bims-stacyt 2021-02-21 papers

bims-stacyt

Biomed News

on Metabolism and the paracrine crosstalk between cancer and the organism

Issue of 2021–02–21
nine papers selected by
Cristina Muñoz Pinedo, L’Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge

CTLA-4 blockade drives loss of Treg stability in glycolysis-low tumours.
Metabolic support of tumour-infiltrating regulatory T cells by lactic acid.
Radiotherapy and cGAS/STING signaling: Impact on MDSCs in the tumor microenvironment.
Intratumoral Hypoxia and Mechanisms of Immune Evasion Mediated by Hypoxia-Inducible Factors.
Tumor Microenvironment Autophagic Processes and Cachexia: The Missing Link?
Glucose deprivation-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress response plays a pivotal role in enhancement of TRAIL cytotoxicity.
Metabolic Codependencies in the Tumor Microenvironment.
Inhibition of MDM2 promotes anti-tumor responses in p53 wild-type cancer cells through their interaction with the immune and stromal microenvironment.
Tumor-derived pericytes driven by EGFR mutations govern the vascular and immune microenvironment of gliomas.

Nature. 2021 Feb 15.

CTLA-4 blockade drives loss of Treg stability in glycolysis-low tumours.

Roberta Zappasodi, Inna Serganova, Ivan J Cohen, Masatomo Maeda, Masahiro Shindo, Yasin Senbabaoglu, McLane J Watson, Avigdor Leftin, Rachana Maniyar, Svena Verma, Matthew Lubin, Myat Ko, Mayuresh M Mane, Hong Zhong, Cailian Liu, Arnab Ghosh, Mohsen Abu-Akeel, Ellen Ackerstaff, Jason A Koutcher, Ping-Chih Ho, Greg M Delgoffe, Ronald Blasberg, Jedd D Wolchok, Taha Merghoub.

Limiting the metabolic competition in the tumor microenvironment (TME) may increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy. Because of its critical role in glucose metabolism of activated T cells, CD28 signaling has been proposed as a T-cell metabolic biosensor1. Conversely, CTLA-4 engagement has been shown to down-regulate T-cell glycolysis1. Here, we investigated the impact of CTLA-4 blockade on the metabolic fitness of intra-tumor T cells in relationship to the tumor glycolytic capacity. We found that CTLA-4 blockade promotes immune cell infiltration and metabolic fitness especially in glycolysis-low tumors. Accordingly, anti-CTLA-4 achieved better therapeutic outcomes in mice bearing glycolysis-defective tumors. Intriguingly, tumor-specific CD8+ T-cell responses correlated with phenotypic and functional destabilization of tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells (Tregs) toward IFN-γ- and TNF-α-producing cells in glycolysis-defective tumors. By mimicking the highly and poorly glycolytic TME in vitro, we show that the effect of CTLA-4 blockade to promote Treg destabilization is dependent on Treg glycolysis and CD28 signaling. These findings indicate that decreasing tumor competition for glucose may facilitate the therapeutic activity of CTLA-4 blockade, thus supporting its combination with inhibitors of tumor glycolysis. Moreover, these results reveal a new mechanism through which anti-CTLA-4 interferes with Treg function in the presence of glucose.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03326-4
Nature. 2021 Feb 15.

Metabolic support of tumour-infiltrating regulatory T cells by lactic acid.

McLane J Watson, Paolo D A Vignali, Steven J Mullett, Abigail E Overacre-Delgoffe, Ronal M Peralta, Stephanie Grebinoski, Ashley V Menk, Natalie L Rittenhouse, Kristin DePeaux, Ryan D Whetstone, Dario A A Vignali, Timothy W Hand, Amanda C Poholek, Brett M Morrison, Jeffrey D Rothstein, Stacy G Wendell, Greg M Delgoffe.

