Targeting the ICOS/ICOSL pathway to improve anti-tumor immune responses

描述（由申请人提供）：由（1）单克隆抗体阻断CTLA-4和（2）体外扩增自体T细胞过继性T细胞治疗组成的临床试验已在一组患者中证明了显著的抗肿瘤应答。这些疗法为开发更有效的免疫治疗策略奠定了基础，为患者提供更大的益处。 在我们的研究中，我们专注于确定抗CTLA-4和过继性T细胞治疗后抗肿瘤反应的机制。与此应用相关，我们是第一个研究诱导型共刺激分子（ICOS）在抗CTLA-4治疗中的作用。我们证明了一些患者表达ICOS的T细胞显著增加，并且ICOS+ T细胞的持续增加与临床获益相关。ICOS是T细胞特异性分子，是CD 28家族的成员。ICOS仅在活化后在T细胞上上调。它只有一个已知的配体，称为ICOS-ligand（ICOSL）。ICOS/ICOSL通路被认为通过ICOS介导的PI 3-激酶信号传导影响T细胞应答，但其在肿瘤免疫中的作用尚未确定。此外，在我们的研究之前，还没有报道ICOS/ICOSL途径在鼠或人抗肿瘤反应中发挥作用。 我们使用小鼠模型研究了ICOS/ICOSL通路在抗肿瘤应答中的作用，并证明了ICOS/ICOSL通路在CTLA-4阻断的情况下在肿瘤免疫中起着至关重要的作用。抗CTLA-4治疗导致携带肿瘤的野生型小鼠中CD 4 +ICOS+和CD 8 +ICOS+ T细胞的频率增加。ICOS+ T细胞主要产生Th 1细胞因子，包括已知的抗肿瘤Th 1细胞因子IFN-γ。我们进一步证明了ICOS/ICOSL途径对于最佳抗原特异性T细胞增殖和细胞因子产生是必需的。最重要的是，由CTLA-4阻断诱导的抗肿瘤应答在ICOS敲除（KO）和ICOSL-KO小鼠中显著受损。该数据确定ICOS不仅仅是T细胞活化的标志物，而是参与由抗CTLA-4诱导的抗肿瘤作用。 因此，我们提供了第一个直接证据，证明在CTLA-4阻断的情况下，ICOS/ICOSL途径是最佳抗肿瘤反应所必需的。我们现在假设ICOS/ICOSL途径由于ICOS介导的PI 3 K信号传导而诱导最佳的T细胞抗肿瘤应答。我们进一步假设，ICOS/ICOSL通路可以靶向改善CTLA-4阻断以及过继性T细胞治疗中的抗肿瘤应答。 因此，在当前的提议中，我们的目标是：1）阐明ICOS介导的PI 3激酶信号传导在T细胞抗肿瘤应答中的作用; 2）通过靶向ICOS/IC 0 SL途径与CTLA-4阻断组合来改善抗肿瘤应答;以及3）建立ICOS/IC 0 SL途径在过继性T细胞治疗背景中的相关性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Clinical trials consisting of (1) CTLA-4 blockade with a monoclonal antibody and (2) adoptive T cell therapy with in vitro expanded autologous T cells have demonstrated dramatic anti-tumor responses in a susbset of patients. These therapies have laid the foundation for the development of more effective immunotherapy strategies to provide greater benefit to patients. In our studies we are focused on identifying the mechanisms that underlie the anti-tumor responses seen after anti-CTLA-4 and adoptive T cell therapy. Pertinent to this application, we were the first to investigate the role of the inducible costimulator (ICOS) molecule during anti-CTLA-4 therapy. We demonstrated that some patients had a significant increase in T cells expressing ICOS, and that a sustained increase in ICOS+ T cells correlated with clinical benefit. ICOS is a T cell specific molecule and a member of the CD28 family. ICOS is upregulated on T cells only after activation. It has only one known ligand referred to as ICOS-ligand (ICOSL). The ICOS/ICOSL pathway is thought to affect T cell responses via ICOS-mediated PI3-kinase signaling but a role for this in tumor immunity has not been established. Furthermore, prior to our studies, the ICOS/ICOSL pathway had not been reported to play a role in murine or human anti-tumor responses. We investigated the role of the ICOS/ICOSL pathway in anti-tumor responses using mouse models and demonstrated that the ICOS/ICOSL pathway plays an essential role in tumor immunity in the setting of CTLA-4 blockade. Anti-CTLA-4 therapy led to an increased frequency of CD4+ICOS+ and CD8+ICOS+ T cells in tumor- bearing wild-type mice. ICOS+ T cells predominantly produced Th1 cytokines including the known anti-tumor Th1 cytokine IFN- . We further demonstrated that the ICOS/ICOSL pathway was essential for optimal antigen- specific T cell proliferation and cytokine production. Most importantly, anti-tumor responses induced by CTLA-4 blockade were significantly impaired in ICOS-knockout (KO) and ICOSL-KO mice. This data establishes that ICOS is not a mere marker of T cell activation but is involved in the anti-tumor effect induced by anti-CTLA-4. We have thus provided the first direct evidence that the ICOS/ICOSL pathway is required for optimal anti-tumor responses in the setting of CTLA-4 blockade. We now hypothesize that the ICOS/ICOSL pathway induces optimal T cell anti-tumor responses due to ICOS-mediated PI3K signaling. We further hypothesize that the ICOS/ICOSL pathway can be targeted to improve anti-tumor responses in the setting of CTLA-4 blockade, as well as adoptive T cell therapy. Therefore, in the current proposal, we aim to: 1) Elucidate the role of ICOS-mediated PI3-kinase signaling in T cell anti-tumor responses; 2) Improve anti-tumor responses by targeting the ICOS/ICOSL pathway in combination with CTLA-4 blockade; and 3) Establish the relevance of the ICOS/ICOSL pathway in the setting of adoptive T cell therapy.