[Regulation of PD-L1 by MicroRNA in Mismatch Repair Deficient-Colorectal Cancer]

Gan To Kagaku Ryoho. 2017 Oct;44(10):889-891.
[Article in Japanese]

Abstract

Programmed cell death 1(PD-1)/PD-ligand 1(PD-L1)immune checkpoint blockade has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy in various types of cancer. In a recent phase II clinical trial, treatment with the anti-PD-1 agent, pembrolizumab, resulted in considerable clinical benefit in patients with mismatch repair(MMR)-deficient colorectal cancer(CRC). Upregulation of PD-1on T-cells and PD-L1 on tumor cells induces inhibitory signals to suppress T-cell activation, leading to an immune-suppressive microenvironment particularly in MMR-deficient tumors. However, the regulation of PD-L1 expression on CRC cells is poorly understood. We hypothesized that certain microRNAs(miRNAs)are involved in the immunosuppressive microenvironment by directly targeting PD-L1. We identified candidate miRNAs by RNA-sequence analyses for mRNA and miRNA expression obtained from the TCGA colon adenocarcinoma database combined with miRNA target prediction programs. We found that forced miRNA expression could decrease PD-L1 expression on cancer cell lines. Our findings may facilitate an understanding of the role of miRNAs in PD-L1 regulation and also suggest potential miRNAs to serve as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cancer immunotherapy.

MeSH terms

  • B7-H1 Antigen / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / genetics*
  • DNA Mismatch Repair*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*

Substances

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • CD274 protein, human
  • MicroRNAs