Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Hypothalamic expression of PD-L1: does it mediate hypothalamitis?

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 16, pages 625–626 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized the landscape of advanced cancer treatment. The specific blockade of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death-protein 1 (PD-1) or its ligand (PD-L1) with monoclonal antibodies augments the immunological reaction against tumor cells in several cancer types. CTLA-4 belongs to the B7:CD28 immunoglobulin family. It is expressed on the surface of T-cells and is able to generate a signal that inhibits T-cells. Ipilimumab is a human monoclonal antibody that deactivates the inhibitory signal mediated by CTLA-4 to T-cells.1 Similarly, PD-1 is expressed on T-cells and binds PD-L1 and PD-L2 expressed on other immune cells and cancer cells. Antibodies against PD-1, such as nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and pidilizumab, or PD-L1, such as durvalumab and atezolizumab, augment the anti-tumor T-cell response by blocking the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 to avoid T-cell inactivation.1 Unfortunately, re-establishing immune activity with these drugs may also impair self-tolerance, eliciting an immune response against normal tissues and organs.2

The article by N. Tshuma et al.3 reported the development of a destructive inflammatory hypothalamic mass during treatment with atezolizumab.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1

References

  1. Spain, L., Diem, S. & Larkin, J. Management of toxicities of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Cancer Treat. Rev. 44, 51–60 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Iwama, S. et al. Pituitary expression of CTLA-4 mediates hypophysitis secondary to administration of CTLA-4 blocking antibody. Sci. Transl. Med. 6, 230ra45 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Tshuma, N., Glynn, N., Evanson, J., Powles, T. & Drake, W. M. Hypothalamitis and severe hypothalamic dysfunction associated with anti–programmed cell death ligand 1 antibody treatment. Eur. J. Cancer 104, 247–249 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Naidoo, J. et al. Toxicities of the anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint antibodies. Ann. Oncol. 27, 1362–1391 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Euroimmun (Luebeck, Germany) for providing hypothalamic specimens.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genova, Via De Toni, 14, 16132, Genova, Italy

    Erika Iervasi, Antonella Strangio & Daniele Saverino

  2. IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genova, Italy

    Daniele Saverino

Authors
  1. Erika Iervasi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Antonella Strangio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniele Saverino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniele Saverino.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Iervasi, E., Strangio, A. & Saverino, D. Hypothalamic expression of PD-L1: does it mediate hypothalamitis?. Cell Mol Immunol 16, 625–626 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-019-0232-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-019-0232-2

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links