Inhibition of estrogen signaling in myeloid cells increases tumor immunity in melanoma.

dc.contributor.author

Chakraborty, Binita

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Byemerwa, Jovita

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Shepherd, Jonathan

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Haines, Corinne N

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Baldi, Robert

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Gong, Weida

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Liu, Wen

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Mukherjee, Debarati

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Artham, Sandeep

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Lim, Felicia

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Bae, Yeeun

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Brueckner, Olivia

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Tavares, Kendall

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Wardell, Suzanne E

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Hanks, Brent A

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Perou, Charles M

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Chang, Ching-Yi

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McDonnell, Donald P

dc.date.accessioned

2022-02-04T15:01:21Z

dc.date.available

2022-02-04T15:01:21Z

dc.date.issued

2021-12

dc.date.updated

2022-02-04T15:01:20Z

dc.description.abstract

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies have significantly prolonged patient survival across multiple tumor types, particularly in melanoma. Interestingly, sex-specific differences in response to ICB have been observed, with males receiving a greater benefit from ICB than females, although the mechanism or mechanisms underlying this difference are unknown. Mining published transcriptomic data sets, we determined that the response to ICBs is influenced by the functionality of intratumoral macrophages. This puts into context our observation that estrogens (E2) working through the estrogen receptor α (ERα) stimulated melanoma growth in murine models by skewing macrophage polarization toward an immune-suppressive state that promoted CD8+ T cell dysfunction and exhaustion and ICB resistance. This activity was not evident in mice harboring macrophage-specific depletion of ERα, confirming a direct role for estrogen signaling within myeloid cells in establishing an immunosuppressed state. Inhibition of ERα using fulvestrant, a selective estrogen receptor downregulator (SERD), decreased tumor growth, stimulated adaptive immunity, and increased the antitumor efficacy of ICBs. Further, a gene signature that determines ER activity in macrophages predicted survival in patients with melanoma treated with ICB. These results highlight the importance of E2/ER signaling as a regulator of intratumoral macrophage polarization, an activity that can be therapeutically targeted to reverse immune suppression and increase ICB efficacy.

dc.identifier

151347

dc.identifier.issn

0021-9738

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1558-8238

dc.identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/24335

dc.language

eng

dc.publisher

American Society for Clinical Investigation

dc.relation.ispartof

The Journal of clinical investigation

dc.relation.isversionof

10.1172/jci151347

dc.subject

CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes

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Cell Line, Tumor

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Macrophages

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Myeloid Cells

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Immune System

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Animals

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Mice, Inbred C57BL

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Humans

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Mice

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Melanoma

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Melanoma, Experimental

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Skin Neoplasms

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Neoplasm Metastasis

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Receptors, Estrogen

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Estrogen Receptor alpha

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RNA, Small Cytoplasmic

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Estrogens

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Signal Transduction

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Female

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Tumor Microenvironment

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Fulvestrant

dc.title

Inhibition of estrogen signaling in myeloid cells increases tumor immunity in melanoma.

dc.type

Journal article

duke.contributor.orcid

Wardell, Suzanne E|0000-0002-5792-1447

duke.contributor.orcid

Hanks, Brent A|0000-0002-2803-3272

duke.contributor.orcid

Chang, Ching-Yi|0000-0003-2115-9574

duke.contributor.orcid

McDonnell, Donald P|0000-0002-7331-4700

pubs.issue

23

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Duke

pubs.organisational-group

School of Medicine

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Basic Science Departments

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Clinical Science Departments

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Institutes and Centers

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Pharmacology & Cancer Biology

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Medicine

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Medicine, Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nutrition

pubs.organisational-group

Medicine, Medical Oncology

pubs.organisational-group

Duke Cancer Institute

pubs.publication-status

Published

pubs.volume

131

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