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SPOP mutations promote tumor immune escape in endometrial cancer via the IRF1–PD-L1 axis

Cell Death & Differentiation (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Blockade of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death 1 ligand (PD-L1) has evolved into one of the most promising immunotherapy strategies for cancer patients. Tumor cells frequently overexpress PD-L1 to evade T cell-mediated immune surveillance. However, the specific genetic alterations that drive aberrant overexpression of PD-L1 in cancer cells remain poorly understood. The gene encoding the E3 ubiquitin ligase substrate-binding adaptor SPOP is frequently mutated in endometrial cancer (EC). Here, we report that SPOP negatively regulates PD-L1 expression at the transcriptional level. Wild-type SPOP binds to IRF1, a primary transcription factor responsible for the inducible expression of PD-L1, and subsequently triggers its ubiquitin- proteasomal degradation to suppress IRF1-mediated transcriptional upregulation of PD-L1. In contrast, EC-associated SPOP mutants lose their capacity to degrade IRF1 but stabilize IRF1, and upregulate PD-L1 expression. EC-associated SPOP mutations accelerate xenograft tumor growth partially by increasing IRF1 and PD-L1 expression. Together, we identify SPOP as a negative regulator of the IRF1–PD-L1 axis and characterize the critical roles of IRF1 and PD-L1 in SPOP mutation-driven tumor immune evasion in EC.

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Fig. 1: SPOP interacts with IRF1 in cells.
Fig. 2: SPOP promotes IRF1 degradation and ubiquitination.
Fig. 3: Identification of the SBC motif in IRF1 function as a degron recognized by SPOP.
Fig. 4: EC-associated SPOP mutants are defective in promoting IRF1 degradation and ubiquitination.
Fig. 5: EC-associated SPOP mutants elevates PD-L1 expression through IRF1.
Fig. 6: EC-associated SPOP mutants suppress tumor immunogenicity through PD-L1.
Fig. 7: SPOP mutations were correlated with IRF1 and PD-L1 expression in EC tissues.

Data availability

Detailed information on the reagents, primer sequences of sgRNAs can be found in Supplementary Tables 1-3. For the original data, please contact chenjiwang@fudan.edu.cn.

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Funding

This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81872109, 82272992, 91954106 to KG; No. 91957125, 81972396 to CW; No. 81972438, 82172975 to XW), Shanghai Municipal Medical and Health Discipline Construction Projects (No. 2017ZZ02015 to XW), Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (22ZR1449200 to KG; No. 22ZR1406600 to CW), the Clinical Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center (SHDC12020107 to XW), and Open Research Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Fudan University (No. SKLGE-2111 to KG).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Kun Gao, Qing Shi, Ye Gu.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Kun Gao, Zeheng Lv, Yan Ding & Wenxin Cao

  2. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Kun Gao, Ye Gu, Zeheng Lv, Yan Ding, Wenxin Cao & Xiaoping Wan

  3. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microorganisms, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China

    Qing Shi, Wanqi Yang, Yuanlong He & Chenji Wang

  4. Department of Gynecology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Ye Gu & Xiaoping Wan

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Contributions

KG, CW, and XW conceived of the project. KG, CW, and XW supervised the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. QS, YG, WY, YH, ZL, YD, and WC performed molecular biological experiments. QS carried out the animal models and animal analyses. All the authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Kun Gao, Chenji Wang or Xiaoping Wan.

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This study involved human subjects and animal experiments and was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital.

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Gao, K., Shi, Q., Gu, Y. et al. SPOP mutations promote tumor immune escape in endometrial cancer via the IRF1–PD-L1 axis. Cell Death Differ (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41418-022-01097-7

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