SUMMARY The high expression across multiple tumor types and restricted expression in normal tissues make B7-H3 an attractive target for immunotherapy. We generated chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting B7-H3 (B7-H3.CAR-Ts) and found that B7-H3.CAR-Ts controlled the growth of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, ovarian cancer and neuroblastoma in vitro and in orthotopic and metastatic xenograft mouse models, which included patient-derived xenograft. We also found that 4–1BB co-stimulation promotes lower PD-1 expression in B7-H3.CAR-Ts, and superior antitumor activity when targeting tumor cells that constitutively expressed PD-L1. We took advantage of the cross-reactivity of the B7-H3.CAR with murine B7-H3, and found that B7-H3.CAR-Ts significantly controlled tumor growth in a syngeneic tumor model without evident toxicity. These findings support the clinical development of B7-H3.CAR-Ts.

Infectious pneumonias are a leading cause of death worldwide, particularly among immunocompromised patients. Therapeutic stimulation of the lungs’ intrinsic defenses with a unique combination of inhaled Toll-like receptor agonists broadly protects mice against otherwise lethal pneumonias. As the survival benefit persists despite cytotoxic chemotherapy-related neutropenia, the cells required for protection were investigated. The inducibility of resistance was tested in mice with deficiencies of leukocyte lineages due to genetic deletions and in wild type mice with leukocyte populations significantly reduced by antibodies or toxins. Surprisingly, these serial reductions in leukocyte lineages did not appreciably impair inducible resistance, but targeted disruption of Toll-like receptor signaling in the lung epithelium resulted in complete abrogation of the protective effect. Isolated lung epithelial cells were also induced to kill pathogens in the absence of leukocytes. Proteomic and gene expression analyses of isolated epithelial cells and whole lungs revealed highly congruent antimicrobial responses. Taken together, these data indicate that lung epithelial cells are necessary and sufficient effectors of inducible resistance. These findings challenge conventional paradigms about the role of epithelia in antimicrobial defense and offer a novel potential intervention to protect patients with impaired leukocyte-mediated immunity from fatal pneumonias.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is an aggressive malignancy characterized by a paucity of tumor-proximal CD8 þ T cells and resistance to immunotherapeutic interventions. Cancer-associated mechanisms that elicit CD8 þ T-cell exclusion and resistance to immunotherapy are not well-known. Here, using a Kras-and p53-driven model of PDA, we describe a mechanism of action for the protumorigenic cytokine IL35 through STAT3 activation in CD8 þ T cells. Distinct from its action on CD4 þ T cells, IL35 signaling in gp130 þ CD8 þ T cells activated the transcription factor STAT3, which antagonized intratumoral infiltration and effector function of CD8 þ T cells via suppression of CXCR3, CCR5, and IFNg expression. Inhibition of STAT3 signaling in tumor-educated CD8 þ T cells improved PDA growth control upon adoptive transfer to tumor-bearing mice. We showed that activation of STAT3 in CD8 þ T cells was driven by B cell-but not regulatory T cell-specific production of IL35. We also demonstrated that B cell-specific deletion of IL35 facilitated CD8 þ T-cell activation independently of effector or regulatory CD4 þ T cells and was sufficient to phenocopy therapeutic anti-IL35 blockade in overcoming resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Finally, we identified a circulating IL35 þ B-cell subset in patients with PDA and demonstrated that the presence of IL35 þ cells predicted increased occurrence of phosphorylated (p)Stat3 þ CXCR3 À CD8 þ T cells in tumors and inversely correlated with a cytotoxic T-cell signature in patients. Together, these data identified B cell-mediated IL35/gp130/ STAT3 signaling as an important direct link to CD8 þ T-cell exclusion and immunotherapy resistance in PDA.

