PTEN loss shapes macrophage dynamics in high grade serous ovarian carcinoma
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSC) remains a disease with poor prognosis that is unresponsive to current immune checkpoint inhibitors. Although PI3K pathway alterations, such as PTEN loss, are common in HGSC, attempts to target this pathway have been unsuccessful. We hypothesized that aberrant PI3K pathway activation may alter the HGSC immune microenvironment and present a targeting opportunity. Single-cell RNA sequencing identified populations of resident macrophages specific to Pten-null omental tumors in murine models, which were confirmed by flow cytometry. These macrophages were derived from peritoneal fluid macrophages and exhibited a unique gene expression program, marked by high expression of the enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX1). Targeting resident peritoneal macrophages prevented the appearance of HMOX1hi macrophages and reduced tumor growth. In addition, direct inhibition of HMOX1 extended survival in vivo. RNA sequencing identified IL33 in Pten-null tumor cells as a likely candidate driver, leading to the appearance of HMOX1hi macrophages. Human HGSC tumors also contained HMOX1hi macrophages with a corresponding gene expression program. Moreover, the presence of these macrophages was correlated with activated tumoral PI3K/mTOR signaling and poor overall survival in patients with HGSC. In contrast, tumors with low numbers of HMOX1hi macrophages were marked by increased adaptive immune response gene expression. These data suggest targeting HMOX1hi macrophages as a potential therapeutic strategy for treating poor prognosis HGSC.
Date Issued
2024-11-15
Date Acceptance
2024-08-21
Citation
Cancer Research, 2024, 84 (22), pp.3772-3787
ISSN
0008-5472
Publisher
American Association for Cancer Research
Start Page
3772
End Page
3787
Journal / Book Title
Cancer Research
Volume
84
Issue
22
Copyright Statement
©2024 The Authors; Published by the American Association for Cancer Research This open access article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribu tion-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
license.
license.
Identifier
https://aacrjournals.org/cancerres/article/84/22/3772/749736
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2024-11-15