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Juliana Machado-Rugolo,1,2 Tabatha Gutierrez Prieto,1 Alexandre Todorovic Fabro,3 Edwin Roger Parra Cuentas,4 Vanessa Karen Sá,5 Camila Machado Baldavira,1 Claudia Aparecida Rainho,6 Erick C Castelli,7,8 Cecilia Farhat,1 Teresa Yae Takagaki,9 Maria Aparecida Nagai,10,11 Vera Luiza Capelozzi1 1Laboratory of Genomics and Histomorphometry, Department of Pathology, University of São Paulo Medical School (USP), São Paulo, Brazil; 2Health Technology Assessment Center, Clinical Hospital (HCFMB), Medical School of São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil; 3Department of Pathology and Legal Medicine, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; 4Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA; 5Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biology, Centro Internacional De Pesquisa (CIPE), AC Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; 6Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil; 7Molecular Genetics and Bioinformatics Laboratory, Experimental Research Unit (UNIPEX), Medical School of São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil; 8Department of Pathology, Medical School of São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil; 9Division of Pneumology, Heart Institute (Incor), Clinical Hospital, University of São Paulo Medical School (USP), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; 10Department of Radiology and Oncology, University of São Paulo Medical School (USP), São Paulo, Brazil; 11Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Center for Translational Research in Oncology, Cancer Institute of São Paulo (ICESP), São Paulo, BrazilCorrespondence: Vera Luiza CapelozziDepartment of Pathology, University of São Paulo Medical School (USP), Av Dr Arnaldo 455, Room 1143, São Paulo, São Paulo State, 01246-903, BrazilTel +55 11 3061 7427Fax +55 11 3064-2744Email vera.capelozzi@fm.usp.brPurpose: Although non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a deadly disease, new predictive biomarkers have emerged to assist in managing the disease, of which one of the most promising is the programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD-L1). Each, PD-L1 variant seem to modulate the function of immune checkpoints differently and affect response to adjuvant treatment and outcome in NSCLC patients. We thus investigated the influence of these PD-L1 genetic variations in genetically admixed NSCLC tissue samples, and correlated these values with clinicopathological characteristics, including prognosis.Materials and Methods: We evaluated PD-L1 non-coding genetic variants and protein expression in lung adenocarcinomas (ADC), squamous cell carcinomas (SqCC), and large cell carcinomas (LCC) in silico. Microarray paraffin blocks from 70 samples of ADC (N=33), SqCC (N=24), and LCC (N=13) were used to create PD-L1 multiplex immunofluorescence assays with a Cell Signaling E1L3N clone. Fifteen polymorphisms of the PD-L1 gene were investigated by targeted sequencing and evaluated in silico using dedicated tools.Results: Although PD-L1 polymorphisms seemed not to interfere with protein expression, PD-L1 expression varied among different histological subtypes, as did clinical outcomes, with the rs4742098A>G, rs4143815G>C, and rs7041009G>A variants being associated with relapse (P=0.01; P=0.05; P=0.02, respectively). The rs7041009 GG genotype showed a significant correlation with younger and alive patients compared to carriers of the A allele (P=0.02 and P< 0.01, respectively). The Cox regression model showed that the rs7041009 GG genotype may influence OS (P< 0.01) as a co-dependent factor associated with radiotherapy and recurrence in NSCLC patients. Furthermore, the Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that rs7041009 and rs4742098 might impact PPS in relapsed patients. In silico approaches identified the variants as benign.Conclusion: PD-L1 non-coding variants play an important role in modulating immune checkpoint function and may be explored as immunotherapy biomarkers. We highlight the rs7041009 variant, which impacts OS and PPS in NSCLC patients.Keywords: PD-L1, non-small cell lung cancer, single nucleotide polymorphisms, next-generation sequencing

Background: Human gliomas are classified using isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status as a prognosticator; however, the influence of genetic differences and treatment effects on ensuing immunity remains unclear., Methods: In this study, we used sequential single-cell transcriptomics on 144 678 and spectral cytometry on over 2 million immune cells encompassing 48 human gliomas to decipher their immune landscape., Results: We identified 22 distinct immune cell types that contribute to glioma immunity. Specifically, brain-resident microglia (MG) were reduced with a concomitant increase in CD8+ T lymphocytes during glioma recurrence independent of IDH status. In contrast, IDH-wild type-associated patterns, such as an abundance of antigen-presenting cell-like MG and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, were observed. Beyond elucidating the differences in IDH, relapse, and treatment-associated immunity, we discovered novel inflammatory MG subpopulations expressing granulysin, a cytotoxic peptide that is otherwise expressed in lymphocytes only. Furthermore, we provide a robust genomic framework for defining macrophage polarization beyond M1/M2 paradigm and reference signatures of glioma-specific tumor immune microenvironment (termed GlioTIME-36) for deconvoluting transcriptomic datasets., Conclusions: This study provides advanced optics of the human pan-glioma immune contexture as a valuable guide for translational and clinical applications., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

For patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), dual immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) with CTLA4 inhibitors and PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors (hereafter, PD-(L)1 inhibitors) is associated with higher rates of anti-tumour activity and immune-related toxicities, when compared with treatment with PD-(L)1 inhibitors alone. However, there are currently no validated biomarkers to identify which patients will benefit from dual ICB 1,2 . Here we show that patients with NSCLC who have mutations in the STK11 and/or KEAP1 tumour suppressor genes derived clinical benefit from dual ICB with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab and the CTLA4 inhibitor tremelimumab, but not from durvalumab alone, when added to chemotherapy in the randomized phase III POSEIDON trial 3 . Unbiased genetic screens identified loss of both of these tumour suppressor genes as independent drivers of resistance to PD-(L)1 inhibition, and showed that loss of Keap1 was the strongest genomic predictor of dual ICB efficacy-a