Xiang et al. show that lung squamous cell carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) create an immunosuppressive microenvironment via recruitment and differentiation of monocytes into myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Patient-derived CAFs attracted CD14+CCR2+ monocytes by CCL2 secretion in transwell assays and promoted differentiation of CD14+ monocytes in co-cultures to resemble MDSCs, which suppressed CD8+ T cell proliferation and activation. MDSC-mediated generation of reactive oxygen species, which suppress T cells, depended on IDO1 and NADPH oxidases function.

Contributed by Shishir Pant

ABSTRACT: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) represent a functionally heterogenous population of activated fibroblasts that constitutes a major component of tumor stroma. Although CAFs have been shown to promote tumor growth and mediate resistance to chemotherapy, the mechanisms by which they may contribute to immune suppression within the tumor microenvironment (TME) in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remain largely unexplored. Here, we identified a positive correlation between CAF and monocytic myeloid cell abundances in 501 primary LSCCs by mining TCGA datasets. We further validated this finding in an independent cohort using imaging mass cytometry and found a significant spatial interaction between CAFs and monocytic myeloid cells in the TME. To delineate the interplay between CAFs and monocytic myeloid cells, we used chemotaxis assays to show that LSCC patient-derived CAFs promoted recruitment of CCR2+ monocytes via CCL2, which could be reversed by CCR2 inhibition. Using a three-dimensional culture system, we found that CAFs polarized monocytes to adopt a myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) phenotype, characterized by robust suppression of autologous CD8+ T-cell proliferation and IFNgamma production. We further demonstrated that inhibiting IDO1 and NADPH oxidases, NOX2 and NOX4, restored CD8+ T-cell proliferation by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in CAF-induced MDSCs. Taken together, our study highlights a pivotal role of CAFs in regulating monocyte recruitment and differentiation and demonstrated that CCR2 inhibition and ROS scavenging abrogate the CAF-MDSC axis, illuminating a potential therapeutic path to reversing the CAF-mediated immunosuppressive microenvironment.

Author Info: (1) Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc. (2) Chemical Biology, Merck & Co., Inc. (3) Pharmacology, Merck & Co., Inc. (4) Molecular Profiling, Rosetta Inpharmatics LLC, a wholly owned subsid

Author Info: (1) Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc. (2) Chemical Biology, Merck & Co., Inc. (3) Pharmacology, Merck & Co., Inc. (4) Molecular Profiling, Rosetta Inpharmatics LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. (5) Modeling and Informatics, Merck & Co., Inc. (6) Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc. (7) Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc. (8) Profiling and Expression, Merck Research Laboratories. (9) Informatics, Merck & Co., Inc. (10) Pharmacology, Merck & Co., Inc. (11) Pharmacology, Merck & Co., Inc. (12) Pharmacology, Merck Research Laboratory-Boston. (13) Pharmacology, Merck & Co., Inc. (14) Pharmacology, Merck & Co., Inc. (15) Merck & Co., Inc. (16) Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc. (17) Pharmacology, Merck & Co., Inc. (18) Proteomics, Merck & Company, Inc. (19) Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc. philip_brandish@merck.com.