Immunogenic Senescence Sensitizes Lung Cancer to LUNX-Targeting Therapy [NCI-H292]
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: The higher immunogenicity of tumors usually predicts favorable therapeutic responses. Tumor antigens dominate the immunogenic character within tumors. We investigated if there was a targetable tumor antigen during immunogenic chemotherapy within lung cancer. Chemotherapy-induced immunogenic senescence was demonstrated using a multi-marker, three-step workflow and RNA-sequencing data. The ability of anti-lung-specific X protein (LUNX) antibody to suppress the survival of senescent lung cancer cells was evaluated in vitro and in vivo using real-time cytotoxicity analysis and xenograft mouse models, respectively. The induction of cellular senescence by immunogenic chemotherapy boosted cell-surface shuttling of LUNX and enhanced the immunogenic features of senescent tumor cells, which sensitized lung cancer cells to anti-LUNX antibody-mediated therapy and contributed to tumor suppression. The immunogenic senescence-mediated anti-tumor response was triggered by the direct action of antibody on tumor cells, strengthened by natural-killer cells through an antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity response and, ultimately, led to tumor control. Our findings suggest that LUNX is a lung cancer targetable-immunogenic antigen. The proportion of lung cancers responding to LUNX-targeting therapy could be expanded substantially by immunogenic chemotherapy that induces senescence-associated translocation of LUNX to the plasma membrane.
Project description:The higher immunogenicity of tumors usually predicts favorable therapeutic responses. Tumor antigens dominate the immunogenic character within tumors. We investigated if there was a targetable tumor antigen during immunogenic chemotherapy within lung cancer. Chemotherapy-induced immunogenic senescence was demonstrated using a multi-marker, three-step workflow and RNA-sequencing data. The ability of anti-lung-specific X protein (LUNX) antibody to suppress the survival of senescent lung cancer cells was evaluated in vitro and in vivo using real-time cytotoxicity analysis and xenograft mouse models, respectively. The induction of cellular senescence by immunogenic chemotherapy boosted cell-surface shuttling of LUNX and enhanced the immunogenic features of senescent tumor cells, which sensitized lung cancer cells to anti-LUNX antibody-mediated therapy and contributed to tumor suppression. The immunogenic senescence-mediated anti-tumor response was triggered by the direct action of antibody on tumor cells, strengthened by natural-killer cells through an antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity response and, ultimately, led to tumor control. Our findings suggest that LUNX is a lung cancer targetable-immunogenic antigen. The proportion of lung cancers responding to LUNX-targeting therapy could be expanded substantially by immunogenic chemotherapy that induces senescence-associated translocation of LUNX to the plasma membrane.
Project description:Cellular senescence is a stress response that activates innate immunity. However, the interplay between senescent cells and the adaptive immune system remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that senescent cells display enhanced MHC class I (MHC-I) antigen processing and presentation. Immunization of mice with senescent syngeneic fibroblasts generates CD8 T cells reactive against both normal and senescent fibroblasts, some of them targeting senescence-associated MHC-I-peptides. In the context of cancer, we demonstrate that senescent cancer cells trigger strong anti-tumor protection mediated by antigen-presenting cells and CD8 T cells. This response is superior to the protection elicited by cells undergoing immunogenic cell death. Finally, induction of senescence in patient-derived cancer cells exacerbates the activation of autologous tumor-reactive CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) with no effect on non-reactive TILs. Our study indicates that immunization with senescent cancer cells strongly activates anti-tumor immunity, and this can be exploited for cancer therapy.
Project description:Cellular senescence is a stress response known to activate innate immunity. However, how senescent cells interact with the adaptive immune system remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that senescent cells display an enhanced MHC class I antigen processing and presentation. Furthermore, senescent cells present an altered immunopeptidome including unique non-mutated antigens that can be recognized by specific CD8 T cells. Immunization of mice with senescent cancer cells triggers strong protective CD8-dependent antitumor responses, superior to immunogenic cell death. Similarly, induction of senescence in human primary cancer cells hyperactivates their cognate reactive CD8 T cell. Our study indicates that immunization with senescent cells provides a sustained source of antigens that strongly activate anti-tumor CD8 T cells.
Project description:We evaluated the TGFβ blocking antibody NIS793 in combination with either gemcitabine/n(ab)-paclitaxel or FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy in orthotopic pancreatic cancer. Blockade of TGFβ with chemotherapy reduced tumor burden in poorly immunogenic pancreatic cancer, without affecting the metastatic rate of cancer cells. TGFβ blockade decreased total aSMA+ fibroblasts but had minimal effect on fibroblast heterogeneity.
Project description:Anti-cancer therapies often result in a subset of surviving cancer cells that undergo therapy induced senescence (TIS). Senescent cancer cells strongly modify the intratumoral microenvironment favoring immunosuppression and, thereby, tumor growth. An emerging strategy to optimise current therapies is to combine them with treatments that eliminate senescent cells. To this end, we undertook an unbiased proteomics approach to identify surface markers contributing to senescent cells immune evasion. Through this approach, we discovered that the immune checkpoint inhibitor PD-L2, but not PD-L1, is upregulated across multiple senescent human and murine cells. Importantly, blockade of PD-L2 strongly synergises with genotoxic chemotherapy, causing remission of solid tumors in mice. We show that PD-L2 inhibition prevents the persistence of chemotherapy-induced senescent cells, which exert cell-extrinsic immunomodulatory actions. In particular, upon chemotherapy, tumors deficient in PD-L2 fail to produce cytokines of the CXCL family, do not recruit myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and are eliminated in a CD8 T cell-dependent manner. We conclude that blockade of PD-L2 improves chemotherapy efficacy by reducing the intratumoral burden of senescent cells and their associated recruitment of immunosuppressive cells. These findings provide a novel strategy to exploit vulnerabilities arising in tumor cells as a result of therapy-induced damage and cellular senescence
Project description:Although cellular senescence acts primarily as a tumor suppression mechanism, the accumulation of senescent cells in vivo eventually exerts deleterious side effects through inflammatory/tumor-promoting factor secretion. Thus, the development of new drugs that cause the specific elimination of senescent cells, termed senolysis, is anticipated. Here, by an unbiased high-throughput screening of chemical compounds and a bio-functional analysis, we identify ARV825 as a promising senolytic drug. ARV825 treatment eliminates senescent hepatic stellate cells in obese mouse livers, accompanied by the reduction of liver cancer development. Furthermore, the elimination of chemotherapy-induced senescent cells by ARV825 increases the efficacy of chemotherapy against xenograft tumors in immunocompromised mice. These results reveal the vulnerability of senescent cells and open up possibilities for its control.
Project description:Lung cancer is a fatal complication of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with a poor prognosis. Current treatments are insufficient in improving the prognosis of lung cancer patients with comorbid idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF-LC). Senescent fibroblasts play a pivotal role within the tumor microenvironment, influencing tumor progression by secreted exosomes. With evidence that fibroblast senescence is an important mechanism of IPF, we sought to investigate the impact of senescent IPF lung fibroblast-derived exosomes on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our results show that IPF fibroblasts (diseased human lung fibroblasts, DHLF) express significant senescence markers, promoting NSCLC proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Specifically, we observed senescent DHLFs secret more exosomes (DHLF-exosomes), which could enhance proliferation and colony-forming ability of cancer cells. Proteomic analysis of DHLF-exosomes identified upregulation of SASP factors, notably MMP1, which activates the surface receptor PAR1. Knocking down MMP1 or using PAR1 inhibitors reduced the tumor-promoting effects of DHLF-exosomes in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, MMP1 acted via activating the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway. In conclusion, our results suggest that exosomal MMP1 derived from senescent IPF fibroblasts promotes NSCLC proliferation and colony formation by targeting PAR1 and activating the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway. These findings provide a novel therapeutic approach for patients with IPF-LC.
Project description:Treatment-induced senescence (TIS) is a DNA damage-triggered stress-response program, resulting in terminal arrest of affected cells. TIS plays an important role in cancer therapy, as many tumor cells would undergo TIS instead of apoptosis when exposed to standard chemotherapy regimens. The contribution of TIS to overall disease outcome is, however, unclear. To address this, we use lymphoma cells with conditional expression of the senescence-essential factor Suv39h1 (regulatable by 4-hydroxi-tamoxifen). Only cells with active Suv39h1 would undergo TIS in response to chemotherapy. Suv39h1 inactivation during the chemo-treatment would prevent TIS induction, while inactivation in fully senescent cells would allow outgrowth from the TIS cell cycle arrest. Such post-senescent cells (PS) show very different biological behavior than the cells growing in senescence-incompetent setting - never senescent (NS). The molecular characteristics of each of these treatment conditions are analyzed here by assessing global transcriptome data. We used global gene expression profiling by microarrays to gain insight in the molecular programme underlying the chemotherapy response in primary Emu-myc transgenic B-cell lymphomas.
Project description:Cellular senescence is a tumor-suppressive program that involves chromatin reorganization and specific changes in gene expression that trigger an irreversible cell-cycle arrest. We combined quantitative mass spectrometry and ChIP deep-sequencing to identify changes in histone modification occurring during cellular senescence. ChIP-seq was carried out using H3K4me3-specific antibodies in growing, quiescent, senescent, or senescent with shRB targeting Rb, IMR90 cells. The control mock data (ChIP-seq using anti-mouse IgG antibody) is available in GEO Sample GSM497500 (Series GSE19898).
Project description:Standard chemotherapy for lung cancer often leads to drug resistance, posing a significant clinical challenge. A major mechanism of resistance is overexpression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), encoded by the human ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (hABCB1) gene, functioning as a drug efflux transporter. In this study, we aimed to investigate the dual role of hABCB1 overexpression in mediating resistance to chemotherapy and natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity in lung cancer.