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Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor suppresses STING-mediated Type I IFN expression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

ABSTRACT: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most aggressive types of cancer. Despite decades of intense investigation, treatment options remain limited and rapid recurrence with distant metastases remains a significant challenge in the clinic. Cancer cell-intrinsic production of cytokines such as type I interferons (IFN-I) is a known potent modulator of response to therapy in many cancers, including TNBC, and can influence therapeutic outcome. Here, we report that in TNBC systems the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) suppresses IFN-I expression via inhibition of Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING), a key mediator of interferon production. Intratumoral STING activity is essential in mediating the efficacy of PARP inhibitors (PARPi) which are used in the treatment of cancers harboring BRCA-1 deficiency. We find that, in TNBC cells, PARPi treatment activates AhR in a BRCA1 deficiency-dependent manner, thus suggesting the presence of a negative feedback loop aimed at modulating PARPi efficacy. Importantly, our results indicate the combined inhibition of PARP and AhR is superior in elevating IFN-I expression as compared to PARPi-alone. Thus, AhR inhibition may allow for enhanced IFN-I production upon PARPi in BRCA1-deficient breast cancers, most of which are of TNBC origin, and may represent a therapeutically viable strategy to enhance PARPi efficacy.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE252119 | GEO | 2024/01/31

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:BRCA1 is an essential gene of the homologous recombination repair (HR) pathway. Ovarian cancers with BRCA1 mutations represent about 20% of HGSOC and are characterized by loss-of-function TP53 mutations, copy number alterations, chromosomal instability, high neoantigen loads and increased infiltration of intraepithelial CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). We propose that DNA damage induced by BRCA1 loss could be a tumor-autonomous inflammatory mechanism. Our hypothesis was corroborated by studies in human and mouse isogenic ovarian cancer cell lines which revealed that BRCA1 deficiency leads to increased cytoplasmic gamma H2AX+ double stranded (ds) DNA species, overexpression of proteins of the nucleic acid sensor pathway (IFI16, STING, MX1), phosphorylation of TBK1, IRF3 and STAT1 and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-b, IFN-a) and T cell recruiting chemokines (CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10). PARP inhibition exacerbated type I IFN responses in BRCA1 deficient ovarian cancer cell lines and simultaneously increased surface expression of PDL1. Increased DNA damage, as measured by γH2AX tumor staining, was also detected in situ in human ovarian cancers with BRCA1 mutations. Importantly, we detected tumor expression of pSTAT1 confirming a type I IFN activation in tumors with DNA damage. Both DNA damage and pSTAT1 activation correlated with higher TIL infiltration and better overall survival. Our results translated in mouse models of ovarian cancer where Trp53-/-Brca1-/- but not Trp53-/-Brca1WT tumors presented with biomarkers of DNA damage, type I IFN pathway activation and responded to a therapeutic combination of PARP inhibitor Olaparib with dual checkpoint blockade antibodies. Our results provide a mechanistic link between loss of BRCA1 and induction of tumor-driven inflammatory and immunogenic responses in ovarian cancer that was mediated by tumor-cell autonomous type I IFN signaling. which translated to increased immune surveillance by CD8 T cells.

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Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor suppresses STING-mediated Type I IFN expression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

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