Leukocyte differentiation by histidine-rich glycoprotein/stanniocalcin-2 complex regulates murine glioma growth through modulation of anti-tumor immunity

June 19, 2018

Reference

Francis P Roche, Ilkka Pietilä, Hiroshi Kaito, Elisabet O Sjöström, Nadine Sobotzki, Oriol Noguer, Tor Persson Skare, Magnus Essand, Bernd Wollscheid, Michael Welsh and Lena Claesson-Welsh DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-18-0097 Received January 27, 2018, Revision received April 21, 2018, Accepted June 19, 2018, Copyright ©2018, American Association for Cancer Research. PDF

Abstract

The plasma-protein histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) is implicated in phenotypic switching of tumor-associated macrophages, regulating cytokine production and phagocytotic activity, thereby promoting vessel normalization and anti-tumor immune responses. To assess the therapeutic effect of HRG gene delivery on CNS tumors, we used adenovirus-encoded HRG to treat mouse intracranial GL261 glioma. Delivery of Ad5-HRG to the tumor site resulted in a significant reduction in glioma growth, associated with increased vessel perfusion and increased CD45+ leukocyte and CD8+ T cell accumulation in the tumor. Antibody-mediated neutralization of colony-stimulating factor-1 suppressed the effects of HRG on CD45+ and CD8+ infiltration. Using a novel protein interaction-decoding technology, TRICEPS-based ligand receptor capture (LRC), we identified Stanniocalcin-2 (STC2) as an interacting partner of HRG on the surface of inflammatory cells in vitro and co-localization of HRG and STC2 in gliomas. HRG reduced the suppressive effects of STC2 on monocyte CD14+ differentiation and STC2-regulated immune response pathways. In consequence, Ad5-HRG treated gliomas displayed decreased numbers of Interleukin-35+ Treg cells, providing a mechanistic rationale for the reduction in GL261 growth in response to Ad5-HRG delivery. We conclude that HRG suppresses glioma growth by modulating tumor inflammation through monocyte infiltration and differentiation. Moreover, HRG acts to balance the regulatory effects of its partner, STC2, on inflammation and innate and/or acquired immunity. HRG gene delivery therefore offers a potential therapeutic strategy to control anti-tumor immunity.

Author

Francis P Roche1, Ilkka Pietilä2, Hiroshi Kaito3, Elisabet O Sjöström1, Nadine Sobotzki4, Oriol Noguer1, Tor Persson Skare1, Magnus Essand1, Bernd Wollscheid5, Michael Welsh2, and Lena Claesson-Welsh1,*

  1. 1Department of Immunology, Uppsala University
  2. 2Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University
  3. 3Department of Immunology, Uppsala university
  4. 4Department of Health Sciences, ETH Zurich
  5. 5Department of Health Sciences, ETH Zürich
  1. ↵* Corresponding Author: