Radiation-driven lipid accumulation and dendritic cell dysfunction in cancer

Dendritic cells (DCs) play important roles in the initiation and maintenance of the immune response. The dysfunction of DCs contributes to tumor evasion and growth. Here we report our findings on the dysfunction of DCs in radiation-induced thymic lymphomas, and the up-regulation of the expression of the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and the fatty acid binding protein (FABP4), and the level of triacylglycerol (TAG) in serum after total body irradiation, which contribute to DCs lipid accumulation. DCs with high lipid content showed low expression of co-stimulatory molecules and DCs-related cytokines, and were not able to effectively stimulate allogeneic T cells. Normalization of lipid abundance in DCs with an inhibitor of acetyl-CoA carboxylase restored the function of DCs. A high-fat diet promoted radiation-induced thymic lymphoma growth. In all, our study shows that dysfunction of DCs in radiation-induced thymic lymphomas was due to lipid accumulation and may represent a new mechanism in radiation-induced carcinogenesis.