Traci Hoke

Publications (2)5.91 Total impact

• Article: Tumor- and organ-dependent infiltration by myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

  Ibrahim Younos, Moses Donkor, Traci Hoke, Alicia Dafferner, Holly Samson, Sherry Westphal, James Talmadge
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  ABSTRACT: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) increase during tumor growth and following cytoreductive therapy resulting in immune dysfunction and tumor escape from host control. We report organ- and tumor-specific expansion of MDSCs, differences in their molecular and membrane phenotypes and T-cell suppressive activity. A significant increase in MDSCs was observed within the spleen, peripheral blood (PB), bone marrow (BM), lungs, and livers of mice bearing orthotopic 4T1, but not CI66 mammary tumors. The PB of 4T1 TB mice had the highest frequency of MDSCs (78.6±2.1%). Similarly, the non-parenchymal cells (NPCs) in the tumor tissue, livers and lungs of 4T1 tumor-bearing (TB) mice had an increased MDSCs frequency. Studies into Gr-1 and Ly-6C staining of MDSCs revealed significant increases in CD11b+Gr-1(dull)Ly-6C(high) and CD11b+Gr-1(bright)Ly-6C(low) subsets. The frequency of MDSCs inversely correlated with the CD3+ T-cell frequency in the spleen, and blood of 4T1 TB mice and was associated with a significant decrease in splenic and NPCs IFN-γ and IL-12 transcript levels, as well as significantly increased levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), stem cell factor (SCF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-13 (IL-13), arginase-1 (ARG-1), nitric oxide synthase (NOS-2), vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) transcripts. In summary, MDSCs are significantly increased not only in lymphoid organs, but also in parenchymal organs including lungs and livers of TB mice, where they may facilitate metastasis to these organ sites.
  International immunopharmacology 03/2011; 11(7):816-26. · 2.21 Impact Factor
• Article: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells in mammary tumor progression in FVB Neu transgenic mice.

  Fuminori Abe, Alicia J Dafferner, Moses Donkor, Sherry N Westphal, Eric M Scholar, Joyce C Solheim, Rakesh K Singh, Traci A Hoke, James E Talmadge
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  ABSTRACT: Female mice transgenic for the rat proto-oncogene c-erb-B2, under control of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) promoter (neuN), spontaneously develop metastatic mammary carcinomas. The development of these mammary tumors is associated with increased number of GR-1(+)CD11b(+) myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the peripheral blood (PB), spleen and tumor. We report a complex relationship between tumor growth, MDSCs and immune regulatory molecules in non-mutated neu transgenic mice on a FVB background (FVB-neuN). The first and second tumors in FVB-neuN mice develop at a median of 265 (147-579) and 329 (161-523) days, respectively, resulting in a median survival time (MST) of 432 (201 to >500) days. During tumor growth, significantly increased number of MDSCs is observed in the PB and spleen, as well as, in infiltrating the mammary tumors. Our results demonstrate a direct correlation between tumor size and the number of MDSCs infiltrating the tumor and an inverse relationship between the frequency of CD4(+) T-cells and MDSCs in the spleen. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assessment of enzyme and cytokine transcript levels in the spleen, tumor, tumor-infiltrating non-parenchymal cells (NPCs) and mammary glands revealed a significant increase in transcript levels from grossly normal mammary glands and tumor-infiltrating NPCs during tumor progression. Tumor NPCs, as compared to spleen cells from wild-type (w/t) mice, expressed significantly higher levels of arginase-1 (ARG-1), nitric oxide synthase (NOS-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) and significantly lower levels of interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-2 and fms-like tyrosine kinase-3 ligand (Flt3L) transcript levels. Transcript levels in the spleens of tumor-bearing (TB) mice also differed from normal mice, although to a lesser extent than transcript levels from tumor-infiltrating NPCs. Furthermore, both spleen cells and NPCs from TB mice, but not control mice, suppressed alloantigen responses by syngeneic control spleen cells. Correlative studies revealed that the number of MDSCs in the spleen was directly associated with granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) transcript levels in the spleen; while the number of MDSCs in the tumors was directly correlated with splenic granulocyte macrophage stimulating factor (GM-CSF) transcript levels, tumor volume and tumor cell number. Together our results support a role for MDSCs in tumor initiation and progressive, T-cell depression and loss of function provide evidence which support multiple mechanisms of MDSC expansion in a site-dependent manner.
  Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy 06/2009; 59(1):47-62. · 3.70 Impact Factor