Tailoring vascular phenotype through AAV therapy promotes anti-tumor immunity in glioma.

Ramachandran M, Vaccaro A, van de Walle T, Georganaki M, Lugano R, Vemuri K, Kourougkiaouri D, Vazaios K, Hedlund M, Tsaridou G, Uhrbom L, Pietilä I, Martikainen M, van Hooren L, Olsson Bontell T, Jakola AS, Yu D, Westermark B, Essand M, Dimberg A

Cancer Cell 41 (6) 1134-1151.e10 [2023-06-12; online 2023-05-11]

Glioblastomas are aggressive brain tumors that are largely immunotherapy resistant. This is associated with immunosuppression and a dysfunctional tumor vasculature, which hinder T cell infiltration. LIGHT/TNFSF14 can induce high endothelial venules (HEVs) and tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), suggesting that its therapeutic expression could promote T cell recruitment. Here, we use a brain endothelial cell-targeted adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector to express LIGHT in the glioma vasculature (AAV-LIGHT). We found that systemic AAV-LIGHT treatment induces tumor-associated HEVs and T cell-rich TLS, prolonging survival in αPD-1-resistant murine glioma. AAV-LIGHT treatment reduces T cell exhaustion and promotes TCF1+CD8+ stem-like T cells, which reside in TLS and intratumoral antigen-presenting niches. Tumor regression upon AAV-LIGHT therapy correlates with tumor-specific cytotoxic/memory T cell responses. Our work reveals that altering vascular phenotype through vessel-targeted expression of LIGHT promotes efficient anti-tumor T cell responses and prolongs survival in glioma. These findings have broader implications for treatment of other immunotherapy-resistant cancers.

BioImage Informatics [Service]

PubMed 37172581

DOI 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.04.010

Crossref 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.04.010

pii: S1535-6108(23)00136-8


Publications 9.5.0