TY  - JOUR
A1  - Boschert, Verena
A1  - Teusch, Jonas
A1  - Aljasem, Anwar
A1  - Schmucker, Philipp
A1  - Klenk, Nicola
A1  - Straub, Anton
A1  - Bittrich, Max
A1  - Seher, Axel
A1  - Linz, Christian
A1  - Müller-Richter, Urs D. A.
A1  - Hartmann, Stefan
T1  - HGF-induced PD-L1 expression in head and neck cancer: preclinical and clinical findings
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a widespread disease with a low survival rate and a high risk of recurrence. Nowadays, immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment is approved for HNSCC as a first-line treatment in recurrent and metastatic disease. ICI treatment yields a clear survival benefit, but overall response rates are still unsatisfactory. As shown in different cancer models, hepatocyte growth factor/mesenchymal–epithelial transition (HGF/Met) signaling contributes to an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between HGF and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-L1) expression in HNSCC cell lines. The preclinical data show a robust PD-L1 induction upon HGF stimulation. Further analysis revealed that the HGF-mediated upregulation of PD-L1 is MAP kinase-dependent. We then hypothesized that serum levels of HGF and soluble programmed cell death protein 1 (sPD-L1) could be potential markers of ICI treatment failure. Thus, we determined serum levels of these proteins in 20 HNSCC patients before ICI treatment and correlated them with treatment outcomes. Importantly, the clinical data showed a positive correlation of both serum proteins (HGF and sPD-L1) in HNSCC patient’s sera. Moreover, the serum concentration of sPD-L1 was significantly higher in ICI non-responsive patients. Our findings indicate a potential role for sPD-L1 as a prognostic marker for ICI treatment in HNSCC.
KW  - HNSCC
KW  - head and neck cancer
KW  - HGF
KW  - Met
KW  - PD-L1
KW  - immune therapy
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236220
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 21
IS  - 20
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Chopra, Martin
A1  - Biehl, Marlene
A1  - Steinfatt, Tim
A1  - Brandl, Andreas
A1  - Kums, Juliane
A1  - Amich, Jorge
A1  - Vaeth, Martin
A1  - Kuen, Janina
A1  - Holtappels, Rafaela
A1  - Podlech, Jürgen
A1  - Mottok, Anja
A1  - Kraus, Sabrina
A1  - Jordán-Garotte, Ana-Laura
A1  - Bäuerlein, Carina A.
A1  - Brede, Christian
A1  - Ribechini, Eliana
A1  - Fick, Andrea
A1  - Seher, Axel
A1  - Polz, Johannes
A1  - Ottmueller, Katja J.
A1  - Baker, Jeannette
A1  - Nishikii, Hidekazu
A1  - Ritz, Miriam
A1  - Mattenheimer, Katharina
A1  - Schwinn, Stefanie
A1  - Winter, Thorsten
A1  - Schäfer, Viktoria
A1  - Krappmann, Sven
A1  - Einsele, Hermann
A1  - Müller, Thomas D.
A1  - Reddehase, Matthias J.
A1  - Lutz, Manfred B.
A1  - Männel, Daniela N.
A1  - Berberich-Siebelt, Friederike
A1  - Wajant, Harald
A1  - Beilhack, Andreas
T1  - Exogenous TNFR2 activation protects from acute GvHD via host T reg cell expansion
JF  - Journal of Experimental Medicine
N2  - Donor CD4\(^+\)Foxp3\(^+\) regulatory T cells (T reg cells) suppress graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT allo-HCT]). Current clinical study protocols rely on the ex vivo expansion of donor T reg cells and their infusion in high numbers. In this study, we present a novel strategy for inhibiting GvHD that is based on the in vivo expansion of recipient T reg cells before allo-HCT, exploiting the crucial role of tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) in T reg cell biology. Expanding radiation-resistant host T reg cells in recipient mice using a mouse TNFR2-selective agonist before allo-HCT significantly prolonged survival and reduced GvHD severity in a TNFR2-and T reg cell-dependent manner. The beneficial effects of transplanted T cells against leukemia cells and infectious pathogens remained unaffected. A corresponding human TNFR2-specific agonist expanded human T reg cells in vitro. These observations indicate the potential of our strategy to protect allo-HCT patients from acute GvHD by expanding T reg cells via selective TNFR2 activation in vivo.
KW  - Tumor-necrosis-factor
KW  - Regulatory-cells
KW  - Bone marrow transplantantation
KW  - Graft-versus-leukemia
KW  - Rheumatoid arthritis
KW  - Autoimmune diseases
KW  - Factor receptor
KW  - Alpha therapy
KW  - Expression
KW  - Suppression
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-187640
VL  - 213
IS  - 9
ER  -