In many aggressive cancers, such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), progression is enabled by local immunosuppression driven by the accumulation of regulatory T cells (Treg) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). However, the mechanistic details of how Treg and MDSC are recruited in various tumors is not yet well understood. Here we report that macrophages and microglia within the glioma microenvironment produce CCL2, a chemokine that is critical for recruiting both CCR4+ Treg and CCR2+Ly-6C+ monocytic MDSC in this disease setting. In murine gliomas, we established novel roles for tumor-derived CCL20 and osteoprotegerin in inducing CCL2 production from macrophages and microglia. Tumors grown in CCL2 deficient mice failed to maximally accrue Treg and monocytic MDSC. In mixed-bone marrow chimera assays, we found that CCR4-deficient Treg and CCR2-deficient monocytic MDSC were defective in glioma accumulation. Further, administration of a small molecule antagonist of CCR4 improved median survival in the model. In clinical specimens of GBM, elevated levels of CCL2 expression correlated with reduced overall survival of patients. Lastly, we found that CD163-positive infiltrating macrophages were a major source of CCL2 in GBM patients. Collectively, our findings show how glioma cells influence the tumor microenvironment to recruit potent effectors of immunosuppression that drive progression.

Purpose Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common form of malignant glioma in adults. Although protected by both the blood brain- and blood tumor-barriers, T cells actively infiltrate GBM. Previous work has shown that IDO, CTLA-4 and PD-L1 are dominant molecular participants in the suppression of GBM immunity. This includes IDO-mediated regulatory T cell (Treg; CD4+CD25+FoxP3+) accumulation, the interaction of T cell-expressed, CTLA-4, with dendritic cell-expressed, CD80, as well as the interaction of tumor- and/or macrophage-expressed, PD-L1, with T cell-expressed, PD-1. The individual inhibition of each pathway has been shown to increase survival in the context of experimental GBM. However, the impact of simultaneously targeting all three pathways in blood tumor-barriers, GBMs are actively infiltrated by T cells. Experimental Design and Results In this report, we demonstrate that, when dually-challenged, IDO-deficient tumors provide a selectively competitive survival advantage against IDO-competent tumors. Next, we provide novel observations regarding tryptophan catabolic enzyme expression, before showing that the therapeutic inhibition of IDO, CTLA-4 and PD-L1 in a mouse model of well-established glioma maximally decreases tumor-infiltrating Tregs, coincident with a significant increase in T cell-mediated long-term survival. In fact, 100% of mice bearing intracranial tumors were long-term survivors following triple combination therapy. The expression and/or frequency of T cell-expressed CD44, CTLA-4, PD-1 and IFN-γ depended on timing after immunotherapeutic administration. Conclusions Collectively, these data provide strong pre-clinical evidence that combinatorially-targeting immunosuppression in malignant glioma is a strategy that has high potential value for future clinical trials in patients with GBM.

Purpose Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive adult brain tumor with a poor prognosis. One hallmark of GBM is the accumulation of immunosuppressive and tumor-promoting CD4+FoxP3+GITR+ regulatory T cells (Tregs). Here, we investigated the role of indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) in brain tumors and the impact on Treg recruitment. Experimental Design To determine the clinical relevance of IDO expression in brain tumors, we first correlated patient survival to the level of IDO expression from resected glioma specimens. We also used novel orthotopic and transgenic models of glioma to study how IDO affects Tregs. The impact of tumor-derived and peripheral IDO expression on Treg recruitment, GITR expression and long-term survival was determined. Results Downregulated IDO expression in glioma predicted a significantly better prognosis in patients. Co-incidently, both IDO -competent and -deficient mice showed a survival advantage bearing IDO-deficient brain tumors, when compared to IDO-competent brain tumors. Moreover, IDO-deficiency was associated with a significant decrease in brain-resident Tregs, both in orthotopic and transgenic mouse glioma models. IDO-deficiency was also associated with lower GITR expression levels on Tregs. Interestingly, the long-term survival advantage conferred by IDO-deficiency was lost in T cell-deficient mice. Conclusions These clinical and pre-clinical data confirm that IDO expression increases the recruitment of immunosuppressive Tregs which leads to tumor outgrowth. In contrast, IDO deficiency decreases Treg recruitment and enhances T cell-mediated tumor rejection. Thus, the data suggest a critical role for IDO-mediated immunosuppression in glioma and supports the continued investigation of IDO-Treg interactions in the context of brain tumors.

Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is a rate-limiting metabolic enzyme that converts the essential amino acid tryptophan (Trp) into downstream catabolites known as kynurenines. Coincidently, numerous studies have demonstrated that IDO1 is highly expressed in multiple types of human cancer. Preclinical studies have further introduced an interesting paradox: while single-agent treatment with IDO1 enzyme inhibitor has a negligible effect on decreasing the established cancer burden, approaches combining select therapies with IDO1 blockade tend to yield a synergistic benefit against tumor growth and/or animal subject survival. Given the high expression of IDO1 among multiple cancer types along with the lack of monotherapeutic efficacy, these data suggest that there is a more complex mechanism of action than previously appreciated. Similar to the dual faces of the astrological Gemini, we highlight the multiple roles of IDO1 and review its canonical association with IDO1-dependent tryptophan metabolism, as well as documented evidence confirming the dispensability of enzyme activity for its immunosuppressive effects. The gene transcript levels for IDO1 highlight its strong association with T-cell infiltration, but the lack of a universal prognostic significance among all cancer subtypes. Finally, ongoing clinical trials are discussed with consideration of IDO1-targeting strategies that enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy for cancer patients.

Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), IDO2 and tryptophan 2, 3-dioxygenase (TDO) comprise a family of enzymes that catalyze the first- and rate-limiting step associated with the catabolic conversion of tryptophan (Trp) into kynurenine (Kyn). Through subsequent enzymatic and spontaneous reactions, Kyn is further converted into the energetic substrates, NAD+ and ATP to fuel cellular metabolic functions. Coincidently, the depletion of Trp and accumulation of Kyn has been demonstrated to induce effector T cell apoptosis/dysfunction and immunosuppressive regulatory T cell induction, respectively. Similar to other immune checkpoints, IDO1 and TDO are suggested to be important targets for immunotherapeutic intervention. This is represented by the recent growth of efforts to inhibit the Trp to Kyn pathway as a means to control immunosuppression. Inhibitors currently in clinical trials, INCB024360, GDC-0919, Indoximod and an IDO1 peptide-based vaccine, are being evaluated for their efficacy against a wide range of cancers including melanoma, glioblastoma, non-small-cell lung-, pancreatic- and/or breast-cancer, as well as metastatic disease. Despite the rapid development of potent clinical-grade inhibitors, strategic questions remain. Here, we review the state of the literature with respect to current therapeutic inhibitors of tryptophan catabolism, evaluation of those efforts, preclinically and clinically, compensatory changes that occur with therapeutic targeting, as well as newly recognized signaling features that raise critical questions to the field. Given the rapidly evolving interest in determining how IDO1/TDO, and to an unknown extent, IDO2, can be targeted for increasing cancer immunotherapeutic efficacy, we present a brief but comprehensive analysis that addresses critical questions, while highlighting the mechanics that remain to be explored.

Natural killer (NK) cell is a specialized immune effector cell type that plays a critical role in immune activation against abnormal cells. Different from events required for T cell activation, NK cell activation is governed by the interaction of NK receptors with target cells, independent of antigen processing and presentation. Due to relatively unsophisticated cues for activation, NK cell has gained significant attention in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Many efforts are emerging for developing and engineering NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we provide our current understandings of NK cell biology, ongoing pre-clinical and clinical development of NK cell-based therapies and discuss the progress, challenges, and future perspectives.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) remains a formidable obstacle in medicine, preventing efficient penetration of chemotherapeutic and diagnostic agents to malignant gliomas. Here, we demonstrate that a transactivator of transcription (TAT) peptide-modified gold nanoparticle platform (TAT-Au NP) with a 5 nm core size is capable of crossing the BBB efficiently and delivering cargoes such as the anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) and Gd3+ contrast agents to brain tumor tissues. Treatment of mice bearing intracranial glioma xenografts with pH-sensitive Dox-conjugated TAT-Au NPs via a single intravenous administration leads to significant survival benefit when compared to the free Dox. Furthermore, we demonstrate that TAT-Au NPs are capable of delivering Gd3+ chelates for enhanced brain tumor imaging with a prolonged retention time of Gd3+ when compared to the free Gd3+ chelates. Collectively, these results show promising applications of the TAT-Au NPs for enhanced malignant brain tumor therapy and non-invasive imaging.

Purpose Indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) mediates potent immunosuppression in multiple preclinical models of cancer. However, the basis for elevated IDO1 expression in human cancer, including the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults, glioblastoma (GBM), is poorly understood. The major objective of this study is to address this gap in our understanding of how IDO1 expression contributes to the biology of GBM, and whether its level of expression is a determinant of GBM patient outcome. Experimental Design Patient-resected GBM, the cancer genome atlas, human T cell:GBM co-cultures, as well as nu/nu, NOD-scid and humanized (NSG-SGM3-BLT) mice engrafted human GBM, form the basis of our investigation. Results In situ hybridization for IDO1 revealed transcript expression throughout patient-resected GBM, whereas immunohistochemical IDO1 positivity was highly variable. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that higher levels of IDO1 transcript predict a poor patient prognosis (P=0.0076). GBM IDO1 mRNA levels positively correlated with increased gene expression for markers of cytolytic and regulatory T cells, in addition to decreased patient survival. Humanized mice intracranially-engrafted human GBM revealed an IFNγ-associated T cell-mediated increase of intratumoral IDO1. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that high intratumoral IDO1 mRNA levels correlate with a poor GBM patient prognosis. It also confirms the positive correlation between increased GBM IDO1 levels and human-infiltrating T cells. Collectively, this study suggests that future efforts aimed at increasing T cell-mediated effects against GBM, should consider combinatorial approaches that co-inhibit potential T cell-mediated IDO1 enhancement during therapy.