Abstract A226: Cell-free membrane reconstitution system for cis and trans interaction of T-cell co-receptors and ligands

Abstract

Immunotherapy, which harnesses the immune system to combat cancers, is a paradigm-shifting approach in oncology. One important branch of immunotherapy is to use drugs to perturb molecular interactions at the T-cell–antigen presenting cell (APC) interface. In particular, antibodies that block the T-cell coinhibitory receptor PD-1 or its ligand PD-L1 have produced unprecedented clinical activities against a subset of human cancers in a fraction of patients. Extending immunotherapy to a larger patient population requires a better understanding of the interaction network at the T-cell-APC interface. Typically, it is believed that ligands from APCs bind to receptors on T-cells (in trans) to trigger intracellular signaling. A largely overlooked fact is that many receptors often co-exist with ligands on T-cells and APCs, including PD-1/PD-L1 and CD28/B7.1. Using novel reconstitution approaches, we recently discovered that co-expressed PD- 1 and PD-L1 bind to each other in cis and this cis interaction competes with their trans interaction to inhibit PD-1 signaling. We hypothesize that cis interaction occurs with many other ligand-receptor pairs and may regulate other aspects of tumor immunity by perturbing their trans interactions. We are currently using our robust reconstitution systems to ask whether other immunoreceptors and ligands interact in cis and how the putative cis interaction affect their trans interactions. Specifically, to detect cis interaction, we co-attach the ligand and receptor to liposomes, and probe their cis interaction using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) readout. To detect trans interaction, we have developed a liposome-lipid bilayer conjugation assay, in which binding between ligand- labeled liposomes and receptor-labeled supported lipid bilayer (SLB) is used as an index for trans interaction. To determine whether cis interaction inhibits trans interaction, we ask in the liposome-bilayer system if addition of receptor on liposomes decreases liposome-SLB conjugation. Our preliminary data revealed that CD28 only binds B7.1 in trans, but not in cis. In contrast, PD-1 binds with PD-L1 both in cis and trans, and the two modes of interaction compete with each other. Further experiments in cells confirmed our finding in vitro, demonstrating the utility of our cell-free reconstitution systems in detecting cis and trans interaction of T-cell co-receptors. Insights from this study will help us clarify the ligand-receptor interaction network at the immunological synapse. Citation Format: Yunlong Zhao, Enfu Hui. Cell-free membrane reconstitution system for cis and trans interaction of T-cell co-receptors and ligands [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fourth CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; Sept 30-Oct 3, 2018; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2019;7(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A226.