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Kim TH, Lee D, Oh HJ, Ham IH, Lee DM, Lee Y, Zhang Z, Ke D, Hur H. Targeting GAS6/AXL signaling improves the response to immunotherapy by restoring the anti-immunogenic tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer. Life Sci 2023; 335:122230. [PMID: 37952835 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122230] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
AIMS Immunotherapy has shown remarkable effects on several malignancies; however, its impact on gastric cancers has been limited. Therefore, a novel strategy to overcome resistance to immunotherapy is required. In this study, we compared the gene expression profiles of two murine GC cell lines that exhibited different effects on tumor immunity. The functions of specific genes related to negative tumor immunity and the impact of a specific inhibitor were evaluated in syngeneic GC mouse models. MATERIALS AND METHODS RT-PCR and Western blotting validated Gas6 and AXL expression in murine cell lines. RT-PCR compared YTN16 and YTN3 GC cell's impact on T cell activation. AXL, the receptor for GAS6 in YTN16, was validated by western blotting. Gas6 was inhibited in YTN16 cells using shRNA, and then the gene expression pattern, effects to T cell activation, and tumor growth were assessed. YTN16 cells were injected into mice and treated with CCB-3233, anti-PD-1 antibody, or both. Immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry evaluated tumor-infiltrating immune cells. KEY FINDINGS YTN16 cells expressed more Gas6 and had reduced T cell activation compared to YTN3 cells. AXL activation was higher in YTN16. CCB-3233 reduced AXL phosphorylation. Knocking down Gas6 in YTN16 reduced immunosuppression-related genes and increased tumor-infiltrating T cells. Combined CCB-3233 and anti-PD-1 treatment reduced tumor growth and increased T-cell infiltration. Human GC data revealed a negative correlation between GAS6 and immune activation-related genes. SIGNIFICANCE The GAS6/AXL pathway contributes to immunotherapy resistance in GC. Targeting this pathway may be a novel therapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae Hoon Kim
- Cancer Biology Graduate Program, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea; Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Dagyeong Lee
- AI-Super Convergence KIURI Translational Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea; Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye Jeong Oh
- Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - In-Hye Ham
- Inflamm-Aging Translational Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea; Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Min Lee
- Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Yulim Lee
- Cancer Biology Graduate Program, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea; Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Zhang Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ding Ke
- School of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hoon Hur
- Cancer Biology Graduate Program, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea; Inflamm-Aging Translational Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea; Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
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Lee D, Choi J, Oh HJ, Ham IH, Lee SH, Nomura S, Han SU, Hur H. Molecular and Immune Profiling of Syngeneic Mouse Models Predict Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Gastric Cancer. Cancer Res Treat 2023; 55:167-178. [PMID: 35609622 PMCID: PMC9873335 DOI: 10.4143/crt.2022.094] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Appropriate preclinical mouse models are needed to evaluate the response to immunotherapeutic agents. Immunocompetent mouse models have rarely been reported for gastric cancer. Thus, we investigated immunophenotypes and responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) in immunocompetent mouse models using various murine gastric cancer cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS We constructed subcutaneous syngeneic tumors with murine gastric cancer cell lines, YTN3 and YTN16, in C57BL/6J mice. Mice were intraperitoneally treated with IgG isotype control or an anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) neutralizing antibody. We used immunohistochemistry to evaluate the tumor-infiltrating immune cells of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded mouse tumor tissues. We compared the protein and RNA expression between YTN3 and YTN16 cell lines using a mouse cytokine array and RNA sequencing. RESULTS The mouse tumors revealed distinct histological and molecular characteristics. YTN16 cells showed upregulation of genes and proteins related to immunosuppression, such as Ccl2 (CCL2) and Csf1 (M-CSF). Macrophages and exhausted T cells were more enriched in YTN16 tumors than in YTN3 tumors. Several YTN3 tumors were completely regressed by the PD-L1 inhibitor, whereas YTN16 tumors were unaffected. Although treatment with a PD-L1 inhibitor increased infiltration of T cells in both the tumors, the proportion of exhausted immune cells did not decrease in the non-responder group. CONCLUSION We confirmed the histological and molecular features of cancer cells with various responses to ICI. Our models can be used in preclinical research on ICI resistance mechanisms to enhance clinical efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dagyeong Lee
- Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea,Cancer Biology Graduate Program, Ajou University Graduate School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea,Inflamm-Aging Translational Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea
| | - Junyong Choi
- Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea,Cancer Biology Graduate Program, Ajou University Graduate School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea,Inflamm-Aging Translational Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea
| | - Hye Jeong Oh
- Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea
| | - In-Hye Ham
- Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea,Inflamm-Aging Translational Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea
| | - Sung Hak Lee
- Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul,
Korea
| | - Sachiyo Nomura
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo,
Japan
| | - Sang-Uk Han
- Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea
| | - Hoon Hur
- Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea,Cancer Biology Graduate Program, Ajou University Graduate School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea,Inflamm-Aging Translational Research Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon,
Korea
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Adithan A, John Peter JS, Mohammad AH, Kim B, Kang CW, Kim NS, Hwang KC, Kim JH. A gastric cancer cell derived extracellular compounds suppresses CD161 +CD3 - lymphocytes and aggravates tumor formation in a syngeneic mouse model. Mol Immunol 2020; 120:136-145. [PMID: 32120181 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2020.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Evasion of the immune system is often associated with malignant tumors. The cancer cell microenvironment plays an important role in tumor progression, but its mechanism is largely unknown. Here we show that an extracellular compound derived from gastric cancer (GC-EC) selectively suppresses CD161+CD3- natural killer (NK) cells. Splenocytes treated with GC-EC showed considerable proliferation and the CD161+CD3- NK cell population was time-dependently suppressed. Intracellular staining of IFN-γ was shown to be down-regulated in concert with granzyme B and perforin. A cytotoxicity assay of splenocytes treated with GC-EC against K-562 cells showed a significant reduction in cytolytic activity. Further, the immune-suppressive effect of GC-EC was more evident in a syngeneic tumor model in C57BL/6 mice. Animals treated with B16 F10 and GC-EC exhibited more aggravated tumor formation than animals treated with B16 F10 only. We demonstrated that inhibition of apoptosis while increasing PI3 K/AKT levels may provoke tumor formation by GC-EC. A cytokine array revealed the presence of several cytokines in GC-EC that negatively regulate immune cytolytic activity and could be potential candidates for immune-suppressive effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aravinthan Adithan
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Iksan-city, Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea
| | - Judith Sharmila John Peter
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Iksan-city, Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea
| | - Amjad Hossain Mohammad
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Iksan-city, Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea
| | - Bumseok Kim
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Iksan-city, Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang-Won Kang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Iksan-city, Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea
| | - Nam Soo Kim
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Iksan-city, Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea
| | - Ki-Chul Hwang
- Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Gangneung, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Hoon Kim
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Iksan-city, Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea.
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