Cited by 105Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersProtein Tyrosine PhosphatasesImmune cells in cancer

Combined Inhibition of SHP2 and CXCR1/2 Promotes Antitumor T-cell Response in NSCLC

Open access
Tang, Kwan Ho, Li, Shuai, Khodadadi-Jamayran, Alireza, Jen, Jayu, Han, Han, Guidry, Kayla, Chen, Ting, Hao, Yuan +10 more·2022·Cancer Discovery

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

SHP2 inhibitors (SHP2i) alone and in various combinations are being tested in multiple tumors with overactivation of the RAS/ERK pathway. SHP2 plays critical roles in normal cell signaling; hence, SHP2is could influence the tumor microenvironment. We found that SHP2i treatment depleted alveolar and M2-like macrophages, induced tumor-intrinsic CCL5/CXCL10 secretion, and promoted B and T lymphocyte infiltration in Kras- and Egfr-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, treatment also increased intratumor granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (gMDSC) via tumor-intrinsic, NFκB-dependent production of CXCR2 ligands. Other RAS/ERK pathway inhibitors also induced CXCR2 ligands and gMDSC influx in mice, and CXCR2 ligands were induced in tumors from patients on KRASG12C inhibitor trials. Combined SHP2 (SHP099)/CXCR1/2 (SX682) inhibition depleted a specific cluster of S100a8/9hi gMDSCs, generated Klrg1+ CD8+ effector T cells with a strong cytotoxic phenotype but expressing the checkpoint receptor NKG2A, and enhanced survival in Kras- and Egfr-mutant models. Our results argue for testing RAS/ERK pathway/CXCR1/2/NKG2A inhibitor combinations in patients with NSCLC. Significance: Our study shows that inhibiting the SHP2/RAS/ERK pathway triggers NFκB-dependent upregulation of CXCR2 ligands and recruitment of S100A8hi gMDSCs, which suppress T cells. Combining SHP2/CXCR2 inhibitors blocks gMDSC immigration, resulting in enhanced Th1 polarization, induced CD8+KLRG1+ effector T cells with high cytotoxic activity, and improved survival in multiple NSCLC models. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-21-0369

Cites

73 of 73 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In mouse models, combining SHP2 and/or EGFR inhibitors with SX-682 markedly improved tumour control.

    “Using their mouse models, these researchers also demonstrated that tumour control was markedly improved by combining SHP2 and/or EGFR inhibitors with SX-682, a novel oral small-molecule inhibitor of CXCR1 and CXCR2.”
  • Adagrasib increased CXCL1 and CXCL6 mRNA levels in KRASG12C-mutant cell lines and increased gMDSC infiltration in preclinical models.

    “Tang et al.159 also showed that adagrasib increased CXCL1 and CXCL6 mRNA levels (both encoding ligands of CXCR1/2) in KRASG12C-mutant cell lines, as well as tumour infiltration by gMDSCs in preclinical models.”
  • Oncogenic KRAS promotes immune escape by fostering an immunosuppressive TME that can be mitigated through SHP2 inhibition, albeit subject to resistance mediated by CXCR2 signalling.

    “These findings suggest that oncogenic KRAS promotes immune escape by fostering an immunosuppressive TME that can be mitigated through SHP2 inhibition — albeit subject to resistance mediated by CXCR2 signalling, which could potentially be a target of combinatorial strategies159”
  • Analyses of matched pre-treatment and post-treatment biopsies provided evidence of adagrasib's effects in patients with NSCLC.

    “Furthermore, analyses of matched pre-treatment and post-treatment biopsy samples provided evidence of these effects of adagrasib in patients with NSCLC159, highlighting the promise of combining CXCR1/2 inhibitors with KRAS inhibition.”
  • Inhibiting the RAS-MAPK pathway can cause CXCL1/CXCL5-dependent infiltration of KRAS-mutant NSCLC by gMDSCs, and depleting these cells increases cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the tumour microenvironment.

    “As noted previously, Tang et al.159 discovered that RAS–MAPK pathway inhibition can result in CXCL1/CXCL5-dependent infiltration of KRAS-mutant NSCLCs by gMDSCs, depletion of which markedly increases accumulation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the TME.”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 74 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Tang, K. H., Li, S., Khodadadi-Jamayran, A., Jen, J., Han, H., Guidry, K., Chen, T., Hao, Y., Fedele, C., Zebala, J. A., Maeda, D. Y., Christensen, J. G., Olson, P., Athanas, A., Loomis, C. A., Tsirigos, A., Wong, K.-K., & Neel, B. G.
Affiliations
  • NYU Langone Health (US)
  • 2Applied Bioinformatics Laboratories, Office of Science and Research, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York.
  • New York University (US)
  • 3Syntrix Pharmaceuticals, Auburn, Washington.
  • Mirati Therapeutics (United States) (US)
  • 5Monoceros Biosystems, Inc., San Diego, California.
Corresponding author
  • Tang, Kwan Ho
  • Wong, Kwok-Kin
  • Neel, Benjamin G.
Venue
Cancer Discovery
Published
2021-08-05
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
47-61
ISSN
  • 2159-8274 (ISSN-L)
  • 2159-8290
OpenAlex
W3191958191
Cited by
105
References
74
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 2
FWCI
6.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cancer Discovery (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (CA49152, CA248896, CA016087)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immune cells in cancer
Keywords
SHP2 inhibition, non-small cell lung cancer, Ras/ERK pathway, M2 macrophages, granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells, S100A8/S100A9, NKG2A, NF-κB signaling, KRAS mutation, EGFR mutation, combination therapy, antitumor T-cell responses, Th1 polarization
MeSH terms
Animals, Antineoplastic Agents, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung, Enzyme Inhibitors, Humans, Lung Neoplasms, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Receptors, Interleukin-8B, Cell Line, Tumor, Mice, Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 11, Tumor Microenvironment

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review