EMT impairs breast carcinoma cell susceptibility to CTL-mediated lysis through autophagy induction

Intissar Akalay1, Bassam Janji, Meriem Hasmim

  • 1Unité INSERM U753; Institut de Cancérologie Gustave Roussy; Villejuif, France.

Autophagy
|May 3, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) promotes cancer immune escape by inducing resistance to cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) through autophagy. Silencing BECN1 reversed this resistance, offering potential for novel cancer immunotherapies.

Area of Science:

  • Cancer Biology
  • Immunology
  • Cellular Biology

Background:

  • Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is crucial for cancer invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance.
  • The molecular mechanisms underlying EMT-induced immune escape are not fully understood.
  • EMT influences tumor cell recognition and susceptibility to lysis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of EMT in cancer immune escape.
  • To elucidate the molecular basis of EMT-induced resistance to cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs).
  • To explore the connection between EMT, autophagy, and immune evasion.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of EMT-induced changes in target cell recognition and lysis sensitivity.
  • Investigating the correlation between EMT and autophagy induction.
  • Experimental silencing of BECN1 in EMT-derived cells.

Main Results:

  • EMT was found to regulate target cell recognition and sensitivity to lysis.
  • EMT-induced tumor cell resistance to CTLs correlated with autophagy induction.
  • Silencing BECN1 in EMT cells restored susceptibility to CTL-induced lysis.

Conclusions:

  • EMT contributes to immune escape by inducing resistance to CTLs, partly via autophagy.
  • Targeting the EMT-autophagy interplay may offer novel immunotherapy strategies.
  • Further understanding of EMT and autophagy reciprocal regulation is key for future tumor immunotherapy design.

Related Concept Videos

Tumor Immunotherapy01:27

Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle02:38

Mitogens and the Cell Cycle

Mitogens and their receptors play a crucial role in controlling the progression of the cell cycle. However, the loss of mitogenic control over cell division leads to tumor formation. Therefore, mitogens and mitogen receptors play an important role in cancer research. For instance, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) - a type of mitogen and its transmembrane receptor (EGFR), decides the fate of the cell's proliferation. When EGF binds to EGFR, a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response01:27

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response

Cytotoxic T cells are a vital component of the immune system. They have the remarkable ability to identify and target antigens on infected or abnormal cells. These antigens often originate from intracellular pathogens such as viruses or abnormal proteins cancer cells produce.
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
The Tumor Microenvironment02:17

The Tumor Microenvironment

Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...
Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Electron Transport Chain: Complex I and II01:46

Electron Transport Chain: Complex I and II

The mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) is the main energy generation system in the eukaryotic cells. However, mitochondria also produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to the large electron flow during oxidative phosphorylation. While Complex I is one of the primary sources of superoxide radicals, ROS production by Complex II is uncommon and may only be observed in cancer cells with mutated complexes.
ROS generation is regulated and maintained at moderate levels necessary...