Identification of novel genes in testicular cancer microenvironment based on ESTIMATE algorithm-derived immune scores
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY
Authors: Ke, Zhi-Bin; Wu, Yu-Peng; Huang, Peng; Hou, Jian; Chen, Ye-Hui; Dong, Ru-Nan; Lin, Fei; Wei, Yong; Xue, Xue-Yi; Ng, Chi-Fai; Xu, Ning
Abstract
Testicular cancer is the most common solid malignancy among young men. We downloaded data of testicular cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas database to find novel genes in the testicular cancer microenviroment based on ESTIMATE algorithm-derived immune scores. A total of 156 cases of testicular cancer were included in this study and 165 cases of normal testicular tissues were used. We divided the testicular cancer patients into high- and low-score groups based on their immune scores. We identified 1,226 differentially expressed genes (fold change > 2, false discovery rate < 0.05), including 688 downregulated genes and 538 upregulated genes, between these two groups. The top Gene Ontology terms were involved in the immune response-regulating cell surface receptor signaling pathway, immune response-activating cell surface receptor signaling pathway, external side of the plasma membrane, and receptor ligand activity. By performing the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, we demonstrated that cAMP signaling pathway was highly enriched among these differentially expressed genes. High expression of LINC01564, LINC02208, ODAM, RNA5SP111, and RNU6-196P were found to be associated with poor overall survival. The expression of genes was further validated by the Human Protein Atlas and only ALB and IFNG were demonstrated to be differentially expressed between testis tissue and testicular cancer tissue.
SMAC Mimetic Debio 1143 and Ablative Radiation Therapy Synergize to Enhance Antitumor Immunity against Lung Cancer
CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH
Authors: Tao, Zhen; McCall, Neal S.; Wiedemann, Norbert; Vuagniaux, Gregoire; Yuan, Zhiyong; Lu, Bo
Abstract
Purpose: Adaptive antitumor immunity following ablative radiotherapy (ART) is attenuated by host myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC), tumor-associated macrophage (TAM), and regulatory T-cell (Treg) infiltrates. We hypothesized treatment with ART and a secondary mitochondrialderived activators of caspase (SMAC) mimetic could reverse the immunosuppressive lung cancer microenvironment to favor adaptive immunity. Experimental Design: To evaluate for synergy between ART and the SMAC mimetic Debio 1143 and the dependence upon CD8 thorn T cells and TNFa, we used LLC-OVA syngeneic mouse model of lung cancer and treated them with Debio 1143 and/or ART (30 Gy) with or without anti-CD8, anti-TNFa, or anti-IFNg antibodies. Tumorinfiltrating OVA-specific CD8 thorn T cells, Tc1 effector cells, MDSCs, TAMs, and Tregs, were quantified by flow cytometry. Tc1-promoting cytokines TNF alpha, IFN gamma, and IL1 beta and the immunosuppressive IL10 and Arg-1 within LLC-OVA tumor tissue or mouse serum were measured by RT-PCR and ELISA. Results: ART delayed tumor growth, and the addition of Debio 1143 greatly enhanced its efficacy, which included several complete responses. These complete responders rejected an LLC-OVA tumor rechallenge. ART and Debio 1143 synergistically induced a tumor-specific, Tc1 cellular and cytokine response while eliminating immunosuppressive cells and cytokines from the tumor microenvironment. Depletion of CD8 thorn cells, TNFa, and IFNg with blocking antibody abrogated synergy between ART and Debio 1143 and partially restored tumor-infiltrating MDSCs. Conclusions: Debio 1143 augments the tumor-specific adaptive immunity induced by ART, while reversing host immunosuppressive cell infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment in a TNFa, IFNg, and CD8 thorn T-cell-dependent manner. This provides a novel strategy to enhance the immunogenicity of ART.