Polymerase ε (POLE) ultra-mutated tumors induce robust tumor-specific CD4+ T cell responses in endometrial cancer patients

Gynecol Oncol. 2015 Jul;138(1):11-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2015.04.027. Epub 2015 Apr 27.

Abstract

Objective: Around 7-10% of endometrial carcinomas are characterized by polymerase-ε-(POLE) exonuclease-domain-mutations, an ultra-mutated-phenotype and a favorable prognosis. It is currently unknown whether POLE ultra-mutated-tumors are more immunogenic when compared to the other groups of endometrial cancers.

Methods: We used autologous-dendritic-cells (DC) pulsed with whole-tumor-extracts to assess the level of CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell-activation induced by POLE-ultramutated (+) and POLE wild-type (-) endometrial cancer cells in vitro. T-lymphocyte-proliferations were evaluated using CFSE and/or ([3H])thymidine-incorporation-assays while the ability to specifically kill autologous-tumor-cells by cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) was tested in standard 4-h-(51)Cr-cytotoxicity-assays. In order to correlate cytotoxic activity and proliferation by CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes, respectively, with a particular lymphoid subset, two-color-flow-cytometric analysis of intracellular-cytokine-expression (IFN-γ vs IL-4) at the single cell level was also performed.

Results: DC-pulsed with tumor extracts were able to induce CTL-responses against autologous-tumor-cells in both POLE (+) and POLE (-) cancer patients (P=0.305). These CD8+ T-cell-populations were cytotoxic against tumor-cells but they did not lyse PHA-stimulated-autologous-lymphocytes or autologous-EBV-transformed-lymphoblastoid-control-cell-lines. In contrast, only POLE (+) tumor-lysate-pulsed-DC were able to induce significant proliferation and high IFN-γ expression (i.e., Th1-cytokine-bias) in autologous in vitro DC-stimulated CD4+ T-cells as well as naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells from patients-peripheral-blood (P<0.05).

Conclusions: POLE ultra-mutated-tumors are significantly more immunogenic when compared to POLE (-) tumors, in particular to the helper arm of the immune system. These data lend support to the hypothesis that the better prognosis of patients with POLE (+) tumors may at least in part be linked to their enhanced immunogenicity.

Keywords: Endometrial carcinoma; Polymerase ε; Uterine serous papillary cancer; Whole exome sequencing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • DNA Polymerase II / genetics*
  • DNA Polymerase II / immunology
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology
  • Endometrial Neoplasms / enzymology*
  • Endometrial Neoplasms / genetics
  • Endometrial Neoplasms / immunology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lymphocyte Activation
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation*
  • Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins
  • T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / immunology

Substances

  • Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins
  • DNA Polymerase II
  • POLE protein, human