finding that was confirmed in several mouse models of Kras-driven NSCLC. In both mouse models and patients, KEAP1 and STK11 alterations were associated with an adverse tumour microenvironment, which was characterized by a preponderance of suppressive myeloid cells and the depletion of CD8 + cytotoxic T cells, but relative sparing of CD4 + effector subsets. Dual ICB potently engaged CD4 + effector cells and reprogrammed the tumour myeloid cell compartment towards inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-expressing tumoricidal phenotypes that-together with CD4 + and CD8 + T cells-contributed to anti-tumour efficacy. These data support the use of chemo-immunotherapy with dual ICB to mitigate resistance to PD-(L)1 inhibition in patients with NSCLC who have STK11 and/or KEAP1 alterations., Competing Interests: Competing interests F.S. reports consulting for AstraZeneca, Amgen, Revolution Medicines, Novartis, BridgeBio, Beigene, BergenBio, Guardant Health, Calithera Biosciences, Tango Therapeutics, Hookipa Pharma, Novocure, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Roche; grant or research support from Amgen, Mirati Therapeutics, Revolution Medicines, Pfizer, Novartis, Merck & Co; stockholder in BioNTech, Moderna; and honoraria from ESMO, Japanese Lung Cancer Society, Medscape, Intellisphere, VSPO McGill Universite de Montreal, RV Mais Promocao Eventos, MJH Life Sciences, IDEOlogy Health, MI&T, PER, CURIO, DAVA Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. M.M. reports stockholder in Roche Holdings. N.J. reports shareholder and former employee of Pionyr Immunotherapeutics. J.M.J. reports stock of D2G Oncology. C.M., Y.Y., X.P. and A.H. report employee of Tango Therapeutics. K.C.A. reports personal fees from Sanofi Genzyme and other support from Revolution Medicines, Genentech, and Mirati outside the submitted work. N.V. receives consulting fees from Sanofi Genzyme, Oncocyte, Eli Lilly, Regeneron, and research funding to the institution from Mirati, Oncocyte, and Circulogene, outside the submitted work. P.D.P. reports advisory fees from AstraZeneca and Jazz Pharmaceuticals. M.E.M. reports research funding from Eli Lilly (Inst), AstraZeneca (Inst), Merck (Inst), Genentech (Inst); consulting role with AstraZeneca, Novocure, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Takeda, Blueprint Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Ikena; honorarium from Thermo Fisher Scientific; and stock in Merck, Johnson & Johnson. M.M.A. reports grants and personal fees from Genentech, Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca; grants from Lilly; and personal fees from Maverick, Blueprint Medicine, Syndax, Nektar, Gritstone, ArcherDX, Mirati, NextCure, Novartis, EMD Serono and Panvaxal/NovaRX, outside of the submitted work. J.C.M. reports consulting or honoraria: MJH Life Sciences, Johnson & Johnson and Doximity; and research funding (to institution): Merck via the Conquer Cancer Foundation. J.F.G. reports served as a compensated consultant or received honoraria from Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech (Roche), Takeda, Loxo (Lilly), Blueprint Medicine, Gilead, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Mariana Therapeutics, Mirati, Jounce, Merus Pharmacueticals, Nuvalent, Pfizer, Novocure, AI Proteins, Novartis, Merck, iTeos, Karyopharm and Silverback Therapeutics; research support from Novartis, Genentech (Roche) and Takeda; institutional research support from Bristol Myers Squibb, Palleon, Tesaro, Moderna, Blueprint, Jounce, Array Biopharma, Merck, Adaptimmune, Novartis and Alexo; has equity in AI Proteins; and has an immediate family member who is an employee with equity at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. A.D. reports honoraria: Intellisphere, Roche (Genentech); ad board: TP Therapeutics, Guardant Health, AnHeart Therapeutics, ChromaCode; clinical trial support: Syntrix Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Merck, AnHeart Therapeutics, Sorrento Therapeutics, Guardant Health and Philogen. C. M. Bestvina reports consulting or advisory role: AstraZeneca, Genentech, AbbVie, Curio Science, OncLive Clinical Congress Consultants, Seagen, Creative Educational Concepts, Takeda, Janssen, CVS, Bristol Myers Squibb (Celgene), Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Sanofi–Regeneron and Novocure; speakers’ bureau: Merck; research funding: Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca. C.A.S. reports advisory boards to AstraZeneca, Gilead, Janssen, Genentech, Mirati, Takeda and Arcus Biosciences. J.W.R. reports honoraria or consulting (self): Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Turning Point Roche (Genentech), Biodesix, EMD Serono, Daiichi Sankyo, Blueprint, Novartis, Regeneron, Sanofi, Janssen, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, Beigene, Merus and Seagen; research support (to institution): ArriVent, Merck, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Spectrum, Revolution Medicines, IO Biotech and Kinnate. C. M. Blakely reports research funding: AstraZeneca, Novartis, Mirati, Spectrum, Takeda, Puma and Pfizer; and consulting: Janssen and Bayer. C.V.P. reports a founder and equity and intellectual property in EnFuego Therapeutics. F.T. reports speaker bureau or honoraria: Roche, AstraZeneca, Novartis and Takeda. M.S. reports institutional support: Dracen Pharmaceuticals; advisory board: Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Siemens Healthineers, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Bristol Myers Squibb; leadership or fiduciary role: ESMO and EORTC. S.D. reports independent image analysis for hospital-contracted clinical research trials programs for Merck, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Roche, Polaris, Cascadian, Abbvie, Gradalis, Bayer, Zai laboratories, Biengen, Resonance and Analise; research grants from Lunit, GE, Qure AI; and an honorarium from Siemens. M.J.M. reports AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb and Istari Oncology & Regeneron. A.G.S. reports AstraZeneca, Genentech (Roche) and Bristol Myers Squibb. A.N.S. reports serving as a consultant and/or advisory board member for Eli Lilly, Daiichi Sankyo and Zymeworks; and research funding from Eli Lilly, Novartis, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, AstraZeneca, Memgen, Mersana, Turning Point Therapeutics, BioAtla and Genmab to his institution. J.R. reports consulting fees or honoraria from AstraZeneca, Takeda, Sanofi Genzyme, Genentech, Guardant Health, Summit, G1 Therapeutics, BioAtla, Jazz, Amgen, and Janssen; contracted for research (institutional) with AstraZeneca, BioAtla, Blueprint Medicines, EpimAb Biotherapeutics, LOXO Oncology, Enliven, Redcloud and ORIC. T.S. reports advisory board or consulting fees for Seagen, Astellas and AstraZeneca; and research grant GRAIL. S.B.G. reports