1. Academic Validation
  2. M6A Demethylase ALKBH5 Regulates PD-L1 Expression and Tumor Immunoenvironment in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

M6A Demethylase ALKBH5 Regulates PD-L1 Expression and Tumor Immunoenvironment in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

  • Cancer Res. 2021 Sep 15;81(18):4778-4793. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-21-0468.
Xinyao Qiu  # 1 Shuai Yang  # 1 Shan Wang  # 1 Jianmin Wu  # 2 Bo Zheng 3 4 Kaiting Wang 5 Siyun Shen 3 4 Seogsong Jeong 6 Zhixuan Li 3 4 Yanjing Zhu 3 4 Tong Wu 3 4 Xuan Wu 7 Rui Wu 8 Weiwei Liu 9 Hong-Yang Wang 10 3 4 Lei Chen 10 3 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
  • 2 Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
  • 3 The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
  • 4 National Center for Liver Cancer, Shanghai, China.
  • 5 School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
  • 6 Department of Liver Surgery, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai, China.
  • 7 Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Tenth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
  • 8 Department of Biliary Surgery I, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
  • 9 Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Tenth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Tongji University, Shanghai, China. chenlei@smmu.edu.cn hywangk@vip.sina.com hsvivian@tongji.edu.cn.
  • 10 Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. chenlei@smmu.edu.cn hywangk@vip.sina.com hsvivian@tongji.edu.cn.
  • # Contributed equally.
Abstract

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has been reported as an important mechanism of posttranscriptional regulation. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a primary immune inhibitory molecule expressed on tumor cells that promotes immune evasion. Here we report ALKBH5 as an important m6A demethylase that orchestrates PD-L1 expression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Regulation of PD-L1 expression by ALKBH5 was confirmed in human ICC cell lines. Sequencing of the m6A methylome identified PD-L1 mRNA as a direct target of m6A modification whose levels were regulated by ALKBH5. Furthermore, ALKBH5 and PD-L1 mRNA were shown to interact. ALKBH5 deficiency enriched m6A modification in the 3'UTR region of PD-L1 mRNA, thereby promoting its degradation in a YTHDF2-dependent manner. In vitro and in vivo, tumor-intrinsic ALKBH5 inhibited the expansion and cytotoxicity of T cells by sustaining tumor cell PD-L1 expression. The ALKBH5-PD-L1-regulating axis was further confirmed in human ICC specimens. Single-cell mass cytometry analysis unveiled a complex role of ALKBH5 in the tumor immune microenvironment by promoting the expression of PD-L1 on monocytes/macrophages and decreasing the infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor-like cells. Analysis of specimens from patients receiving anti-PD1 immunotherapy suggested that tumors with strong nuclear expression patterns of ALKBH5 are more sensitive to anti-PD1 immunotherapy. Collectively, these results describe a new regulatory mechanism of PD-L1 by mRNA epigenetic modification by ALKBH5 and the potential role of ALKBH5 in immunotherapy response, which might provide insights for Cancer immunotherapies. SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies PD-L1 mRNA as a target of ALKBH5 and reveals a role for ALKBH5 in regulating the tumor immune microenvironment and immunotherapy efficacy.

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