EBV+ tumors exploit tumor cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic mechanisms to produce regulatory T cell-recruiting chemokines CCL17 and CCL22

The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is involved in the etiology of multiple hematologic and epithelial human cancers. EBV+ tumors employ multiple immune escape mechanisms, including the recruitment of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (T-reg). Here, we show some EBV+ tumor cells express high levels of the chemokines CCL17 and CCL22 both in vitro and in vivo and that this expression mirrors the expression levels of expression of the EBV LMP1 gene in vitro. Patient samples from lymphoblastic (Hodgkin lymphoma) and epithelial (nasopharyngeal carcinoma; NPC) EBV+ tumors revealed CCL17 and CCL22 expression of both tumor cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic origin, depending on tumor type. NPCs grown as mouse xenografts likewise showed both mechanisms of chemokine production. Single cell RNA-sequencing revealed in vivo tumor cell-intrinsic CCL17 and CCL22 expression combined with expression from infiltrating classical resident and migratory dendritic cells in a CT26 colon cancer mouse tumor engineered to express LMP1. These data suggest that EBV-driven tumors employ dual mechanisms for CCL17 and CCL22 production. Importantly, both in vitro and in vivo T-reg migration was effectively blocked by a novel, small molecule antagonist of CCR4, CCR4-351. Antagonism of the CCR4 receptor may thus be an effective means of activating the immune response against a wide spectrum of EBV+ tumors. Author summary The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is associated with many cancers worldwide, including both lymphomas and solid tumors. EBV+ tumors have been reported to have increased numbers of infiltrating regulatory T cells (T-reg), a cell type that counteracts the body's natural antitumor response. Here we show that EBV+ tumors actually have amongst the highest levels of T-reg of all human tumors, as well as having very high levels of the chemokines CCL17 and CCL22, signaling molecules that promote the migration of T-reg. We found that CCL17 and CCL22 production in different EBV+ tumor cell lines mirrored the levels of production of the EBV protein LMP1, and that the LMP1 gene on its own was sufficient to trigger chemokine expression and T-reg migration into a mouse tumor model. Depending on the particular EBV+ tumor type, this CCL17 and CCL22 expression could be coming from the tumor cells themselves, infiltrating host immune cells, or a combination of the two. A recently developed drug that blocks the activity of CCL17 and CCL22 blocked T-reg migration into EBV+ and LMP1(+) tumors, suggesting that this may be part of an effective treatment for EBV+ tumors in the clinic, helping to reduce the over 140,000 annual deaths from this group of cancers.

Automated summary

The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is involved in the development of various types of cancers. EBV+ tumors can recruit immunosuppressive regulatory T cells and express high levels of chemokines CCL17 and CCL22. The expression of these chemokines can come from both tumor cells and infiltrating immune cells. A recently discovered small molecule antagonist of CCR4 can effectively block T-reg migration, which may provide a potential treatment for EBV+ tumors.