Acyl-coenzyme a binding protein (ACBP) - a risk factor for cancer diagnosis and an inhibitor of immunosurveillance
Léa Montégut, Peng Liu, Liwei Zhao, María Pérez-Lanzón, Hui Chen, Misha Mao, Shuai Zhang, Lisa Derosa, Julie Le Naour, Flavia Lambertucci, Silvia Mingoia, Uxía Nogueira-Recalde, Rafael Mena‐Osuna, Irene Herranz-Montoya, Nabil Djouder, Sylvain Baulande, Hui Pan, Adrien Joseph, Meriem Messaoudene, Bertrand Routy, Marine Fidelle, T. Ben Ahmed, Olivier Caron, Pierre Busson, David Boulate, Mélanie Deschasaux, Nathalie Arnault, Jonathan Pol, Eliane Piaggio, Mathilde Touvier, Laurence Zitvogel, Suzette Delaloge, Isabelle Martins, Guido Kroemer
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The plasma concentrations of acyl coenzyme A binding protein (ACBP, also known as diazepam-binding inhibitor, DBI, or 'endozepine') increase with age and obesity, two parameters that are also amongst the most important risk factors for cancer. METHODS: We measured ACBP/DBI in the plasma from cancer-free individuals, high-risk patients like the carriers of TP53 or BRCA1/2 mutations, and non-syndromic healthy subjects who later developed cancer. In mice, the neutralization of ACBP/DBI was used in models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and breast cancer development and as a combination treatment with chemoimmunotherapy (chemotherapy + PD-1 blockade) in the context of NSCLC and sarcomas. The anticancer T cell response upon ACBP/DBI neutralization was characterized by flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing. RESULTS: Circulating levels of ACBP/DBI were higher in patients with genetic cancer predisposition (BRCA1/2 or TP53 germline mutations) than in matched controls. In non-syndromic cases, high ACBP/DBI levels were predictive of future cancer development, and especially elevated in patients who later developed lung cancer. In preclinical models, ACBP/DBI neutralization slowed down breast cancer and NSCLC development and enhanced the efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy in NSCLC and sarcoma models. When combined with chemoimmunotherapy, the neutralizing monoclonal antibody against ACBP/DBI reduced the frequency of regulatory T cells in the tumor bed, modulated the immune checkpoint profile, and increased activation markers. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that ACBP/DBI acts as an endogenous immune suppressor. We conclude that elevation of ACBP/DBI constitutes a risk factor for the development of cancer and that ACBP/DBI is an actionable target for improving cancer immunosurveillance.