State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, PR China.
Department of Pathology, Shenzhen People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, 518020, Guangdong, China.
Cancer Lett. 2024 May 1;589:216836. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2024.216836. Epub 2024 Mar 30.
Despite the approval of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy for various tumor types, its effectiveness is limited to only approximately 15% of patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) colorectal cancer (CRC). Approximately 80%-85% of CRC patients have a microsatellite stability (MSS) phenotype, which features a rare T-cell infiltration. Thus, elucidating the mechanisms underlying resistance to ICB in patients with MSS CRC is imperative. In this study, we demonstrate that ubiquitin-specific peptidase 4 (USP4) is upregulated in MSS CRC tumors and negatively regulates the immune response against tumors in CRC. Additionally, USP4 represses the cellular interferon (IFN) response and antigen presentation and impairs PRR signaling-mediated cell death. Mechanistically, USP4 impedes the nuclear localization of interferon regulator Factor 3 (IRF3) by deubiquitinating the K63-polyubiquitin chain of TRAF6 and IRF3. Knockdown of USP4 enhances the infiltration of T cells in CRC tumors and overcomes ICB resistance in an MC38 syngeneic mouse model. Moreover, published datasets revealed that patients showing higher USP4 expression exhibited decreased responsiveness to anti-PD-L1 therapy. These findings highlight an essential role of USP4 in the suppression of antitumor immunity in CRC.
尽管免疫检查点阻断(ICB)疗法已被批准用于多种肿瘤类型,但它的有效性仅限于大约 15%的微卫星不稳定高(MSI-H)或错配修复缺陷(dMMR)结直肠癌(CRC)患者。大约 80%-85%的 CRC 患者具有微卫星稳定性(MSS)表型,其特征是罕见的 T 细胞浸润。因此,阐明 MSS CRC 患者对 ICB 耐药的机制至关重要。在这项研究中,我们表明,泛素特异性肽酶 4(USP4)在 MSS CRC 肿瘤中上调,并负调控 CRC 中针对肿瘤的免疫反应。此外,USP4 抑制细胞干扰素(IFN)反应和抗原呈递,并损害 PRR 信号介导的细胞死亡。在机制上,USP4 通过去泛素化 TRAF6 和 IRF3 的 K63-多聚泛素链来阻碍干扰素调节因子 3(IRF3)的核定位。USP4 的敲低增强了 CRC 肿瘤中 T 细胞的浸润,并在 MC38 同源小鼠模型中克服了 ICB 耐药性。此外,已发表的数据集表明,USP4 表达较高的患者对抗 PD-L1 治疗的反应性降低。这些发现强调了 USP4 在 CRC 中抑制抗肿瘤免疫中的重要作用。
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