# Improving immunotherapies to melanoma through modulation of MAIT cell activation by the microbiome

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2020 · $181,741

## Abstract

Project Summary
The composition of microorganisms that inhabit the gut, known as the gut microbiome, has been strongly
associated with the pathogenesis of several diseases including cancer, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.
Notably, several high-profile studies have recently reported that the composition of the gut microbiome is
correlated with responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in human cancer patients. While these studies have
proposed several mechanisms accounting for this phenomenon, a specific set of cellular and molecular
interactions that explains these responses remains to be elucidated. One possible mechanism is through the
immunologic recognition of the byproducts of microbial metabolism. Mucosal-associated invariant T cells
(MAITs) are an abundant, highly-conserved subset of innate-like T cells that recognize products of microbial
riboflavin synthesis presented by the non-polymorphic HLA-like molecule MR1. In animal models, mice grown
in germfree conditions have a significant reduction in MAIT cells and the introduction of bacteria with high
production of riboflavin drastically increases MAIT cell frequency and activation. Our preliminary data indicate
that MAIT cells are found in human melanoma tumors. Furthermore, we found that patients with stage III/IV
melanoma have significantly decreased frequencies of MAIT cells amongst their PBMCs, which can be
reversed upon anti-PD1 immunotherapy treatment in responsive patients but not in non-responsive patients.
Furthermore, we have found that the tumors of responding patients have increased expression of MR1 mRNA
compared to non-responders. Interestingly, responsive patients also show increased relative abundance of
riboflavin-synthesizing bacteria in their gut microbiome compared to non-responders. Two key questions arise
from these observations. First, is the frequency or activation of MAIT cells driven by riboflavin-synthesizing
bacteria in the gut microbiome? Second, do MAIT cells participate in anti-tumor immunity, and if yes, by what
mechanism? Based on these observations, we hypothesize that 1) The frequency of activated MAIT cells is
reflective of a microbiome enriched for riboflavin-producing species, and 2) MAIT cells possess anti-tumor
activity, such that high MAIT cell frequency increases patient responsiveness to checkpoint immunotherapy.
These hypotheses will be addressed by experiments in the following Specific Aims: (1) Determine if MAIT cell
abundance and function are driven by riboflavin-synthesizing bacteria and whether this interaction influences
clinical responses to anti-PD1 therapy; and (2) Determine the role of MAIT cells in anti-melanoma immunity.
Should this exploratory study reveal a role for MAIT cells in anti-tumor immunity that is dependent on the
contents of the microbiome, modalities aimed at expanding and/or activating MAIT cells during cancer therapy
may provide substantial clinical benefit for cancer patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9876809
- **Project number:** 1R21CA245432-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Laurent Gapin
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $181,741
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-03-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9876809

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9876809, Improving immunotherapies to melanoma through modulation of MAIT cell activation by the microbiome (1R21CA245432-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9876809. Licensed CC0.

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