Abstract 1651: Profiling immune cells within the tumor microenvironment for optimal model selection for pre-clinical investigations

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Vol. 74; no. 19_Supplement; p. 1651
• Main Authors: Leishman, Andrew, Harris, Olivia, Ulrichsen, Jane Coates, Harper, James, Popple, Amy, Papaspyridonos, Marianna, Williams, Geoff, Mullins, Stefanie, Valge-Archer, Viia, Stewart, Ross, Sainson, Richard, Morrow, Michelle, Wilkinson, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.10.2014
• ISSN: 0008-5472; 1538-7445
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1651

Abstract Infiltrating host immune cells can have a significant impact on the growth and outcome of many tumor types. Several leukocyte populations have been implicated in establishing an immune suppressive microenvironment (e.g. myeloid derived suppressor cells [MDSCs) and regulatory T cells [Treg cells]) and thus making it harder for anti-tumor immune effector cells to function (e.g. CD8 cytotoxic T cells). Immune-Mediated Therapy (IMT) is emerging as a key strategy for the treatment of cancer through by enhancing a patient's anti-tumor immune response. In order to maximise the potential of IMT strategies it is important to understand the immune status within the tumor microenvironment as well as systemically. Therefore, fully immune-competent preclinical models are valuable tools to enable the study of the immune system, both locally within the tumor and systemically, to understand the mechanism of action of IMT monotherapies and combination therapies in vivo. Consequently, we have profiled the immune status of a panel of syngeneic mouse tumor models to assist optimal model selection to aid these investigations. We developed multi-parameter flow cytometry techniques to identify specific immune subsets in both the tumor microenvironment and the periphery. These investigations revealed a number of tumor infiltrating immune cell end-points that can be used to correlate with response to IMT depending on the syngeneic model being used. For example, we observed differences in the MDSC and Treg cell populations across the models investigated, which will influence optimal model selection depending on the mechanism of action of the IMT being tested. Citation Format: Andrew Leishman, Olivia Harris, Jane Coates Ulrichsen, James Harper, Amy Popple, Marianna Papaspyridonos, Geoff Williams, Stefanie Mullins, Viia Valge-Archer, Ross Stewart, Richard Sainson, Michelle Morrow, Robert Wilkinson. Profiling immune cells within the tumor microenvironment for optimal model selection for pre-clinical investigations. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1651. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1651