scholarly journals Advances in Molecular Mechanisms and Immunotherapy Involving the Immune Cell-Promoted Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Lung Cancer

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena De Matteis ◽  
Matteo Canale ◽  
Alberto Verlicchi ◽  
Giuseppe Bronte ◽  
Angelo Delmonte ◽  
...  

Immunotherapy has offered a new opportunity for the treatment of many malignancies. In patients with lung cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors have significantly improved survival. However, little is known about predictive factors or primary and acquired resistance mechanisms. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex of phenotypic changes involved in carcinogenesis and resistance to cancer treatments. Specifically, immune cells in the tumor microenvironment can promote EMT, and mesenchymal phenotype acquisition negatively regulates the anticancer immune response. EMT is associated with higher expression of PD-L1 and other immune checkpoints. In this review, we focused on the role of EMT in the interplay between tumor cells and the immune system, with particular emphasis on lung cancer. On the basis of our findings, we hypothesize that the effects of EMT on immune cells could be overcome in this disease by a new combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 2278
Author(s):  
Afshin Derakhshani ◽  
Zeinab Rostami ◽  
Hossein Safarpour ◽  
Mahdi Abdoli Shadbad ◽  
Niloufar Sadat Nourbakhsh ◽  
...  

Over the past decade, there have been remarkable advances in understanding the signaling pathways involved in cancer development. It is well-established that cancer is caused by the dysregulation of cellular pathways involved in proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, cell metabolism, migration, cell polarity, and differentiation. Besides, growing evidence indicates that extracellular matrix signaling, cell surface proteoglycans, and angiogenesis can contribute to cancer development. Given the genetic instability and vast intra-tumoral heterogeneity revealed by the single-cell sequencing of tumoral cells, the current approaches cannot eliminate the mutating cancer cells. Besides, the polyclonal expansion of tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes in response to tumoral neoantigens cannot elicit anti-tumoral immune responses due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Nevertheless, the data from the single-cell sequencing of immune cells can provide valuable insights regarding the expression of inhibitory immune checkpoints/related signaling factors in immune cells, which can be used to select immune checkpoint inhibitors and adjust their dosage. Indeed, the integration of the data obtained from the single-cell sequencing of immune cells with immune checkpoint inhibitors can increase the response rate of immune checkpoint inhibitors, decrease the immune-related adverse events, and facilitate tumoral cell elimination. This study aims to review key pathways involved in tumor development and shed light on single-cell sequencing. It also intends to address the shortcomings of immune checkpoint inhibitors, i.e., their varied response rates among cancer patients and increased risk of autoimmunity development, via applying the data from the single-cell sequencing of immune cells.


ESMO Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e000457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Fucà ◽  
Giulia Galli ◽  
Marta Poggi ◽  
Giuseppe Lo Russo ◽  
Claudia Proto ◽  
...  

BackgroundSteroids are frequently used in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC), but they could be detrimental for patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Here, we assessed the association between early use of steroids, clinical outcomes and peripheral immune blood cells modulation in patients with mNSCLC treated with ICIs.MethodsWe reviewed patients with mNSCLC treated at our institution between April 2013 and December 2017. Early use of steroids was defined as the use of a daily prednisone-equivalent dose ≥10 mg for at least 1 day within 28 days after ICI initiation. Peripheral immune blood cell counts were retrieved at baseline and at 4 and 6 weeks after ICI initiation.ResultsOut of 151 patients included, 35 (23%) made early use of steroids that was associated with poor disease control (OR 0.32, p=0.006), progression-free survival (HR 1.80, p=0.003) and overall survival (HR 2.60, p<0.001). Early use of steroids significantly correlated with higher median absolute neutrophil count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and derived NLR, and lower median absolute and relative eosinophil count, both at 4 and 6 weeks after ICI initiation.ConclusionsIn patients with mNSCLC treated with ICIs, early use of steroids was associated with worse clinical outcomes and remarkable modulation of peripheral blood immune cells, which could contribute to restraining the activation of antitumour immunity. If confirmed in prospective studies, these findings would highlight the importance of carefully evaluating and, whenever possible, avoiding steroids during early phases of ICI treatment.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 4573
Author(s):  
Céline Pisibon ◽  
Amira Ouertani ◽  
Corine Bertolotto ◽  
Robert Ballotti ◽  
Yann Cheli

