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Project description:We previously identified stress keratin 17 (K17) as a host factor that contributes to immune evasion in the context of mouse papillomavirus-induced disease. Analyses of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patient TCGA and tissue microarray data revealed that K17 can be overexpressed in both HPV+ and HPV- human cancer samples, with a more profound upregulation in HPV- HNSCC samples. In this report, we investigated the role of K17 in regulating immune response in HPV- head and neck cancer. To test whether K17 mediates immune evasion and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy in HPV- HNC, we used MOC2, a K17-expressing murine HNC cell line, and knocked out the K17 gene from it using CRISPR/Cas9 (K17KO MOC2 cells). Then we injected K17KO MOC2 cells or parental MOC2 cells into NSG and C57BL/6 mice and monitored tumor growth, immune cell infiltration, and response to ICB treatment in vivo. In NSG mice, the K17KO MOC2 cell lines grew as fast as parental MOC2 tumors. In C57BL/6 mice, K17KO MOC2 tumors grew significantly slower than parental MOC2 tumors, with 50% tumor rejection rate, in a T-cell dependent manner. Flow cytometry of tumor infiltrating T cells and bulk tumor RNA seq analyses show an active anti-tumor microenvironment in the K17KO MOC2 tumors, compared to parental MOC2 tumors. In addition, we observed that 5 out of 5 anti-PD1 + anti-CTLA4 treated K17KO MOC2 tumors completely regressed, while only 1 out of 5 parental MOC2 tumors similarly treated at the same size completely regressed (p<0.05). In exploring the role of chemokine CXCL9 in increased T cell infiltration, we blocked the receptor CXCR3, a receptor often upregulated on activated T cells, and saw a delay in the immune-mediated rejection K17KO MOC2 tumors. Single cell RNA seq analyses revealed a completely different immune landscape including both lymphoid and myeloid populations in K17KO MOC2 tumors. Overall, we demonstrated that K17 expression in HNSCC contributes to immune evasion and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade treatment through modulating the immune landscape in the tumor microenvironment.
2022-07-06 | GSE182026 | GEO
Project description:We previously identified stress keratin 17 (K17) as a host factor that contributes to immune evasion in the context of mouse papillomavirus-induced disease. Analyses of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patient TCGA and tissue microarray data revealed that K17 can be overexpressed in both HPV+ and HPV- human cancer samples, with a more profound upregulation in HPV- HNSCC samples. In this report, we investigated the role of K17 in regulating immune response in HPV- head and neck cancer. To test whether K17 mediates immune evasion and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy in HPV- HNC, we used MOC2, a K17-expressing murine HNC cell line, and knocked out the K17 gene from it using CRISPR/Cas9 (K17KO MOC2 cells). Then we injected K17KO MOC2 cells or parental MOC2 cells into NSG and C57BL/6 mice and monitored tumor growth, immune cell infiltration, and response to ICB treatment in vivo. In NSG mice, the K17KO MOC2 cell lines grew as fast as parental MOC2 tumors. In C57BL/6 mice, K17KO MOC2 tumors grew significantly slower than parental MOC2 tumors, with 50% tumor rejection rate, in a T-cell dependent manner. Flow cytometry of tumor infiltrating T cells and bulk tumor RNA seq analyses show an active anti-tumor microenvironment in the K17KO MOC2 tumors, compared to parental MOC2 tumors. In addition, we observed that 5 out of 5 anti-PD1 + anti-CTLA4 treated K17KO MOC2 tumors completely regressed, while only 1 out of 5 parental MOC2 tumors similarly treated at the same size completely regressed (p<0.05). In exploring the role of chemokine CXCL9 in increased T cell infiltration, we blocked the receptor CXCR3, a receptor often upregulated on activated T cells, and saw a delay in the immune-mediated rejection K17KO MOC2 tumors. Single cell RNA seq analyses revealed a completely different immune landscape including both lymphoid and myeloid populations in K17KO MOC2 tumors. Overall, we demonstrated that K17 expression in HNSCC contributes to immune evasion and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade treatment through modulating the immune landscape in the tumor microenvironment.
