Key Laboratory of Experimental Teratology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Key Laboratory of Experimental Teratology, Ministry of Education, Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Oncogene. 2019 Jul;38(30):5860-5872. doi: 10.1038/s41388-019-0847-x. Epub 2019 Jun 24.
Cancer progression depends on a tumor-supportive microenvironment. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) represent key cellular components in tumor microenvironment and have been demonstrated to facilitate tumor progression by restricting host immune responses and by sustaining the malignancy of cancer cells. CUL4B, which assembles the CUL4B-RING E3 ligase complex (CRL4B), possesses a potent oncogenic property in cancer cells by epigenetically inactivating many tumor suppressors. However, CUL4B in hematopoietic cells exerts tumor-suppressive effect by restricting the accumulation and function of MDSCs. How CUL4B regulates the function of MDSCs is not fully characterized. In the present study, we demonstrate that the enhanced growth and metastasis of transplanted tumor cells in hematopoietic or myeloid cell-specific Cul4b knockout recipient mice is mediated by increased production of IL-6 in MDSCs. CUL4B complex epigenetically represses IL-6 transcription in myeloid cells. The IL-6 produced by MDSCs renders cancer cells stem cell-like properties by activating IL-6/STAT3 signaling. This crosstalk was effectively blocked either by blocking IL-6 in MDSCs or by inhibition of STAT3 activation in tumor cells. These findings provide a new mechanistic insight into the cancer-promoting property of MDSCs.
肿瘤的进展依赖于肿瘤支持性的微环境。髓系来源的抑制细胞(MDSCs)是肿瘤微环境中的关键细胞成分,已被证明通过限制宿主免疫反应和维持癌细胞的恶性程度来促进肿瘤进展。CUL4B 组装 CUL4B-RING E3 连接酶复合物(CRL4B),通过表观遗传失活许多肿瘤抑制因子,在癌细胞中具有很强的致癌特性。然而,造血细胞中的 CUL4B 通过限制 MDSCs 的积累和功能发挥肿瘤抑制作用。CUL4B 如何调节 MDSCs 的功能尚未完全阐明。在本研究中,我们证明了在造血细胞或髓样细胞特异性 Cul4b 敲除受体小鼠中,移植肿瘤细胞的生长和转移增强是由 MDSCs 中 IL-6 的产生增加介导的。CUL4B 复合物通过表观遗传抑制髓系细胞中的 IL-6 转录。MDSCs 产生的 IL-6 通过激活 IL-6/STAT3 信号通路赋予癌细胞干细胞样特性。这种串扰可以通过阻断 MDSCs 中的 IL-6 或抑制肿瘤细胞中 STAT3 的激活来有效阻断。这些发现为 MDSCs 的促癌特性提供了新的机制见解。