KRAS withdrawal in Cholangiocarcinoma leads to immune infiltration and tumor regression

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a liver cancer with poor survival rates. Current treatments, including targeted therapies for specific mutations, are limited and benefit only a small subset of patients. KRAS mutations are found in 15-40% of CCA, representing a new potential treatment target. Whether KRAS inhibition leads to CCA tumor regression is unknown partly due to the lack of conditional animal models.

We engineered a conditional Kras ^G12D -driven CCA mouse model by co-delivering plasmids encoding the Sleeping Beauty transposase with a luciferase reporter, a transposon-borne inducible Kras ^G12D transgene and Cas9 and Trp53 guide RNA into mouse liver by hydrodynamic tail-vein injection. In vivo bioluminescent imaging showed that Kras ^G12D withdrawal resulted in 99% tumor regression by day 7. Kras ^G12D withdrawal resulted in infiltration of activated CD8 ⁺ T cells by IHC and IF staining. Single cell RNA-Seq result also validated the enrichment of activated CD8 ⁺ T cells subpopulation in Kras ^G12D -withdrawn tumor. RNA-Seq suggested that Kras ^G12D withdrawal stimulated transforming growth factor beta pathway and induced senescence. We used cytokine array to characterize the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors, including IL-15 and Ccl17, upon Kras ^G12D withdrawal. Lentiviral overexpression of murine CCL17 delayed CCA tumor progression in a xenograft model, and overexpression of murine IL-15 resulted in tumor regression in a transplant model. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that IL-15 and CCL17 recruited and activated CD8 ⁺ T cells in CCA tumor. Expression of IL-15 resulted in blockade of tumor progression in our TKP CCA model.

Kras ^G12D withdrawal results in rapid tumor regression, highlighting the importance of oncogenic Kras in CCA tumor maintenance. Kras ^G12D withdrawal induces p53-independent senescence, secretion of pro-inflammatory factors, and immune surveillance by activated CD8 ⁺ T cells. We identified two secreted factors IL-15 and CCL17 that could recruit and activate T cells and control CCA tumor progression. This study underscores KRAS inhibition as a potential therapeutic approach for CCA.