Genetic analysis of cancer drivers reveals cohesin and CTCF as suppressors of PD-L1.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Authors
Abstract

Immune evasion is a significant contributor to tumor evolution, and the immunoinhibitory axis PD-1/PD-L1 is a frequent mechanism employed to escape tumor immune surveillance. To identify cancer drivers involved in immune evasion, we performed a CRISPR-Cas9 screen of tumor suppressor genes regulating the basal and interferon (IFN)-inducible cell surface levels of PD-L1. Multiple regulators of PD-L1 were identified, including IRF2, ARID2, KMT2D, and AAMP. We also identified CTCF and the cohesin complex proteins, known regulators of chromatin architecture and transcription, among the most potent negative regulators of PD-L1 cell surface expression. Additionally, loss of the cohesin subunit RAD21 was shown to up-regulate PD-L2 and MHC-I surface expression. PD-L1 and MHC-I suppression by cohesin were shown to be conserved in mammary epithelial and myeloid cells. Comprehensive examination of the transcriptional effect of deficiency in epithelial and myeloid cells revealed an activation of strong IFN and NF-κB expression signatures. Inhibition of JAK-STAT or NF-κB pathways did not result in rescue of PD-L1 up-regulation in -deficient cells, suggesting more complex or combinatorial mechanisms at play. Discovery of the PD-L1 and IFN up-regulation in cohesin-mutant cells expands our understanding of the biology of cohesin-deficient cells as well as molecular regulation of the PD-L1 molecule.

Year of Publication
2022
Journal
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Volume
119
Issue
7
Date Published
2022 Feb 15
ISSN
1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2120540119
PubMed ID
35149558
PubMed Central ID
PMC8851563
Links
Grant list
F32 HL159905 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
K08 HL140138 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States