research funding from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim and Mirati; and consulting or advisory board member for AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Amgen, Blueprint Medicine, Sanofi Genzyme, Daiichi Sankyo, Takeda, Janssen, Summit Therapeutics, Merck and Regeneron. J.K. reports for Arterys. K.S. reports consultant, advisor or speaker for Clinica Alemana Santiago, Shattuck Labs, AstraZeneca, EMD Serono, Takeda, Torque/Repertoire Therapeutics, CSRlife, Agenus, Genmab, OnCusp, Parthenon Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Roche, Molecular Templates, Abbvie, Sanofi, Merck, PeerView, PER and Forefront Collaborative; research funding from Navigate BP, Tesaro/GSK, Moderna, Takeda, Surface Oncology, Pierre-Fabre, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Ribon Therapeutics, Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech (Roche) and Akoya Biosciences. K.D.D. reports consulting fees or other remuneration from Rain Therapeutics. V.A. reports research funding to Johns Hopkins University from AstraZeneca and Personal Genome Diagnostics, has received research funding to Johns Hopkins University from Bristol Myers Squibb and Delfi Diagnostics in the past five years and is an advisory board member for Neogenomics and AstraZeneca. V.A. is an inventor on patent applications (63/276,525, 17/779,936, 16/312,152, 16/341,862, 17/047,006 and 17/598,690) submitted by Johns Hopkins University related to cancer genomic analyses, ctDNA therapeutic response monitoring and immunogenomic features of response to immunotherapy that have been licensed to one or more entities. Under the terms of these license agreements, the University and inventors are entitled to fees and royalty distributions. K.A.M. reports consulting or advisory fees from AstraZeneca, Amgen, Janssen, Mirati Therapeutics, Daiichi Sankyo (Lilly) and Puma Biotechnology, as well as honoraria from AstraZeneca. K.A.M. receives research funding to Johns Hopkins University from Bristol Myers Squibb and Mirati Therapeutics. P.M.F. reports consulting fee (for example, advisory board): Ascendis, AstraZeneca, BMS, Curevac, Novartis, Regeneron, G1, Genelux, Genentech, Gritstone, Merck, Janssen, F-Star, Sanofi, Amgen, Fosun, Teva, Synthekine, Flame, Iteos, Tavotek and Teva; contracted research: AstraZeneca, BMS, Novartis, Regeneron and BioNTech. B.R. reports advisory board or consultant: Regeneron, AstraZeneca, Amgen; honoraria: Targeted Oncology. E.M.V.A reports advisory or consulting: Tango Therapeutics, Genome Medical, Genomic Life, Enara Bio, Manifold Bio, Monte Rosa, Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Riva Therapeutics and Serinus Bio; research support: Novartis, BMS and Sanofi; equity: Tango Therapeutics, Genome Medical, Genomic Life, Syapse, Enara Bio, Manifold Bio, Microsoft, Monte Rosa, Riva Therapeutics and Serinus Bio; patents: institutional patents filed on chromatin mutations and immunotherapy response, and methods for clinical interpretation; intermittent legal consulting on patents for Foaley & Hoag; editorial boards: JCO Precision Oncology and Science Advances. A.L.C. reports consulting for AstraZeneca, Merus and Tempus; research funds from AstraZeneca, Genentech (Roche), Merck and Novartis. J.W.G. reports research grants: AstraZeneca, BMS, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Merck and Pfizer; consulting fees: AstraZeneca, BMS, Genentech, Gilead, Gritstone, Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Regeneron. C.A. reports consulting or advisory role: Genentech, Lilly, Celgene, Merck, AstraZeneca, Blueprint Genetics, Shionogi, Daiichi Sankyo–AstraZeneca, Sanofi/Regeneron, Eisai, BeiGene, Turning Point Therapeutics, Pfizer, Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim; research funding: Genentech/Roche (Inst), Incyte (Inst), Macrogenics (Inst), Merck Sharp & Dohme (Inst) and AstraZeneca–MedImmune (Inst). L.R. reports honoraria: Merck, AstraZeneca, Genzyme, EMD Serono and Astellas Pharmas; consulting or advisory role: Amgen. J.W.N. reports honoraria: CME Matters, Clinical Care Options CME, Research to Practice CME, Medscape CME, Biomedical Learning Institute CME, MLI Peerview CME, Prime Oncology CME, Projects in Knowledge CME, Rockpointe CME, MJH Life Sciences CME, Medical Educator Consortium, HMP education consulting or advisory role: AstraZeneca, Genentech (Roche), Exelixis, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, Amgen, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Blueprint Pharmaceuticals, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Natera, Sanofi, D2G Oncology, Surface Oncology, Turning Point Therapeutics, Mirati Therapeutics, Gilead Sciences, Abbive, Summit Therapeutics, Novartis, Novocure, Janssen Oncology, Anheart Therapeutics Research Funding: Genentech (Roche), Merck, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Exelixis, Nektart Therapeutics, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Adaptimmune, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Abbvie Pharmaceuticals and Novocure. Y.Y.E. reports honoraria: CME Matters, Clinical Care Options CME, Research to Practice CME, Medscape CME, Biomedical Learning Institute CME, MLI Peerview CME, Prime Oncology CME, Projects in Knowledge CME, Rockpointe CME, MJH Life Sciences CME, Medical Educator Consortium, HMP education consulting or advisory role: AstraZeneca, Genentech (Roche), Exelixis, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, Amgen, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Blueprint Pharmaceuticals, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Natera, Sanofi, D2G Oncology, Surface Oncology, Turning Point Therapeutics, Mirati Therapeutics, Gilead Sciences, Abbive, Summit Therapeutics, Novartis, Novocure, Janssen Oncology, Anheart Therapeutics Reserach Funding: Genentech/Roche, Merck, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Exelixis, Nektart Therapeutics, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Adaptimmune, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Abbvie Pharmaceuticals and Novocure. M.V.N. reports research funding to institution: Mirati, Novartis, Checkmate (ended), Alaunos, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Genentech, Navire; consultant or advisory board: Mirati, Merck/MSD, Novartis and Genentech. X.L. reports receiving consulting or advisory fees from EMD Serono (Merck KGaA), AstraZeneca, Spectrum Pharmaceutics, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hengrui Therapeutics, Janssen, Blueprint Medicines, Regeneron, Sensei Biotherapeutics, Abion and Abbvie, and research funding from Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Janssen, ArriVent, Teligene, BlackDiamond, Regeneron and Boehringer Ingelheim. V.K.L. reports consultant or advisory role for Takeda, Seattle Genetics, BMS, AstraZeneca, Guardant Health and AnHeart Therapeutics and has received research funding from GSK, BMS, AstraZeneca, Merck and Seattle Genetics. W.E.L. reports advisory boards: Eisai and Takeda, Grand Rounds and BMS for repotrectinib. J.A.R. reports consultancy, stock, Genprex; patents issued and pending. T.C. reports speaker fees or honoraria from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, Bristol Myers Squibb, Roche, Medscape, IDEOlogy Health, Physicians’ Education Resource (PER), OncLive and PeerView; travel and/or food/beverage expenses from SITC, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, PER, Dava Oncology, IDEOlogy Health, AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb; advisory role or consulting fees from MedImmune–AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, Genentech, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer and Regeneron; and institutional research funding from MedImmune–AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb and EMD Serono. J.Z. reports grants from Merck, grants and personal fees from Johnson & Johnson and Novartis, personal fees from Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, GenePlus, Innovent and Hengrui outside the submitted work. G.R.B. reports grant or contract for clinical trial from MacroGenics; grants from Amgen, Bayer, Adaptimmune, Exelixis, Daiichi Sankyo, GlaxoSmithKline, Immatics, Immunocore, Incyte, Kite Pharma, MacroGenics, Torque, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Genentech, MedImmune, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, Xcovery, Tmunity Therapeutics, Regeneron, BeiGene, Repertoire Immune Medicines, Verastem, CytomX Therapeutics and Duality Biologics; consulting fees from AbbVie, Adicet, Amgen, Ariad, Bayer, Clovis Oncology, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Daiichi Sankyo, Instil Bio, Genentech, Genzyme, Gilead, Eli Lilly, Janssen, MedImmune, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, Tyme Oncology, Xcovery, Virogin Biotech, Maverick Therapeutics, BeiGene, Regeneron, Cytomx Therapeutics, Intervenn Biosciences and Onconova Therapeutics; participation in advisory boards at Virogin Biotech and Maverick Therapeutics; stock in Virogin Biotech; and employment of family member at Johnson & Johnson/Janssen. C.G. reports member of the advisory board at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb and served as speaker for AstraZeneca and BeiGene. L.A.B. reports consulting fees and research funding from AstraZeneca, GenMab and Sierra Oncology and research funding from Tolero Pharmaceuticals and served as advisor or consultant for PharmaMar, AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Alethia, Merck, Pfizer, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Genentech and Debiopharm Group. D.L.G. reports AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Menarini Richerche, 4D Pharma, Onconova Therapeutics and Sanofi. A.T. reports Ariad, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Seattle Genetics, Gilead Sciences and Summit Therapeutics. T.G.B. reports Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub. D.R.C. reports CoI Company sponsored trials at institution (PI roles): AZ, Roche (Genentech) advisory role: ad hoc advisory boards or consultations 2023: Abbvie (steering committee), Anheart, Beigene (IDMC), Eli Lilly (IDMC), Imagene, Immunocore, Janssen, Mirati (IDMC), Prelude, Seattle Genetics, Valencee; 2022: Abbvie, Anheart, Appolomics (SRC), AstraZeneca–Daiichi (ILD adjudication committee), Beigene (DSMB) Dizal, EMD Serono, Elevation, Hengrui, (DSMB), Hummingbird, Janssen, Medtronic, Mersana (ILD adjudication committee), Mirati, Nalo Therapeutics, Onkure, Regeneron, Roche, Sanofi, Takeda, Theseus, Xcovery; 2021: Abbvie, Amgen, Anheart, Apollomics (SRC), AstraZeneca (SRC/SC), Beigene (DSMC), Bio-Thera (DSMB), Blueprint, Daiichi Sankyo (ILD adjudication committee), Elevation (SRC), Eli Lilly (DSMB and NCCN), EMD Serono, Helsinn (DSMB), Hengrui (DSMC), Janssen, Kestrel (SAB, Shares), Mersana, Nuvalent (SAB), Puma (NCCN), Ribon, Roche (Genentech), Sanofi, Seattle Genetics, Takeda and Turning Point. J.E.G. reports honoraria: Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Merck and OncoCyte; consulting or advisory role: AstraZeneca, Blueprint Medicines, Bristol Myers Squibb, EMD Serono, Lilly, Sanofi, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Loxo, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, AstraZeneca–MedImmune, Janssen Scientific Affairs, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, AbbVie and Regeneron; research funding: Merck (Inst), AstraZeneca (Inst), Bristol Myers Squibb (Inst), Boehringer Ingelheim (Inst), Genentech (Roche) (Inst), G1 Therapeutics (Inst), Novartis (Inst), Pfizer (Inst), Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Inst), SWOG (Inst), Array BioPharma (Inst) and ECOG-ACRIN (Inst). N.L. reports CME and research funding: AstraZeneca. B.L. reports Genentech (Roche), Eli Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Janssen, Daiichi Sankyo, Takeda, Mirati, Novartis and Guardant 360. J.R.B. reports grant funding: AstraZeneca; advisory board: AstraZeneca, Amgen, Novartis, Incyte, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Janssen, Sanofi, Regeneron, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline; DSMB: Sanofi, Janssen and GlaxoSmithKline. M.C.G. reports AstraZeneca, Abion, MSD International, Bayer, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim Italia S.p.A, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Incyte, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Takeda, Seattle Genetics, Mirati, Daiichi Sankyo, Regeneron, Merck, Blueprint, Janssen, Sanofi, AbbVie, BeiGenius, Oncohost and Medscape. D.R.G. reports institutional research grants from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Genentech and Merck; consultant or advisory board for Adagene, AstraZeneca, Roche (Genentech), Guardant, IO Biotech, Oncocyte, OncoHost, Lilly, Merck and Novartis. E.B.G. reports consulting or advisory role: Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim, Shionogi, Eisai, Bristol Myers Squibb, ABL Bio, Xilio Therapeutics, Natera, Sanofi–Regeneron, Lilly, Personalis, Gilead Sciences, AstraZeneca, AbbVie–Abbott, Arcus Biosciences, Seagan and Summit Therapeutics; research funding: Merck (Inst), Genentech (Inst), AstraZeneca (Inst), Novartis (Inst), Lilly (Inst), Bristol Myers Squibb (Inst), Mirati Therapeutics (Inst), Dynavax Technologies (Inst), Iovance Biotherapeutics (Inst), Neon Therapeutics (Inst), EMD Serono (Inst), ABL Bio (Inst) and Daiichi Sankyo–UCB Japan (Inst); patents, royalties, other intellectual property: diagnosistic and therapeutic use of ‘Motif Neoepitopes’ as defined by Cummings et al.76. N.A.R. reports an employee at Synthekine and holds equity at Synthekine and Gritstone. G.V.S. reports honoraria, research