Background: The inflammasome is a multimolecular complex that regulates the processing of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β.Results: Inhibitors of deubiquitinase (DUB) enzymes inhibited the release of interleukin-1β.Conclusion: DUBs regulate assembly of the inflammasome.Significance: DUBs may represent new anti-inflammatory drug targets for the treatment of inflammatory disease.

BackgroundImmune checkpoint blockade (ICB) promotes adaptive immunity and tumor regression in some cancer patients. However, in patients with immunologically “cold” tumors, tumor-resident innate immune cell activation may be required to prime an adaptive immune response and so exploit the full potential of ICB. Whilst Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists have been used topically to successfully treat some superficial skin tumors, systemic TLR agonists have not been well-tolerated.MethodsThe response of human immune cells to TLR7 and 8 agonism was measured in primary human immune cell assays. MEDI9197 (3M-052) was designed as a novel lipophilic TLR7/8 agonist that is retained at the injection site, limiting systemic exposure. Retention of the TLR7/8 agonist at the site of injection was demonstrated using quantitative whole-body autoradiography, HPLC-UV, and MALDI mass spectrometry imaging. Pharmacodynamic changes on T cells from TLR7/8 agonist treated B16-OVA tumors was assessed by histology, quantitative real time PCR, and flow cytometry. Combination activity of TLR7/8 agonism with immunotherapies was assessed in vitro by human DC-T cell MLR assay, and in vivo using multiple syngeneic mouse tumor models.ResultsTargeting both TLR7 and 8 triggers an innate and adaptive immune response in primary human immune cells, exemplified by secretion of IFNα, IL-12 and IFNγ. In contrast, a STING or a TLR9 agonist primarily induces release of IFNα. We demonstrate that the TLR7/8 agonist, MEDI9197, is retained at the sight of injection with limited systemic exposure. This localized TLR7/8 agonism leads to Th1 polarization, enrichment and activation of natural killer (NK) and CD8+ T cells, and inhibition of tumor growth in multiple syngeneic models. The anti-tumor activity of this TLR7/8 agonist is enhanced when combined with T cell-targeted immunotherapies in pre-clinical models.ConclusionLocalized TLR7/8 agonism can enhance recruitment and activation of immune cells in tumors and polarize anti-tumor immunity towards a Th1 response. Moreover, we demonstrate that the anti-tumor effects of this TLR7/8 agonist can be enhanced through combination with checkpoint inhibitors and co-stimulatory agonists.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40425-019-0724-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundCerebral ischemia is a devastating condition in which the outcome is heavily influenced by inflammatory processes, which can augment primary injury caused by reduced blood supply. The cytokines interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and IL-1β are key contributors to ischemic brain injury. However, there is very little evidence that IL-1 expression occurs at the protein level early enough (within hours) to influence brain damage after stroke. In order to determine this we investigated the temporal and spatial profiles of IL-1α and IL-1β expression after cerebral ischemia.FindingsWe report here that in mice, as early as 4 h after reperfusion following ischemia induced by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, IL-1α, but not IL-1β, is expressed by microglia-like cells in the ischemic hemisphere, which parallels an upregulation of IL-1α mRNA. 24 h after ischemia IL-1α expression is closely associated with areas of focal blood brain barrier breakdown and neuronal death, mostly near the penumbra surrounding the infarct. The sub-cellular distribution of IL-1α in injured areas is not uniform suggesting that it is regulated.ConclusionsThe early expression of IL-1α in areas of focal neuronal injury suggests that it is the major form of IL-1 contributing to inflammation early after cerebral ischemia. This adds to the growing body of evidence that IL-1α is a key mediator of the sterile inflammatory response.

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that regulates inflammatory responses to injury and infection. IL-1β secretion requires the protease caspase-1, which is activated following recruitment to inflammasomes. Endogenous danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) released from necrotic cells activate caspase-1 through an NLRP3-inflammasome. Here, we show that the endogenous lipid metabolite sphingosine (Sph) acts as a DAMP by inducing the NLRP3-inflammasome-dependent secretion of IL-1β from macrophages. This process was dependent upon serine/threonine protein phosphatases since the PP1/PP2A inhibitors okadaic acid and calyculin A inhibited Sph-induced IL-1β release. IL-1β release induced by other well-characterized NLRP3-inflammasome activators, such as ATP and uric acid crystals, in addition to NLRC4 and AIM2 inflammasome activators was also blocked by these inhibitors. Thus, we propose Sph as a new DAMP, and that a serine/threonine phosphatase (PP1/PP2A)-dependent signal is central to the endogenous host mechanism through which diverse stimuli regulate inflammasome activation.

