1. Academic Validation
  2. High NEK2 expression in myeloid progenitors suppresses T cell immunity in multiple myeloma

High NEK2 expression in myeloid progenitors suppresses T cell immunity in multiple myeloma

  • Cell Rep Med. 2023 Sep 26:101214. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101214.
Yan Cheng 1 Fumou Sun 1 Daisy V Alapat 2 Visanu Wanchai 3 David Mery 1 Wancheng Guo 1 Huojun Cao 4 Yuqi Zhu 5 Cody Ashby 6 Michael Anton Bauer 6 Intawat Nookaew 6 Eric R Siegel 7 Jun Ying 7 Jin-Ran Chen 8 Dongzheng Gai 1 Bailu Peng 1 Hongwei Xu 1 Clyde Bailey 1 Samer Al Hadidi 1 Carolina Schinke 1 Sharmilan Thanendrarajan 1 Maurizio Zangari 1 Marta Chesi 9 P Leif Bergsagel 9 Frits van Rhee 1 Siegfried Janz 10 Guido Tricot 1 John D Shaughnessy Jr 1 Fenghuang Zhan 11
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Myeloma Center, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Institute, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
  • 2 Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
  • 3 Myeloma Center, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Institute, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
  • 4 Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research, Division of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Department of Endodontics, University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
  • 5 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
  • 6 Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
  • 7 Department of Biostatistics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
  • 8 Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA.
  • 9 Department of Hematology/Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA.
  • 10 Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
  • 11 Myeloma Center, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Institute, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. Electronic address: fzhan@uams.edu.
Abstract

Multiple myeloma (MM) growth is supported by an immune-tolerant bone marrow microenvironment. Here, we find that loss of Never in mitosis gene A (NIMA)-related kinase 2 (NEK2) in tumor microenvironmental cells is associated with MM growth suppression. The absence of NEK2 leads to both fewer tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and inhibitory T cells. NEK2 expression in myeloid progenitor cells promotes the generation of functional TAMs when stimulated with MM conditional medium. Clinically, high NEK2 expression in MM cells is associated with increased CD8+ T effector memory cells, while low NEK2 is associated with an IFN-γ gene signature and activated T cell response. Inhibition of NEK2 upregulates PD-L1 expression in MM cells and myeloid cells. In a mouse model, the combination of NEK2 inhibitor INH154 with PD-L1 blockade effectively eliminates MM cells and prolongs survival. Our results provide strong evidence that NEK2 inhibition may overcome tumor immune escape and support its further clinical development.

Keywords

NEK2; PD-L1; T cell immunity; bone marrow microenvironment; combination therapy; immune checkpoint blockade; interferon gamma gene signature; multiple myeloma; myeloid-derived suppressive cells; tumor-associated macrophages.

Figures
Products
  • Cat. No.
    Product Name
    Description
    Target
    Research Area
  • HY-117154
    99.95%, INH抑制剂