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Intraperitoneal injection of class A TLR9 agonist enhances anti–PD-1 immunotherapy in colorectal peritoneal metastases
Ting Jiang, Hongji Zhang, Yiming Li, Preethi Jayakumar, Hong Liao, Hai Huang, Timothy R. Billiar, Meihong Deng
Ting Jiang, Hongji Zhang, Yiming Li, Preethi Jayakumar, Hong Liao, Hai Huang, Timothy R. Billiar, Meihong Deng
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Research Article Immunology Oncology

Intraperitoneal injection of class A TLR9 agonist enhances anti–PD-1 immunotherapy in colorectal peritoneal metastases

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Abstract

Peritoneal metastases are associated with a low response rate to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. The numbers of peritoneal resident macrophages (PRMs) are reversely correlated with the response rate to ICB therapy. We have previously shown that TLR9 in fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs) plays a critical role in regulating peritoneal immune cell recruitment. However, the role of TLR9 in FRCs in regulating PRMs is unclear. Here, we demonstrated that the class A TLR9 agonist, ODN1585, markedly enhanced the efficacy of anti–PD-1 therapy in mouse models of colorectal peritoneal metastases. ODN1585 injected i.p. reduced the numbers of Tim4+ PRMs and enhanced CD8+ T cell antitumor immunity. Mechanistically, treatment of ODN1585 suppressed the expression of genes required for retinoid metabolism in FRCs, and this was associated with reduced expression of the PRM lineage–defining transcription factor GATA6. Selective deletion of TLR9 in FRCs diminished the benefit of ODN1585 in anti–PD-1 therapy in reducing peritoneal metastases. The crosstalk between PRMs and FRCs may be utilized to develop new strategies to improve the efficacy of ICB therapy for peritoneal metastases.

Authors

Ting Jiang, Hongji Zhang, Yiming Li, Preethi Jayakumar, Hong Liao, Hai Huang, Timothy R. Billiar, Meihong Deng

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Figure 4

Activation of TLR9 in FRCs induced PRM disappearance via suppression of GATA6 expression in PRMs.

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Activation of TLR9 in FRCs induced PRM disappearance via suppression of ...
(A) The expression levels of TLR9 in PRMs and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) in naive WT mice and mice inoculated with MC38 tumor for 3 weeks, with indicated treatments, were analyzed using flow cytometry. (B and C) Flox and FRC-Tlr9–/– mice were treated with PBS or ODN1585 (ODN; 5 nmol/mouse, i.p.) for 18 hours. (B) The numbers and (C) percentages of GATA6+ PRMs were assessed using flow cytometry. (D) Mice were inoculated with MC38-luciferase-GFP (1 million cells/mouse, i.p.) and received treatments for 3 weeks, as indicated in Figure 1A. The percentage of GATA6+ PRMs in peritoneal lavage fluid were analyzed using flow cytometry. (E and F) Peritoneal cells were isolated from WT mice and cultured with or without control FRCs, ODN1585-preconditioned FRCs (2.5 μM, 18 hours), or LPS-preconditioned FRCs (1 μg/mL, 18 hours) for 18 hours. (E) The percentage of GATA6+ PRMs in F4/80+ macrophages and (F) mean fluorescence intensity of GATA6 were analyzed using flow cytometry. (B–D) Data are shown as mean ± SD from 2 separate experiments. (E and F) The experiments were repeated 3 times. Data are shown as mean ± SD from 1 representative experiment. Symbols represent individual mice. Statistical differences were determined using 1-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. Only the significant differences are labeled.

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