CAS Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM) and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Department of General Surgery, Department of Gastroenterology, Yangpu Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
J Clin Invest. 2022 Apr 15;132(8). doi: 10.1172/JCI153167.
IFN-γ-stimulated MHC class I (MHC-I) antigen presentation underlies the core of antitumor immunity. However, sustained IFN-γ signaling also enhances the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) checkpoint pathway to dampen antitumor immunity. It remains unclear how these opposing effects of IFN-γ are regulated. Here, we report that loss of the histone dimethyltransferase WHSC1 impaired the antitumor effect of IFN-γ signaling by transcriptional downregulation of the MHC-I machinery without affecting PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Whsc1 loss promoted tumorigenesis via a non-cell-autonomous mechanism in an Apcmin/+ mouse model, CRC organoids, and xenografts. Mechanistically, we found that the IFN-γ/STAT1 signaling axis stimulated WHSC1 expression and, in turn, that WHSC1 directly interacted with NLRC5 to promote MHC-I gene expression, but not that of PD-L1. Concordantly, silencing Whsc1 diminished MHC-I levels, impaired antitumor immunity, and blunted the effect of immune checkpoint blockade. Patient cohort analysis revealed that WHSC1 expression positively correlated with enhanced MHC-I expression, tumor-infiltrating T cells, and favorable disease outcomes. Together, our findings establish a tumor-suppressive function of WHSC1 that relays IFN-γ signaling to promote antigen presentation on CRC cells and provide a rationale for boosting WHSC1 activity in immunotherapy.
IFN-γ 刺激的 MHC I(MHC-I)抗原呈递是抗肿瘤免疫的核心。然而,持续的 IFN-γ 信号也会增强程序性死亡配体 1(PD-L1)检查点途径,从而抑制抗肿瘤免疫。目前尚不清楚 IFN-γ 的这些相反作用是如何被调节的。在这里,我们报告说,组蛋白二甲基转移酶 WHSC1 的缺失通过 MHC-I 机制的转录下调损害了 IFN-γ 信号的抗肿瘤作用,而不影响结直肠癌(CRC)细胞中 PD-L1 的表达。Whsc1 的缺失通过 APCmin/+ 小鼠模型、CRC 类器官和异种移植物中的非细胞自主机制促进了肿瘤发生。在机制上,我们发现 IFN-γ/STAT1 信号轴刺激了 WHSC1 的表达,而 WHSC1 又与 NLRC5 直接相互作用,促进 MHC-I 基因的表达,但不促进 PD-L1 的表达。一致地,沉默 Whsc1 降低了 MHC-I 水平,损害了抗肿瘤免疫,并减弱了免疫检查点阻断的效果。患者队列分析显示,WHSC1 表达与增强的 MHC-I 表达、肿瘤浸润 T 细胞和有利的疾病结局呈正相关。总之,我们的研究结果确立了 WHSC1 的肿瘤抑制功能,它将 IFN-γ 信号传递到促进 CRC 细胞上的抗原呈递,并为在免疫治疗中增强 WHSC1 活性提供了依据。
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