Adiponectin reduces immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced inflammation without blocking anti-tumor immunity

  • Lukas M. Braun
  • , Sophie Giesler
  • , Geoffroy Andrieux
  • , Roxane Riemer
  • , Nana Talvard-Balland
  • , Sandra Duquesne
  • , Tamina Rückert
  • , Susanne Unger
  • , Stefanie Kreutmair
  • , Melissa Zwick
  • , Marie Follo
  • , Alina Hartmann
  • , Natascha Osswald
  • , Wolfgang Melchinger
  • , Stefanie Chapman
  • , James A. Hutchinson
  • , Sebastian Haferkamp
  • , Leopold Torster
  • , Julian Kött
  • , Christoffer Gebhardt
  • Dirk Hellwig, Nikolaos Karantzelis, Till Wallrabenstein, Theresa Lowinus, Mehtap Yücel, Niklas Brehm, Justyna Rawluk, Dietmar Pfeifer, Peter Bronsert, Manuel Rogg, Sven Mattern, Mathias Heikenwälder, Stefano Fusco, Nisar P. Malek, Stephan Singer, Annette Schmitt-Graeff, Fatih Ceteci, Florian R. Greten, Bruce R. Blazar, Melanie Boerries, Natalie Köhler, Justus Duyster, Gabriele Ihorst, Silke Lassmann, Philip Keye, Susana Minguet, Dirk Schadendorf, Selma Ugurel, David Rafei-Shamsabadi, Robert Thimme, Peter Hasselblatt, Bertram Bengsch, Christoph Schell, Erika L. Pearce, Frank Meiss, Burkhard Becher, Carolin Funke-Lorenz, Jan Malte Placke, Petya Apostolova, Robert Zeiser

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) cause morbidity and necessitate cessation of treatment. Comparing irAE treatments, we find that anti-tumor immunity is preserved in mice after extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) but reduced with glucocorticosteroids, TNFα blockade, and α4β7-integrin inhibition. Local adiponectin production elicits a tissue-specific effect by reducing pro-inflammatory T cell frequencies in the colon while sparing tumor-specific T cell development. A prospective phase-1b/2 trial (EudraCT-No.2021-002073-26) with 14 patients reveals low ECP-related toxicity. Overall response rate for all irAEs is 92% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 63.97%–99.81%); colitis-specific complete remission rate is 100% (95% CI: 63.06%–100%). Glucocorticosteroid dosages could be reduced for all patients after ECP therapy. The ECP-adiponectin axis reduces intestinal tissue-resident memory T cell activation and CD4+IFN-γ+ T cells in patients with ICI-induced colitis without evidence of loss of anti-tumor immunity. In conclusion, we identify adiponectin as an immunomodulatory molecule that controls ICI-induced irAEs without blocking anti-tumor immunity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)269-291.e19
JournalCancer Cell
Volume43
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 10 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s)

Keywords

  • adiponectin
  • anti-tumor immunity
  • arginase-1
  • cancer immunotherapy
  • colitis
  • extracorporeal photopheresis
  • immune checkpoint inhibition
  • immune-related adverse events
  • immunomodulation
  • immunosuppression

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Clinical Trial, Phase I
  • Clinical Trial, Phase II

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