Katherine E Lindblad, Romain Donne, Ian Liebling, Marina Barcena-Varela, Anthony Lozano, Marina Ruiz de Galarreta, Maxime Dhainaut, Nesteene J Param, Bruno Giotti, Sarah Cappuyns, Takahiro Kodama, Yulei Wang, Alice O Kamphorst, Alexander M Tsankov, Amaia Lujambio
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma presents strong sexual dimorphism, being 2-3 times more frequent in males than in females; however, the role of sex in response to immunotherapies in HCC remains unknown. We demonstrate that NOTCH1, an understudied oncogene in HCC, elicits sexually dimorphic anti-tumor immunity and response to FDA-approved immunotherapies. Surprisingly, males harboring NOTCH1-driven tumors displayed enhanced anti-tumor immune responses, which, in mice, were mediated by dendritic and T cells. Conversely, females harboring NOTCH1-driven tumors presented immune evasion and resistance to immunotherapies through a defect in DC-mediated priming and activation of CD8+ T cells in mice, which was restored therapeutically with CD40 agonism. Mechanistically, the sexually dimorphic immunity was mediated by genes in the sex chromosomes but not by sex hormones. Together, our study unravels an unexpected association between NOTCH1 and sex in cancer immunity and highlights the potential of restoring the DC-CD8+ T cell axis with CD40 agonism to improve outcomes.
期刊介绍:
Cancer Discovery publishes high-impact, peer-reviewed articles detailing significant advances in both research and clinical trials. Serving as a premier cancer information resource, the journal also features Review Articles, Perspectives, Commentaries, News stories, and Research Watch summaries to keep readers abreast of the latest findings in the field. Covering a wide range of topics, from laboratory research to clinical trials and epidemiologic studies, Cancer Discovery spans the entire spectrum of cancer research and medicine.