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KRAS-IRF2 Axis Drives Immune Suppression and Immune Therapy Resistance in Colorectal Cancer
Wenting Liao1, Michael J Overman2, Adam T Boutin3
1Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Pathology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China; Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Tumor Pathology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Abstract:
The biological functions and mechanisms of oncogenic KRASG12D (KRAS∗) in resistance to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy are not fully understood. We demonstrate that KRAS∗ represses the expression of interferon regulatory factor 2 (IRF2), which in turn directly represses CXCL3 expression. KRAS∗-mediated repression of IRF2 results in high expression of CXCL3, which binds to CXCR2 on myeloid-derived suppressor cells and promotes their migration to the tumor microenvironment. Anti-PD-1 resistance of KRAS∗-expressing tumors can be overcome by enforced IRF2 expression or by inhibition of CXCR2. Colorectal cancer (CRC) showing higher IRF2 expression exhibited increased responsiveness to anti-PD-1 therapy. The KRAS∗-IRF2-CXCL3-CXCR2 axis provides a framework for patient selection and combination therapies to enhance the effectiveness of ICB therapy in CRC.
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