Targeting tumor-associated immune suppression with selective protein kinase A type I (PKAI) inhibitors may enhance cancer immunotherapy.

Despite the tremendous progress in last few years, the cancer immunotherapy has not yet improved disease-free because of the tumor-associated immune suppression being a major barrier. Novel trends to enhance cancer immunotherapy aims at harnessing the therapeutic manipulation of signaling pathways mediating the tumor-associated immune suppression, with the general aims of: (a) reversing the tumor immune suppression; (b) enhancing the innate and adaptive components of anti-tumor immunosurveillance, and (c) protecting immune cells from the suppressive effects of T regulatory cells (Tregs) and the tumor-derived immunoinhibitory mediators. A particular striking example in this context is the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase A type I (PKAI) pathway. Oncogenic cAMP/PKAI signaling has long been implicated in the initiation and progression of several human cancers. Emerging data indicate that cAMP/PKAI signaling also contributes to tumor- and Tregs-derived suppression of innate and adaptive arms of anti-tumor immunosurveillance. Therapeutically, selective PKAI inhibitors have been developed which have shown promising anti-cancer activity in pre-clinical and clinical settings. Rp-8-Br-cAMPS is a selective PKAI antagonist that is widely used as a biochemical tool in signal transduction research. Collateral data indicate that Rp-8-Br-cAMPS has shown immune-rescuing potential in terms of enhancing the innate and adaptive anti-tumor immunity, as well as protecting adaptive T cells from the suppressive effects of Tregs. Therefore, this proposal specifically implicates that combining selective PKAI antagonists/inhibitors with cancer immunotherapy may have multifaceted benefits, such as rescuing the endogenous anti-tumor immunity, enhancing the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, and direct anti-cancer effects.

Targeting of type I protein kinase A to lipid rafts is required for platelet inhibition by the 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate-signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Platelet adhesion to von Willebrand factor (VWF) is modulated by 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling through protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation of glycoprotein (GP)Ibß. A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) are proposed to control the localization and substrate specificity of individual PKA isoforms. However, the role of PKA isoforms in regulating the phosphorylation of GPIbß and platelet response to VWF is unknown. OBJECTIVES: We wished to determine the role of PKA isoforms in the phosphorylation of GPIbß and platelet activation by VWF as a model for exploring the selective partitioning of cAMP signaling in platelets. RESULTS: The two isoforms of PKA in platelets, type I (PKA-I) and type II (PKA-II), were differentially localized, with a small pool of PKA-I found in lipid rafts. Using a combination of Far Western blotting, immunoprecipitation, proximity ligation assay and cAMP pull-down we identified moesin as an AKAP that potentially localizes PKA-I to rafts. Introduction of cell-permeable anchoring disruptor peptide, RI anchoring disruptor (RIAD-Arg11 ), to block PKA-I/AKAP interactions, uncoupled PKA-RI from moesin, displaced PKA-RI from rafts and reduced kinase activity in rafts. Examination of GPIbß demonstrated that it was phosphorylated in response to low concentrations of PGI2 in a PKA-dependent manner and occurred primarily in lipid raft fractions. RIAD-Arg11 caused a significant reduction in raft-localized phosphoGPIbß and diminished the ability of PGI2 to regulate VWF-mediated aggregation and thrombus formation in vitro. CONCLUSION: We propose that PKA-I-specific AKAPs in platelets, including moesin, organize a selective localization of PKA-I required for phosphorylation of GPIbß and contribute to inhibition of platelet VWF interactions.

PKA-type I selective constrained peptide disruptors of AKAP complexes.

A-Kinase Anchoring Proteins (AKAPs) coordinate complex signaling events by serving as spatiotemporal modulators of cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity in cells. Although AKAPs organize a plethora of diverse pathways, their cellular roles are often elusive due to the dynamic nature of these signaling complexes. AKAPs can interact with the type I or type II PKA holoenzymes by virtue of high-affinity interactions with the R-subunits. As a means to delineate AKAP-mediated PKA signaling in cells, we sought to develop isoform-selective disruptors of AKAP signaling. Here, we report the development of conformationally constrained peptides named RI-STapled Anchoring Disruptors (RI-STADs) that target the docking/dimerization domain of the type 1 regulatory subunit of PKA. These high-affinity peptides are isoform-selective for the RI isoforms, can outcompete binding by the classical AKAP disruptor Ht31, and can selectively displace RIα, but not RIIα, from binding the dual-specific AKAP149 complex. Importantly, these peptides are cell-permeable and disrupt Type I PKA-mediated phosphorylation events in the context of live cells. Hence, RI-STAD peptides are versatile cellular tools to selectively probe anchored type I PKA signaling events.

Selective inhibition of KCa3.1 channels mediates adenosine regulation of the motility of human T cells.

Adenosine, a purine nucleoside, is present at high concentrations in tumors, where it contributes to the failure of immune cells to eliminate cancer cells. The mechanisms responsible for the immunosuppressive properties of adenosine are not fully understood. We tested the hypothesis that adenosine's immunosuppressive functions in human T lymphocytes are in part mediated via modulation of ion channels. The activity of T lymphocytes relies on ion channels. KCa3.1 and Kv1.3 channels control cytokine release and, together with TRPM7, regulate T cell motility. Adenosine selectively inhibited KCa3.1, but not Kv1.3 and TRPM7, in activated human T cells. This effect of adenosine was mainly mediated by A2A receptors, as KCa3.1 inhibition was reversed by SCH58261 (selective A2A receptor antagonist), but not by MRS1754 (A2B receptor antagonist), and it was mimicked by the A2A receptor agonist CGS21680. Furthermore, it was mediated by the cAMP/protein kinase A isoform (PKAI) signaling pathway, as adenylyl-cyclase and PKAI inhibition prevented adenosine effect on KCa3.1. The functional implication of the effect of adenosine on KCa3.1 was determined by measuring T cell motility on ICAM-1 surfaces. Adenosine and CGS21680 inhibited T cell migration. Comparable effects were obtained by KCa3.1 blockade with TRAM-34. Furthermore, the effect of adenosine on cell migration was abolished by pre-exposure to TRAM-34. Additionally, adenosine suppresses IL-2 secretion via KCa3.1 inhibition. Our data indicate that adenosine inhibits KCa3.1 in human T cells via A2A receptor and PKAI, thereby resulting in decreased T cell motility and cytokine release. This mechanism is likely to contribute to decreased immune surveillance in solid tumors.

Inhibition of T cell activation by cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate requires lipid raft targeting of protein kinase A type I by the A-kinase anchoring protein ezrin.

cAMP negatively regulates T cell immune responses by activation of type I protein kinase A (PKA), which in turn phosphorylates and activates C-terminal Src kinase (Csk) in T cell lipid rafts. Using yeast two-hybrid screening, far-Western blot, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescense analyses, and small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown, we identified Ezrin as the A-kinase anchoring protein that targets PKA type I to lipid rafts. Furthermore, Ezrin brings PKA in proximity to its downstream substrate Csk in lipid rafts by forming a multiprotein complex consisting of PKA/Ezrin/Ezrin-binding protein 50, Csk, and Csk-binding protein/phosphoprotein associated with glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomains. The complex is initially present in immunological synapses when T cells contact APCs and subsequently exits to the distal pole. Introduction of an anchoring disruptor peptide (Ht31) into T cells competes with Ezrin binding to PKA and thereby releases the cAMP/PKA type I-mediated inhibition of T cell proliferation. Finally, small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of Ezrin abrogates cAMP regulation of IL-2. We propose that Ezrin is essential in the assembly of the cAMP-mediated regulatory pathway that modulates T cell immune responses.