CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockade have shown great anti-tumor efficacy, but significant autoimmune side-effects, likely driven by CD4+ cells, have limited their use. Nawaf et al. show that in mice depleted of intratumoral Tregs via anti-CTLA-4, an additional blockade of the OX40 and CD30 costimulatory receptors ameliorated liver autoimmune side effects, while retaining CD8+ T cell anti-tumor function.

Although strategies that block FOXP3-dependent regulatory T cell function (CTLA4 blockade) and the inhibitory receptor PD1 have shown great promise in promoting antitumor immune responses in humans, their widespread implementation for cancer immunotherapy has been hampered by significant off-target autoimmune side effects that can be lethal. Our work has shown that absence of OX40 and CD30 costimulatory signals prevents CD4 T cell-driven autoimmunity in Foxp3-deficient mice, suggesting a novel way to block these side effects. In this study, we show that excellent antitumor CD8 T cell responses can be achieved in Foxp3KO mice deficient in OX40 and CD30 signals, particularly in the presence of concurrent PD1 blockade. Furthermore, excellent antitumor immune responses can also be achieved using combinations of Abs that block CTLA4, PD1, OX40, and CD30 ligands, without CD4 T cell-driven autoimmunity. By dissociating autoimmune side effects from anticancer immune responses, this potentially shifts this antitumor approach to patients with far less advanced disease.

Author Info: (1) Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Institute for Biomedical Research, College of Medical and Dental Scienc

Author Info: (1) Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Institute for Biomedical Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. (2) Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. (3) Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Institute for Biomedical Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. (4) Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Institute for Biomedical Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. (5) Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Institute for Biomedical Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. (6) Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Institute for Biomedical Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. (7) Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Institute for Biomedical Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. (8) Department of Immunology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan; and. (9) Department of Immunology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX 77030. (10) Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom; p.j.l.lane@bham.ac.uk. Institute for Biomedical Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom.