Pparα Ablation Suppresses T Cell Responses and Anti-Tumor Immunity By Compromising the Antigen-Presenting Properties of Tumor-Associated Macrophages

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are transcription factors that belong to nuclear hormone superfamily, with three distinct types identified: PPARapha (PPARα), PPARgamma (PPARγ), and PPARbeta/delta (PPARβ/δ). PPARs possess a critical role in the regulation of lipid metabolism, and thus play critical roles in the differentiation and fate of immune cells. PPARα is involved in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and PPARα agonists, such as fibrates, have been used for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia and cardiovascular diseases. PPARα has an anti-inflammatory role during infection, and similar to PPARγ, affects the polarization of macrophages. In acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), PPARα mutations correlate with chemoresistance, poor treatment outcomes and unfavorable prognosis. In experimental tumor models, it has been proposed that PPARα agonists might enhance anti-tumor T cell responses during PD-1 blocking immunotherapy. To dissect the mechanistic role of PPARα in tumor immunity, we used mice with global deletion of PPARα and examined tumor growth and profile of the immunological landscape, using various syngeneic tumor models. Significantly larger B16-F10 melanoma and MC-17 fibrosarcoma tumors were observed in PPARα KO mice compared with wild-type control, suggesting that PPARα deletion attenuated the immunological response against cancer. To dissect the role of PPARα in key populations of the innate and adaptive immune system involved in anti-tumor responses, we analyzed the immunological landscape of tumor, tumor draining lymph nodes (TDLN) and spleen, 14-16 days after tumor implantation. Assessment of CD4 ⁺ and CD8 ⁺ T cells, CD11b ⁺F4/80 ⁺ tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), CD11b ⁺Ly6C ^hiLy6G ^- monocytic myeloid derived suppressor cells (M-MDSC), and CD11b ⁺Ly6C ^loLy6G ⁺ polymorphonuclear myeloid derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC), by using flow cytometry, showed no quantitative differences between the two experimental groups. Functionally, MDSC from PPARα KO and WT mice showed comparable immunosuppressive properties as determined by suppression assay using splenocytes from OTI transgenic mice. However, PPARα KO TAMs demonstrated a less activated state, as determined by the lower expression levels of MHC-II that is critical for antigen presentation, and CD86 that is critical for T cell costimulation and prevention of T cell anergy and exhaustion. In agreement with these properties of TAMs, CD4 ⁺ T cells from TDLN of PPARα KO mice had diminished expression of activation markers, including PD-1, PD-L1 and ICOS, and numerically decreased central memory-like CD4 ⁺ T cells (T _CM), compared to control tumor bearing mice. Furthermore, CD69, an emerging marker of T cell exhaustion, was significantly upregulated in CD4 ⁺ and CD8 ⁺ T cells from the TDLN of PPARα KO mice. To determine whether PPARα ablation altered the cell intrinsic properties of myeloid cells and/or T cells resulting in impaired anti-tumor function, we examined in vitro responses of isolated populations. In response to activation via TCR/CD3 and CD28, PPARα deficient T cells had no significant differences in expansion and cytokine production compared to control. In contrast, PPARα deficient Ly6C ⁺ monocytes isolated from the bone marrow displayed diminished responses to TLR-mediated signaling as determined by production of IL-6 and TNFα. Our in vitro and in vivo findings reveal a dominant role of PPARα in regulating the fate of innate immune cells thereby altering T cell responses and anti-tumor function. Our findings have implications for the development of new therapeutic approaches to enhance innate immune cell function for the improvement of cancer immunotherapy.