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. 2018 Dec 11;25(11):2972-2980.e5.
doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.11.054.

PARP Inhibition Elicits STING-Dependent Antitumor Immunity in Brca1-Deficient Ovarian Cancer

Affiliations

PARP Inhibition Elicits STING-Dependent Antitumor Immunity in Brca1-Deficient Ovarian Cancer

Liya Ding et al. Cell Rep. .

Abstract

PARP inhibitors have shown promising clinical activities for patients with BRCA mutations and are changing the landscape of ovarian cancer treatment. However, the therapeutic mechanisms of action for PARP inhibition in the interaction of tumors with the tumor microenvironment and the host immune system remain unclear. We find that PARP inhibition by olaparib triggers robust local and systemic antitumor immunity involving both adaptive and innate immune responses through a STING-dependent antitumor immune response in mice bearing Brca1-deficient ovarian tumors. This effect is further augmented when olaparib is combined with PD-1 blockade. Our findings thus provide a molecular mechanism underlying antitumor activity by PARP inhibition and lay a foundation to improve therapeutic outcome for cancer patients.

Keywords: BRCA deficiency; GEMM; PARP inhibition; PD-1 blockade; STING; immune response; immunotherapy; ovarian cancer; targeted therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

J.F.L. has been on advisory boards for Clovis and Mersana Therapeutics. G.J.F. has patents on the PD-1 pathway licensed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, Merck, EMD-Serono, Boehringer-Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, DAKO, and Novartis and has served on advisory boards for Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Xios, and Origimed. T.M.R. has a consulting relationship with Novartis, is a founder of Crimson Biotech and Geode Therapeutics, and is a member of the corporate boards of iKang Healthcare, Crimson Biotech, and Geode Therapeutics. P.A.K. has served on the advisory boards of Vertex, Pfizer, Merck, and AstraZeneca. U.A.M. has served on the advisory boards of 2X Oncology, Fujifilm, Immunogen, Mersana, Geneos, and Merck. L.D., Q.W., H.-J.K., and J.J.Z. are co-inventors of DFCI 2409.001 (DFS-203.60). J.J.Z. is a founder and board director of Crimson Biotech and Geode Therapeutics.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Therapeutic Efficacy of Olaparib and PD-1 Blockade in a Brca1-Null GEMM of HGSOC
(A) Genetic loss of Tp53 and Brca1 and amplification and overexpression of Myc co-occur in HGSOC in clinical samples (The Cancer Genome Atlas [TCGA] database). (B) Generation of a Brca1-null genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) of HGSOC (Trp53−/−,Brca1−/−,Myc; termed PBM). A representative H&E staining shows serous carcinoma nature of the PBM tumor. Scale bar, 25 μm. (C) GSEA showing upregulated immune response and T cell activation in olaparib-treated PBM tumors. Nominal p < 0.001, false discovery rate q < 0.001. (D) Orthotopically transplanted PBM tumors in Rag1−/− or wild-type (WT) mice treated with olaparib or vehicle control (WT, n = 6/group; Rag1−/−, n = 5/group). (E) PBM tumor-bearing FVB mice were treated with olaparib with or without an anti-CD8 neutralizing antibody (n = 8 tumors per group). (F) Experimental scheme (top) and representative bioluminescence imaging analysis of mice bearing orthotopic PBM tumor allografts (luciferized) treated with various agents as indicated after 21 days of treatment. (G) Tumor burden of PBM tumor-bearing mice treated with indicated agents was measured by bioluminescence (number of analyzed mice is indicated in the brackets). In (D), (E), and (G), tumor burden is quantified by the intensity of bioluminescence signal in the regions of interest (ROIs) determined at each imaging time point. Arrows indicate treatment start date. Data are represented as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Olaparib Elicits Intratumoral and Systemic Immune Responses in PBM Tumor-Bearing Mice
(A) Flow cytometric analysis of intratumoral CD4+ and CD8+ T cell population in PBM tumors treated with indicated agents. (B) Intratumoral CD4+ and CD8+ effector T cells (CD44highCD62Llow) in PBM tumors analyzed by flow cytometry. (C and D) Flow cytometric analysis of effector cytokine production of intratumoral CD4+ (C) and CD8+ (D) T cell in PBM tumors treated with indicated agents. (E) Flow cytometric analysis of cell surface markers (CD80, CD86, MHCII, CD103) of intratumoral CD11c+ DCs in PBM tumors. (F and G) Flow cytometric analysis of blood samples from PBM tumor-bearing mice treated indicated agents. (F) Analysis of monocytic MDSCs (mMDSCs) and granulocytic MDSCs (gMDSCs). (G) Analysis of TNFα and interferon (IFN)γ production CD8+ T cells. Data are represented as mean ± SD. Each dot represents data obtained from one mouse. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Olaparib-Treated Brca1-Deficient Tumor Cells Trigger STING Pathway Activation in DCs in a Co-culture system.
(A) Staining of cytosolic double-strand DNA (dsDNA) in PBM tumor cells treated with DMSO or olaparib (2.5 μM, 24 hr). Scale bar, 25 μm. Quantification data are presented as mean ± SEM of three independent experiments (n = 10–14 fields, ≥400 cells counted per condition). (B) Illustration of a co-culture system with BMDCs and olaparib-treated cells. (C) Flow cytometric analysis of STING pathway activation (p-TBK1+p-IRF3+) in BMDCs co-cultured with olaparib-treated PBM tumor cells, in the presence or absence of a STING inhibitor BX795. (D) RT-qPCR analysis of IFN-β and CXCL10 expression in BMDCs collected from BMDC/PBM co-culture. (E) Analysis of IFN-β level in the BMDC/PBM co-culture media by ELISA. (F and G) Human DCs co-cultured with olaparib-treated human ovarian cancer cell lines UWB1.289 and UWB1.289+BRCA1. (F) Flow cytometric analysis of phosphorylated TBK1 and IRF3 and (G) RT-qPCR analysis of IFN-β expression in human DCs from co-culture. (H and I) WT and STING−/− BMDCs co-cultured with WT or Brca1-null ID8 tumor cells pretreated with DMSO or olaparib. (H) Flow cytometric analysis of p-TBK1+p-IRF3+ and (I) RT-qPCR analysis of IFN-β expression level in DCs from co-culture with ID8 cells. Data are represented as mean ± SD; n = 3. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Activation of the STING Pathway Is Required for Olaparib-Triggered Antitumor Immunity in Brca1-Deficient Tumors
(A) Flow cytometric analysis of p-TBK1+p-IRF3+ DCs and macrophages from PBM tumors. (B) Expression of IFN-β and CXCL10 in PBM tumor tissues harvested from PBM tumor-bearing mice treated with vehicle control or olaparib by RT-qPCR analysis (control, n = 7; olaparib, n = 5). (C) Tumor growth in mice bearing orthotopic allografts of luciferized PBM tumors treated with olaparib with or without BX795 (control, n = 8; olaparib, n = 9; BX795, n = 7; olaparib + BX795, n = 7). (D) Tumor growth in mice bearing orthotopic allografts of luciferized PBM tumors treated with olaparib with or without anti-IFNAR1 (control, n = 10; olaparib, n = 9; anti-IFNAR1, n = 7; olaparib + anti-IFNAR1, n = 8). (E) Measurements of tumor weights. Brca1-null ID8 cells were subcutaneously injected to WT or STING−/− mice and treated with olaparib or vehicle control. (F) Flow cytometric analysis of p-TBK1 in intratumoral DCs of Brca1-null ID8 tumor from (E). Arrows indicate treatment start date. Data are represented as mean ± SD (A and B) or mean ± SEM (C-F). Each dot represents data obtained from one mouse. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001.

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