Tumor-Derived Gdf-15 Suppresses T-Lymphocyte Recruitment To The Tumor Microenvironment

Background: Growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a remote member of the TGF-β protein family with low to absent expression in healthy tissue. During pregnancy GDF-15 is secreted in high amounts by placenta contributing to feto-maternal tolerance. Similarly, GDF-15 expression is upregulated following tissue injury serving as a key inhibitor of excessive and disruptive immune infiltration. Importantly, various major tumor types secrete high levels of GDF-15 correlating with poor prognosis and reduced overall survival. Methods: In a flow-adhesion assay different immune cell subsets pre-treated +/- GDF-15 were perfused over an activated layer of endothelial cells or recombinant adhesion molecules. Adhesion and transmigration processes were monitored by live imaging microscopy. Impact of a proprietary GDF-15 neutralizing antibody (CTL-002) regarding T cell trafficking were analyzed. In a humanized (CD34+-HPSC engrafted) PDX mouse model inoculated with the PD-L1hi and GDF-15 secreting human melanoma tumor cell line HV18-MK T cell infiltration was analysed +/- CTL-002 by FACS. Results: Adhesion of T cells to the endothelial cell layer was significantly impaired by addition of GDF-15. Among T-cell subsets CD8+ T-cells were most affected while adhesion of other immune cells was not reduced. Inhibitory effects of GDF-15 on CD8+ T-cell adhesion were comparable to potent blockade of LFA-1 by TS1/18 antibody and could be rescued by the anti-GDF-15 antibody CTL-002. In vivo, neutralization of GDF-15 in HV18-MK melanoma-bearing humanized mice by CTL-002 resulted in a strong increase of tumor infiltrating leukocyte numbers. Subset analysis revealed an overproportional enrichment of T-cells, especially CD8+-T cells. Conclusion: Our in vitro and in vivo data show that elevated GDF-15 levels block T-cell infiltration into the tumor tissue. Neutralizing GDF-15 with a proprietary antibody (CTL-002) restored the ability of T cells (especially CD8+-T-cells) to extravasate blood vessels and enter tumor tissue both in vitro and in vivo. As it is known that presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes correlates with better patient outcomes in a multitude of cancers and is a predictor of response to checkpoint inhibitors, high levels of GDF-15 in the tumor may contribute to failure of immunotherapies and poor overall survival. Neutralization of GDF-15 could be a new and promising approach to increase response rates of immunotherapies and increase overall survival of cancer patients. Citation Format: Markus Haake, Neha Vashist, Sabrina Genssler, Kristin H. Eichler, Birgitt Fischer, Jessica Kammer, Paula S. Romer, Manfred Rudiger, Eugen Leo, Falk Nimmerjahn, Christine Schuberth-Wagner, Jorg Wischhusen. Tumor-derived GDF-15 suppresses T-lymphocyte recruitment to the tumor microenvironment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 5597.