Immunotherapeutic potential of CD4 and CD8 single-positive T cells in thymic epithelial tumors

• Project/Area Number: 18K16419
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 55040:Respiratory surgery-related
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Yamamoto Yoko 大阪大学, 医学部附属病院, 医員 (40814752)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥600,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
• Keywords: 胸腺上皮性腫瘍 / T細胞 / 腫瘍免疫 / 免疫

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Indications for current immune checkpoint inhibitors are expanding and now include thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). Although clinical trials on immune checkpoint inhibitors for TETs are ongoing, a rationale has not yet been established for immunotherapy for TETs. Therefore, we herein performed phenotypic and functional analyses of T cells in surgically resected TET tissues.
By specifically focusing on CD4 and CD8 single-positive T cells, we demonstrated that T cells in B3 thymoma and thymic carcinoma tissues showed favorable characteristics for anti-tumor immunity, including anti-PD-1 therapy. Our current approach will lead to future applications for the establishment of precision medicine for cancer immunotherapy, including rare tumors such as TETs.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の結果から、胸腺上皮性腫瘍の組織型と腫瘍免疫活性とに関連性が認められた。胸腺腫B3および胸腺癌Cでは腫瘍免疫活性が高く、免疫治療が有効となる可能性が示唆された。胸腺上皮性腫瘍に対する免疫療法の基盤となる治験が得られる結果となった。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Immunotherapeutic potential of CD4 and CD8 single-positive T cells in thymic epithelial tumors (2020)
  • Author(s): Yoko Yamamoto, Kota Iwahori, Soichiro Funaki, Mitsunobu Matsumoto, Michinari Hirata, Tetsuya Yoshida, Ryu Kanzaki, Takashi Kanou, Naoko Ose, Masato Minami, Eiichi Sato, Atsushi Kumanogoh, Yasushi Shintani, Meinoshin Okumura, Hisashi Wada
  • Journal Title: Sci Rep Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Pages: 4064-4064
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61053-8
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] 縦隔腫瘍における免疫治療の可能性 (2019)
  • Author(s): 山本 陽子
  • Organizer: 第119回日本外科学会定期学術集会
• [Presentation] Immunotherapeutic potential of CD4 and CD8 single-positive T cells in thymic epithelial tumors. (2019)
  • Author(s): 山本 陽子
  • Organizer: 第60回日本肺癌学会学術集会
• [Presentation] 胸腺上皮性腫瘍についての免疫学的解析 (2018)
  • Author(s): 山本 陽子
  • Organizer: 癌免疫学会
• [Presentation] Immune profile of thymoma and thymic carcinoma (2018)
  • Author(s): 山本 陽子
  • Organizer: 癌学会
• [Presentation] 胸腺上皮性腫瘍の免疫学的解析 (2018)
  • Author(s): 山本 陽子
  • Organizer: 肺癌学会
• [Presentation] Immune profiles of thymic epithelial tumors (2018)
  • Author(s): 山本 陽子
  • Organizer: 胸部外科学会
• [Presentation] 胸腺上皮性腫瘍についての免疫学的解析 (2018)
  • Author(s): 山本 陽子
  • Organizer: 癌免疫外科研究会