Multimodal pooled Perturb-CITE-seq screens in patient models define mechanisms of cancer immune evasion

Nat Genet. 2021 Mar;53(3):332-341. doi: 10.1038/s41588-021-00779-1. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Abstract

Resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is a key challenge in cancer therapy. To elucidate underlying mechanisms, we developed Perturb-CITE-sequencing (Perturb-CITE-seq), enabling pooled clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas9 perturbations with single-cell transcriptome and protein readouts. In patient-derived melanoma cells and autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) co-cultures, we profiled transcriptomes and 20 proteins in ~218,000 cells under ~750 perturbations associated with cancer cell-intrinsic ICI resistance (ICR). We recover known mechanisms of resistance, including defects in the interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-JAK/STAT and antigen-presentation pathways in RNA, protein and perturbation space, and new ones, including loss/downregulation of CD58. Loss of CD58 conferred immune evasion in multiple co-culture models and was downregulated in tumors of melanoma patients with ICR. CD58 protein expression was not induced by IFN-γ signaling, and CD58 loss conferred immune evasion without compromising major histocompatibility complex (MHC) expression, suggesting that it acts orthogonally to known mechanisms of ICR. This work provides a framework for the deciphering of complex mechanisms by large-scale perturbation screens with multimodal, single-cell readouts, and discovers potentially clinically relevant mechanisms of immune evasion.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • CD58 Antigens / genetics
  • CD58 Antigens / immunology*
  • CD58 Antigens / metabolism
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Coculture Techniques
  • Computational Biology / methods
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / immunology*
  • Epitopes / genetics
  • Gene Knockout Techniques
  • Humans
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Interferon-gamma / immunology
  • Interferon-gamma / metabolism
  • Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / pathology
  • Melanoma / drug therapy
  • Melanoma / immunology
  • Melanoma / pathology*
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • Single-Cell Analysis / methods*
  • Tumor Escape* / genetics

Substances

  • CD58 Antigens
  • Epitopes
  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
  • Interferon-gamma