Jeremy D. Waight

Tumor-Derived G-CSF Facilitates Neoplastic Growth through a Granulocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell-Dependent Mechanism

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are induced under diverse pathologic conditions, including neoplasia, and suppress innate and adaptive immunity. While the mechanisms by which MDSC mediate immunosuppression are well-characterized, details on how they develop remain less understood. This is complicated further by the fact that MDSC comprise multiple myeloid cell types, namely monocytes and granulocytes, reflecting diverse stages of differentiation and the proportion of these subpopulations vary among different neoplastic models. Thus, it is thought that the type and quantities of inflammatory mediators generated during neoplasia dictate the composition of the resultant MDSC response. Although much interest has been devoted to monocytic MDSC biology, a fundamental gap remains in our understanding of the derivation of granulocytic MDSC. In settings of heightened granulocytic MDSC responses, we hypothesized that inappropriate production of G-CSF is a key initiator of granulocytic MDSC accumulation. We observed abundant amounts of G-CSF in vivo, which correlated with robust granulocytic MDSC responses in multiple tumor models. Using G-CSF loss- and gain-of-function approaches, we demonstrated for the first time that: 1) abrogating G-CSF production significantly diminished granulocytic MDSC accumulation and tumor growth; 2) ectopically over-expressing G-CSF in G-CSF-negative tumors significantly augmented granulocytic MDSC accumulation and tumor growth; and 3) treatment of naïve healthy mice with recombinant G-CSF protein elicited granulocytic-like MDSC remarkably similar to those induced under tumor-bearing conditions. Collectively, we demonstrated that tumor-derived G-CSF enhances tumor growth through granulocytic MDSC-dependent mechanisms. These findings provide us with novel insights into MDSC subset development and potentially new biomarkers or targets for cancer therapy.

Baseline tumor growth and immune control in laboratory mice are significantly influenced by subthermoneutral housing temperature.

Significance We show that the mandated, subthermoneutral laboratory housing temperature, which is known to cause chronic, metabolic cold stress, induces suppression of the antitumor immune response and promotes tumor growth and metastasis. When mice are housed at thermoneutrality, there are fewer immunosuppressive cells with significantly enhanced CD8+ T cell-dependent control of tumor growth. These findings underscore the fact that investigating mouse models under a single set of environmental temperature conditions may lead to a misunderstanding of the antitumor immune potential. These data also highlight the need for additional study to determine how systemic metabolic stress modulates the functions of immune effector cells, particularly in tumor-bearing mice, and whether cancer therapies, including immunotherapy, are impacted by housing temperature. We show here that fundamental aspects of antitumor immunity in mice are significantly influenced by ambient housing temperature. Standard housing temperature for laboratory mice in research facilities is mandated to be between 20–26 °C; however, these subthermoneutral temperatures cause mild chronic cold stress, activating thermogenesis to maintain normal body temperature. When stress is alleviated by housing at thermoneutral ambient temperature (30–31 °C), we observe a striking reduction in tumor formation, growth rate and metastasis. This improved control of tumor growth is dependent upon the adaptive immune system. We observe significantly increased numbers of antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes and CD8+ T cells with an activated phenotype in the tumor microenvironment at thermoneutrality. At the same time there is a significant reduction in numbers of immunosuppressive MDSCs and regulatory T lymphocytes. Notably, in temperature preference studies, tumor-bearing mice select a higher ambient temperature than non-tumor-bearing mice, suggesting that tumor-bearing mice experience a greater degree of cold-stress. Overall, our data raise the hypothesis that suppression of antitumor immunity is an outcome of cold stress-induced thermogenesis. Therefore, the common approach of studying immunity against tumors in mice housed only at standard room temperature may be limiting our understanding of the full potential of the antitumor immune response.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cell development is regulated by a STAT/IRF-8 axis