funding and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, BeiGene Switzerland, F. Hoffman–La Roche, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Takeda Oncology, Tesaro and Verastem outside the submitted work. J.W. reports advisory boards and lecture fees: Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Blueprint, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chugai, Daiichi Sankyo, Ignyta, Janssen, Lilly, Loxo, Merck, Mirati, MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme), Novartis, Nuvalent, Pfizer, Roche, Seattle Genetics, Takeda and Turning Point; research support (to institution): BMS, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer and AstraZeneca. B.B. reports receiving grants from AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Chugai, Daiichi Sankyo, Ellipse, EISAI, Genmab, Genzyme Corporation, Hedera Dx, Inivata, IPSEN, Janssen, MSD, PharmaMar, Roche (Genentech), Sanofi, Socar Research, Tahio Oncology and Turning Point Therapeutics. R.S.H. reports consulting roles with AbbVie Pharmaceuticals, ARMO Biosciences, AstraZeneca, Biodesix, Bolt Biotherapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cybrexa Therapeutics, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Genentech (Roche), Genmab, Halozyme Therapeutics, Heat Biologics, I-Mab Biopharma, Immunocore, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Loxo Oncology, Merck, Mirati Therapeutics, Nektar, Neon Therapeutics, NextCure, Novartis, Oncternal Therapeutics, Pfizer, Sanofi, Seattle Genetics, Shire, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, STCube Pharmaceuticals, Symphogen, Takeda, Tesaro, Tocagen and WindMIL Therapeutics; advisory board roles with AstraZeneca, Bolt Biotherapeutics, Cybrexa Therapeutics, EMD Serono, I-Mab Biopharma, Immunocore, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Neon Therapeutics, Novartis and STCube Pharmaceuticals; research support from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Genentech (Roche) and Merck; and non-executive board membership for Junshi Pharmaceuticals and Immunocore. H.A.W. reports grants or contracts from any entity: Bayer, Arrys Therapeutics, AstraZeneca–Medimmune, BMS, Clovis Oncology, Genentech (Roche), Merck, Novartis, Seagen, Xcovery and Helsinn; advisory board: Mirati, Merck and Genentech (Roche); leadership: International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), President; ECOG-ACRIN, executive committee. N.A.P. reports an employee at Synthekine and holds equity at Synthekine and Gritstone. A.T.S. is currently an employee of Novartis. P.A.J. reports stock and other ownership interests: Gatekeeper Pharmaceuticals and Loxo; consulting or advisory role: Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Merrimack, Chugai, Roche (Genentech), Loxo, Mirati Therapeutics, Araxes Pharma, Ignyta, Lilly, Takeda, Novartis, Biocartis, Voronoi Health Analytics, SFJ Pharmaceuticals Group, Sanofi, Daiichi Sankyo, Silicon Therapeutics, Nuvalent, Eisai, Bayer, Syndax, AbbVie, Allorion Therapeutics, Accutar Biotech, Transcenta, Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Scorpion Therapeutics, Merus, Frontier Medicines, Hongyun Biotech and Duality Biologics; research funding: AstraZeneca (Inst), Astellas Pharma (Inst), Daiichi Sankyo (Inst), Lilly (Inst), Boehringer Ingelheim (Inst), Puma Biotechnology (Inst), Takeda (Inst) and Revolution Medicines (Inst); patents, royalties, other intellectual property: I am a co-inventor on a DFCI owned patent on EGFR mutations licensed to Lab Corp. I receive post-marketing royalties from this invention. D.P.C. reports advisory boards or consulting: Abbvie, Arcus Biosciences, AstraZeneca, BMS Israel, G1 Therapeutics, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, InThought, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Janssen, Jazz, JNJ, Merck–EMD Serono, Merck KGaA, Mirati, MSD, Novartis, Novocure, OncoHost, Pfizer Egypt, Regeneron, Roche and Sanofi; KOL/presentation/education/forum: AstraZeneca, Curio Science, Intellisphere, Merck US, OncLive, Pfizer, PPD Development and Roche Taiwan. M.D.H. is an employee of and stockholder in AstraZeneca. C.M.R. reports consulted regarding oncology drug development with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, D2G, Daiichi Sankyo, Epizyme, Genentech (Roche), Ipsen, Jazz, Kowa, Lilly, Merck and Syros. He serves on the scientific advisory boards of Auron, Bridge Medicines, DISCO, Earli and Harpoon Therapeutics. L.A. is an employee of Foundation Medicine and a stockholder of Roche Holding AG. H.M. reports full-time employee of AstraZeneca and stock/shares. Z.Z. reports employee of AstraZeneca as well as stockholder of AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Z.L. reports full-time employee and stock owner of AstraZeneca. R.S. reports other support from AstraZeneca during the conduct of the study, as well as other support from Pfizer outside the submitted work. S.P. reports consultation or advisory role: AbbVie, Amgen, Arcus, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Beigene, BerGenBio, Biocartis, BioInvent, Blueprint Medicines, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Clovis, Daiichi Sankyo, Debiopharm, Eli Lilly, F-Star, Fishawack, Foundation Medicine, Genzyme, Gilead, GSK, Hutchmed, Illumina, Incyte, Ipsen, iTeos, Janssen, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Merck Serono, Merrimack, Mirati, Nykode Therapeutics, Novartis, Novocure, PharmaMar, Promontory Therapeutics, Pfizer, Regeneron, Roche (Genentech), Sanofi, Seattle Genetics and Takeda; Board of Directors position: Galenica; talk in a company’s organized public event: AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Foundation Medicine, GSK, Illumina, Ipsen, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Mirati, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche (Genentech), Sanofi and Takeda; receipt of grants or research support: principal investigator in trials (institutional financial support for clinical trials) sponsored by Amgen, Arcus, AstraZeneca, Beigene, Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, iTeos, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Mirati, PharmaMar, Promontory Therapeutics, Roche (Genentech) and Seattle Genetics. J.M.J. and M.J.R. are employees and shareholders of D2G Oncology. I.P.W. is a co-founder, employee and shareholder of D2G Oncology. M.M.W. is a co-founder, shareholder, member of the board of directors and compensated scientific advisor of D2G Oncology. I.P.W. and M.M.W. are co-inventors of patents relating to technologies for an autochthonous mouse model of human cancer, which D2G Oncology has exclusively licensed from Stanford University. V.A.P. reports Pfizer employee and stockholder. K.K.W. is a founder and equity holder of G1 Therapeutics and has sponsored research agreements with