PD-1 blockade reverses viral infection-induced loss of anti-tumor CD8+ T cell responses

• Published in: Journal for immunotherapy of cancer 2013-11, Vol.1 (S1), p.P156-P156, Article P156
• Main Authors: Huelsmann, Erica, Broucek, Joseph, Lacek, Andrew, Lusciks, Eugene, Saba, Johnson, Nabatiyan, Arman, Zloza, Andrew
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antigens; Cancer; Immunotherapy; Infections; Influenza; Lymphocytes; Melanoma; Poster Presentation; Viral infections
• ISSN: 2051-1426; 2051-1426
• DOI: 10.1186/2051-1426-1-S1-P156

BackgroundEmerging epidemiologic studies describe an increased prevalence of tumors in patients with non-oncogenic chronic viral disease (e.g., non-AIDS-defining cancers in HIV and non-hepatic cancers in HCV). However, there is a lack of basic understanding by what mechanism infections result in increased unrelated cancer formation (i.e., of cancers in tissues not associated with the infection), and what role immunotherapy may have in the rescue of immune responses under this condition. We hypothesized that viral infections establish an immunological environment that leads to the preferential loss of anti-tumor (i.e., anti-self antigen) CD8+ T cells, resulting in the inability of the host to avert tumor growth, and further that immunotherapy can reverse this detrimental loss.MethodsWe used a well-characterized mouse melanoma (B16-F10) model and the well-accepted acute infection model of influenza (PR/8). To follow anti-self and non-self CD8+ T cell responses, pmel (specific against melanocyte gp10025-33; expressing Thy1.1) and OT-1 (specific against non-self antigen OVA257-264; expressing Ly5.1) CD8+ T cells were adoptively transferred into B6 (Thy1.1- Ly5.1-) mice. B6 mice were infected with influenza (80,000 EID50) via intranasal (i.n.) injection three days prior to or on the same day as B16 melanoma challenge (120,000 cells via intradermal injection). Some mice received PD-1 or control IgG injection (125µg; i.p.) on days -6, -2, and 0. Tumor area (width*length) was measured every two days until host death and CD8+ T cells were detected by flow cytometry.ResultsInfluenza infection three days prior to tumor challenge (but not concomitantly on day 0) significantly worsened the natural anti-tumor response (specifically, decreased survival from 35 days without to 23 days with infection; P