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3261 PD-1 Expression in Lymphoma Cells Mediates Cellular Proliferation By Engaging Phosphatase SHP-1/SHP-2

Program: Oral and Poster Abstracts
Session: 641. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemias: Basic and Translational: Poster II
Hematology Disease Topics & Pathways:
Research, Translational Research
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM

Sutapa Sinha, PhD1*, Tammy Price-Troska, BS1*, Shulan Tian, PhD2*, R. Leo Sakemura, MD, PhD1, Huihuang Yan, PhD2*, Justin Boysen1*, Zhiquan Wang, PhD1, Xiaosheng Wu, MD1*, Rong He, MD3, Min Shi, MD3*, Yucai Wang, MD, PhD1, Eric W Klee, PhD2*, Sameer A. Parikh, MD4, Paul J Hampel, MD1, Timothy G. Call, MD1, Jose F. Leis, MD, PhD5, Tait D. Shanafelt, MD6, Stephen M Ansell, MD, PhD1, Saad S. Kenderian, MD1, Neil E. Kay, MD1 and Wei Ding, MD, PhD1*

1Division of Hematology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
2Computational Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
3Division of Hematopathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
4Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
5Division of Hematology and Oncology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ
6Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Introduction: Despite the improved clinical outcomes with novel therapies in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Richter transformation (RT) of CLL remains a major clinical challenge. Our group showed a selective response (~40%) with the PD-1 blocking antibody pembrolizumab in patients with RT, particularly after prior exposure to ibrutinib (Ding et al, Blood, 2017). It has been established that PD-1 inhibits cytotoxic T-cell functions via the interaction with its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2. However, the role of PD-1 in tumor B-cells is understudied. Here we show the expression and functional implications of the PD-1 signaling axis in B-cell pathobiology.

Methods: CLL-involved lymph node (LN) (n=26) and RT (with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma [DLBCL] histology) -involved LN (n=20) samples were tested for PD-1 expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) (mouse clone NAT105, Abcam). Then, PD-1 expression was examined in 10 lymphoma cell lines and 1 CLL-like cell line (MEC-1) by both flow cytometry (FC) and Western blot (WB) analysis. PD-1 overexpression using pLEX-lentiviral packaging system (Thermo Scientific) was evaluated for its impact on in vitro cell cycle regulation and in vivo tumor growth. CRISPR/CAS9 mediated PD-1 knockdown evaluated on cell growth in MEC-1 and Mino cells. Role of PD-1 was further examined on the regulation of cell signaling pathways using human phospho kinase array kit (R&D) and WB analysis. Additionally, gene expression signatures were evaluated by RNA-seq using pLEX-lentiviral-PD-1 transfected DLBCL cell lines OCI-LY7 and OCI-LY19.

Results: PD-1 expression was significantly increased in RT-LN compared to CLL-LN (mean ± SEM in RT vs. CLL, 30.6% ± 4.7% vs. 11.5% ± 2.8%, p<0.001) as determined by IHC. PD-1 expression was highest in patients with RT where the last prior CLL therapy was ibrutinib. To test the role of PD-1 in tumor B-cells, its expression was assessed in lymphoma and CLL cell lines. The expression of PD-1 was found to be variable by both FC and WB analysis, but at very low-levels in DLBCL cell lines OCI-LY7 and OCI-LY19. Constitutive lentiviral (pLEX-PD-1)-mediated overexpression of PD-1 in OCI-LY7 and OCI-LY19 cells led to increased cell growth (1.4 and 1.9 fold, respectively, compared to original lines after 4 days of culturing of equal number of cells), which was further confirmed by cell cycle analysis which showed an increase in S phase by 20.4% (p<0.05) and 24.5% (p<0.05) in OCI-LY7 and OCI-LY19 cells, respectively. When the luciferase+ PD-1 overexpressing OCI-LY7 cells (1X106) were injected intravenously into NSG mice, increased tumor growth (p<0.01) was observed by bioluminescence imaging after 22 days of follow-up. PD-1 knockdown in MEC-1 and Mino cells (high basal PD-1 expression) led to significant inhibition of cell growth (85% and 79.5%, respectively, p<0.05). Using phospho-kinase array, an overall decrease of phosphorylation was detected on multiple sites of p53 (S392, S15, S46) and Chk-2 (T68) in PD-1 overexpressing OCI-LY7 and OCI-LY19 cell lines. This finding was further confirmed by WB analyses. In addition, decreased total p53 and increased phosphorylation on both SHP-1 and SHP-2 were found in PD-1 overexpressing OCI-LY7 and OCI-LY19 cell lines. SHP-1 (TPI-1) and SHP-1+SHP-2 (TPI-1+TNO155) inhibitor treatment promoted OCI-LY19 cell death and led to recovery of phosphorylation on ATM, Chk-2 and p53 in these cells. RNA sequencing data in PD-1 overexpressing OCI-LY7 and OCI-LY19 cells revealed increased expression of genes that promote cell cycle progression and DNA replication.

Conclusion: Our data showed robust PD-1 expression in patients with Richter transformation from CLL to DLBCL. PD-1 overexpression in DLBCL lymphoma cell lines enhanced cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Further investigation identified that PD-1 modified the phosphorylation/function of SHP phosphatases and thereby regulated p53 pathways (Figure 1). These findings indicate that RT with DLBCL cells have the ability to “hijack” the PD-1 pathway which results in downregulation of p53 mediated DNA repair. This novel finding provides for new strategies to further evaluate the interaction of PD-1 signals with DNA repair pathways and suggest potential novel targets for RT.

Disclosures: Sakemura: Janssen: Honoraria. He: Kura Oncology, Inc: Consultancy. Wang: Genmab: Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; TG Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; BeiGene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kite: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Morphosys: Research Funding; LOXO Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Innocare: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Eli Lilly: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Consultancy. Klee: Undiganozied Disease Network Int'l: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Helix Population Genomics: Patents & Royalties: Helix Population Genomics. Parikh: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Incc: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Beigene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Research Funding; Dava Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Dren Bio: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Agios Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Vincerx: Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AstraZeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sunesis: Research Funding; CSL Behring: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Myers Squibb-Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Accerta Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; AbbVie Inc: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Shanafelt: Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; AbbVie: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding. Ansell: ADC Therapeutics, Affimed, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Pfizer Inc, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, Seagen Inc, Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.: Other: Contracted Research. Kenderian: MustangBio: Patents & Royalties; Tolero/Sumtomo: Research Funding; Mettaforge: Patents & Royalties; CapstanBio: Consultancy, Other: Scientific advisory board; Morphosys: Research Funding; Humanigen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Juno/BMS: Other: Membership on an entity's board of directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Lentigen: Research Funding; Sendero: Patents & Royalties; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kite/Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Luminary therapeutics: Other: scientific advisory board ; Torque: Consultancy; LEAHLabs: Consultancy, Current equity holder in private company, Research Funding. Kay: Astra Zeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Vincerx: Research Funding; Sunesis: Research Funding; Beigene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Meyer Squib / Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Dava Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Dren Bio: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; boehringer ingelheim: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmcyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Agios Pharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Genentech: Research Funding; Behring: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Ding: Merck: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Astra Zeneca: Research Funding; AbbVie: Research Funding; BeiGene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Octapharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; DTRM: Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

*signifies non-member of ASH