0000000000019795
AUTHOR
Frédérique Végran
Les lymphocytes Th9
Th9 cells are CD4 T helper cells characterized by their ability to produce IL-9 and IL-21. These cells are obtained from naive CD4(+) T cells cultured in the presence of TGF-β and IL-4. Thus their differentiation results from the balance between the signaling pathways induced by IL-4 in one hand and the one induced by TGF-β in the other hand. These cells are inflammatory cells and were first described in the context of atopic and autoimmune diseases in which they have a pathogenic role. They are also involved in the defense against parasite infections. Recently, some reports defined Th9 anticancer properties through their cytokine secretion. Indeed, their high secretion of IL-9 and IL-21 in…
Modulation of CD4 T Cell Response According to Tumor Cytokine Microenvironment
Simple Summary It is now accepted that CD4 T lymphocytes play an essential role in the anti-tumor response. CD4 T lymphocytes can activate and regulate several aspects of innate and adaptive immunity and participate in the rejection of tumors. Understanding the impact of the tumor, through cytokines present in the microenvironment, but also the effect of anti-cancer therapies are critical aspects of immunotherapy research aiming at improving the anti-tumor response dependent on CD4 T lymphocytes. Abstract The advancement of knowledge on tumor biology over the past decades has demonstrated a close link between tumor cells and cells of the immune system. In this context, cytokines have a majo…
Stat3 and Gfi-1 Transcription Factors Control Th17 Cell Immunosuppressive Activity via the Regulation of Ectonucleotidase Expression
International audience; Although Th17 cells are known to promote tissue inflammation and autoimmunity, their role during cancer progression remains elusive. Here, we showed that in vitro Th17 cells generated with the cytokines IL-6 and TGF-β expressed CD39 and CD73 ectonucleotidases, leading to adenosine release and the subsequent suppression of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell effector functions. The IL-6-mediated activation of the transcription factor Stat3 and the TGF-β-driven downregulation of Gfi-1 transcription factor were both essential for the expression of ectonucleotidases during Th17 cell differentiation. Stat3 supported whereas Gfi-1 repressed CD39 and CD73 expression by binding to thei…
SOCS3 transactivation by PPARγ prevents IL-17-driven cancer growth.
Abstract Activation of the transcription factor PPARγ by the n-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is implicated in controlling proinflammatory cytokine secretion, but the intracellular signaling pathways engaged by PPARγ are incompletely characterized. Here, we identify the adapter-encoding gene SOCS3 as a critical transcriptional target of PPARγ. SOCS3 promoter binding and gene transactivation by PPARγ was associated with a repression in differentiation of proinflammatory T-helper (TH)17 cells. Accordingly, TH17 cells induced in vitro displayed increased SOCS3 expression and diminished capacity to produce interleukin (IL)-17 following activation of PPARγ by DHA. Furthermore, naïve CD4…
Bleomycin Exerts Ambivalent Antitumor Immune Effect by Triggering Both Immunogenic Cell Death and Proliferation of Regulatory T Cells
International audience; Bleomycin (BLM) is an anticancer drug currently used for the treatment of testis cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma. This drug triggers cancer cell death via its capacity to generate radical oxygen species (ROS). However, the putative contribution of anticancer immune responses to the efficacy of BLM has not been evaluated. We make here the observation that BLM induces immunogenic cell death. In particular, BLM is able to induce ROS-mediated reticulum stress and autophagy, which result in the surface exposure of chaperones, including calreticulin and ERp57, and liberation of HMBG1 and ATP. BLM induces anti-tumor immunity which relies on calreticulin, CD8(+) T cells and inte…
The receptor NLRP3 is a transcriptional regulator of TH2 differentiation.
The receptor NLRP3 is involved in the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome that activates caspase-1 and mediates the release of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-18. Whether NLRP3 can shape immunological function independently of inflammasomes is unclear. We found that NLRP3 expression in CD4(+) T cells specifically supported a T helper type 2 (TH2) transcriptional program in a cell-intrinsic manner. NLRP3, but not the inflammasome adaptor ASC or caspase-1, positively regulated a TH2 program. In TH2 cells, NLRP3 bound the Il4 promoter and transactivated it in conjunction with the transcription factor IRF4. Nlrp3-deficient TH2 cells supported melanoma tumor growth in an IL-4-dependent manner and …
Human ectonucleotidase-expressing CD25 high Th17 cells accumulate in breast cancer tumors and exert immunosuppressive functions
IF 7.644; International audience; Th17 cells contribute to the development of some autoimmune and allergic diseases by driving tissue inflammation. However, the function of Th17 cells during cancer progression remains controversial. Here, we show that human memory CD25(high) Th17 cells suppress T cell immunity in breast cancer. Ectonucleotidase-expressing Th17 cells accumulated in breast cancer tumors and suppressed CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell activation. These cells expressed both Ror gamma t and Foxp3 genes and secreted Th17 related cytokines. We further found that CD39 ectonucleotisase expression on tumor-infiltrating Th17 cells was driven by TGF-beta and IL-6. Finally, immunohistochemical …
Accumulation of MDSC and Th17 Cells in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Predicts the Efficacy of a FOLFOX-Bevacizumab Drug Treatment Regimen
Abstract Host immunity controls the development of colorectal cancer, and chemotherapy used to treat colorectal cancer is likely to recruit the host immune system at some level. Athough preclinical studies have argued that colorectal cancer drugs, such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin, exert such effects, their combination as employed in the oncology clinic has not been evaluated. Here, we report the results of prospective immunomonitoring of 25 metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients treated with a first-line combination regimen of 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and bevacizumab (FOLFOX–bevacizumab), as compared with 20 healthy volunteers. Before this therapy was initiated, T regulatory ce…
A Short Caspase-3 Isoform Inhibits Chemotherapy-Induced Apoptosis by Blocking Apoptosome Assembly
Alternative splicing of caspase-3 produces a short isoform caspase-3s that antagonizes caspase-3 apoptotic activity. However, the mechanism of apoptosis inhibition by caspase-3s remains unknown. Here we show that exogenous caspase-3 sensitizes MCF-7 and HBL100 breast cancers cells to chemotherapeutic treatments such as etoposide and methotrexate whereas co-transfection with caspase-3s strongly inhibits etoposide and methotrexate-induced apoptosis underlying thus the anti-apoptotic role of caspase-3s. In caspase-3 transfected cells, lamin-A and α-fodrin were cleaved when caspase-3 was activated by etoposide or methotrexate. When caspase-3s was co-transfected, this cleavage was strongly reduc…
Dacarbazine-mediated upregulation of NKG2D ligands on tumor cells activates NK and CD8 T cells and restrains melanoma growth.
