IL-18 derived from microwave-ablated osteosarcoma facilitates antitumor response

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents, while no further improvement in survival has been achieved in the past few decades. Microwave ablation (MWA) is an emerging thermal therapy to ablate malignant bone tumors that induces antitumor immunity, while intrinsic mechanisms remain elusive. This study uncovered that MWA treatment promoted interleukin (IL)-18 expression and enhanced the dendritic cell (DC) functions, as well as CD8⁺ T cells infiltration. Combining IL-18 and anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) displayed the additive tumor suppression effects.

MWA treated OSA was co-cultured with bone marrow dendritic cells (BMDC) in vitro. RNA-sequencing was performed to analyze the intrinsic mechanism of BMDC after stimulated with MWA treated OSA. Mouse model of primary osteosarcoma of the femur was established for in vivo immune response evaluation, and this model was used to measure the additive tumor eradication of IL-18 and anti-PD-1 combination therapy.

MWA promoted the activation, antigen uptake and antigen cross-presentation of BMDCs. Mouse models demonstrated that MWA treatment could elevate the proportion of CD8⁺ T cells and CD11c⁺DCs both in tumors and draining lymph nodes. The tumor suppression was mediated through the release of IL-18 by MWA-treated OSA and interaction with the IL-18 receptor on DCs, which was reversed after anti-IL-18 antibodies application. Besides, IL-18 cytokine exerted the tumor eradication effect and showed the additive role against OSA when combining anti-PD-1 therapy.

Our study demonstrated a critical role of IL-18-mediated signaling in the induction of protective immune responses against OSA, which provided a novel mechanism to the explanation of MWA-induced immune activation, and IL-18 cytokine treatment could be considered a feasible, effective therapeutic approach for OSA in the clinic.