Abstract
Adenosine is an immunosuppressive factor that limits anti-tumor immunity through the suppression of multiple immune subsets including T cells via activation of the adenosine A
2A
receptor (A
...2A
R). Using both murine and human chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, here we show that targeting A
2A
R with a clinically relevant CRISPR/Cas9 strategy significantly enhances their in vivo efficacy, leading to improved survival of mice. Effects evoked by CRISPR/Cas9 mediated gene deletion of A
2A
R are superior to shRNA mediated knockdown or pharmacological blockade of A
2A
R. Mechanistically, human A
2A
R-edited CAR T cells are significantly resistant to adenosine-mediated transcriptional changes, resulting in enhanced production of cytokines including IFNγ and TNF, and increased expression of JAK-STAT signaling pathway associated genes. A
2A
R deficient CAR T cells are well tolerated and do not induce overt pathologies in mice, supporting the use of CRISPR/Cas9 to target A
2A
R for the improvement of CAR T cell function in the clinic.
Adoptive cell therapies using genetically engineered T cell receptor or chimeric antigen receptor T cells are emerging forms of immunotherapy that redirect T cells to specifically target cancer. ...However, tumor antigen heterogeneity remains a key challenge limiting their efficacy against solid cancers. Here, we engineered T cells to secrete the dendritic cell (DC) growth factor Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt3L). Flt3L-secreting T cells expanded intratumoral conventional type 1 DCs and substantially increased host DC and T cell activation when combined with immune agonists poly (I:C) and anti-4-1BB. Importantly, combination therapy led to enhanced inhibition of tumor growth and the induction of epitope spreading towards antigens beyond those recognized by adoptively transferred T cells in solid tumor models of T cell receptor and chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy. Our data suggest that augmenting endogenous DCs is a promising strategy to overcome the clinical problem of antigen-negative tumor escape following adoptive cell therapy.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has been highly successful in hematological malignancies leading to their US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. However, the efficacy of CAR ...T cells in solid tumors is limited by tumor-induced immunosuppression, leading to the development of combination approaches, such as adjuvant programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade. Current FDA-approved methods for generating CAR T cells utilize either anti-CD3 and interleukin (IL)-2 or anti-CD3/CD28 beads, which can generate a T cell product with an effector/exhausted phenotype. Whereas different cytokine preconditioning milieu, such as IL-7/IL-15, have been shown to promote T cell engraftment, the impact of this approach on CAR T cell responses to adjuvant immune-checkpoint blockade has not been assessed. In the current study, we reveal that the preconditioning of CAR T cells with IL-7/IL-15 increased CAR T cell responses to anti-PD-1 adjuvant therapy. This was associated with the emergence of an intratumoral CD8+CD62L+TCF7+IRF4– population that was highly responsive to anti-PD-1 therapy and mediated the vast majority of transcriptional and epigenetic changes in vivo following PD-1 blockade. Our data indicate that preservation of CAR T cells in a TCF7+ phenotype is crucial for their responsiveness to adjuvant immunotherapy approaches and should be a key consideration when designing clinical protocols.
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The function of MR1-restricted mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells in tumor immunity is unclear. Here we show that MAIT cell-deficient mice have enhanced NK cell-dependent control of ...metastatic B16F10 tumor growth relative to control mice. Analyses of this interplay in human tumor samples reveal that high expression of a MAIT cell gene signature negatively impacts the prognostic significance of NK cells. Paradoxically, pre-pulsing tumors with MAIT cell antigens, or activating MAIT cells in vivo, enhances anti-tumor immunity in B16F10 and E0771 mouse tumor models, including in the context of established metastasis. These effects are associated with enhanced NK cell responses and increased expression of both IFN-γ-dependent and inflammatory genes in NK cells. Importantly, activated human MAIT cells also promote the function of NK cells isolated from patient tumor samples. Our results thus describe an activation-dependent, MAIT cell-mediated regulation of NK cells, and suggest a potential therapeutic avenue for cancer treatment.
Natural Killer T (NKT) cells and Mucosal-Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T cells that express semi-invariant αβ T cell receptors (TCRs) through which they recognise CD1d and MR1 ...molecules, respectively, in complex with specific ligands. These cells play important roles in health and disease in many organs, but their precise intra-organ location is not well established. Here, using CD1d and MR1 tetramer staining techniques, we describe the precise location of NKT and MAIT cells in lymphoid and peripheral organs. Within the thymus, NKT cells were concentrated in the medullary side of the corticomedullary junction. In spleen and lymph nodes, NKT cells were mainly localised within T cell zones, although following in vivo activation with the potent NKT-cell ligand α-GalCer, they expanded throughout the spleen. MAIT cells were clearly detectable in Vα19 TCR transgenic mice and were rare but detectable in lymphoid tissue of non-transgenic mice. In contrast to NKT cells, MAIT cells were more closely associated with the B cell zone and red pulp of the spleen. Accordingly, we have provided an extensive analysis of the in situ localisation of NKT and MAIT cells and suggest differences between the intra-organ location of these two cell types.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has transformed the treatment of haematological malignancies such as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, B cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma
, but the ...efficacy of CAR T cell therapy in solid tumours has been limited
. This is owing to a number of factors, including the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment that gives rise to poorly persisting and metabolically dysfunctional T cells. Analysis of anti-CD19 CAR T cells used clinically has shown that positive treatment outcomes are associated with a more 'stem-like' phenotype and increased mitochondrial mass
. We therefore sought to identify transcription factors that could enhance CAR T cell fitness and efficacy against solid tumours. Here we show that overexpression of FOXO1 promotes a stem-like phenotype in CAR T cells derived from either healthy human donors or patients, which correlates with improved mitochondrial fitness, persistence and therapeutic efficacy in vivo. This work thus reveals an engineering approach to genetically enforce a favourable metabolic phenotype that has high translational potential to improve the efficacy of CAR T cells against solid tumours.
Tumor cells can develop a variety of mechanisms to evade and subvert the immune system for their survival. Bland et al., in this edition of The FEBS Journal, make the novel finding that the tumor ...line B16F0 can deliver mRNA/miRNA loaded exosomes to cytotoxic T lymphocytes and alter their metabolic function and interferon gamma production.
CXCL9 expression is a strong predictor of response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Accordingly, we sought to develop therapeutic strategies to enhance the expression of CXCL9 and augment ...antitumor immunity. To perform whole-genome CRISPR-Cas9 screening for regulators of CXCL9 expression, a CXCL9-GFP reporter line is generated using a CRISPR knockin strategy. This approach finds that IRF1 limits CXCL9 expression in both tumor cells and primary myeloid cells through induction of SOCS1, which subsequently limits STAT1 signaling. Thus, we identify a subset of STAT1-dependent genes that do not require IRF1 for their transcription, including CXCL9. Targeting of either IRF1 or SOCS1 potently enhances CXCL9 expression by intratumoral macrophages, which is further enhanced in the context of immune checkpoint blockade therapy. We hence show a non-canonical role for IRF1 in limiting the expression of a subset of STAT1-dependent genes through induction of SOCS1.
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•CRISPR-Cas9 “knockin” of GFP to the CXCL9 gene creates a reporter cell line•CRISPR-Cas9 screening identifies IRF1 as a negative regulator of CXCL9 production•IRF1 negatively regulates the transcription of a subset of STAT1-dependent genes•Depletion of IRF1 in primary macrophages enhances intratumoral CXCL9 production
House, Derrick, et al. develop a reporter cell line through CRISPR-Cas9-mediated “knockin” of GFP cDNA immediately prior to the Cxcl9 stop codon. This enables a CRISPR-Cas9 screen for regulators of CXCL9 to be performed, which identifies IRF1 as a negative regulator of CXCL9 production.
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