A novel retinoic acid receptor-γ agonist antagonizes immune checkpoint resistance in lung cancers by altering the tumor immune microenvironment

Autor: Cheng-Hsin Wei, Lu Huang, Blair Kreh, Xiuxia Liu, Liliya Tyutyunyk-Massey, Masanori Kawakami, Zibo Chen, Mi Shi, Serguei Kozlov, King C. Chan, Thorkell Andresson, Mary Carrington, Vidyasagar Vuligonda, Martin E. Sanders, Amir Horowitz, Patrick Hwu, Weiyi Peng, Ethan Dmitrovsky, Xi Liu
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41690-5
Popis: Abstract All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) agonist, regulates cell growth, differentiation, immunity, and survival. We report that ATRA-treatment repressed cancer growth in syngeneic immunocompetent, but not immunodeficient mice. The tumor microenvironment was implicated: CD8+ T cell depletion antagonized ATRA’s anti-tumorigenic effects in syngeneic mice. ATRA-treatment with checkpoint blockade did not cooperatively inhibit murine lung cancer growth. To augment ATRA’s anti-tumorigenicity without promoting its pro-tumorigenic potential, an RARγ agonist (IRX4647) was used since it regulates T cell biology. Treating with IRX4647 in combination with an immune checkpoint (anti-PD-L1) inhibitor resulted in a statistically significant suppression of syngeneic 344SQ lung cancers in mice—a model known for its resistance to checkpoints and characterized by low basal T cell and PD-L1 expression. This combined treatment notably elevated CD4+ T-cell presence within the tumor microenvironment and increased IL-5 and IL-13 tumor levels, while simultaneously decreasing CD38 in the tumor stroma. IL-5 and/or IL-13 treatments increased CD4+ more than CD8+ T-cells in mice. IRX4647-treatment did not appreciably affect in vitro lung cancer growth, despite RARγ expression. Pharmacokinetic analysis found IRX4647 plasma half-life was 6 h in mice. Yet, RARα antagonist (IRX6696)-treatment with anti-PD-L1 did not repress syngeneic lung cancer growth. Together, these findings provide a rationale for a clinical trial investigating an RARγ agonist to augment check point blockade response in cancers.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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