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Lefler JE, MarElia-Bennett CB, Thies KA, Hildreth BE, Sharma SM, Pitarresi JR, Han L, Everett C, Koivisto C, Cuitino MC, Timmers CD, O'Quinn E, Parrish M, Romeo MJ, Linke AJ, Hobbs GA, Leone G, Guttridge DC, Zimmers TA, Lesinski GB, Ostrowski MC. STAT3 in tumor fibroblasts promotes an immunosuppressive microenvironment in pancreatic cancer. Life Sci Alliance 2022; 5:e202201460. [PMID: 35803738 PMCID: PMC9270499 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202201460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is associated with an incredibly dense stroma, which contributes to its recalcitrance to therapy. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are one of the most abundant cell types within the PDAC stroma and have context-dependent regulation of tumor progression in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Therefore, understanding tumor-promoting pathways in CAFs is essential for developing better stromal targeting therapies. Here, we show that disruption of the STAT3 signaling axis via genetic ablation of Stat3 in stromal fibroblasts in a Kras G12D PDAC mouse model not only slows tumor progression and increases survival, but re-shapes the characteristic immune-suppressive TME by decreasing M2 macrophages (F480+CD206+) and increasing CD8+ T cells. Mechanistically, we show that loss of the tumor suppressor PTEN in pancreatic CAFs leads to an increase in STAT3 phosphorylation. In addition, increased STAT3 phosphorylation in pancreatic CAFs promotes secretion of CXCL1. Inhibition of CXCL1 signaling inhibits M2 polarization in vitro. The results provide a potential mechanism by which CAFs promote an immune-suppressive TME and promote tumor progression in a spontaneous model of PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia E Lefler
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Catherine B MarElia-Bennett
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Katie A Thies
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Blake E Hildreth
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Sudarshana M Sharma
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Jason R Pitarresi
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lu Han
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Caroline Everett
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Christopher Koivisto
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Maria C Cuitino
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Cynthia D Timmers
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Elizabeth O'Quinn
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Melodie Parrish
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Martin J Romeo
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Amanda J Linke
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - G Aaron Hobbs
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Gustavo Leone
- Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Denis C Guttridge
- Department of Pediatrics and Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Teresa A Zimmers
- Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Gregory B Lesinski
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Michael C Ostrowski
- Hollings Cancer Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
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Schnabolk G, Stauffer K, O'Quinn E, Coughlin B, Kunchithapautham K, Rohrer B. A comparative analysis of C57BL/6J and 6N substrains; chemokine/cytokine expression and susceptibility to laser-induced choroidal neovascularization. Exp Eye Res 2014; 129:18-23. [PMID: 25305577 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2014.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2014] [Revised: 09/29/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most prevalent cause of blindness in the elderly. To study potential underlying mechanisms of AMD, animal models are utilized, focusing mostly on mice. Recently, genomic and phenotypic differences between the so-called control substrains, C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N, have been described in models of ocular and non-ocular diseases. In particular, the rd8 mutation of the Crb1 gene present in the C57BL/6N has been shown to impact certain ocular phenotypes and appears to augment phenotypes generally associated with inflammation. Here, we investigated angiogenic factor and cytokine expression using pathway arrays as well as the susceptibility to laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV), a model of wet AMD, in the two substrains. Age-matched 3-month-old C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N animals differed in gene expression levels for angiogenic factors and cytokines, with 6N animals expressing higher levels of inflammatory markers than 6Js. Yet laser-induced CNV was comparable in size between the two substrains. This lack of difference in CNV size was correlated with a gene expression profile that was comparable between the two substrains, due to the fact that the degree of change in gene expression of inflammatory markers after CNV was blunted in 6N mice. In summary, significant gene expression differences exist between C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N animals, reinforcing the notion that appropriate litter-mate controls or genetic background controls need to be used. Contrary to our expectation, CNV was not augmented in 6N animals, suggesting that low chronic inflammation in the RPE might provide a level of pre-conditioning and protection against stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloriane Schnabolk
- Research Service, Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
| | - Kimberly Stauffer
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Elizabeth O'Quinn
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Beth Coughlin
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Kannan Kunchithapautham
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Bärbel Rohrer
- Research Service, Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC 29401, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
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