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Compensation between CSF1R+ macrophages and Foxp3+ Treg cells drives resistance to tumor immunotherapy.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Gyori, David 
Lim, Ee Lyn 
Grant, Francis M 
Spensberger, Dominik 
Roychoudhuri, Rahul  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5392-1853

Abstract

Redundancy and compensation provide robustness to biological systems but may contribute to therapy resistance. Both tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells promote tumor progression by limiting antitumor immunity. Here we show that genetic ablation of CSF1 in colorectal cancer cells reduces the influx of immunosuppressive CSF1R+ TAMs within tumors. This reduction in CSF1-dependent TAMs resulted in increased CD8+ T cell attack on tumors, but its effect on tumor growth was limited by a compensatory increase in Foxp3+ Treg cells. Similarly, disruption of Treg cell activity through their experimental ablation produced moderate effects on tumor growth and was associated with elevated numbers of CSF1R+ TAMs. Importantly, codepletion of CSF1R+ TAMs and Foxp3+ Treg cells resulted in an increased influx of CD8+ T cells, augmentation of their function, and a synergistic reduction in tumor growth. Further, inhibition of Treg cell activity either through systemic pharmacological blockade of PI3Kδ, or its genetic inactivation within Foxp3+ Treg cells, sensitized previously unresponsive solid tumors to CSF1R+ TAM depletion and enhanced the effect of CSF1R blockade. These findings identify CSF1R+ TAMs and PI3Kδ-driven Foxp3+ Treg cells as the dominant compensatory cellular components of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, with implications for the design of combinatorial immunotherapies.

Description

Keywords

Cancer immunotherapy, Immunology, Macrophages, Oncology, T cells, Aminopyridines, Animals, Cell Line, Tumor, Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases, Diphtheria Toxin, Disease Models, Animal, Drug Resistance, Neoplasm, Female, Forkhead Transcription Factors, Gene Knockout Techniques, Humans, Lymphocyte Depletion, Macrophages, Male, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Neoplasms, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases, Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors, Primary Cell Culture, Purines, Pyrroles, Quinazolinones, Receptors, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor, T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory, Tumor Microenvironment

Journal Title

JCI Insight

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2379-3708
2379-3708

Volume Title

3

Publisher

American Society for Clinical Investigation
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (095198/Z/10/Z)
Wellcome Trust (105663/Z/14/Z)
MRC (1947452)
D. Gyori was funded by a research grant from Karus Therapeutics. E.L. Lim was supported by a Yousef Jameel Scholarship (Cambridge Trust). R. Roychoudhuri and K. Okkenhaug received institute support from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (BBS/E/B/000 -C0407, -C0409, -C0427 and -C0428). K. Okkenhaug was also supported by Wellcome Trust grant 095198/Z/10/Z. L.R. Stephens and P.T. Hawkins were supported by and institute grant from the BBSRC (BB/J004456/1). R. Roychoudhuri is supported by the Wellcome Trust/Royal Society (Grant 105663/Z/14/Z), the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grant BB/N007794/1), and Cancer Research UK (Grant C52623/A22597).