CKLF instigates a "cold" microenvironment to promote MYCN-mediated tumor aggressiveness.

Science advances
Authors
Abstract

Solid tumors, especially those with aberrant MYCN activation, often harbor an immunosuppressive microenvironment to fuel malignant growth and trigger treatment resistance. Despite this knowledge, there are no effective strategies to tackle this problem. We found that chemokine-like factor () is highly expressed by various solid tumor cells and transcriptionally up-regulated by MYCN. Using the MYCN-driven high-risk neuroblastoma as a model system, we demonstrated that as early as the premalignant stage, tumor cells secrete CKLF to attract CCR4-expressing CD4 cells, inducing immunosuppression and tumor aggression. Genetic depletion of CD4 T regulatory cells abolishes the immunorestrictive and protumorigenic effects of CKLF. Our work supports that disrupting CKLF-mediated cross-talk between tumor and CD4 suppressor cells represents a promising immunotherapeutic approach to battling MYCN-driven tumors.

Year of Publication
2024
Journal
Science advances
Volume
10
Issue
11
Pages
eadh9547
Date Published
03/2024
ISSN
2375-2548
DOI
10.1126/sciadv.adh9547
PubMed ID
38489372
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