Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Azithromycin promotes relapse by disrupting immune and metabolic networks after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Published inBlood, vol. 140, no. 23, p. 2500-2513
Publication date2022-12-08
Abstract

Administration of azithromycin after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for hematologic malignancies has been associated with relapse in a randomized phase 3 controlled clinical trial. Studying 240 samples from patients randomized in this trial is a unique opportunity to better understand the mechanisms underlying relapse, the first cause of mortality after transplantation. We used multi-omics on patients' samples to decipher immune alterations associated with azithromycin intake and post-transplantation relapsed malignancies. Azithromycin was associated with a network of altered energy metabolism pathways and immune subsets, including T cells biased toward immunomodulatory and exhausted profiles. In vitro, azithromycin exposure inhibited T-cell cytotoxicity against tumor cells and impaired T-cell metabolism through glycolysis inhibition, down-regulation of mitochondrial genes, and up-regulation of immunomodulatory genes, notably SOCS1. These results highlight that azithromycin directly affects immune cells that favor relapse, which raises caution about long-term use of azithromycin treatment in patients at high risk of malignancies. The ALLOZITHRO trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01959100.

Keywords
  • Humans
  • Azithromycin / pharmacology
  • Azithromycin / therapeutic use
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Metabolic Networks and Pathways
  • Neoplasms
  • Stem Cell Transplantation
Citation (ISO format)
VALLET, Nicolas et al. Azithromycin promotes relapse by disrupting immune and metabolic networks after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. In: Blood, 2022, vol. 140, n° 23, p. 2500–2513. doi: 10.1182/blood.2022016926
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Appendix - SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
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Identifiers
Journal ISSN0006-4971
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