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Polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells limit antigen cross-presentation by dendritic cells in cancer
Alessio Ugolini, Vladimir A. Tyurin, Yulia Y. Tyurina, Evgenii N. Tcyganov, Laxminarasimha Donthireddy, Valerian E. Kagan, Dmitry I. Gabrilovich, Filippo Veglia
Alessio Ugolini, Vladimir A. Tyurin, Yulia Y. Tyurina, Evgenii N. Tcyganov, Laxminarasimha Donthireddy, Valerian E. Kagan, Dmitry I. Gabrilovich, Filippo Veglia
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Research Article Immunology Oncology

Polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells limit antigen cross-presentation by dendritic cells in cancer

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Abstract

DCs are a critical component of immune responses in cancer primarily due to their ability to cross-present tumor-associated antigens. Cross-presentation by DCs in cancer is impaired, which may represent one of the obstacles for the success of cancer immunotherapies. Here, we report that polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC) blocked cross-presentation by DCs without affecting direct presentation of antigens by these cells. This effect did not require direct cell-cell contact and was associated with transfer of lipids. Neutrophils (PMN) and PMN-MDSC transferred lipid to DCs equally well; however, PMN did not affect DC cross-presentation. PMN-MDSC generate oxidatively truncated lipids previously shown to be involved in impaired cross-presentation by DCs. Accumulation of oxidized lipids in PMN-MDSC was dependent on myeloperoxidase (MPO). MPO-deficient PMN-MDSC did not affect cross-presentation by DCs. Cross-presentation of tumor-associated antigens in vivo by DCs was improved in MDSC-depleted or tumor-bearing MPO-KO mice. Pharmacological inhibition of MPO in combination with checkpoint blockade reduced tumor progression in different tumor models. These data suggest MPO-driven lipid peroxidation in PMN-MDSC as a possible non–cell autonomous mechanism of inhibition of antigen cross-presentation by DCs and propose MPO as potential therapeutic target to enhance the efficacy of current immunotherapies for patients with cancer.

Authors

Alessio Ugolini, Vladimir A. Tyurin, Yulia Y. Tyurina, Evgenii N. Tcyganov, Laxminarasimha Donthireddy, Valerian E. Kagan, Dmitry I. Gabrilovich, Filippo Veglia

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Figure 2

Lipid transfer from PMN-MDSC to DCs.

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Lipid transfer from PMN-MDSC to DCs.
(A) Confocal image of lipid bodies ...
(A) Confocal image of lipid bodies (LB) using BODIPY in cDC1 after coculture with PMN or PMN-MDSC. Scale bar: 50 μm. (B) Flow cytometric analysis of lipid content in cDC1 stained with BODIPY after coculture with PMN and PMN-MDSC, expressed as fold change to the geometric mean of Bodipy expression in DCs alone (n = 3). (C) Flow cytometric analysis of lipid transfer from PMN-MDSC to cDC1 after coculture with BODIPY-labeled PMN and PMN-MDSC. Left: representative example of staining. Right: cumulative results of the experiments (n = 3). (D) Flow cytometric analysis of lipid content in cDC1 stained with BODIPY after coculture with PMN-MDSC with or without Transwell system (n = 3). (E) Heatmap showing the content of nonoxidized fatty acids LA, LA-d4, AA, and AA-d4 elongated from LA-d4 (top) and their monooxygenated species (bottom) in PMN-MDSC and DCs after coculture of DCs with PMN-MDSC LA-d4. (F) Heatmap showing the content of nonoxidized TAG molecular species containing LA-d4 and elongated AAd4 (top) and their oxygenated species (bottom) in PMN-MDSC and DCs after coculture of DCs with PMN-MDSC LA-d4. (B–D) In all experiments, mean ± SD is shown. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001, ANOVA test with corrections for multiple comparisons.

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