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Review
. 2016 May 27;9(1):47.
doi: 10.1186/s13045-016-0277-y.

Current status and perspectives in translational biomarker research for PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockade therapy

Weijie Ma  1   2 , Barbara M Gilligan  1 , Jianda Yuan  3   4 , Tianhong Li  5   6
Affiliations
Review

Current status and perspectives in translational biomarker research for PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockade therapy

Weijie Ma et al. J Hematol Oncol. .

Abstract

Modulating immune inhibitory pathways has been a major recent breakthrough in cancer treatment. Checkpoint blockade antibodies targeting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programed cell-death protein 1 (PD-1) have demonstrated acceptable toxicity, promising clinical responses, durable disease control, and improved survival in some patients with advanced melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and other tumor types. About 20 % of advanced NSCLC patients and 30 % of advanced melanoma patients experience tumor responses from checkpoint blockade monotherapy, with better clinical responses seen with the combination of anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. Given the power of these new therapies, it is important to understand the complex and dynamic nature of host immune responses and the regulation of additional molecules in the tumor microenvironment and normal organs in response to the checkpoint blockade therapies. In this era of precision oncology, there remains a largely unmet need to identify the patients who are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy, to optimize the monitoring assays for tumor-specific immune responses, to develop strategies to improve clinical efficacy, and to identify biomarkers so that immune-related adverse events can be avoided. At this time, PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining using 22C3 antibody is the only FDA-approved companion diagnostic for patients with NSCLC-treated pembrolizumab, but more are expected to come to market. We here summarize the current knowledge, clinical efficacy, potential immune biomarkers, and associated assays for immune checkpoint blockade therapies in advanced solid tumors.

Keywords: Biomarker; Cancer immunotherapy; Cytotoxic T cells; Immune checkpoint blockade antibodies; Immune-related adverse events; PD-1; PD-L1; Precision oncology.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schema interaction between tumor and immune cells. Full activation of T-lymphocytes requires the coordinated participation of several surface receptors on effector T cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs) or tumor cells. The main route of T cell stimulation is driven by antigens recognized in the form of short polypeptides associated with MHC antigen-presenting molecules. However, the functional outcome of T cell stimulation towards clonal expansion and effector function acquisition is contingent on the contact of additional surface receptor-ligand pairs and on the actions of cytokines in the tumor microenvironment. While some of those interactions are inhibitory (in red), others are activating and are collectively termed co-stimulatory (in green) receptors. Communication between T cells and APCs is bidirectional. In some cases, this occurs when ligands themselves signal to the APC. In other cases, activated T cells upregulate ligands, such as CD40L, that engage cognate receptors on APCs. Tumor cells can upregulate PD-L1 expression via either the constitutionally activated oncogenic signaling (left, innate/intrinsic immune resistance) or the immune modulator-induced signaling pathways (right, adaptive immune resistance). Abbreviations: APC antigen-presenting cells, DC dendritic cell, IL-2R IL-2 receptor, MDSCs myeloid-derived suppressor cells, Teff effector T cell, Treg regulatory T cells, IDO indoleamin 2,3-dioxygenase, TIM-3 T cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain, LAG lymphocyte-activation gene, BTLA B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator, HVEM herpes virus entry mediator, TIGIT T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains, GITR glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor, ICOS inducible costimulators, CEACAM carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule, TSMA tumor-specific mutant antigens, JNK, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, MEK/ERK, mitogen/extracellular signal regulated kinase, PI3K, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, STAT, signal transducer and activator of transcription, NFκB, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Immune monitoring strategies for patients receiving checkpoint blockage therapy. Technologies that are currently used to assess the potential immune biomarkers. a Tumor and immune cells in tumor specimens could be evaluated by immunohistochemical stain (IHC) or immunofluorescence assays, molecular or genetic profiling analysis, and cellular functional assays. The tumor microenvironment can be dissected histopathologically to characterize spatial relationships between tumor and immune infiltrates. Transcriptional profiling assays can evaluate changes in gene expression in both the tumor cells and lymphocytes. Deep sequencing techniques enable quantification of changes in individual T/B cell clonotypes. b Peripheral blood provides a minimally invasive way to allow serial monitoring of dynamic changes of immune biomarkers during cancer immunotherapy. The analysis of changes in cell counts with therapy, changes in cytokine levels, circulating tumor cells, tumor-derived nucleotides, and immune cells. c Flow cytometric analysis of TILs anPBMCs for quantitating the effect of therapy on immune subsets such as activated CD8 + PD1+ T cells, CD4 + FOXP3 + CD25hi Tregs, or myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Using polychromatic flow cytometry, multiple surface and intracellular markers can be detected, allowing in-depth characterization of T cell phenotype and activation state. d Multifunctional flow T cell assay, MHC tetramer staining and ELISPOT can be used to analyze the presence and function of tumor-specific T cell subpopulations. Abbreviations: PD-L1 programed death-1, IHC immunohistochemistry, ELISPOT enzyme-linked immunospot assay, CTCs circulating tumor cells, WES whole exome sequencing, NGS next-generation sequencing, TIM-3 T cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain, LAG lymphocyte-activation gene, ICOS inducible costimulators, MDSC myeloid-derived suppressor cells, HLA human leukocyte antigen
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