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Faget DV, Luo X, Inkman MJ, Ren Q, Su X, Ding K, Waters MR, Raut GK, Pandey G, Dodhiawala PB, Ramalho-Oliveira R, Ye J, Cole T, Murali B, Zheleznyak A, Shokeen M, Weiss KR, Monahan JB, DeSelm CJ, Lee AV, Oesterreich S, Weilbaecher KN, Zhang J, DeNardo DG, Stewart SA. p38MAPKα Stromal Reprogramming Sensitizes Metastatic Breast Cancer to Immunotherapy. Cancer Discov 2023; 13:1454-1477. [PMID: 36883955 PMCID: PMC10238649 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-22-0907] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Metastatic breast cancer is an intractable disease that responds poorly to immunotherapy. We show that p38MAPKα inhibition (p38i) limits tumor growth by reprogramming the metastatic tumor microenvironment in a CD4+ T cell-, IFNγ-, and macrophage-dependent manner. To identify targets that further increased p38i efficacy, we utilized a stromal labeling approach and single-cell RNA sequencing. Thus, we combined p38i and an OX40 agonist that synergistically reduced metastatic growth and increased overall survival. Intriguingly, patients with a p38i metastatic stromal signature had better overall survival that was further improved by the presence of an increased mutational load, leading us to ask if our approach would be effective in antigenic breast cancer. The combination of p38i, anti-OX40, and cytotoxic T-cell engagement cured mice of metastatic disease and produced long-term immunologic memory. Our findings demonstrate that a detailed understanding of the stromal compartment can be used to design effective antimetastatic therapies. SIGNIFICANCE Immunotherapy is rarely effective in breast cancer. We dissected the metastatic tumor stroma, which revealed a novel therapeutic approach that targets the stromal p38MAPK pathway and creates an opportunity to unleash an immunologic response. Our work underscores the importance of understanding the tumor stromal compartment in therapeutic design. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1275.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas V. Faget
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Xianmin Luo
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Matthew J. Inkman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Qihao Ren
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Xinming Su
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Kai Ding
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
- Integrative Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Michael R. Waters
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Ganesh Kumar Raut
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Gaurav Pandey
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Paarth B. Dodhiawala
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN
- ICCE Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Renata Ramalho-Oliveira
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Jiayu Ye
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Thomas Cole
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Bhavna Murali
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Alexander Zheleznyak
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Monica Shokeen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Kurt R. Weiss
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | - Carl J. DeSelm
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Adrian V. Lee
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology & Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Steffi Oesterreich
- Womens Cancer Research Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology & Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Katherine N. Weilbaecher
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Jin Zhang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Institute for Informatics (I), Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - David G. DeNardo
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- ICCE Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
| | - Sheila A. Stewart
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- ICCE Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
- Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO
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Hung J, Perez SM, Dasa SSK, Hall SP, Heckert DB, Murphy BP, Crawford HC, Kelly KA, Brinton LT. A Bitter Taste Receptor as a Novel Molecular Target on Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:389. [PMID: 36986488 PMCID: PMC10058050 DOI: 10.3390/ph16030389] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) execute diverse and complex functions in cancer progression. While reprogramming the crosstalk between CAFs and cancer epithelial cells is a promising avenue to evade the adverse effects of stromal depletion, drugs are limited by their suboptimal pharmacokinetics and off-target effects. Thus, there is a need to elucidate CAF-selective cell surface markers that can improve drug delivery and efficacy. Here, functional proteomic pulldown with mass spectrometry was used to identify taste receptor type 2 member 9 (TAS2R9) as a CAF target. TAS2R9 target characterization included binding assays, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and database mining. Liposomes conjugated to a TAS2R9-specific peptide were generated, characterized, and compared to naked liposomes in a murine pancreatic xenograft model. Proof-of-concept drug delivery experiments demonstrate that TAS2R9-targeted liposomes bind with high specificity to TAS2R9 recombinant protein and exhibit stromal colocalization in a pancreatic cancer xenograft model. Furthermore, the delivery of a CXCR2 inhibitor by TAS2R9-targeted liposomes significantly reduced cancer cell proliferation and constrained tumor growth through the inhibition of the CXCL-CXCR2 axis. Taken together, TAS2R9 is a novel cell-surface CAF-selective target that can be leveraged to facilitate small-molecule drug delivery to CAFs, paving the way for new stromal therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Hung
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | | | - Siva Sai Krishna Dasa
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | | | | | | | - Howard C. Crawford
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Rogel Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Henry Ford Pancreatic Cancer Center, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Kimberly A. Kelly
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
- ZielBio Inc., Charlottesville, VA 22902, USA
| | - Lindsey T. Brinton
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
- ZielBio Inc., Charlottesville, VA 22902, USA
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