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Tian J, Zhang D, Kurbatov V, Wang Q, Wang Y, Fang D, Wu L, Bosenberg M, Muzumdar MD, Khan S, Lu Q, Yan Q, Lu J. 5-Fluorouracil efficacy requires anti-tumor immunity triggered by cancer-cell-intrinsic STING. EMBO J 2021; 40:e106065. [PMID: 33615517 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2020106065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 01/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a widely used chemotherapeutic drug, but the mechanisms underlying 5-FU efficacy in immunocompetent hosts in vivo remain largely elusive. Through modeling 5-FU response of murine colon and melanoma tumors, we report that effective reduction of tumor burden by 5-FU is dependent on anti-tumor immunity triggered by the activation of cancer-cell-intrinsic STING. While the loss of STING does not induce 5-FU resistance in vitro, effective 5-FU responsiveness in vivo requires cancer-cell-intrinsic cGAS, STING, and subsequent type I interferon (IFN) production, as well as IFN-sensing by bone-marrow-derived cells. In the absence of cancer-cell-intrinsic STING, a much higher dose of 5-FU is needed to reduce tumor burden. 5-FU treatment leads to increased intratumoral T cells, and T-cell depletion significantly reduces the efficacy of 5-FU in vivo. In human colorectal specimens, higher STING expression is associated with better survival and responsiveness to chemotherapy. Our results support a model in which 5-FU triggers cancer-cell-initiated anti-tumor immunity to reduce tumor burden, and our findings could be harnessed to improve therapeutic effectiveness and toxicity for colon and other cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingru Tian
- Department of Dermatology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenomics, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Yale Stem Cell Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Dingyao Zhang
- Yale Stem Cell Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Vadim Kurbatov
- Yale Stem Cell Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Qinrong Wang
- Yale Stem Cell Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Yadong Wang
- Yale Stem Cell Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Dorthy Fang
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lizhen Wu
- Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Mandar D Muzumdar
- Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Yale Cancer Biology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sajid Khan
- Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Qianjin Lu
- Department of Dermatology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenomics, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Hospital of Skin Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China
| | - Qin Yan
- Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jun Lu
- Yale Stem Cell Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, USA.,Yale Center for RNA Science and Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Yale Cooperative Center of Excellence in Hematology, New Haven, CT, USA
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