Axitinib increases the infiltration of immune cells and reduces the suppressive capacity of monocytic MDSCs in an intracranial mouse melanoma model

Stephanie Du Four, Sarah K. Maenhout, Kari De Pierre, Dries Renmans, Simone P. Niclou, Kris Thielemans, Bart Neyns, Joeri L. Aerts*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

61 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Melanoma patients are at a high risk of developing brain metastases, which are strongly vascularized and therefore have a significant risk of spontaneous bleeding. VEGF not only plays a role in neo-angiogenesis but also in the antitumor immune response. VEGFR-targeted therapy might not only have an impact on the tumor vascularization but also on tumor-infiltrating immune cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of axitinib, a small molecule TKI of VEGFR-1, -2, and -3, on tumor growth and on the composition of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in subcutaneous and intracranial mouse melanoma models. In vivotreatment with axitinib induced a strong inhibition of tumor growth and significantly improved survival in both tumor models. Characterization of the immune cells within the spleen and tumor of tumor-bearing mice respectively showed a significant increase in the number of CD3+CD8+ T cells and CD11b+ cells of axitinib-treated mice. More specifically, we observed a significant increase of intratumoral monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (moMDSCs; CD11b+Ly6ChighLy6G-). Interestingly, in vitro proliferation assays showed that moMDSCs isolated from spleen or tumor of axitinib-treated mice had a reduced suppressive capacity on a per cell basis as compared to those isolated from vehicle-treated mice. Moreover, MDSCs from axitinib-treated animals displayed the capacity to stimulate allogeneic T cells. Thus, treatment with axitinib induces differentiation of moMDSC toward an antigen-presenting phenotype. Based on these observations, we conclude that the impact of axitinib on tumor growth and survival is most likely not restricted to direct anti-angiogenic effects but also involves important effects on tumor immunity.

Original languageEnglish
JournalOncoImmunology
Volume4
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Keywords

  • Angiogenesis
  • Axitinib
  • Brain metastasis
  • Immune cells
  • MDSC
  • Melanoma

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