State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China.
Cell Death Differ. 2024 Jan;31(1):78-89. doi: 10.1038/s41418-023-01242-w. Epub 2023 Nov 25.
Cervical cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer, etiologically related to persistent infection of human papillomavirus (HPV). Both the host innate immunity system and the invading HPV have developed sophisticated and effective mechanisms to counteract each other. As a central innate immune sensing signaling adaptor, stimulator of interferon genes (STING) plays a pivotal role in antiviral and antitumor immunity, while viral oncoproteins E7, especially from HPV16/18, are responsible for cell proliferation in cervical cancer, and can inhibit the activity of STING as reported. In this report, we find that activation of STING-TBK1 (TANK-binding kinase 1) promotes the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation of E7 oncoproteins to suppress cervical cancer growth. Mechanistically, TBK1 is able to phosphorylate HPV16/18 E7 oncoproteins at Ser71/Ser78, promoting the ubiquitination and degradation of E7 oncoproteins by E3 ligase HUWE1. Functionally, activated STING inhibits cervical cancer cell proliferation via down-regulating E7 oncoproteins in a TBK1-dependent manner and potentially synergizes with radiation to achieve better effects for antitumor. Furthermore, either genetically or pharmacologically activation of STING-TBK1 suppresses cervical cancer growth in mice, which is independent on its innate immune defense. In conclusion, our findings represent a new layer of the host innate immune defense against oncovirus and provide that activating STING/TBK1 could be a promising strategy to treat patients with HPV-positive cervical cancer.
宫颈癌是最常见的妇科恶性肿瘤,其病因学与人类乳头瘤病毒(HPV)的持续感染有关。宿主固有免疫系统和入侵的 HPV 都发展出了复杂而有效的机制来相互对抗。作为中央固有免疫感应信号衔接器,干扰素基因刺激物(STING)在抗病毒和抗肿瘤免疫中发挥着关键作用,而病毒癌蛋白 E7,特别是 HPV16/18 中的 E7,负责宫颈癌中的细胞增殖,并且可以抑制 STING 的活性,正如报道的那样。在本报告中,我们发现 STING-TBK1(TANK 结合激酶 1)的激活促进了 E7 癌蛋白的泛素蛋白酶体降解,从而抑制了宫颈癌的生长。从机制上讲,TBK1 能够在 HPV16/18 E7 癌蛋白的 Ser71/Ser78 位点磷酸化 E7 癌蛋白,促进 E3 连接酶 HUWE1 对 E7 癌蛋白的泛素化和降解。从功能上讲,激活的 STING 通过依赖于 TBK1 的方式下调 E7 癌蛋白来抑制宫颈癌细胞的增殖,并且可能与放疗协同作用以实现更好的抗肿瘤效果。此外,通过遗传或药理学激活 STING-TBK1 可抑制小鼠宫颈癌的生长,而不依赖于其固有免疫防御。总之,我们的研究结果代表了宿主固有免疫防御对抗致癌病毒的新层面,并表明激活 STING/TBK1 可能是治疗 HPV 阳性宫颈癌患者的一种有前途的策略。
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