Abstract 100: Blockade of CCL5 and CXCL10 signaling as a novel immunotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer
Authors: Lin Annabelle C. , Moscarelli Jake , Lin Z. Ping , Ratner Elena S. 
Published: March 2024

Background: Cancer immune evasion remains a major barrier in developing enduring therapies for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is known for its immunosuppressive role in cancer, thus interferences to PD-L1 have shown marked efficacy against many advanced cancers. However, the mechanisms by which PD-L1-negative cancers evade immune response remain unelucidated. We have found chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (CCL5) and (C-X-C motif) ligand 10 (CXCL10) to up-regulate in PD-L1-negative EOC. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate blockade of CCL5/CXCL10 signaling to overcome immune evasion of EOC.

Methods: Isogenic BRCA2-mutated PEO1 and BRCA2-wild type PEO4 EOC cells were treated with IFNγ, olaparib, or both in combination for western blot and flow cytometric analyses of PD-L1 expression. The conditioned medium of PEO1 and PEO4 cells was analyzed for immune array analysis to determine and compare the levels of 36 cytokines. PEO1 and PEO4 cells were co-cultured with CD3/CD28 antibodies-activated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Then, PBMCs were stained with anti-CD8 or CD4 and CD25 antibodies for flow cytometric analyses of cytotoxic or helper T cells, respectively. PEO1 and PEO4 cells were co-cultured with activated PBMCs in the presence and absence of TAK-779 or AMG-487. Thereafter, PBMCs were stained with anti-CD4, CD25, and FOXP3 antibodies for flow cytometric analyses of regulatory T cells (Tregs). PEO1 and PEO4 cells were transfected with CCL5- or CXCL10-siRNA and subsequently co-cultured with activated SUPT1 cells or PBMCs. The conditioned medium was collected and analyzed for the levels of IFNγ by ELISA.

Results: PEO1 cells exhibited an up-regulation of basal and IFNγ-induced PD-L1 compared with PEO4 cells. PEO4 cells displayed a pronounced increase in the CCL5 and IFNγ-induced CXCL10 compared with PEO1 cells. Co-culture of PBMCs with PEO1 and PEO4 cells led to a significant decrease in activated CD8+ effector T and CD4+ helper T cells. However, co-culture of PBMCs with PEO4 cells caused a significant increase in activated CD4+ helper T cells. Co-culture of PBMCs with PEO4 cells caused a significant increase in FOXP3+CD4+CD25+ Tregs. This increase in Tregs was significantly reduced by the treatment with the CCL5/CCR5 antagonist TAK-779 or the CXCL10/CXCR3 antagonist AMG-487. Silencing of CCL5 or CXCL10 in PEO4 cells by siRNA significantly increased IFNγ production by SUPT1 cells and PBMCs.

Conclusions: PEO4 cells secrete CCL5 and IFNγ-induced CXCL10 to activate Tregs, enabling tumor cells to evade host immune response by dysregulating their microenvironment. PEO4 cells-induced Tregs are reduced by CCL5/CXCL10 signaling blockade with TAG-779 or AMG-487. Furthermore, silencing of CCL5 or CXCL10 in PEO4 cells with siRNA abolishes Treg-mediated immunosuppression and restores the antitumor activity of effector T cells.

Citation Format: Annabelle C. Lin, Jake Moscarelli, Z. Ping Lin, Elena S. Ratner. Blockade of CCL5 and CXCL10 signaling as a novel immunotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 100.