Takeda, TargImmune, Bristol Myers Squibb, Mirati, Merus and Alkermes, and consulting and sponsored research agreements with AstraZeneca, Janssen, Pfizer, Novartis, Merck, Zentalis, BridgeBio and Blueprint. P.J. reports employee and stock or stock options of AstraZeneca. I.I.W. reports honoraria from Genentech (Roche), Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck, Guardant Health, Flame, Novartis, Sanofi, Daiichi Sankyo, Amgen, Janssen, Merus, G1 Therapeutics, Abbvie, Catalyst Therapeutics, Regeneron, Oncocyte, Medscape, Platform Health and Physicians’ Education Resources; research support from Genentech, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Medimmune, Adaptive, Adaptimmune, EMD Serono, Pfizer, Takeda, Amgen, Karus, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Iovance, 4D, Novartis and Akoya. A.G.P. reports Pfizer. J.V.H. reports Advisory Committees: Genentech, Mirati Therapeutics, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Regeneron, Takeda, BerGenBio, Jazz, Curio Science, Novartis, AstraZeneca, BioAlta, Sanofi, Spectrum, GlaxoSmithKline, EMD Serono, BluePrint Medicine and Chugai; research support: AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Spectrum, Mirati, Bristol Myers Squibb and Takeda; licensing or royalties: Spectrum. H.A.A., M.T.D., A.G.C., Y.Q., R.P., D.M., D.H.O., R.M., J.A.H., L.M., S.C.M.L., R.P.J., C.L., Z.W., M.G.W., D.V., H.S., M.K., S.K., Y.N., J.T.A., J.S., L.L., H.N.K., B.C., S.S., R.L., T.Z., J.J.L., D.P., M.L.J. T.T., A.P., Y.K. and J.L.: no disclosures were reported by these authors., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Follicular lymphoma (FL) and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) are indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas (iNHL). Median survival for iNHL is approximately 20 years. Because standard treatments are not curative, patients often receive multiple lines of therapy with associated toxicity-rationally designed, combination therapies with curative potential are needed. The immunomodulatory drug lenalidomide was evaluated in combination with rituximab for the frontline treatment of FL in the phase 3 RELEVANCE study. Ibrutinib, an oral Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is active in NHL and was evaluated in combination with lenalidomide, rituximab, and ibrutinib (IRR) in a phase 1 study., Methods: The authors conducted an open-label, phase 2 clinical trial of IRR for previously untreated FL and MZL. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) at 24 months., Results: This study included 48 participants with previously untreated FL grade 1-3a (N = 38), or MZL (N = 10). Participants received 12, 28-day cycles of lenalidomide (15 mg, days 1-21 cycle 1; 20 mg, cycles 2-12), rituximab (375 mg/m 2 weekly in cycle 1; day 1 cycles 2-12), and ibrutinib 560 mg daily. With a median follow-up of 65.3 months, the estimated PFS at 24 months was 78.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 68.0%-91.4%) and 60-month PFS was 59.7% (95% CI, 46.6%-76.4%). One death occurred unrelated to disease progression. Grade 3-4 adverse events were observed in 64.6%, including 50% with grade 3-4 rash., Conclusions: IRR is highly active as frontline therapy for FL and MZL. Compared to historical results with lenalidomide and rituximab, PFS is similar with higher grade 3-4 toxicity, particularly rash. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02532257)., (© 2023 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is treated to prevent subsequent ipsilateral invasive breast cancer (iIBC). However, many DCIS lesions will never become invasive. To prevent overtreatment, we need to distinguish harmless from potentially hazardous DCIS. We investigated whether the immune microenvironment (IME) in DCIS correlates with transition to iIBC., Methods: Patients were derived from a Dutch population-based cohort of 10,090 women with pure DCIS with a median follow-up time of 12 years. Density, composition and proximity to the closest DCIS cell of CD20 + B-cells, CD3 + CD8 + T-cells, CD3 + CD8 - T-cells, CD3 + FOXP3 + regulatory T-cells, CD68 + cells, and CD8 + Ki67 + T-cells was assessed with multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) with digital whole-slide analysis and compared between primary DCIS lesions of 77 women with subsequent iIBC (cases) and 64 without (controls)., Results: Higher stromal density of analysed immune cell subsets was significantly associated with higher grade, ER negativity, HER-2 positivity, Ki67 ≥ 14%, periductal fibrosis and comedonecrosis (P < 0.05). Density, composition and proximity to the closest DCIS cell of all analysed immune cell subsets did not differ between cases and controls., Conclusion: IME features analysed by mIF in 141 patients from a well-annotated cohort of pure DCIS with long-term follow-up are no predictors of subsequent iIBC, but do correlate with other factors (grade, ER, HER2 status, Ki-67) known to be associated with invasive recurrences., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPeM) is a rare but aggressive malignancy with limited treatment options. VEGF inhibition enhances efficacy of immune-checkpoint inhibitors by reworking the immunosuppressive tumor milieu. Efficacy and safety of combined PD-L1 (atezolizumab) and VEGF (bevacizumab) blockade (AtezoBev) was assessed in 20 patients with advanced and unresectable MPeM with progression or intolerance to prior platinum-pemetrexed chemotherapy. The primary endpoint of confirmed objective response rate per RECISTv1.1 by independent radiology review was 40% [8/20; 95% confidence interval (CI), 19.1-64.0] with median response duration of 12.8 months. Six (75%) responses lasted for >10 months. Progression-free and overall survival at one year were 61% (95% CI, 35-80) and 85% (95% CI, 60-95), respectively. Responses occurred notwithstanding low tumor mutation burden and PD-L1 expression status. Baseline epithelial-mesenchymal transition gene expression correlated with therapeutic resistance/response ( r = 0.80; P = 0.0010). AtezoBev showed promising and durable efficacy in patients with advanced MPeM with an acceptable safety profile, and these results address a grave unmet need for this orphan disease. SIGNIFICANCE: Efficacy of atezolizumab and bevacizumab vis-à-vis response rates and survival in advanced peritoneal mesothelioma previously treated with chemotherapy surpassed outcomes expected with conventional therapies. Biomarker analyses uncovered epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype as an important resistance mechanism and showcase the value and feasibility of performing translationally driven clinical trials in rare tumors. See related commentary by Aldea et al., p. 2674 . This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 2659 ., (©2021 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research.)

