Attenuation of peripheral serotonin inhibits tumor growth and enhances immune checkpoint blockade therapy in murine tumor models

Schneider, Marcel Andre; Heeb, Laura; Beffinger, Michal Mateusz; Pantelyushin, Stanislav; Linecker, Michael; Roth, Lilian; Lehmann, Kuno; Ungethum, Udo; Kobold, Sebastian; Graf, Rolf; Broek, Maries van den; Vom Berg, Johannes; Gupta, Anurag und Clavien, Pierre-Alain (2021): Attenuation of peripheral serotonin inhibits tumor growth and enhances immune checkpoint blockade therapy in murine tumor models. In: Science Translational Medicine, Bd. 13, Nr. 611, eabc8188

Abstract

Platelet-derived peripheral serotonin has pleiotropic effects on coagulation, metabolism, tissue regeneration, and cancer growth;however, the effect of serotonin on the tumor microenvironment remains understudied. Peripheral serotonin-deficient (Tph1(-/-)) mice displayed reduced growth of subcutaneous and orthotopically injected syngeneic murine pancreatic and colorectal cancers with enhanced accumulation of functional CD8(+) T cells compared to control C57BL/6 mice, resulting in extended overall survival. Subcutaneous and orthotopic syngeneic tumors from Tph1(-/-) mice expressed less programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1), suggesting serotonin-mediated regulation. Serotonin enhanced expression of PD-L1 on mouse and human cancer cells in vitro via serotonylation, which is the formation of covalent bonds between glutamine residues and serotonin, resulting in activation of small G proteins. Serotonin concentrations in metastases of patients with abdominal tumors negatively correlated to the number of CD8(+) tumor-infiltrating T cells. Depletion of serotonin cargo or inhibition of serotonin release from thrombocytes decreased growth of syngeneic pancreatic and colorectal tumors in wild-type mice, increased CD8(+) T cell influx, and decreased PD-L1 expression. Pharmacological serotonin depletion with oral fluoxetine or intraperitoneal injection of the TPH1 inhibitor telotristat augmented the effects of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) checkpoint blockade and triggered long-term tumor control in mice subcutaneously inoculated with syngeneic colorectal and pancreatic tumors. Overall, peripheral serotonin weakens effector functions of CD8(+) T cells within tumors. Clinically approved serotonin targeting agents alone or in combination with PD-1 blockade provided long-term control of established tumors in murine models, warranting further investigation of the clinical translatability of these findings.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultätsübergreifende Einrichtungen: Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CIPSM)
• Themengebiete: 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik > 540 Chemie
• ISSN: 1946-6234
• Sprache: Englisch