Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
The Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Nat Commun. 2024 Jul 22;15(1):6162. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50441-7.
Senescent cells within tumors and their stroma exert complex pro- and anti-tumorigenic functions. However, the identities and traits of these cells, and the potential for improving cancer therapy through their targeting, remain poorly characterized. Here, we identify a senescent subset within previously-defined cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) and in premalignant lesions in mice and humans. Senescent CAFs isolated from mouse and humans expressed elevated levels of immune-regulatory genes. Depletion of senescent CAFs, either genetically or using the Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-199 (venetoclax), increased the proportion of activated CD8 T cells in mouse pancreatic carcinomas, whereas induction of CAF senescence had the opposite effect. Combining ABT-199 with an immune checkpoint therapy regimen significantly reduced mouse tumor burden. These results indicate that senescent CAFs in PDAC stroma limit the numbers of activated cytotoxic CD8 T cells, and suggest that their targeted elimination through senolytic treatment may enhance immunotherapy.
肿瘤内的衰老细胞及其基质发挥着复杂的促肿瘤和抗肿瘤功能。然而,这些细胞的特性和特征,以及通过靶向这些细胞来改善癌症治疗的潜力,仍未得到充分描述。在这里,我们在胰腺导管腺癌(PDAC)和小鼠及人类的癌前病变中已定义的癌相关成纤维细胞(CAF)内鉴定出一个衰老亚群。从小鼠和人类中分离出的衰老 CAF 表达高水平的免疫调节基因。通过基因敲除或使用 Bcl-2 抑制剂 ABT-199(venetoclax)耗竭衰老 CAF,增加了小鼠胰腺肿瘤中活化的 CD8 T 细胞的比例,而诱导 CAF 衰老则产生相反的效果。将 ABT-199 与免疫检查点治疗方案联合使用,显著降低了小鼠的肿瘤负担。这些结果表明,PDAC 基质中的衰老 CAF 限制了活化的细胞毒性 CD8 T 细胞的数量,并表明通过衰老细胞清除疗法靶向消除这些细胞可能增强免疫治疗。