1. Azithromycin promotes relapse by disrupting immune and metabolic networks after allogeneic stem cell transplantation
- Author
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Nicolas Vallet, Sophie Le Grand, Louise Bondeelle, Bénédicte Hoareau, Aurélien Corneau, Delphine Bouteiller, Simon Tournier, Lucille Derivry, Armelle Bohineust, Marie Tourret, Delphine Gibert, Ethan Mayeur, Raphael Itzykson, Kim Pacchiardi, Brian Ingram, Stéphane Cassonnet, Patricia Lepage, Régis Peffault de Latour, Gérard Socié, Anne Bergeron, and David Michonneau
- Subjects
Neoplasms ,Immunology ,Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ,Humans ,Cell Biology ,Hematology ,Azithromycin ,Biochemistry ,Metabolic Networks and Pathways ,Stem Cell Transplantation - Abstract
Administration of azithromycin after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for hematologic malignancies has been associated with relapse in a randomized phase 3 controlled clinical trial. Studying 240 samples from patients randomized in this trial is a unique opportunity to better understand the mechanisms underlying relapse, the first cause of mortality after transplantation. We used multi-omics on patients’ samples to decipher immune alterations associated with azithromycin intake and post-transplantation relapsed malignancies. Azithromycin was associated with a network of altered energy metabolism pathways and immune subsets, including T cells biased toward immunomodulatory and exhausted profiles. In vitro, azithromycin exposure inhibited T-cell cytotoxicity against tumor cells and impaired T-cell metabolism through glycolysis inhibition, down-regulation of mitochondrial genes, and up-regulation of immunomodulatory genes, notably SOCS1. These results highlight that azithromycin directly affects immune cells that favor relapse, which raises caution about long-term use of azithromycin treatment in patients at high risk of malignancies. The ALLOZITHRO trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01959100.
- Published
- 2022