Purpose: Increasing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) is associated with higher rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the presence of TILs does not consistently predict pCR, therefore, the current study was undertaken to more fully characterize the immune cell response and its association with pCR., Experimental Design: We obtained pretreatment core-needle biopsies from 105 patients with stage I-III TNBC enrolled in ARTEMIS (NCT02276443) who received NAT from Oct 22, 2015 through July 24, 2018. The tumor-immune microenvironment was comprehensively profiled by performing T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing, programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) IHC, multiplex immunofluorescence, and RNA sequencing on pretreatment tumor samples. The primary endpoint was pathologic response to NAT., Results: The pCR rate was 40% (42/105). Higher TCR clonality (median = 0.2 vs. 0.1, P = 0.03), PD-L1 positivity (OR: 2.91, P = 0.020), higher CD3+:CD68+ ratio (median = 14.70 vs. 8.20, P = 0.0128), and closer spatial proximity of T cells to tumor cells (median = 19.26 vs. 21.94 μm, P = 0.0169) were associated with pCR. In a multivariable model, closer spatial proximity of T cells to tumor cells and PD-L1 expression enhanced prediction of pCR when considered in conjunction with clinical stage., Conclusions: In patients receiving NAT for TNBC, deep immune profiling through detailed phenotypic characterization and spatial analysis can improve prediction of pCR in patients receiving NAT for TNBC when considered with traditional clinical parameters., (©2021 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Introduction: The combination of programmed cell death protein-1 or programmed death-ligand 1 immune checkpoint blockade and chemotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of advanced NSCLC, but the mechanisms underlying this synergy remain incompletely understood. In this study, we explored the relationships between neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the immune microenvironment (IME) of resectable NSCLC to identify novel mechanisms by which chemotherapy may enhance the effect of immune checkpoint blockade., Methods: Genomic, transcriptomic, and immune profiling data of 511 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery (NCT) versus upfront surgery (US) were compared with determined differential characteristics of the IMEs derived from whole-exome sequencing (NCT = 18; US = 73), RNA microarray (NCT = 45; US = 202), flow cytometry (NCT = 17; US = 39), multiplex immunofluorescence (NCT = 10; US = 72), T-cell receptor sequencing (NCT = 16 and US = 63), and circulating cytokines (NCT = 18; US = 73)., Results: NCT was associated with increased infiltration of cytotoxic CD8 + T cells and CD20 + B cells. Moreover, NCT was associated with increases in CD8 + CD103 + and CD4 + CD103 + PD-1 + TIM3 - tissue resident memory T cells. Gene expression profiling supported memory function of CD8 + and CD4 + T cells. However, NCT did not affect T-cell receptor clonality, richness, or tumor mutational burden. Finally, NCT was associated with decreased plasma BDNF (TrkB) at baseline and week 4 after surgery., Conclusions: Our study supports that, in the context of resectable NSCLC, neoadjuvant chemotherapy promotes antitumor immunity through T and B cell recruitment in the IME and through a phenotypic change toward cytotoxic and memory CD8 + and CD4 + memory helper T cells., (Copyright © 2020 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To develop and validate a radiomics signature that can predict the clinical outcomes for patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., Methods and Materials: We retrospectively analyzed contrast-enhanced computed tomography images of patients from a training cohort (n = 147) treated with surgery and an independent validation cohort (n = 295) treated with stereotactic ablative radiation therapy. Twelve radiomics features with established strategies for filtering and preprocessing were extracted. The random survival forests (RSF) method was used to build models from subsets of the 12 candidate features based on their survival relevance and generate a mortality risk index for each observation in the training set. An optimal model was selected, and its ability to predict clinical outcomes was evaluated in the validation set using predicted mortality risk indexes., Results: The optimal RSF model, consisting of 2 predictive features, kurtosis and the gray level co-occurrence matrix feature homogeneity2, allowed for significant risk stratification (log-rank P < .0001) and remained an independent predictor of overall survival after adjusting for age, tumor volume and histologic type, and Karnofsky performance status (hazard ratio [HR] 1.27; P < 2e-16) in the training set. The resultant mortality risk indexes were significantly associated with overall survival in the validation set (log-rank P = .0173; HR 1.02, P = .0438). They were also significant for distant metastasis (log-rank P < .05; HR 1.04, P = .0407) and were borderline significant for regional recurrence on univariate analysis (log-rank P < .05; HR 1.04, P = .0617)., Conclusions: Our radiomics model accurately predicted several clinical outcomes and allowed pretreatment risk stratification in stage I NSCLC, allowing the choice of treatment to be tailored to each patient's individual risk profile., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Unlabelled: Intratumoral collagen cross-links heighten stromal stiffness and stimulate tumor cell invasion, but it is unclear how collagen cross-linking is regulated in epithelial tumors. To address this question, we used Kras(LA1) mice, which develop lung adenocarcinomas from somatic activation of a Kras(G12D) allele. The lung tumors in Kras(LA1) mice were highly fibrotic and contained cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) that produced collagen and generated stiffness in collagen gels. In xenograft tumors generated by injection of wild-type mice with lung adenocarcinoma cells alone or in combination with CAFs, the total concentration of collagen cross-links was the same in tumors generated with or without CAFs, but coinjected tumors had higher hydroxylysine aldehyde-derived collagen cross-links (HLCC) and lower lysine-aldehyde-derived collagen cross-links (LCCs). Therefore, we postulated that an LCC-to-HLCC switch induced by CAFs promotes the migratory and invasive properties of lung adenocarcinoma cells. To test this hypothesis, we created coculture models in which CAFs are positioned interstitially or peripherally in tumor cell aggregates, mimicking distinct spatial orientations of CAFs in human lung cancer. In both contexts, CAFs enhanced the invasive properties of tumor cells in three-dimensional (3D) collagen gels. Tumor cell aggregates that attached to CAF networks on a Matrigel surface dissociated and migrated on the networks. Lysyl hydroxylase 2 (PLOD2/LH2), which drives HLCC formation, was expressed in CAFs, and LH2 depletion abrogated the ability of CAFs to promote tumor cell invasion and migration., Implications: CAFs induce a collagen cross-link switch in tumor stroma to influence the invasive properties of tumor cells., (©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.)

STK11/LKB1 is among the most commonly inactivated tumor suppressors in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), especially in tumors harboring KRAS mutations. Many oncogenes promote immune escape, undermining the effectiveness of immunotherapies, but it is unclear whether the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, such as STK11/LKB1, exerts similar effects. In this study, we investigated the consequences of STK11/LKB1 loss on the immune microenvironment in a mouse model of KRAS-driven NSCLC. Genetic ablation of STK11/LKB1 resulted in accumulation of neutrophils with T-cell-suppressive effects, along with a corresponding increase in the expression of T-cell exhaustion markers and tumor-promoting cytokines. The number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was also reduced in LKB1-deficient mouse and human tumors. Furthermore, STK11/LKB1-inactivating mutations were associated with reduced expression of PD-1 ligand PD-L1 in mouse and patient tumors as well as in tumor-derived cell lines. Consistent with these results, PD-1-targeting antibodies were ineffective against Lkb1-deficient tumors. In contrast, treating Lkb1-deficient mice with an IL6-neutralizing antibody or a neutrophil-depleting antibody yielded therapeutic benefits associated with reduced neutrophil accumulation and proinflammatory cytokine expression. Our findings illustrate how tumor suppressor mutations can modulate the immune milieu of the tumor microenvironment, and they offer specific implications for addressing STK11/LKB1-mutated tumors with PD-1-targeting antibody therapies., (©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Background: Myofibroblasts derived from fibroblasts in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis causes excessive and disordered deposition of matrix proteins, including collagen V, which can cause a Th17-mediated immune response and lead to apoptosis. However, whether the intrinsic ability of lung FBs to produce the matrix depends on their site-specific variations is not known., Aim: To investigate the link between Th17 and collagen V that maintains pulmonary remodeling in the peripheral lung microenvironment during the late stage of experimental pulmonary fibrosis., Methods: Young male mice including wild Balb/c mice (BALB, n=10), wild C57 Black/6J mice (C57, n=10) and IL-17 receptor A knockout mice (KO, n=8), were sacrificed 21 days after treatment with bleomycin. Picrosirius red staining, immunohistochemistry for IL-17-related markers and "in situ" detection of apoptosis, immunofluorescence for collagen types I and V, primary cell cultures from tissue lung explants for RT-PCR and electron microscopy were used., Results: The peripheral deposition of extracellular matrix components by myofibroblasts during the late stage is maintained in C57 mice compared with that in Balb mice and is not changed in the absence of IL-17 receptor A; however, the absence of IL-17 receptor A induces overexpression of type V collagen, amplifies the peripheral expression of IL-17 and IL-17-related cytokines and reduces peripheral lung fibroblast apoptosis., Conclusion: A positive feedback loop between the expression patterns of collagen V and IL-17 may coordinate the maintenance of peripheral collagen I in the absence of IL-17 receptor A in fibrosis-susceptible strains in a site-specific manner., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To investigate the effect of cilostazol, in kidney and skeletal muscle of rats submitted to acute ischemia and reperfusion., Methods: Fourty three animals were randomized and divided into two groups. Group I received a solution of cilostazol (10 mg/Kg) and group II received saline solution 0.9% (SS) by orogastric tube after ligature of the abdominal aorta. After four hours of ischemia the animals were divided into four subgroups: group IA (Cilostazol): two hours of reperfusion. Group IIA (SS): two hours of reperfusion. Group IB (Cilostazol): six hours of reperfusion. Group IIB (SS) six hours of reperfusion. After reperfusion, a left nephrectomy was performed and removal of the muscles of the hind limb. The histological parameters were studied. In kidney cylinders of myoglobin, vacuolar degeneration and acute tubular necrosis. In muscle interstitial edema, inflammatory infiltrate, hypereosinophilia fiber, cariopicnose and necrosis. Apoptosis was assessed by immunohistochemistry for cleaved caspase-3 and TUNEL., Results: There was no statistically significant difference between groups., Conclusion: Cilostazol had no protective effect on the kidney and the skeletal striated muscle in rats submitted to acute ischemia and reperfusion in this model.

We tested the hypothesis that at the early phase of acute lung injury (ALI) the degree of endothelium injury may predict lung parenchyma remodelling. For this purpose, two models of extrapulmonary ALI induced by Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (ALI-LPS) or cecal ligation and puncture (ALI-CLP) were developed in mice. At day 1, these models had similar degrees of lung mechanical compromise, epithelial damage, and intraperitoneal inflammation, but endothelial lesion was greater in ALI-CLP. A time course analysis revealed, at day 7: ALI-CLP had higher degrees of epithelial lesion, denudation of basement membrane, endothelial damage, elastic and collagen fibre content, neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), peritoneal fluid and blood, levels of interleukin-6, KC (murine analogue of IL-8), and transforming growth factor-β in BALF. Conversely, the number of lung apoptotic cells was similar in both groups. In conclusion, the intensity of fibroelastogenesis was affected by endothelium injury in addition to the maintenance of epithelial damage and intraperitoneal inflammation., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There is evidence that sex and sex hormones influence the severity of asthma. Airway and lung parenchyma remodeling and the relationship of ultrastructural changes to airway responsiveness and inflammation in male, female, and oophorectomized mice (OVX) were analyzed in experimental chronic allergic asthma. Seventy-two BALB/c mice were randomly divided into three groups (n=24/each): male, female, and OVX mice, whose ovaries were removed 7 days before the start of sensitization. Each group was further randomized to be sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) or saline. Twenty-four hours after the last challenge, collagen fiber content in airways and lung parenchyma, the volume proportion of smooth muscle-specific actin in alveolar ducts and terminal bronchiole, the amount of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9, and the number of eosinophils and interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were higher in female than male OVA mice. The response of OVX mice was similar to that of males, except that IL-5 remained higher. Nevertheless, after OVA provocation, airway responsiveness to methacholine was higher in males compared with females and OVX mice. In conclusion, sex influenced the remodeling process, but the mechanisms responsible for airway hyperresponsiveness seemed to differ from those related to remodeling.

Unlabelled: Angiogenesis is new blood vessel formation, a process that can lead to tumor development. Microvessel count has been correlated to metastasis in some neoplasias., Purpose: To determine if measurement of microvessel density is useful in predicting metastasis to the cervical lymph node and prognosis in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma., Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in 30 patients that had undergone total thyroidectomy. They were divided in 2 groups of 15 patients--with and without metastatic disease. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect expression of CD34 in archival paraffin-embedded papillary thyroid tumors, and microvessel density was calculated based on it. Association between microvessel density and the presence of metastasis, according to histological subtype, disease recurrence, and AMES prognostic index groups was determined through statistical analysis., Results: The median microvessel density for the patient group without metastasis (200.0 microvessels/mm2) was apparently, but not significantly, less than that observed among metastatic disease patients (254.4 microvessels/mm2) (P=.20). When papillary carcinoma subtypes were analyzed, this difference became significant (P=02). The follicular variant exhibited a greater microvessel density than the other subtypes, independent of metastasis presence. There was an apparent, but not significant, tendency for a larger median microvessel density in the group of patients that presented recurrence (294.4 microvessels/mm2 vs 249.6 microvessels/mm2, P=.11). There was no relationship between risk level and microvessel density: in the low- and high-risk groups, the median MVD was 304.0 microvessels/mm2 and 229.6 microvessels/mm2, respectively (P=.27)., Conclusions: The results suggest that angiogenesis is more intense among metastatic tumors in the classic and the tall cell variants, indicating that microvessel count can be an indicator of the potential for metastasis in these subtypes of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Patients that developed recurrent disease had a tendency to exhibit higher angiogenesis; however, there was no association between microvessel density and the AMES prognostic index.