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) comprise immature myeloid populations produced in diverse pathologies, including neoplasia. Because MDSCs can impair antitumor immunity, these cells have emerged as a significant barrier to cancer therapy. Although much research has focused on how MDSCs promote tumor progression, it remains unclear how MDSCs develop and why the MDSC response is heavily granulocytic. Given that MDSCs are a manifestation of aberrant myelopoiesis, we hypothesized that MDSCs arise from perturbations in the regulation of interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF-8), an integral transcriptional component of myeloid differentiation and lineage commitment. Overall, we demonstrated that (a) Irf8-deficient mice generated myeloid populations highly homologous to tumor-induced MDSCs with respect to phenotype, function, and gene expression profiles; (b) IRF-8 overexpression in mice attenuated MDSC accumulation and enhanced immunotherapeutic efficacy; (c) the MDSC-inducing factors G-CSF and GM-CSF facilitated IRF-8 downregulation via STAT3- and STAT5-dependent pathways; and (d) IRF-8 levels in MDSCs of breast cancer patients declined with increasing MDSC frequency, implicating IRF-8 as a negative regulator in human MDSC biology. Together, our results reveal a previously unrecognized role for IRF-8 expression in MDSC subset development, which may provide new avenues to target MDSCs in neoplasia.

Identification of a G-CSF-Granulocytic MDSC axis that promotes tumor progression.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) induced during neoplasia display potent pro-tumorigenic activities. Tumor-derived factors influence MDSC development, yielding monocytic and granulocytic subsets. In contrast to monocytic MDSC, little is known about how granulocytic MDSC develop. We demonstrated that tumor-derived G-CSF drives granulocytic MDSC formation, thus providing new insights into myeloid-tumor biology.

Regulation of the interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF-8) tumor suppressor gene by the signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) transcription factor in chronic myeloid leukemia.

Background: The IRF-8 tumor suppressor gene is down-regulated in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Results: The STAT5 transcription factor regulates IRF-8 expression in CML cells. Conclusion: In CML, oncogene-mediated activation of STAT5 is responsible for suppressing the IRF-8 gene. Significance: An oncogene driven STAT5-IRF-8 signaling axis regulates CML biology and may be implicated in other types of myeloid malignanices. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as imatinib can effectively target the BCR-ABL oncoprotein in a majority of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Unfortunately, some patients are resistant primarily to imatinib and others develop drug resistance, prompting interest in the discovery of new drug targets. Although much of this resistance can be explained by the presence of mutations within the tyrosine kinase domain of BCR-ABL, such mutations are not universally identified. Interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF-8) is a transcription factor that is essential for myelopoiesis. Depressed IRF-8 levels are observed in a majority of CML patients and Irf-8−/− mice exhibit a CML-like disease. The underlying mechanisms of IRF-8 loss in CML are unknown. We hypothesized that BCR-ABL suppresses transcription of IRF-8 through STAT5, a proximal BCR-ABL target. Treatment of primary cells from newly diagnosed CML patients in chronic phase as well as BCR-ABL+ cell lines with imatinib increased IRF-8 transcription. Furthermore, IRF-8 expression in cell line models was necessary for imatinib-induced antitumor responses. We have demonstrated that IRF-8 is a direct target of STAT5 and that silencing of STAT5 induced IRF-8 expression. Conversely, activating STAT5 suppressed IRF-8 transcription. Finally, we showed that STAT5 blockade using a recently discovered antagonist increased IRF-8 expression in patient samples. These data reveal a previously unrecognized BCR-ABL-STAT5-IRF-8 network, which widens the repertoire of potentially new anti-CML targets.

Toxicological and pharmacological assessment of AGEN1884, a novel human IgG1 anti-CTLA-4 antibody

CTLA-4 and CD28 exemplify a co-inhibitory and co-stimulatory signaling axis that dynamically sculpts the interaction of antigen-specific T cells with antigen-presenting cells. Anti-CTLA-4 antibodies enhance tumor-specific immunity through a variety of mechanisms including: blockade of CD80 or CD86 binding to CTLA-4, repressing regulatory T cell function and selective elimination of intratumoral regulatory T cells via an Fcγ receptor-dependent mechanism. AGEN1884 is a novel IgG1 antibody targeting CTLA-4. It potently enhanced antigen-specific T cell responsiveness that could be potentiated in combination with other immunomodulatory antibodies. AGEN1884 was well-tolerated in non-human primates and enhanced vaccine-mediated antigen-specific immunity. AGEN1884 combined effectively with PD-1 blockade to elicit a T cell proliferative response in the periphery. Interestingly, an IgG2 variant of AGEN1884 revealed distinct functional differences that may have implications for optimal dosing regimens in patients. Taken together, the pharmacological properties of AGEN1884 support its clinical investigation as a single therapeutic and combination agent.