Project description:Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with loss of the tumor suppressor gene STK11 are resistant to immune checkpoint therapies like anti-PD-1. Our in vivo CRISPR screen identified HDAC1 as a target that, when inhibited, reversed anti-PD-1 resistance driven by loss of STK11. We developed TNG260, a potent small-molecule inhibitor of the CoREST complex, whose selectivity exceeds previously generated inhibitors in this class in preclinical studies. TNG260 led to increased expression of immunomodulatory genes in STK11-deficient cancer cells. When combined with anti-PD-1, TNG260 induced immune-mediated stasis and/or regression in STK11-deficient syngeneic tumor models and autochthonous NSCLC models. In the tumors of patients with STK11-deficient cancers, treatment with a combination of TNG260 and pembrolizumab (NCT05887492) increased intratumoral histone acetylation, PD-L1 tumor proportion scores, and T-cell infiltration to the tumor microenvironment. This study illustrates a new, promising treatment strategy for addressing immune evasion in STK11-mutant NSCLC patients.
Project description:Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with loss of the tumor suppressor gene STK11 are resistant to immune checkpoint therapies like anti-PD-1. Our in-vivo CRISPR screen identified HDAC1 as a target that, when inhibited, reversed anti-PD-1 resistance driven by loss of STK11. We developed TNG260, a potent small-molecule inhibitor of the CoREST complex, whose selectivity exceeds previously generated inhibitors in this class in preclinical studies. TNG260 led to increased expression of immunomodulatory genes in STK11-deficient cancer cells. When combined with anti-PD-1, TNG260 induced immune-mediated stasis and/or regression in STK11-deficient syngeneic tumor models and autochthonous NSCLC models. In the tumors of patients with STK11-deficient cancers, treatment with a combination of TNG260 and pembrolizumab (NCT05887492) increased intratumoral histone acetylation, PD-L1 tumor proportion scores, and T-cell infiltration to the tumor microenvironment. This study illustrates a new, promising treatment strategy for addressing immune evasion in STK11-mutant NSCLC patients.
Project description:Pancreatic cancer is a digestive system malignancy and poses a high mortality worldwide. Traditionally, neutrophils have been thought to play a role in acute inflammation. In contrast, their importance during tumor diseases has been less well studied. Generally, neutrophils are recruited into the tumor microenvironment and exert inflammation and tumor-promoting effects. As an essential part of the tumor microenvironment, neutrophils play diverse roles in pancreatic cancer, such as angiogenesis, progression, metastasis and immunosuppression. Additionally, neutrophils can be a new potential therapeutic target in cancer. Inhibitors of cytokines, chemokines and neutrophil extracellular traps can exert antitumor effects. In this review, we describe the role of neutrophils in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer, discuss their potential as therapeutic targets, and aim to provide ideas for improving the prognosis of patients with this malignant tumor disease.
Project description:Mutations in STK11/LKB1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are associated with poor patient responses to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and introduction of a Stk11/Lkb1 (L) mutation into murine lung adenocarcinomas driven by mutant Kras and Trp53 loss (KP) resulted in an ICB refractory syngeneic KPL tumor. Mechanistically this occurred because KPL mutant NSCLCs lacked TCF1-expressing CD8 T cells, a phenotype recapitulated in human STK11/LKB1 mutant NSCLCs. Systemic inhibition of Axl results in increased type I interferon secretion from dendritic cells that expanded tumor-associated TCF1+ PD-1+ CD8 T cells, restoring therapeutic response to PD-1 ICB for KPL tumors. This was observed in syngeneic immunocompetent mouse models and in humanized mice bearing STK11/LKB1 mutant NSCLC human tumor xenografts. NSCLC patients with identified STK11/LKB1 mutations receiving bemcentinib and pembrolizumab demonstrated objective clinical response to combination therapy. We conclude that AXL is a critical targetable driver of immune suppression in STK11/LKB1 mutant NSCLC.
Project description:AbstractPancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive malignancies. The poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients is mainly attributed to low diagnostic rate at the early stage, highly aggressive nature coupled with the inadequate efficacy of current chemotherapeutic regimens. Novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed for pancreatic cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important regulatory role in key processes of cancer development. The aberrant expression of miRNAs is often involved in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of pancreatic cancer. The discovery of tumor suppressor miRNAs provides prospects for the development of a novel treatment strategy for pancreatic cancer. We reviewed recent progress on the understanding of the role of miRNAs in pancreatic cancer, highlighted the efficient application of miRNAs-based therapies for pancreatic cancer in animal models and clinical trials, and proposed future prospects. This review focuses on the promise of integrating miRNAs into the treatment of pancreatic cancer and provides guidance for the development of precision medicine for pancreatic cancer.
Project description:The transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily has important physiologic roles and is dysregulated in many pathologic processes, including pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancer diagnoses, and current therapies are largely ineffective due to tumor resistance and late-stage diagnosis with poor prognosis. Recent efforts are focused on the potential of immunotherapies in improving therapeutic results for patients with pancreatic cancer, among which TGF-β has been identified as a promising target. This review focuses on the role of TGF-β in the diseased pancreas and pancreatic cancer. It also aims to summarize the current status of therapies targeting the TGF-β superfamily and postulate potential future directions in targeting the TGF-β signaling pathways.
Project description:We performed RNA-sequencing of mouse cells derived from colony forming assays (CFA) to evaluate the transcriptome of MPN cells with deletion of the tumor suppressor STK11/LKB1 and relative controls. The CFA are from mouse primary floxed STK11 hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) transduced with retroviruses encoding the MPN mutation MPLW515L and CRE recombinase to delete STK11.