Drug tolerance brought about by reversible adaptive responses precedes the emergence of irreversible mutation-driven drug resistance and sustains tumor cells when at their most vulnerable. Young et al. delineate a signaling relay incorporating IL-1 and CXCR2 ligands emanating from melanoma-associated macrophages and fibroblasts, respectively, that confer tolerance to MAPK inhibitors.

SummaryNLRP3 is a receptor important for host responses to infection, yet is also known to contribute to devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and others, making inhibitors for NLRP3 sought after. One of the inhibitors currently in use is 2-aminoethoxy diphenylborinate (2APB). Unfortunately, in addition to inhibiting NLRP3, 2APB also displays non-selective effects on cellular Ca2+ homeostasis. Here, we use 2APB as a chemical scaffold to build a series of inhibitors, the NBC series, which inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome in vitro and in vivo without affecting Ca2+ homeostasis. The core chemical insight of this work is that the oxazaborine ring is a critical feature of the NBC series, and the main biological insight the use of NBC inhibitors led to was that NLRP3 inflammasome activation was independent of Ca2+. The NBC compounds represent useful tools to dissect NLRP3 function, and may lead to oxazaborine ring-containing therapeutics.

Purpose: While immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti–PD-L1 are rapidly becoming the standard of care in the treatment of many cancers, only a subset of treated patients have long-term responses. IL12 promotes antitumor immunity in mouse models; however, systemic recombinant IL12 had significant toxicity and limited efficacy in early clinical trials. Experimental Design: We therefore designed a novel intratumoral IL12 mRNA therapy to promote local IL12 tumor production while mitigating systemic effects. Results: A single intratumoral dose of mouse (m)IL12 mRNA induced IFNγ and CD8+ T-cell–dependent tumor regression in multiple syngeneic mouse models, and animals with a complete response demonstrated immunity to rechallenge. Antitumor activity of mIL12 mRNA did not require NK and NKT cells. mIL12 mRNA antitumor activity correlated with TH1 tumor microenvironment (TME) transformation. In a PD-L1 blockade monotherapy-resistant model, antitumor immunity induced by mIL12 mRNA was enhanced by anti–PD-L1. mIL12 mRNA also drove regression of uninjected distal lesions, and anti–PD-L1 potentiated this response. Importantly, intratumoral delivery of mRNA encoding membrane-tethered mIL12 also drove rejection of uninjected lesions with very limited circulating IL12p70, supporting the hypothesis that local IL12 could induce a systemic antitumor immune response against distal lesions. Furthermore, in ex vivo patient tumor slice cultures, human IL12 mRNA (MEDI1191) induced dose-dependent IL12 production, downstream IFNγ expression and TH1 gene expression. Conclusions: These data demonstrate the potential for intratumorally delivered IL12 mRNA to promote TH1 TME transformation and robust antitumor immunity. See related commentary by Cirella et al., p. 6080

Despite the availability of recently developed chemotherapy regimens, survival times for pancreatic cancer patients remain poor. These patients also respond poorly to immune checkpoint blockade therapies (anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-1), which suggests the presence of additional immunosuppressive mechanisms in the pancreatic tumour microenvironment (TME). CD40 agonist antibodies (αCD40) promote antigen presenting cell (APC) maturation and enhance macrophage tumouricidal activity, and may therefore alter the pancreatic TME to increase sensitivity to immune checkpoint blockade. Here, we test whether αCD40 transforms the TME in a mouse syngeneic orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer, to increase sensitivity to PD-L1 blockade. We found that whilst mice bearing orthotopic Pan02 tumours responded poorly to PD-L1 blockade, αCD40 improved overall survival. αCD40 transformed the TME, upregulating Th1 chemokines, increasing cytotoxic T cell infiltration and promoting formation of an immune cell-rich capsule separating the tumour from the normal pancreas. Furthermore, αCD40 drove systemic APC maturation, memory T cell expansion, and upregulated tumour and systemic PD-L1 expression. Combining αCD40 with PD-L1 blockade enhanced anti-tumour immunity and improved overall survival versus either monotherapy. These data provide further support for the potential of combining αCD40 with immune checkpoint blockade to promote anti-tumour immunity in pancreatic cancer.