Abstract A047: Fibroblast-specific IL1 receptor inhibition reprograms the inflammatory stroma to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Acevedo Camille , Singh Samara , Dosch Austin , Box Edmond W , Silva Iago C , Bianchi Anna , Mehra Siddharth , Amirian Haleh , Adams Andrew , Nagathihalli Nagaraj , Datta Jashodeep , Merchant Nipun B 
Published: September 2024

OBJECTIVE: KRAS-driven inflammatory signaling in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) promotes cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) polarization and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (iTME), driving therapeutic resistance. IL1α, a downstream product of KRAS signaling, activates the pro-inflammatory CAF (iCAF) phenotype and correlates with worse survival. Using patient and PDAC mouse model single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) data, we have shown that the IL1 Receptor (IL1R1) is highly enriched in the fibroblast compartment. However, the role of IL1R1 in modulating iCAFs and the iTME remains poorly understood. We hypothesize that CAF-specific disruption of IL1R1 signaling will reprogram cellular components of the PDAC TME to overcome the immunosuppressive milieu and therapeutic resistance. METHODS: The effects of IL1R1 inhibition on iCAF modulation in vivo were determined in Ptf1aCre/+, LSL-KrasG12D/+, Tgfbr2flox/flox (PKT) mice treated with IL1R1 antagonist. To determine if CAF-specific silencing of IL1R1 recapitulates the TME remodeling after IL1R1 inhibition, we generated a fibroblast-specific IL1R1KO mouse model Col1a2Cre/+;Il1r1flox/flox (CAF-Il1r1KO) and orthotopically injected KPC tumor cells for endpoint analysis. Flow cytometry was performed in primary tumors of CAF-Il1r1KO and littermate controls. Functional experiments evaluating myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) trafficking were performed using ex vivo bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) co-cultured with CAF/tumor-conditioned media (CM) with/without IL1R1 inhibition in a transwell system. MDSC contribution to iTME was assessed by co-culturing MDSCs from CAF-Il1r1KO tumors and splenic T cells from naïve C57BL/6 mice. To investigate the effects of IL1R1 deletion in overcoming therapeutic resistance, survival studies in CAF-Il1r1KO mice with chemotherapy were conducted. RESULTS: Treatment of PKT mice with IL1R1 antagonist diminished transcriptional levels of Il6 and Cxcl1, iCAF-associated cytokines, in the CAF compartment. Compared to littermate controls, orthotopic tumors in CAF-Il1r1KO showed significant reduction in tumor weights, increased CD8+ T cell infiltration, and overall reduction in polymorphonuclear (PMN) MDSC trafficking by flow cytometry. Moreover, migration of BMDCs was reduced when co-cultured with CAF/tumor CM and IL1R1 antagonist. In addition, co-culture of MDSCs from CAF-Il1r1KO mice with naïve T cells showed diminished inhibition of T cell functional activity. Chemotherapy treatment of orthotopic tumors in CAF-Il1r1KO mice showed significantly decreased tumor size and improved survival compared to tumors in littermate controls. CONCLUSION: Our findings illustrate a novel mechanism of CAF-specific disruption of IL1R1 signaling inhibiting trafficking of immunosuppressive MDSCs and increased infiltration of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the PDAC TME. These data pave the way for novel combinatorial treatment strategies targeting IL1R1 to overcome chemotherapeutic resistance through reprogramming of the stromal compartment in PDAC.

Citation Format: Camille Acevedo, Samara Singh, Austin Dosch, Edmond W Box, Iago C Silva, Anna Bianchi, Siddharth Mehra, Haleh Amirian, Andrew Adams, Nagaraj Nagathihalli, Jashodeep Datta, Nipun B Merchant. Fibroblast-specific IL1 receptor inhibition reprograms the inflammatory stroma to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Advances in Pancreatic Cancer Research; 2024 Sep 15-18; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(17 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A047.