The immune system is known to help fight cancers. Ten years ago, the first immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting CTLA4 was approved by the FDA to treat patients with metastatic melanoma. Since then, immune checkpoint therapies have revolutionized the field of oncology and the treatment of cancer patients. Numerous immune checkpoint inhibitors have been developed and tested, alone or in combination with other treatments, in melanoma and other cancers, with overall clear benefits to patient outcomes. However, many patients fail to respond or develop resistance to these treatments. It is therefore essential to decipher the mechanisms of action of immune checkpoints and to understand how immune cells are affected by signaling to be able to understand and overcome resistance. In this review, we discuss the signaling and effects of each immune checkpoint on different immune cells and their biological and clinical relevance. Restoring the functionality of T cells and their coordination with other immune cells is necessary to overcome resistance and help design new clinical immunotherapy strategies. In this respect, NK cells have recently been implicated in the resistance to anti-PD1 evoked by a protein secreted by melanoma, ITGBL1. The complexity of this network will have to be considered to improve the efficiency of future immunotherapies and may lead to the discovery of new immune checkpoints.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng-jun Qiu ◽  
Qin Xia ◽  
Yao-bing Chen ◽  
Xie-fan Fang ◽  
Qiu-ting Li ◽  
...  

BackgroundIn recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown significant effects in a variety of solid tumors. However, due to the low incidence of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and its unclear mechanism, immune checkpoints in SCLC have not been fully studied.MethodsWe evaluated the expression of PD-L1, B7-H3, and B7-H4 in 115 SCLC tissue specimens using immunohistochemistry. The clinical data of patients with SCLC were retrospectively reviewed to investigate three negative co-stimulatory B7 family molecules’ ability to affect the prognosis of SCLC.ResultsAmong the SCLC patients with complete follow-up data (n = 107), sixty-nine (64.49%) expressed moderate to high B7-H3 levels, which correlated positively with tumor sizes (P &lt; 0.001). Eighty (74.77%) patients expressed moderate to high B7-H4 levels, which correlated positively with metastases (P = 0.049). The positive expression of B7-H3 and B7-H4 correlated significantly with shortened overall survival (OS) (B7-H3, P = 0.006; B7-H4, P = 0.019). PD-L1 was positively expressed only in 13.08% of cancer tissues, and there was no significant correlation with prognosis. The Cox proportional hazards regression showed that B7-H3 was an independent prognostic indicator of OS (P = 0.028; HR = 2.125 [95% CI = 0.985-4.462]).ConclusionsOur results suggest that B7-H3 has a negative predictive effect on SCLC. This outcome provides a theoretical basis for the subsequent research on immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting B7-H3.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-32
Author(s):  
Piyawat Komolmit

การรักษามะเร็งด้วยแนวความคิดของการกระตุ้นให้ภูมิต้านทานของร่างกายไปทำลายเซลล์มะเร็งนั้น ปัจจุบันได้รับการพิสูจน์ชัดว่าวิธีการนี้สามารถหยุดยั้งการแพร่กระจายของเซลล์มะเร็ง โดยไม่ก่อให้เกิดภาวะแทรกซ้อนทางปฏิกิริยาภูมิต้านทานต่ออวัยวะส่วนอื่นที่รุนแรง สามารถนำมาใช้ทางคลินิกได้ ยุคของการรักษามะเร็งกำลังเปลี่ยนจากยุคของยาเคมีบำบัดเข้าสู่การรักษาด้วยภูมิต้านทาน หรือ immunotherapy ยากลุ่ม Immune checkpoint inhibitors โดยเฉพาะ PD-1 กับ CTLA-4 inhibitors จะเข้ามามีบทบาทในการรักษามะเร็งตับในระยะเวลาอันใกล้ จำเป็นแพทย์จะต้องมีความรู้ความเข้าใจในพื้นฐานของ immune checkpoints และยาที่ไปยับยั้งโมเลกุลเหล่านี้ Figure 1 เมื่อ T cells รับรู้แอนทิเจนผ่านทาง TCR/MHC จะมีปฏิกิริยาระหว่าง co-receptors หรือ immune checkpoints กับ ligands บน APCs หรือ เซลล์มะเร็ง ทั้งแบบกระตุ้น (co-stimulation) หรือยับยั้ง (co-inhibition) TCR = T cell receptor, MHC = major histocompatibility complex


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. S300-S301
Author(s):  
M. Peravali ◽  
C. Gomes-Lima ◽  
E. Tefera ◽  
M. Baker ◽  
M. Sherchan ◽  
...  

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