0000000000634441
AUTHOR
Gordon J. Freeman
Activation of the PD-1 Pathway Contributes to Immune Escape in EGFR-Driven Lung Tumors
Abstract The success in lung cancer therapy with programmed death (PD)-1 blockade suggests that immune escape mechanisms contribute to lung tumor pathogenesis. We identified a correlation between EGF receptor (EGFR) pathway activation and a signature of immunosuppression manifested by upregulation of PD-1, PD-L1, CTL antigen-4 (CTLA-4), and multiple tumor-promoting inflammatory cytokines. We observed decreased CTLs and increased markers of T-cell exhaustion in mouse models of EGFR-driven lung cancer. PD-1 antibody blockade improved the survival of mice with EGFR-driven adenocarcinomas by enhancing effector T-cell function and lowering the levels of tumor-promoting cytokines. Expression of m…
Characterizing diversity in the tumor-immune microenvironment of distinct subclasses of gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas
Background Gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas (GEAs) are heterogeneous cancers where immune checkpoint inhibitors have robust efficacy in heavily inflamed microsatellite instability (MSI) or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive subtypes. Immune checkpoint inhibitor responses are markedly lower in diffuse/genome stable (GS) and chromosomal instable (CIN) GEAs. In contrast to EBV and MSI subtypes, the tumor microenvironment of CIN and GS GEAs have not been fully characterized to date, which limits our ability to improve immunotherapeutic strategies. Patients and methods Here we aimed to identify tumor-immune cell association across GEA subclasses using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (N = 453 GE…
Interleukin-17A Promotes Lung Tumor Progression through Neutrophil Attraction to Tumor Sites and Mediating Resistance to PD-1 Blockade
Abstract Introduction Proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is overexpressed in a subset of patients with lung cancer. We hypothesized that IL-17A promotes a protumorigenic inflammatory phenotype and inhibits antitumor immune responses. Methods We generated bitransgenic mice expressing a conditional IL-17A allele along with conditional Kras G12D and performed immune phenotyping of mouse lungs, a survival analysis, and treatment studies with antibodies either blocking programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or IL-6 or depleting neutrophils. To support the preclinical findings, we analyzed human gene expression data sets and immune profiled patient lung tumors. Results Tumors in IL-17:Kras…
Abstract B290: Activation of the PD-1 pathway contributes to immune escape in EGFR-driven lung tumors.
Abstract The recent clinical success of therapeutic blockade of the immune checkpoint Programmed Death (PD)-1 in advanced lung cancer patients suggests that mechanisms of immune escape may contribute to lung tumor pathogenesis. We identified a correlation between Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) pathway activation and a gene signature indicative of immunosuppression manifested by upregulation of PD-1, PD-L1, cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and multiple tumor-promoting inflammatory cytokines. Accordingly, we identified a decrease in the number of cytotoxic T cells and an increase in markers of T cell exhaustion in genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of EGFR-driven lu…