1
|
Di Pilato M, Kim EY, Cadilha BL, Prüßmann JN, Nasrallah MN, Seruggia D, Usmani SM, Misale S, Zappulli V, Carrizosa E, Mani V, Ligorio M, Warner RD, Medoff BD, Marangoni F, Villani AC, Mempel TR. Targeting the CBM complex causes T reg cells to prime tumours for immune checkpoint therapy. Nature 2019; 570:112-116. [PMID: 31092922 PMCID: PMC6656391 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1215-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Solid tumors are infiltrated by effector T cells (Teff) with the potential to control or reject them, as well as by regulatory T cells (Treg) that restrict the function of Teff and thereby promote tumor growth.1 The anti-tumor activity of Teff can be therapeutically unleashed and is now being exploited for the treatment of some forms of human cancer. However, weak tumor-associated inflammatory responses and the immune-suppressive function of Treg remain major hurdles to broader effectiveness of tumor immunotherapy.2 Here we show that upon disruption of the CARMA1-BCL10-MALT1 (CBM) signalosome complex, the majority of tumor-infiltrating Treg produce IFN-γ, followed by stunted tumor growth. Remarkably, genetic deletion of both or even just one allele of Carma1 in only a fraction of Treg, which avoided systemic autoimmunity, was sufficient to produce this anti-tumor effect, showing that not mere loss of suppressive function, but gain of effector activity by Treg initiates tumor control. Treg-production of IFN-γ was accompanied by macrophage activation and up-regulation of MHC-I on tumor cells. However, tumor cells also up-regulated expression of PD-L1, indicating activation of adaptive immune resistance.3 Consequently, PD-1 blockade concomitant with CARMA1-deletion caused rejection of tumors that otherwise do not respond to anti-PD-1 monotherapy. This effect was reproduced by pharmacological inhibition of the CBM protein MALT1. Our results demonstrate that partial disruption of the CBM complex and induction of IFN-γ-secretion in the preferentially self-reactive Treg pool does not cause systemic autoimmunity but is sufficient to prime the tumor environment for successful immune checkpoint therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Di Pilato
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. .,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Edward Y Kim
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bruno L Cadilha
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jasper N Prüßmann
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mazen N Nasrallah
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Davide Seruggia
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shariq M Usmani
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sandra Misale
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Valentina Zappulli
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
| | - Esteban Carrizosa
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vinidhra Mani
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Matteo Ligorio
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ross D Warner
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Benjamin D Medoff
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Francesco Marangoni
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexandra-Chloe Villani
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Thorsten R Mempel
- Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. .,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|