed tumors, autophagy promotes the survival of cancer cells and therefore operates as a cell resistance mechanism. Emerging evidence point to the prominent role of autophagy in disabling the antitumor immune response by multiple overlapping mechanisms leading to tumor escape from immune cell attack mediated by both natural killer cells and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. Such a role has inspired significant interest in applying anti-autophagy therapies as an entirely new approach to overcome tumor escape from immune surveillance, which constitutes so far a major challenge in developing more effective cancer immunotherapies. In this review, we will summarize recent reports describing how tumor cells, by activating autophagy, manage to hijack the immune system. In particular, we will focus on the emerging role of hypoxia-induced autophagy in shaping the antitumor immune response and in allowing tumor cells to outmaneuver an effective immune response and escape immunosurveillance. In keeping with this, we strongly believe that autophagy represents an attractive future therapeutic target to develop innovative and effective cancer immunotherapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elodie Viry
- Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health , Luxembourg City , Luxembourg
| | - Muhammad Zaeem Noman
- Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; INSERM U1186, Gustave Roussy Cancer Center, Villejuif, France
| | - Tsolère Arakelian
- Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health , Luxembourg City , Luxembourg
| | - Audrey Lequeux
- Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health , Luxembourg City , Luxembourg
| | - Salem Chouaib
- INSERM U1186, Gustave Roussy Cancer Center , Villejuif , France
| | - Guy Berchem
- Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; Department of Hemato-Oncology, Centre Hospitalier du Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
| | - Etienne Moussay
- Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health , Luxembourg City , Luxembourg
| | - Jérôme Paggetti
- Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health , Luxembourg City , Luxembourg
| | - Bassam Janji
- Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health , Luxembourg City , Luxembourg
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Lunardi S, Muschel RJ, Brunner TB. The stromal compartments in pancreatic cancer: are there any therapeutic targets? Cancer Lett 2013; 343:147-55. [PMID: 24141189 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2013.09.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2013] [Revised: 09/25/2013] [Accepted: 09/26/2013] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterised by an abundant stromal response also known as a desmoplastic reaction. Pancreatic Stellate Cells have been identified as playing a key role in pancreatic cancer desmoplasia. There is accumulating evidence that the stroma contributes to tumour progression and to the low therapeutic response of PDAC patients. In this review we described the main actors of the desmoplastic reaction within PDAC and novel therapeutic approaches that are being tested to block the detrimental function of the stroma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Lunardi
- Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, RRI, Oxford OX3 7LJ, UK
| | - Ruth J Muschel
- Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, RRI, Oxford OX3 7LJ, UK
| | - Thomas B Brunner
- Gray Institute for Radiation Oncology and Biology, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, RRI, Oxford OX3 7LJ, UK; Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Freiburg, Robert-Koch-Straße 3, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
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