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Knoche SM, Larson AC, Brumfield GL, Cate S, Hildebrand WH, Solheim JC. Major histocompatibility complex class I molecule expression by pancreatic cancer cells is regulated by activation and inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor. Immunol Res 2022; 70:371-391. [PMID: 35303241 PMCID: PMC9203924 DOI: 10.1007/s12026-022-09262-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest neoplasms, with a dismal 5-year survival rate of only 10%. The ability of pancreatic cancer cells to evade the immune system hinders an anti-tumor response and contributes to the poor survival rate. Downregulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I cell-surface expression can aid in immune evasion by preventing endogenous tumor antigens from being presented to cytotoxic T cells. Earlier studies suggested that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling can decrease MHC class I expression on certain cancer cell types. However, even though erlotinib (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets EGFR) is an approved drug for advanced pancreatic cancer treatment, the impact of EGFR inhibition or stimulation on pancreatic cancer cell MHC class I surface expression has not previously been analyzed. In this current study, we discovered that EGFR affects MHC class I mRNA and protein expression by human pancreatic cancer cell lines. We demonstrated that cell-surface MHC class I expression is downregulated upon EGFR activation, and the MHC class I level at the surface is elevated following EGFR inhibition. Furthermore, we found that EGFR associates with MHC class I molecules. By defining a role in pancreatic cancer cells for activated EGFR in reducing MHC class I expression and by revealing that EGFR inhibitors can boost MHC class I expression, our work supports further investigation of combined usage of EGFR inhibitors with immunotherapies against pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelby M Knoche
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer & Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA
- Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA
| | - Alaina C Larson
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer & Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA
- Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA
| | - Gabrielle L Brumfield
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer & Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA
- Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA
| | - Steven Cate
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - William H Hildebrand
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA
| | - Joyce C Solheim
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer & Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA.
- Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA.
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Demachi-Okamura A, Torikai H, Akatsuka Y, Miyoshi H, Yoshimori T, Kuzushima K. Autophagy creates a CTL epitope that mimics tumor-associated antigens. PLoS One 2012; 7:e47126. [PMID: 23071732 PMCID: PMC3469533 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2012] [Accepted: 09/10/2012] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The detailed mechanisms responsible for processing tumor-associated antigens and presenting them to CTLs remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate a unique CTL epitope generated from the ubiquitous protein puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase, which is presented via HLA-A24 on leukemic and pancreatic cancer cells but not on normal fibroblasts or EBV-transformed B lymphoblastoid cells. The generation of this epitope requires proteasomal digestion and transportation from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus and is sensitive to chloroquine-induced inhibition of acidification inside the endosome/lysosome. Epitope liberation depends on constitutively active autophagy, as confirmed with immunocytochemistry for the autophagosome marker LC3 as well as RNA interference targeting two different autophagy-related genes. Therefore, ubiquitously expressed proteins may be sources of specific tumor-associated antigens when processed through a unique mechanism involving autophagy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayako Demachi-Okamura
- Division of Immunology, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Nagoya, Japan
- * E-mail: (ADO); (KK)
| | - Hiroki Torikai
- Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Yoshiki Akatsuka
- Division of Immunology, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Nagoya, Japan
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Miyoshi
- Subteam for Manipulation of Cell Fate, RIKEN BioResource Center, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Tamotsu Yoshimori
- Department of Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kiyotaka Kuzushima
- Division of Immunology, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Nagoya, Japan
- Department of Cellular Oncology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
- * E-mail: (ADO); (KK)
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