Background aims: Although chemotherapy and anti-PD-L1 antibodies are the standard of care for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), resistance is common and limits durable benefits for patients. This hurdle underscores the urgent need to innovate combination approaches that promote durable immunity in patients. Mek inhibitors (MEKi) have shown potential to enhance immunotherapy in CCA models, but early clinical trials combining MEKi with anti-PD-L1 therapy have yielded suboptimal results.
Approach results: We hypothesized that addition of CD27 agonist would salvage MEKi-induced T cell impairment and reduce CCA burden in vivo. We show CD27 agonism potentiates T cell activation in the presence of MEKi in vitro. Further, triple therapy with CD27 agonist, anti-PD-L1, and MEKi elicit efficacy in a subcutaneous CCA model, accompanied by increases in tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells with memory phenotypes. Although triple therapy enhanced CD8+ T cell infiltration in mice with orthotopic CCA liver tumors, its impact on overall survival was less pronounced. Further investigation revealed orthotopic CCA tumors harbored more CD11b+Gr-1+ cells when compared to either subcutaneous CCA tumors, or to normal liver. Finally, in mice with orthotopic CCA tumors treated with triple therapy, depletion of Gr-1+ cells triggered severe toxicity, characterized by rapid weight loss and uncontrolled systemic and hepatic inflammation.
Conclusions: These findings identify myeloid cells as key mediators of both immunotherapy resistance and toxicity in CCA, highlighting the critical importance of tumor site and use of physiologically relevant pre-clinical models when evaluating immunotherapy strategies.
Keywords: CD27; MEK inhibition; PD-L1; agonist antibody; biliary tract cancer; immune checkpoint blockade; immunotherapy; myeloid cells.
Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.