2022-07-06 | GSE182002 | GEO
Project description:Stress Keratin 17 mediates immune evasion in head and neck cancer
| PRJNA754206 | ENA
Project description:PurposeWe investigated whether in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) high levels of expression of stress keratin 17 (K17) are associated with poor survival and resistance to immunotherapy.Experimental designWe investigated the role of K17 in regulating both the tumor microenvironment and immune responsiveness of HNSCC using a syngeneic mouse HNSCC model, MOC2. MOC2 gives rise to immunologically cold tumors that are resistant to immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB). We engineered multiple, independent K17 knockout (KO) MOC2 cell lines and monitored their growth and response to ICB. We also measured K17 expression in human HNSCC of patients undergoing ICB.ResultsMOC2 tumors were found to express K17 at high levels. When knocked out for K17 (K17KO MOC2), these cells formed tumors that grew slowly or spontaneously regressed and had a high CD8+ T-cell infiltrate in immunocompetent syngeneic C57BL/6 mice compared with parental MOC2 tumors. This phenotype was reversed when we depleted mice for T cells. Whereas parental MOC2 tumors were resistant to ICB treatment, K17KO MOC2 tumors that did not spontaneously regress were eliminated upon ICB treatment. In a cohort of patients with HNSCC receiving pembrolizumab, high K17 expression correlated with poor response. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis revealed broad differences in the immune landscape of K17KO MOC2 tumors compared with parental MOC2 tumors, including differences in multiple lymphoid and myeloid cell types.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that K17 expression in HNSCC contributes to immune evasion and resistance to ICB treatment by broadly altering immune landscapes of tumors.
| S-EPMC9250640 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Stress Keratin 17 mediates immune evasion in head and neck cancer [RNA-seq]
| PRJNA754207 | ENA
Project description:Stress Keratin 17 mediates immune evasion in head and neck cancer [scRNA-seq]
| PRJNA754166 | ENA
Project description:Head and neck cancer is disfiguring and deadly, and contemporary treatment has fallen short in terms of morbidity and mortality. The rich immune infiltrate within these tumors designates them as prime candidates for immunotherapy and success with these drugs has been documented for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer. Still, single-agent immunotherapy has generated either only transient responses or durable response in only a minority subset of patients. Mapping the immune escape mechanisms enacted by head and neck cancer within the tumor microenvironment allows for rational design of strategies to overcome this tolerance. We outline the immune pathway derangements within the head and neck cancer microenvironment and discuss combination treatment strategies to overcome the limitations of immunologic monotherapy.
| S-EPMC7304339 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Low response rates in immune check-point blockade (ICB)-treated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) drive a critical need for robust, clinically validated predictive biomarkers. Our group previously showed that stress keratin 17 (CK17) suppresses macrophage-mediated CXCL9/CXCL10 chemokine signaling involved in attracting activated CD8+ T cells into tumors, correlating with decreased response rate to pembrolizumab-based therapy in a pilot cohort of ICB-treated HNSCC (n = 26). Here, we performed an expanded analysis of the predictive value of CK17 in ICB-treated HNSCC according to the REMARK criteria and investigated the gene expression profiles associated with high CK17 expression. Pretreatment samples from pembrolizumab-treated HNSCC patients were stained via immunohistochemistry using a CK17 monoclonal antibody (n = 48) and subjected to spatial transcriptomic profiling (n = 8). Our findings were validated in an independent retrospective cohort (n = 22). CK17 RNA expression in pembrolizumab-treated patients with various cancer types was investigated for predictive significance. Of the 48 patients (60% male, median age of 61.5 years), 21 (44%) were CK17 high, and 27 (56%) were CK17 low. A total of 17 patients (35%, 77% CK17 low) had disease control, while 31 patients (65%, 45% CK17 low) had progressive disease. High CK17 expression was associated with a lack of disease control (p = 0.037), shorter time to treatment failure (p = 0.025), and progression-free survival (PFS, p = 0.004), but not overall survival (OS, p = 0.06). A high CK17 expression was associated with lack of disease control in an independent validation cohort (p = 0.011). PD-L1 expression did not correlate with CK17 expression or clinical outcome. CK17 RNA expression was predictive of PFS and OS in 552 pembrolizumab-treated cancer patients. Our findings indicate that high CK17 expression may predict resistance to ICB in HNSCC patients and beyond.