Although successes in cancer immunotherapy have generated considerable excitement, this form of treatment has been largely ineffective in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Mechanisms that contribute to the poor antitumor immune response in PDA are not well understood. Here, we demonstrated that cytokine IL35 is a major immunosuppressive driver in PDA and potentiates tumor growth via the suppression of endogenous antitumor T-cell responses. The growth of pancreatic tumors in mice deficient for IL35 was significantly reduced. An analysis of tumor-infiltrating immune cells revealed a role for IL35 in the expansion of regulatory T cells and the suppression of CD4 effector T cells. We also detected a robust increase in both the infiltration and activation of cytotoxic CD8 T cells, suggesting that targeting IL35 may be an effective strategy to convert PDA from an immunologically "cold" to "hot" tumor. Although PDA is typically resistant to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, we demonstrated robust synergistic reduction in tumor growth when IL35 deficiency was combined with anti-PD-1 treatment. These findings provide new insight into the function of IL35 in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer and underscore the potential significance of IL35 as a therapeutic target for use in combination immunotherapy approaches in this deadly malignancy. .

Tumorigenesis proceeds through discrete steps where acquisition of genetic lesions and changes in the surrounding microenvironment combine to drive unrestricted neoplastic proliferation and metastasis. The ability of tumor‐infiltrating immune cells to promote tumor growth via the provision of signals that enable tumor cell survival and proliferation as well as contribute to immune suppression is an active area of research. Recent efforts have provided us with mechanistic insights into how B cells can positively and negatively regulate immune responses. Negative regulation of immune responses in cancer can be mediated by regulatory B cells and is often a result of increased production of cytokines that can directly and indirectly affect anti‐tumor immune function and cancer cell growth. Signals that lead to the expansion of regulatory B cells and the spectrum of their functional roles are not well understood and are the subject of active research by many groups. Here, we elaborate broadly on the history of regulatory B cells in cancer and summarize recent studies that have established genetic models for the study of regulatory B cell function and their potential for therapeutic intervention in the setting of solid cancers.

B cells are important modulators of immune responses both in autoimmunity and cancer. We have previously shown that B regulatory (Breg) cells promote pancreatic cancer via production of IL35, a heterodimeric cytokine comprised of the subunits p35 (Il12a) and Ebi3. However, it is not known how production of IL35 is regulated in vivo in the context of cancer-associated inflammation. To begin addressing this question, we have generated a knock-in mouse model, Il12a GFP , where an IRES-emGFP gene was inserted within the 3' UTR of the Il12a locus. EmGFP signal in B cells from the Il12a GFP mice correlated with expression of p35 mRNA and protein. Using this model, we observed that in addition to Bregs, expression of GFP (p35) is upregulated in several other B cell subtypes in response to cancer. We assessed the expression of the other IL35 subunit, Ebi3, using a published tdTomato reporter model. We determined that Ebi3 expression was more tightly regulated in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that stimuli affecting Ebi3 upregulation are more likely

B cells can act as potent suppressors of anti-tumor T cell immunity, presenting a mechanism of resistance to immunotherapy. In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, B cells can display a T cell-suppressive or regulatory phenotype centered on the expression of the cytokine Interleukin 35 (IL-35). While B cell-mediated immunosuppression presents a barrier to anti-tumorigenic T cell function, it is not clear how regulatory B cell function could be targeted, and the signals that promote this suppressive phenotype in B cells are not well understood. Here we use a novel IL-35 reporter model to understand which signaling pathways are important for immunosuppressive properties in B cells. In vitro analysis of IL-35 reporter B cells revealed a synergy between the BCR and TLR4 signaling pathways is sufficient to induce IL-35 expression. However, in vivo, B cell receptor activation, as opposed to MyD88 signaling in B cells, is central to B cell-mediated suppression and promotion of pancreatic cancer growth. Further analysis identified protein kinase D2 (PKD2) as being a key downstream regulator of IL-35 expression in B cells. Regulatory B cells with an inactivating mutation in PKD2 failed to produce IL-35 or fully suppress effector T cell function in vitro. Furthermore, inhibition of PKD in B cells decreased tumor growth and promoted effector T cell function upon adoptive transfer into B cell-deficient mice. Collectively, these data provide insight into how regulatory B cell function is promoted in pancreatic cancer and identify potential therapeutic targets to restrain this function.