Th17 cells contribute to combination MEK inhibitor and anti-PD-L1 therapy resistance in KRAS/p53 mutant lung cancers

Authors

David Peng, Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, 550 First Avenue, Smilow Building 10th Floor, Suite 1010, New York, NY 10016, USA;
B. Rodriguez, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Lixia Diao, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Pierre Gaudreau, McGill University Health Centre
Aparna Padhye, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Joshua Ochieng, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Caleb Class, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Jared Fradette, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Laura Gibson, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Limo Chen, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Jing Wang, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Lauren Byers, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Don Gibbons, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-7-2020

Publication Title

bioRxiv

First Page

1

Last Page

15

DOI

10.1101/2020.06.07.136366

Additional Publication URL

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33972557/

Abstract

Understanding resistance mechanisms to targeted therapies and immune checkpoint blockade in mutant KRAS lung cancers is critical to developing novel combination therapies and improving patient survival. Here, we show that MEK inhibition enhanced PD-L1 expression while PD-L1 blockade upregulated MAPK signaling in mutant KRAS lung tumors. Combined MEK inhibition with anti-PD-L1 synergistically reduced lung tumor growth and metastasis, but tumors eventually developed resistance to sustained combinatorial therapy. Multi-platform profiling revealed that resistant lung tumors have increased infiltration of Th17 cells, which secrete IL-17 and IL-22 cytokines to promote lung cancer cell invasiveness and MEK inhibitor resistance. Antibody depletion of IL-17A in combination with MEK inhibition and PD-L1 blockade markedly reduced therapy-resistance in vivo. Clinically, increased expression of Th17-associated genes in patients treated with PD-1 blockade predicted poorer overall survival and response in melanoma and predicated poorer response to anti-PD1 in NSCLC patients. Here we show a triple combinatorial therapeutic strategy to overcome resistance to combined MEK inhibitor and PD-L1 blockade.

Rights

Originally published by Springer Nature under a Creative Commons 4.0 in Nature Communications, 2021, Volume 12, Issue 1. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22875-w.

Recommended Citation

Peng, David; Rodriguez, B.; Diao, Lixia; Gaudreau, Pierre; Padhye, Aparna; Ochieng, Joshua; Class, Caleb; Fradette, Jared; Gibson, Laura; Chen, Limo; Wang, Jing; Byers, Lauren; and Gibbons, Don, "Th17 cells contribute to combination MEK inhibitor and anti-PD-L1 therapy resistance in KRAS/p53 mutant lung cancers" (2020). Scholarship and Professional Work – COPHS. 282.
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cophs_papers/282