Abstract 5035: Blockade of EphB4-ephrin-B2 interaction remodels the tumor immune microenvironment in head and neck cancers
Authors: Bhatia Shilpa , Oweida Ayman , Lennon Shelby , Darragh Laurel , Bukkapatnam Sanjana , Court Benjamin Van , Raben David , Serkova Natalie , Jimeno Antonio , Clambey Eric , Pasquale Elena , Karam Sana 
Published: August 2019

Introduction: Identifying targets in the tumor microenvironment (TME) that act as barriers to an effective anti-tumor immune response has become an area of intense investigation. In the current study, we established EphB4-ephrin-B2 signaling as a key pathway that regulates both innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and their membrane-bound ephrin ligands have been implicated in human malignancies and in immune cell development, migration, and activation in inflammatory models. However, direct evidence that supports the role of Eph-ephrin interaction in cancer-related immune response is lacking. We hypothesized that EphB4-ephrin-B2 interaction regulates TME by sustaining immunosuppressive cells-Tregs and TAMs thus negatively impacting the functional ability of CD8 T cells.

Materials and methods: We used orthotopic models of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to determine the role of EphB4-ephrin-B2 interaction in tumor immune microenvironment. Mice were treated with control agent or an EphB4-ephrin-B2 blocker in the absence or presence of radiation (RT). Tumor immune cell infiltrates were analyzed using mass cytometry and flow cytometry applications. ELISA or multiplex cytokine array were utilized to determine circulating cytokine/chemokine levels in plasma.

Results: We observed that inhibition of EphB4-ephrin-B2 signaling in vivo significantly reduced tumor growth and decreased intratumoral Tregs, TAMs, and increased the activation of Teffector cells, without affecting CD4 T cell numbers. This was correlated with decreased Treg proliferation and activation when EphB4-ephrin-B2 signaling is inhibited. Since RT remains the mainstay in treatment of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) patients, we combined EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibitor with RT in our tumor model and observed further increase in CD8 and CD4 T cell infiltrates and activation status, and a significant decline in circulating TGF-β1 levels and an increase in CXCL10 levels compared to the control group. A significant reduction of TAMs, favoring a polarization towards an anti-tumoral M1 phenotype, was also observed in EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibitor+RT group. We also compared the efficacy of combining EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibitor with RT to anti-PDL1+RT in an in vivo model known to develop resistance to anti-PDL1+RT therapy. Our data demonstrated that combining EphB4-ephrin-B2 inhibitor with RT was equally effective to that of anti-PDL1+RT in terms of anti-tumor growth response.

Conclusions: Our study provides the first insight into a novel role for EphB4-ephrin-B2 interaction in modulating tumor immune microenvironment in HNSCC. Our findings present a potential alternative in the form of EphB4-ephrin-B2 targeted therapeutics that can be tested in clinical trials in combination with RT for HNSCC patients.

Citation Format: Shilpa Bhatia, Ayman Oweida, Shelby Lennon, Laurel Darragh, Sanjana Bukkapatnam, Benjamin Van Court, David Raben, Natalie Serkova, Antonio Jimeno, Eric Clambey, Elena Pasquale, Sana Karam. Blockade of EphB4-ephrin-B2 interaction remodels the tumor immune microenvironment in head and neck cancers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5035.