ZEB1 transcription factor promotes immune escape in melanoma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The efficacy of immunotherapies in metastatic melanoma depends on a robust T cell infiltration. Oncogenic alterations of tumor cells have been associated to T cell exclusion. Identifying novel cancer cell-intrinsic non-genetic mechanisms of immune escape, the targeting of which would reinstate T cell recruitment, would allow to restore the response to anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody therapy. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-inducing transcription factor ZEB1 is a major regulator of melanoma cell plasticity, driving resistance to mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) targeted therapies. We thus wondered whether ZEB1 signaling in melanoma cells may promote immune evasion and resistance to immunotherapy.

Methods

We evaluated the p

SUBMITTER: Plaschka M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8921918 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature