1. Interferon-α induces differentiation of cancer stem cells and immunosuppression in hepatocellular carcinoma by upregulating CXCL8 secretion.
- Author
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Ma, Yu-Ting, Zheng, Lu, Zhao, Cheng-Wen, Zhang, Yue, Xu, Xin-Wei, Wang, Xin-Yu, Niu, Guo-Ping, Man, Zhong-Song, Gu, Feng, and Chen, Yong-Qiang
- Subjects
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CANCER cell differentiation , *CANCER stem cells , *HEPATOCELLULAR carcinoma , *CHRONIC hepatitis B , *SECRETION , *T cells - Abstract
• IFN-α induces CXCL8 secretion via AKT and JNK signaling pathways in HCC cells. • CXCL8 inhibits CD8+ T cell function and reduces immunotherapy efficacy. • Blockade of CXCL8 pathway enhances CD8+T-cell function and inhibits CD133+HCC cells. Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) is widely used in the clinical treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, high levels of CXCL8 are associated with resistance to IFN-α therapy and poorer prognosis in advanced cancers. In this study, we investigated whether IFN-α could directly induce the production of CXCL8 in HCC cells and whether CXCL8 could antagonize the antitumor activity of IFN-α. We found that IFN-α not only upregulated the expression of the inducible genes CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11 and PD-L1, but also significantly stimulated CXCL8 secretion in HCC cells. Mechanically, IFN-α induces CXCL8 expression by activating the AKT and JNK pathways. In addition, our results demonstrate that IFN-α exposure significantly increases the differentiation of HCC stem cells, but this effect is reversed by the addition of the CXCL8 receptor CXCR1/2 inhibitor Reparixin and STAT3 inhibitor Stattic. Besides, our study reveals that the cytokine CXCL8 secreted by IFN-α-induced HCC cells inhibits T-cell function. Conversely, inhibition of CXCL8 promotes TNF-α and IFN-γ secretion by T cells. Finally, liver cancer patients who received anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy with high CXCL8 expression had a lower immunotherapy efficacy. Overall, our findings clarify that IFN-α triggers immunosuppression and cancer stem cell differentiation in hepatocellular carcinoma by upregulating CXCL8 secretion. This discovery provides a novel approach to enhance the effectiveness of HCC treatment in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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