1. Academic Validation
  2. Cancer cell-intrinsic XBP1 drives immunosuppressive reprogramming of intratumoral myeloid cells by promoting cholesterol production

Cancer cell-intrinsic XBP1 drives immunosuppressive reprogramming of intratumoral myeloid cells by promoting cholesterol production

  • Cell Metab. 2022 Nov 2;S1550-4131(22)00461-2. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.10.010.
Zaili Yang 1 Yazhen Huo 2 Shixin Zhou 1 Jingya Guo 3 Xiaotu Ma 4 Tao Li 1 Congli Fan 2 Likun Wang 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
  • 2 National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
  • 3 College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity of CAS, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
  • 4 College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
  • 5 National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract

A hostile microenvironment in tumor tissues disrupts endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis and induces the unfolded protein response (UPR). A chronic UPR in both Cancer cells and tumor-infiltrating leukocytes could facilitate the evasion of immune surveillance. However, how the UPR in Cancer cells cripples the anti-tumor immune response is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that, in Cancer cells, the UPR component X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) favors the synthesis and secretion of Cholesterol, which activates myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and causes immunosuppression. Cholesterol is delivered in the form of small extracellular vesicles and internalized by MDSCs through macropinocytosis. Genetic or pharmacological depletion of XBP1 or reducing the tumor Cholesterol content remarkably decreases MDSC abundance and triggers robust anti-tumor responses. Thus, our data unravel the cell-non-autonomous role of XBP1/Cholesterol signaling in the regulation of tumor growth and suggest its inhibition as a useful strategy for improving the efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy.

Keywords

ER stress; HMGCR; IRE1α; MDSC; XBP1; cancer immunosuppression; cholesterol; macropinocytosis; small extracellular vesicle; unfolded protein response.

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