International audience; Dacarbazine (DTIC) is a cytotoxic drug widely used for melanoma treatment. However, the putative contribution of anticancer immune responses in the efficacy of DTIC has not been evaluated. By testing how DTIC affects host immune responses to cancer in a mouse model of melanoma, we unexpectedly found that both natural killer (NK) and CD8(+) T cells were indispensable for DTIC therapeutic effect. Although DTIC did not directly affect immune cells, it triggered the upregulation of NKG2D ligands on tumor cells, leading to NK cell activation and IFNγ secretion in mice and humans. NK cell-derived IFNγ subsequently favored upregulation of major histocompatibility complex cl…
Chemotherapy-triggered cathepsin B release in myeloid-derived suppressor cells activates the Nlrp3 inflammasome and promotes tumor growth
International audience; Chemotherapeutic agents are widely used for cancer treatment. In addition to their direct cytotoxic effects, these agents harness the host's immune system, which contributes to their antitumor activity. Here we show that two clinically used chemotherapeutic agents, gemcitabine (Gem) and 5-fluorouracil (5FU), activate the NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing-3 protein (Nlrp3)-dependent caspase-1 activation complex (termed the inflammasome) in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), leading to production of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), which curtails anticancer immunity. Chemotherapy-triggered IL-1β secretion relied on lysosomal permeabilization and the relea…
Th9 Cells: A Novel CD4 T-cell Subset in the Immune War against Cancer
Abstract CD4 T cells are key components of the immune system that shape the anticancer immune response in animal models and in humans. The biology of CD4 T cells is complex because naïve T cells can differentiate into various subpopulations with various functions. Recently, a new population called Th9 cells was described. These cells are characterized by their ability to produce IL9 and IL21. They were first described in the context of parasite infections and allergic processes. However, some reports described their presence in the tumor bed in mice and humans. Their high secretion of IL9 and IL21 in the tumor bed contributes to their anticancer functions. Indeed, these cytokines trigger th…
Socs3 induction by PPARγ restrains cancer-promoting inflammation
The presence of proinflammatory cytokines in the tumor microenvironment can support further growth of established cancers. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) ligand, has been shown to suppress inflammation and limit tumor progression in vivo. Are the anticancer properties of DHA relying on its ability to prevent inflammation? If so, what are the molecular links between the anti-inflammatory properties of DHA and its anticancer effects? DHA is an n-3 polyinsaturated fatty acid mainly found in fish oil that was shown to contribute to inflammation resolution by preventing the release of proinflammatory mediators in vivo.1 DHA has also been as…
STAT3 activation: A key factor in tumor immunoescape.
Cancer growth is controlled by cancer cells (cell intrinsic phenomenon), but also by the immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (cell extrinsic phenomenon). Thus cancer progression is mediated by the activation of transcription programs responsible for cancer cell proliferation, but also induced proliferation/activation of immunosuppressive cells such as Th17, Treg or myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). One of the key transcription factors involved in these pathways is the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). In this review we will focus on STAT3 activation in immune cells, and how it impacts on tumor progression.
The transcription factor IRF1 dictates the IL-21-dependent anticancer functions of TH9 cells
The TH9 subset of helper T cells was initially shown to contribute to the induction of autoimmune and allergic diseases, but subsequent evidence has suggested that these cells also exert antitumor activities. However, the molecular events that account for their effector properties are elusive. Here we found that the transcription factor IRF1 enhanced the effector function of TH9 cells and dictated their anticancer properties. Under TH9-skewing conditions, interleukin 1β (IL-1β) induced phosphorylation of the transcription factor STAT1 and subsequent expression of IRF1, which bound to the promoters of Il9 and Il21 and enhanced secretion of the cytokines IL-9 and IL-21 from TH9 cells. Further…