Frontiers in Oncology (Jul 2021)

IDO Inhibition Facilitates Antitumor Immunity of Vγ9Vδ2 T Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

  • Peng Li,
  • Peng Li,
  • Ruan Wu,
  • Ruan Wu,
  • Ke Li,
  • Wenhui Yuan,
  • Wenhui Yuan,
  • Chuqian Zeng,
  • Yuting Zhang,
  • Xiao Wang,
  • Xiao Wang,
  • Xinhai Zhu,
  • Jianjun Zhou,
  • Ping Li,
  • Yunfei Gao,
  • Yunfei Gao

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.679517
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) escape from immune-mediated destruction was associated with immunosuppressive responses that dampened the activation of tumor-infiltrating CD8 and γδ T cells. TNBC had a higher level of programmed cell death 1-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), compared with other breast cancer subtypes. But, clinical studies have revealed that the response rate of PD-1/PD-L1 antibody for TNBC treatment was relatively low. However, the antitumor responses of human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells or IDO inhibitor in TNBC treatment are unknown. In this study, we found that IDO1 and PD-L1 were highly expressed in TNBC patients. Analysis of the clinical samples demonstrated that Vγ9Vδ2 T cells became exhausted in triple-negative breast cancer patients. And Vγ9Vδ2 T cells combined with αPD-L1 could not further enhance their antitumor responses in vitro and in vivo. However, Vγ9Vδ2 T cells combined with IDO1 inhibitor 1-Methyl-L-tryptophan (1-MT) or Lindrostat showed substantial inhibitory effects on MDA-MB-231 tumor cells. Finally, we found that IDO1 inhibitor promoted T cell’s cytotoxicity by enhancing perforin production. These results converged to suggest the potential application of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells treated with IDO1 inhibitor for TNBC therapy.

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