Spatial profiling reveals association between WNT pathway activation and T-cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to NY-ESO-1 transgenic T-cell therapy

Background Genetically engineered T-cell immunotherapies for adoptive cell transfer (ACT) have emerged as a promising form of cancer treatment, but many of these patients develop recurrent disease. Furthermore, delineating mechanisms of resistance may be challenging since the analysis of bulk tumor...

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Main Authors: Arun Singh, Antoni Ribas, Theodore Scott Nowicki, Katie M Campbell, Anusha Kalbasi, Maneesha Thaker, Egmidio Medina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2022-03-01
Series:Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
Online Access:https://jitc.bmj.com/content/10/3/e004190.full
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author Arun Singh
Antoni Ribas
Theodore Scott Nowicki
Katie M Campbell
Anusha Kalbasi
Maneesha Thaker
Egmidio Medina
author_facet Arun Singh
Antoni Ribas
Theodore Scott Nowicki
Katie M Campbell
Anusha Kalbasi
Maneesha Thaker
Egmidio Medina
author_sort Arun Singh
collection DOAJ
description Background Genetically engineered T-cell immunotherapies for adoptive cell transfer (ACT) have emerged as a promising form of cancer treatment, but many of these patients develop recurrent disease. Furthermore, delineating mechanisms of resistance may be challenging since the analysis of bulk tumor profiling can be complicated by spatial heterogeneity.Methods Tumor samples were collected from a patient with synovial sarcoma who developed acquired resistance to ACT targeting NY-ESO-1. Biopsies (primary, progressive metastasis, and recurrence) were subjected to bulk tumor DNA and RNA sequencing, as well as high-dimensional spatial profiling of RNA and protein targets. Untreated and progressive lesions were compared with identified patterns associated with acquired resistance to ACT.Results Gene expression patterns due to immune activity and infiltration were diluted in bulk tumor sequencing. The metastasis was enriched for tumor regions with increased CTNNB1 (encoding beta-catenin), which were negatively associated with the expression of T-cell surface proteins and antigen presentation machinery. Spatial profiling was most highly concordant with bulk sequencing in the lesions with decreased spatial heterogeneity.Conclusions Complementary use of bulk and spatial profiling enables more accurate interrogation of tumor specimens, particularly to address complex questions regarding immunotherapeutic mechanisms. Our study uses this approach to demonstrate a mechanism of T-cell exclusion and resistance to cellular immunotherapy in synovial sarcoma.
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spelling doaj-art-ea334eb5ab02432e909f5ff78f775eb82025-08-20T03:05:20ZengBMJ Publishing GroupJournal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer2051-14262022-03-0110310.1136/jitc-2021-004190Spatial profiling reveals association between WNT pathway activation and T-cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to NY-ESO-1 transgenic T-cell therapyArun Singh0Antoni Ribas1Theodore Scott Nowicki2Katie M Campbell3Anusha Kalbasi4Maneesha Thaker5Egmidio Medina61 Department of Ophthalmic Oncology, Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, USA4University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA4 Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA1 Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA4Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA1 Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA1 Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USABackground Genetically engineered T-cell immunotherapies for adoptive cell transfer (ACT) have emerged as a promising form of cancer treatment, but many of these patients develop recurrent disease. Furthermore, delineating mechanisms of resistance may be challenging since the analysis of bulk tumor profiling can be complicated by spatial heterogeneity.Methods Tumor samples were collected from a patient with synovial sarcoma who developed acquired resistance to ACT targeting NY-ESO-1. Biopsies (primary, progressive metastasis, and recurrence) were subjected to bulk tumor DNA and RNA sequencing, as well as high-dimensional spatial profiling of RNA and protein targets. Untreated and progressive lesions were compared with identified patterns associated with acquired resistance to ACT.Results Gene expression patterns due to immune activity and infiltration were diluted in bulk tumor sequencing. The metastasis was enriched for tumor regions with increased CTNNB1 (encoding beta-catenin), which were negatively associated with the expression of T-cell surface proteins and antigen presentation machinery. Spatial profiling was most highly concordant with bulk sequencing in the lesions with decreased spatial heterogeneity.Conclusions Complementary use of bulk and spatial profiling enables more accurate interrogation of tumor specimens, particularly to address complex questions regarding immunotherapeutic mechanisms. Our study uses this approach to demonstrate a mechanism of T-cell exclusion and resistance to cellular immunotherapy in synovial sarcoma.https://jitc.bmj.com/content/10/3/e004190.full
spellingShingle Arun Singh
Antoni Ribas
Theodore Scott Nowicki
Katie M Campbell
Anusha Kalbasi
Maneesha Thaker
Egmidio Medina
Spatial profiling reveals association between WNT pathway activation and T-cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to NY-ESO-1 transgenic T-cell therapy
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
title Spatial profiling reveals association between WNT pathway activation and T-cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to NY-ESO-1 transgenic T-cell therapy
title_full Spatial profiling reveals association between WNT pathway activation and T-cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to NY-ESO-1 transgenic T-cell therapy
title_fullStr Spatial profiling reveals association between WNT pathway activation and T-cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to NY-ESO-1 transgenic T-cell therapy
title_full_unstemmed Spatial profiling reveals association between WNT pathway activation and T-cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to NY-ESO-1 transgenic T-cell therapy
title_short Spatial profiling reveals association between WNT pathway activation and T-cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to NY-ESO-1 transgenic T-cell therapy
title_sort spatial profiling reveals association between wnt pathway activation and t cell exclusion in acquired resistance of synovial sarcoma to ny eso 1 transgenic t cell therapy
url https://jitc.bmj.com/content/10/3/e004190.full
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