Regulatory T (Treg) cells, although vital for immune homeostasis, also represent a major barrier to anti-cancer immunity, as the tumour microenvironment (TME) promotes the recruitment, differentiation and activity of these cells1,2. Tumour cells show deregulated metabolism, leading to a metabolite-depleted, hypoxic and acidic TME3, which places infiltrating effector T cells in competition with the tumour for metabolites and impairs their function4-6. At the same time, Treg cells maintain a strong suppression of effector T cells within the TME7,8. As previous studies suggested that Treg cells possess a distinct metabolic profile from effector T cells9-11, we hypothesized that the altered metabolic landscape of the TME and increased activity of intratumoral Treg cells are linked. Here we show that Treg cells display broad heterogeneity in their metabolism of glucose within normal and transformed tissues, and can engage an alternative metabolic pathway to maintain suppressive function and proliferation. Glucose uptake correlates with poorer suppressive function and long-term instability, and high-glucose conditions impair the function and stability of Treg cells in vitro. Treg cells instead upregulate pathways involved in the metabolism of the glycolytic by-product lactic acid. Treg cells withstand high-lactate conditions, and treatment with lactate prevents the destabilizing effects of high-glucose conditions, generating intermediates necessary for proliferation. Deletion of MCT1-a lactate transporter-in Treg cells reveals that lactate uptake is dispensable for the function of peripheral Treg cells but required intratumorally, resulting in slowed tumour growth and an increased response to immunotherapy. Thus, Treg cells are metabolically flexible: they can use 'alternative' metabolites in the TME to maintain their suppressive identity. Further, our results suggest that tumours avoid destruction by not only depriving effector T cells of nutrients, but also metabolically supporting regulatory populations.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03045-2
Cell Immunol. 2021 Jan 30. pii: S0008-8749(21)00017-4. [Epub ahead of print]362 104298

Radiotherapy and cGAS/STING signaling: Impact on MDSCs in the tumor microenvironment.

Vera M Kho, Vera E Mekers, Paul N Span, Johan Bussink, Gosse J Adema.

  Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a highly heterogeneous population of immature immune cells with immunosuppressive functions that are recruited to the tumor microenvironment (TME). MDSCs promote tumor growth and progression by inhibiting immune effector cell proliferation and function. MDSCs are affected by both novel anti-cancer therapies targeting the immune system to promote anti-tumor immunity, as well as by conventional treatments such as radiotherapy. Following radiotherapy, cytoplasmic double stranded DNA stimulates the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)/stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway, resulting in type I interferon production. Effectiveness of radiotherapy and cGAS/STING signaling are closely intertwined: activation of cGAS and STING is key to generate systemic anti-tumor immunity after irradiation. This review focuses on how radiotherapy and cGAS/STING signaling in MDSCs and/or tumor cells impact MDSC recruitment, expansion and function. The influence of conventional and ablative radiotherapy treatment schedules, inflammatory response following radiotherapy, and hypoxia are discussed as MDSC modulators.

Keywords:  Cancer; Immune system; Immunotherapy; MDSC; Radiotherapy; STING; Tumor microenvironment; cGAS

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cellimm.2021.104298
Physiology (Bethesda). 2021 Mar 01. 36(2): 73-83

Intratumoral Hypoxia and Mechanisms of Immune Evasion Mediated by Hypoxia-Inducible Factors.

Gregg L Semenza.

  Activation of the innate and adaptive immune systems represents a promising strategy for defeating cancer. However, during tumor progression, cancer cells battle to shift the balance from immune activation to immunosuppression. Critical sites of this battle are regions of intratumoral hypoxia, and a major driving force for immunosuppression is the activity of hypoxia-inducible factors, which regulate the transcription of large batteries of genes in both cancer and stromal cells that block the infiltration and activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells, while stimulating the infiltration and activity of regulatory T cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and tumor-associated macrophages. Targeting hypoxia-inducible factors or their target gene products may restore anticancer immunity and improve the response to immunotherapies.

Keywords:  CTLA4; HIF-1α; HIF-2α; PD1; PDL1; oxygen

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00034.2020
Front Oncol. 2020 ;10 617109

Tumor Microenvironment Autophagic Processes and Cachexia: The Missing Link?

Renata de Castro Gonçalves, Paula Paccielli Freire, Dario Coletti, Marilia Seelaender.

  Cachexia is a syndrome that affects the entire organism and presents a variable plethora of symptoms in patients, always associated with continuous and involuntary degradation of skeletal muscle mass and function loss. In cancer, this syndrome occurs in 50% of all patients, while prevalence increases to 80% as the disease worsens, reducing quality of life, treatment tolerance, therapeutic response, and survival. Both chronic systemic inflammation and immunosuppression, paradoxically, correspond to important features in cachexia patients. Systemic inflammation in cachexia is fueled by the interaction between tumor and peripheral tissues with significant involvement of infiltrating immune cells, both in the peripheral tissues and in the tumor itself. Autophagy, as a process of regulating cellular metabolism and homeostasis, can interfere with the metabolic profile in the tumor microenvironment. Under a scenario of balanced autophagy in the tumor microenvironment, the infiltrating immune cells control cytokine production and secretion. On the other hand, when autophagy is unbalanced or dysfunctional within the tumor microenvironment, there is an impairment in the regulation of immune cell's inflammatory phenotype. The inflammatory phenotype upregulates metabolic consumption and cytokine production, not only in the tumor microenvironment but also in other tissues and organs of the host. We propose that cachexia-related chronic inflammation can be, at least, partly associated with the failure of autophagic processes in tumor cells. Autophagy endangers tumor cell viability by producing immunogenic tumor antigens, thus eliciting the immune response necessary to counteract tumor progression, while preventing the establishment of inflammation, a hallmark of cachexia. Comprehensive understanding of this complex functional dichotomy may enhance cancer treatment response and prevent/mitigate cancer cachexia. This review summarizes the recent available literature regarding the role of autophagy within the tumor microenvironment and the consequences eliciting the development of cancer cachexia.

Keywords:  DAMPs; autophagy; cachexia; lymphocyte infiltration; metabolism; systemic inflammations; tumor microenvironment

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.617109
J Cell Physiol. 2021 Feb 15.

Glucose deprivation-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress response plays a pivotal role in enhancement of TRAIL cytotoxicity.

Kalishwaralal Kalimuthu, Jin Hong Kim, Yong Seok Park, Xu Luo, Lin Zhang, Ja-Lok Ku, M Haroon A Choudry, Yong J Lee.

  Abnormalities of the tumor vasculature result in insufficient blood supply and development of a tumor microenvironment that is characterized by low glucose concentrations, low extracellular pH, and low oxygen tensions. We previously reported that glucose-deprived conditions induce metabolic stress and promote tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced cytotoxicity. In this study, we examined whether the metabolic stress-associated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response pathway plays a pivotal role in the enhancement of TRAIL cytotoxicity. We observed no significant cytotoxicity when human colorectal cancer SW48 cells were treated with various doses of TRAIL (2-100 ng/ml) for 4 h or glucose (0-25 mM) for 24 h. However, a combination of TRAIL and low glucose-induced dose-dependent apoptosis through activation of caspases (-8, -9, and -3). Studies with activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP), p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA), or death receptor 5 (DR5)-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts or HCT116 cells suggest that the ATF4-CHOP-PUMA axis and the ATF4-CHOP-DR5 axis are involved in the combined treatment-induced apoptosis. Moreover, the combined treatment-induced apoptosis was completely suppressed in BH3 interacting-domain death agonist (Bid)- or Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax)-deficient HCT116 cells, but not Bak-deficient HCT116 cells. Interestingly, the combined treatment-induced Bax oligomerization was suppressed in PUMA-deficient HCT116 cells. These results suggest that glucose deprivation enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis by integrating the ATF4-CHOP-PUMA axis and the ATF4-CHOP-DR5 axis, consequently amplifying the Bid-Bax-associated mitochondria-dependent pathway.

Keywords:  TRAIL cytotoxicity; endoplasmic reticulum stress; glucose deprivation

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.30329
Cancer Discov. 2021 Jan 27. pii: candisc.1211.2020. [Epub ahead of print]

Metabolic Codependencies in the Tumor Microenvironment.

Prasenjit Dey, Alec C Kimmelman, Ronald A DePinho.

Metabolic reprogramming enables cancer cell growth, proliferation, and survival. This reprogramming is driven by the combined actions of oncogenic alterations in cancer cells and host cell factors acting on cancer cells in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer cell intrinsic mechanisms activate signal transduction components that either directly enhance metabolic enzyme activity or upregulate transcription factors that in turn increase expression of metabolic regulators. Extrinsic signaling mechanisms involve host-derived factors that further promote and amplify metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells. This review describes intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms driving cancer metabolism in the tumor microenvironment and how such mechanisms may be targeted therapeutically.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1211
Cancer Res. 2021 Jan 27. pii: canres.0189.2020. [Epub ahead of print]

Inhibition of MDM2 promotes anti-tumor responses in p53 wild-type cancer cells through their interaction with the immune and stromal microenvironment.

Hui Qin Wang, Iain J Mulford, Fiona Sharp, Jinsheng Liang, Sema Kurtulus, Gina Trabucco, David S Quinn, Tyler A Longmire, Nidhi Patel, Roshani Patil, Matthew D Shirley, Yan Chen, Hao Wang, David A Ruddy, Claire Fabre, Juliet A Williams, Peter S Hammerman, Jennifer Mataraza, Barbara Platzer, Ensar Halilovic.

p53 is a transcription factor that plays a central role in guarding the genomic stability of cells through cell cycle arrest or induction of apoptosis. However, the effects of p53 in anti-tumor immunity are poorly understood. To investigate the role of p53 in controlling tumor-immune cell crosstalk, we studied murine syngeneic models treated with HDM201, a potent and selective second generation MDM2 inhibitor. In response to HDM201 treatment, the percentage of dendritic cells (DC) increased, including the CD103+ antigen cross-presenting subset. Furthermore, HDM201 increased the percentage of Tbet+Eomes+ CD8+ T cells and the CD8/Treg ratio within the tumor. These immunophenotypic changes were eliminated with the knockout of p53 in tumor cells. Enhanced expression of CD80 on tumor cells was observed in vitro and in vivo, which coincided with T-cell mediated tumor cell killing. Combining HDM201 with PD-1 or PD-L1 blockade increased the number of complete tumor regressions. Responding mice developed durable, antigen-specific memory T cells and rejected subsequent tumor implantation. Importantly, anti-tumor activity of HDM201 in combination with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade was abrogated in p53-mutated and knockout syngeneic tumor models, indicating the effect of HDM201 on the tumor is required for triggering anti-tumor immunity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that MDM2 inhibition triggers adaptive immunity, which is further enhanced by blockade of PD-1/PD-L1 pathway, thereby providing a rationale for combining MDM2 inhibitors and checkpoint blocking antibodies in patients with wild-type p53 tumors.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-0189
Cancer Res. 2021 Feb 16. pii: canres.3558.2020. [Epub ahead of print]

Tumor-derived pericytes driven by EGFR mutations govern the vascular and immune microenvironment of gliomas.

Berta Segura-Collar, María Garranzo-Asensio, Beatriz Herranz, Esther Hernández-SanMiguel, Teresa Cejalvo, Bárbara S Casas, Ander Matheu, Ángel Pérez-Núñez, Juan Manuel Sepúlveda-Sánchez, Aurelio Hernández-Laín, Verónica Palma, Ricardo Gargini, Pilar Sánchez-Gómez.

The extraordinary plasticity of glioma cells allows them to contribute to different cellular compartments in tumor vessels, reinforcing the vascular architecture. It was recently revealed that targeting glioma-derived pericytes, which represent a big percentage of the mural cell population in aggressive tumors, increases the permeability of the vessels and improves the efficiency of chemotherapy. However, the molecular determinants of this transdifferentiation process have not been elucidated. Here we show that mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) stimulate the capacity of glioma cells to function as pericytes in a BMX (bone marrow and X-linked) and SOX9-dependent manner. Subsequent activation of platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ) in the vessel walls of EGFR mutant gliomas stabilized the vasculature and facilitated the recruitment of immune cells. These changes in the tumor microenvironment conferred a growth advantage to the tumors but also rendered them sensitive to pericyte-targeting molecules such as ibrutinib or sunitinib. In the absence of EGFR mutations, high-grade gliomas were enriched in blood vessels but showed a highly disrupted blood-brain-barrier due to the decreased BMX/SOX9 activation and pericyte coverage, which led to poor oxygenation, necrosis, and hypoxia. Overall, these findingds identify EGFR mutations as key regulators of the glioma-to-pericyte transdifferentiation, highlighting the intricate relationship between the tumor cells and their vascular and immune milieu. Our results lay the foundations for a vascular-dependent stratification of gliomas and suggest different therapeutic vulnerabilities determined by the genetic status of EGFR.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3558