Therapeutically Increasing MHC-I Expression Potentiates Immune Checkpoint Blockade

• Published in: Cancer discovery Vol. 11; no. 6; p. 1524
• Main Authors: Gu, Shengqing Stan, Zhang, Wubing, Wang, Xiaoqing, Jiang, Peng, Traugh, Nicole, Li, Ziyi, Meyer, Clifford, Stewig, Blair, Xie, Yingtian, Bu, Xia, Manos, Michael P, Font-Tello, Alba, Gjini, Evisa, Lako, Ana, Lim, Klothilda, Conway, Jake, Tewari, Alok K, Zeng, Zexian, Sahu, Avinash Das, Tokheim, Collin, Weirather, Jason L, Fu, Jingxin, Zhang, Yi, Kroger, Benjamin, Liang, Jin Hua, Cejas, Paloma, Freeman, Gordon J, Rodig, Scott, Long, Henry W, Gewurz, Benjamin E, Hodi, F Stephen, Brown, Myles, Liu, X Shirley
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-06-2021
• Subjects: B7-H1 Antigen - metabolism; Data Mining; Gene Expression Profiling; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I - metabolism; Humans; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors - pharmacology; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Immunotherapy; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Tumor Microenvironment - drug effects
• ISSN: 2159-8290
• DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-20-0812

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy revolutionized cancer treatment, but many patients with impaired MHC-I expression remain refractory. Here, we combined FACS-based genome-wide CRISPR screens with a data-mining approach to identify drugs that can upregulate MHC-I without inducing PD-L1. CRISPR screening identified TRAF3, a suppressor of the NFκB pathway, as a negative regulator of MHC-I but not PD-L1. The
-knockout gene expression signature is associated with better survival in ICB-naïve patients with cancer and better ICB response. We then screened for drugs with similar transcriptional effects as this signature and identified Second Mitochondria-derived Activator of Caspase (SMAC) mimetics. We experimentally validated that the SMAC mimetic birinapant upregulates MHC-I, sensitizes cancer cells to T cell-dependent killing, and adds to ICB efficacy. Our findings provide preclinical rationale for treating tumors expressing low MHC-I expression with SMAC mimetics to enhance sensitivity to immunotherapy. The approach used in this study can be generalized to identify other drugs that enhance immunotherapy efficacy. SIGNIFICANCE: MHC-I loss or downregulation in cancer cells is a major mechanism of resistance to T cell-based immunotherapies. Our study reveals that birinapant may be used for patients with low baseline MHC-I to enhance ICB response. This represents promising immunotherapy opportunities given the biosafety profile of birinapant from multiple clinical trials.
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