DNMT1 constrains IFNβ-mediated anti-tumor immunity and PD-L1 expression to reduce the efficacy of radiotherapy and immunotherapy

Autor: Kevin Chih-Yang Huang, Shu-Fen Chiang, Tao-Wei Ke, Tsung-Wei Chen, Ching-Han Hu, Pei-Chen Yang, Hsin-Yu Chang, Ji-An Liang, William Tzu-Liang Chen, K. S. Clifford Chao
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: OncoImmunology, Vol 10, Iss 1 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2162-402X
2162402X
DOI: 10.1080/2162402X.2021.1989790
Popis: Radiotherapy can boost the therapeutic response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) by recruiting T lymphocytes and upregulating PD-L1 expression within the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, in some cases, tumor PD-L1 expression cannot be induced, even in the presence of abundant T lymphocytes, in locally advanced colorectal cancer patients who receive preoperative neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). In this study, we found that PD-L1 promoter methylation is negatively correlated with tumor PD-L1 expression and is an independent biomarker for locally advanced colorectal cancer patients. PD-L1 methylation (mCD274) was significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival (cg15837913 loci, p = .0124). By multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses including influent factors, mCD274 was classified as an independent prognostic factor for poor 5-year DFS [cg15837913, hazard ratio: HR = 4.06, 95% CI = 1.407–11.716, p = .01]. We found that the immunomodulatory agent DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (DNMTi) led to demethylation of the PD-L1 promoter and increased radiotherapy-induced PD-L1 upregulation via interferon β (IFNβ). DNMTi not only induced tumor PD-L1 expression but increased the expression of immune-related genes as well as intratumoral T cell infiltration in vivo. Furthermore, DNMTi strongly enhanced the response to combined treatment with radiotherapy and anti-PD-L1 inhibitors, and prolonged survival in microsatellite stability (MSS) colorectal model. Therefore, DNMTi remodeled the tumor microenvironment to improve the effect of radiotherapy and anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy by directly triggering tumor PD-L1 expression and eliciting stronger immune responses, which may provide potential clinical benefits to colorectal cancer patients in the future.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals