| First Author | Song NY | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 119 |
| Issue | 6 | PubMed ID | 35121655 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:320673 | Mgi Id | MGI:6877042 |
| Doi | 10.1073/pnas.2120956119 | Citation | Song NY, et al. (2022) IKKalpha-deficient lung adenocarcinomas generate an immunosuppressive microenvironment by overproducing Treg-inducing cytokines. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119(6):e2120956119 |
| abstractText | The tumor microenvironment (TME) provides potential targets for cancer therapy. However, how signals originating in cancer cells affect tumor-directed immunity is largely unknown. Deletions in the CHUK locus, coding for IkappaB kinase alpha (IKKalpha), correlate with reduced lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) patient survival and promote Kras(G12D)-initiated ADC development in mice, but it is unknown how reduced IKKalpha expression affects the TME. Here, we report that low IKKalpha expression in human and mouse lung ADC cells correlates with increased monocyte-derived macrophage and regulatory T cell (Treg) scores and elevated transcription of genes coding for macrophage-recruiting and Treg-inducing cytokines (CSF1, CCL22, TNF, and IL-23A). By stimulating recruitment of monocyte-derived macrophages from the bone marrow and enforcing a TNF/TNFR2/c-Rel signaling cascade that stimulates Treg generation, these cytokines promote lung ADC progression. Depletion of TNFR2, c-Rel, or TNF in CD4(+) T cells or monocyte-derived macrophages dampens Treg generation and lung tumorigenesis. Treg depletion also attenuates carcinogenesis. In conclusion, reduced cancer cell IKKalpha activity enhances formation of a protumorigenic TME through a pathway whose constituents may serve as therapeutic targets for KRAS-initiated lung ADC. |
