Abstract 4021: The class I HDAC inhibitor, mocetinostat, induces expression of PD-L1 and tumor antigen presentation machinery and modifies tumor immune cellular subsets providing a rationale for immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations
Authors: Briere David , Sudhakar Niranjan , Engstrom Lars , Hallin Jill , Tang Ruth , Chiang Harrah , Rosenfeld-Franklin Maryland , Olson Peter , Christensen James 
Published: July 2016

Immunotherapy has led to major treatment breakthroughs for a number of cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although initial responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors are promising, a significant percentage of patients do not respond or rapidly acquire resistance. Although the mechanisms underlying intrinsic and acquired resistance remain largely unexplained; the expression of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), lack of tumor cell capacity to effectively present neoantigens, and presence of immunosuppressive cellular subsets have been implicated as potential mechanisms. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have emerged as a class of agents that may combat checkpoint inhibitor resistance by reversing immune evasion and eliciting an anti-tumor activity through a multi-faceted immuno-stimulatory mechanism of action. Mocetinostat is a spectrum-selective Class I/IV HDAC inhibitor specifically targeting HDAC-1, -2, -3 and -11. The present studies were designed to explore mocetinostat's effect as an immune-enhancer and ultimately, to evaluate its potential to be used in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., PD-1/PD-L1 antagonists). Specifically, we assessed mocetinostat's effect on the expression of various immunomodulatory factors by tumor cells as well as its effect on immune cell sub-populations in the tumor microenvironment in vivo. Mocetinostat elicited a concentration-dependent increase in PD-L1 mRNA expression which translated into increased PD-L1 surface protein expression in a panel of NSCLC cell lines. In addition, mocetinostat elicited a concentration-dependent increase in expression of MHC-class I related polypeptide-related sequence A (MIC-A) and MIC-B, and cluster of differentiation 86 (CD86). Furthermore, mocetinostat induced expression of several human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene complex family members including HLA-A, -B, -DRA, and -DPA among others. To determine the effect of mocetinostat on systemic and tumor immune cell subpopulations we treated CT26 tumor-bearing mice. Mocetinostat increased splenic CD4-positive T effector cells and tumor mature cytolytic CD8-postive T cells and at the same time decreased tumor FoxP3-positive T regulatory cells and CD11b/Gr1-positive myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). These data provide evidence that mocetinostat modulates key immune regulators both in tumor cells as well as in relevant immune cell types in the tumor microenvironment and provides strong rationale for combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Citation Format: David Briere, Niranjan Sudhakar, Lars Engstrom, Jill Hallin, Ruth Tang, Harrah Chiang, Maryland Rosenfeld-Franklin, Peter Olson, James Christensen. The class I HDAC inhibitor, mocetinostat, induces expression of PD-L1 and tumor antigen presentation machinery and modifies tumor immune cellular subsets providing a rationale for immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4021.