Synthetic lethal CRISPR screen identifies a cancer cell-intrinsic role of PD-L1 in regulation of vulnerability to ferroptosis [CUT&Tag]
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ABSTRACT: Despite the remarkable success of programmed death 1/PD-L1 inhibition in tumor therapy, only a minority of patients benefits from it. Previous studies suggest the anti-PD-1 treatment failure may attribute to the intrinsic functions of PD-L1 in cancer cells. Here, we established a genome-wide CRISPR synthetic lethality screen to systematic explore the PD-L1 intrinsic function in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. Ferroptosis related genes were identified to be essential for PD-L1 deficient cell viability. Genetic and pharmacological induction of ferroptosis accelerated cell death in PD-L1 knockout cells. PD-L1 knockout cells were also highly susceptible to immunogenic ferroptosis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, nuclear PD-L1 transcriptionally activated SOD2 expression to maintain redox homeostasis. Importantly, the lower ROS and ferroptosis were observed in HNSCC patients with the higher expression of PD-L1. In summary, our study illustrates that PD-L1 confers ferroptosis resistance by activating SOD2-meidated redox homeostasis in HNSCC cells, indicating an enhanced therapeutic effect can be achieved by targeting the intrinsic PD-L1 function during immunotherapy.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE268534 | GEO | 2024/07/08
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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