Abstract

Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) has arisen as an important tool for immuno-profiling tumor tissues. We updated our manual protocol into an automated protocol that allows the use of up to seven markers in five mIF panels to apply to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. Using a tyramide signal amplification system, we optimized five mIF panels that included cytokeratin to characterize malignant cells (MCs), immune checkpoint markers (i.e., PD-L1, B7-H3, B7-H4, IDO-1, VISTA, LAG3, ICOS, TIM3, and OX40), tumor-infiltrating lymphocytic markers (i.e., CD3, CD8, CD45RO, granzyme B, PD-1, and FOXP3), and markers to characterize myeloid-derived suppressor cells (i.e., CD68, CD66b, CD14, CD33, Arg-1, and CD11b). To determine analytical reproducibility and the impact of those panels for immuno-profiling tumor tissues, we performed an exploratory analysis in a set of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) samples. The slides were scanned, and the different cell phenotypes were quantified by simultaneous co-localizations with the markers using image analysis software. Comparison between the time points of staining showed high analytical reproducibility. The analysis of NSCLC cases showed an immunosuppressive microenvironment with PD-L1/PD-1 expression as a predominant axis. Interestingly, high density of MCs expressing B7-H4 was correlated with recurrence. Unexpectedly, MCs expressing OX40 were also detected, and those cells were a closer distance to CD3+T-cells than were MCs expressing other immune checkpoints. Two different cellular patterns of spatial distribution were determined according the CD3 distribution, and the predominant pattern was related with active immunosuppressive interaction with MCs. Our study shows that these five mIF panels can identify multiple targets in a single cell with high reproducibility. The study of different cell populations and their spatial relationship can open new ideas for therapeutic approaches.

Details

Title
Immuno-profiling and cellular spatial analysis using five immune oncology multiplex immunofluorescence panels for paraffin tumor tissue
Author
Parra, Edwin Roger 1 ; Ferrufino-Schmidt, Maria C 1 ; Auriole, Tamegnon 1 ; Zhang, Jiexin 2 ; Solis, Luisa 1 ; Jiang, Mei 1 ; Ibarguen Heladio 1 ; Haymaker Cara 1 ; Jack, Lee J 3 ; Bernatchez Chantale 4 ; Wistuba, Ignacio Ivan 1 

 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, Unit 951, Houston, USA (GRID:grid.240145.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2291 4776) 
 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Houston, USA (GRID:grid.240145.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2291 4776) 
 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Biostatistics, Houston, USA (GRID:grid.240145.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2291 4776) 
 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Houston, USA (GRID:grid.240145.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2291 4776) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2514871713
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.