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PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors in combination with olaparib display antitumor activity in ovarian cancer patient-derived three-dimensional spheroid cultures

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Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) that target programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) have shown modest activity as monotherapies for the treatment of ovarian cancer (OC). The rationale for using these therapies in combination with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARP-Is) has been described, and their in vivo application will benefit from ex vivo platforms that aid in the prediction of patient response or resistance to therapy. This study examined the effectiveness of detecting patient-specific immune-related activity in OC using three-dimensional (3D) spheroids. Immune-related cell composition and PD-1/PD-L1 expression status were evaluated using cells dissociated from fresh OC tissue from two patients prior to and following 3D culture. The patient sample with the greatest increase in the proportion of PD-L1 + cells also possessed more activated cytotoxic T cells and mature DCs compared to the other patient sample. Upon cytokine stimulation, patient samples demonstrated increases in cytotoxic T cell activation and DC major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class-II expression. Pembrolizumab increased cytokine secretion, enhanced olaparib cytotoxicity, and reduced spheroid viability in a T cell-dependent manner. Furthermore, durvalumab and olaparib combination treatment increased cell death in a synergistic manner. This work demonstrates that immune cell activity and functional modulation can be accurately detected using our ex vivo 3D spheroid platform, and it presents evidence for their utility to demonstrate sensitivity to ICIs alone or in combination with PARP-Is in a preclinical setting.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

3D:

Three-dimensional

BRCA1/2:

Breast-related cancer antigens 1 and 2

DC:

Dendritic cells

GM-CSF:

Granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor

ICI:

Immune checkpoint inhibitor

IRB:

Institutional Review Board

IFNγ:

Interferon gamma

IL-2:

Interleukin-2; IL-10: Interleukin-10

IL-10:

IFNγ-induced protein 10

MIP-1α:

Macrophage inflammatory protein

MHC:

Major histocompatibility complex

MHC-II:

Major histocompatibility complex class-II

OC:

Ovarian cancer

PBMCs:

Peripheral blood mononuclueated cells

PARP-I:

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors

PD-1:

Programmed cell death protein 1

PD-L1:

Programmed death-ligand 1

RLUs:

Relative luminescence units

SD:

Standard deviation

T cell CM:

T cell expansion media

TILs:

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

TIME:

Tumor immune microenvironment

TNFα:

Tumor necrosis factor alpha

Tregs:

Regulatory T cells

VC:

Vehicle control

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the patients for their participation in this study. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the ITOR Biorepository at Prisma Health for their support.

Funding

All work for this study was funded by KIYATEC, Inc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. KIYATEC, Inc., Greenville, SC, USA

    Kathryn M. Appleton, Ashley K. Elrod, Katy A. Lassahn, Stephen Shuford, Lillia M. Holmes & Teresa M. DesRochers

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  1. Kathryn M. Appleton
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Contributions

KMA designed the study, performed the experiments and data analysis, and wrote the manuscript; AKE performed the experiments, and wrote the manuscript; KL performed flow cytometry and immunofluorescence for cytokine stimulation experiments, and provided experimental design assistance; SS provided experimental design assistance and data review; LMH provided facilities/logistics for experimental performance; TMD directed the project, provided data review, and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Teresa M. DesRochers.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Appleton, Ms. Elrod, Ms. Lassahn, Mr. Shuford, Ms. Holmes, and Dr. DesRochers are current employees of KIYATEC, Inc.

Ethical approval

Written informed consent was obtained from patients in accordance with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved biology protocols by Prisma Health, formally known as Greenville Health System, Cancer Institute (IRB-Committee C).

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Appleton, K.M., Elrod, A.K., Lassahn, K.A. et al. PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors in combination with olaparib display antitumor activity in ovarian cancer patient-derived three-dimensional spheroid cultures. Cancer Immunol Immunother 70, 843–856 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-021-02849-z

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