| S-EPMC10571921 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Starting in 2014, large phase III clinical trials began to disclose the study results of using programmed death (PD)-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) (pembrolizumab, nivolumab) and PD-ligand (L)1 (atezolizumab, durvalumab, avelumab) ICIs immunotherapy in patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In the recurrent and metastatic (R/M), cisplatin-refractory setting, nivolumab achieved a 2.2-fold increase of the median 1-year overall survival as compared with investigators' choice of salvage chemotherapy (36.0 vs. 16.6%). A paradigm shift to the winning regimen, pembrolizumab combined with platinum and infusional fluorouracil, has outperformed the past gold standard of cetuximab-based platinum and fluorouracil combination in terms of overall survival (median, 13.6 vs. 10.1 mo) when administered as the first-line treatment for R/M HNSCC. Nevertheless, many patients still did not respond to the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor treatment, indicating innate, adapted, or quickly acquired resistance to the immunotherapy. The mechanisms of resistance to ICIs targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway in the context of HNSCC are the focus of this review. The past 5 years have seen improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying checkpoint inhibition resistance in tumor cells, such as: tumor cell adaption with malfunction of the antigen-presenting machinery via class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA), reintroduction of cyclin D-cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 complex to cell cycles, enrichment of CD44+ cancer stem-like cells, or development of inactivating mutation in IKZF1 gene; impairment of T-cell functions and proliferation through mutations in the interferon-γ-regulating genes, suppression of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway, or resulted from constitutional nutritional iron deficiency state; metabolic reprogramming by cancer cells with changes in metabolites such as GTP cyclohydrolase 1, tetrahydrobiopterin, kynurenine, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, and arginase 1; defective dendritic cells, CD-69 sufficient state; and the upregulation or activation of the alternative immune checkpoints, including lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG3), T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT)/CD155 pathway, T-cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (TIM-3), and V domain-containing Ig suppressor of T-cell activation (VISTA). Several potential biomarkers or biosignatures, which could predict the response or resistance to the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint immunotherapy, are also discussed.
| S-EPMC7058818 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas' disease. Novel chemotherapy with the drug K11777 targets the major cysteine protease cruzain and disrupts amastigote intracellular development. Nevertheless, the biological role of the protease in infection and pathogenesis remains unclear as cruzain gene knockout failed due to genetic redundancy. A role for the T. cruzi cysteine protease cruzain in immune evasion was elucidated in a comparative study of parental wild type- and cruzain-deficient parasites. Wild type T. cruzi did not activate host macrophages during early infection (<60 min) and no increase in ∼P iκB was detected. The signaling factor NF-κB P65 colocalized with cruzain on the cell surface of intracellular wild type parasites, and was proteolytically cleaved. No significant IL-12 expression occurred in macrophages infected with wild type T. cruzi and treated with LPS and BFA, confirming impairment of macrophage activation pathways. In contrast, cruzain-deficient parasites induced macrophage activation, detectable iκB phosphorylation, and nuclear NF-κB P65 localization. These parasites were unable to develop intracellularly and survive within macrophages. IL 12 expression levels in macrophages infected with cruzain-deficient T. cruzi were comparable to LPS activated controls. Thus cruzain hinders macrophage activation during the early (<60 min) stages of infection, by interruption of the NF-κB P65 mediated signaling pathway. These early events allow T. cruzi survival and replication, and may lead to the spread of infection in acute Chagas' disease.
| S-EPMC3164631 | biostudies-other