Protein kinase Cι mediates immunosuppression in lung adenocarcinoma.

Abstract

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most prevalent form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a leading cause of cancer death. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) of programmed death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) signaling induce tumor regressions in a subset of LUAD, but many LUAD tumors exhibit resistance to ICI therapy. Here, we identified <i>Prkci</i> as a major determinant of response to ICI in a syngeneic mouse model of oncogenic mutant <i>Kras</i>/<i>Trp53</i> loss (KP)-driven LUAD. Protein kinase Cι (PKCι)-dependent KP tumors exhibited resistance to anti-PD-1 antibody therapy (α-PD-1), whereas KP tumors in which <i>Prkci</i> was genetically deleted (KPI tumors) were highly responsive. <i>Prkci-</i>dependent resistance to α-PD-1 was characterized by enhanced infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and decreased infiltration of CD8⁺ T cells in response to α-PD-1. Mechanistically, <i>Prkci</i> regulated YAP1-dependent expression of <i>Cxcl5</i>, which served to attract MDSCs to KP tumors. The PKCι inhibitor auranofin inhibited KP tumor growth and sensitized these tumors to α-PD-1, whereas expression of either <i>Prkci</i> or its downstream effector <i>Cxcl5</i> in KPI tumors induced intratumoral infiltration of MDSCs and resistance to α-PD-1. <i>PRKCI</i> expression in tumors of patients with LUAD correlated with genomic signatures indicative of high YAP1-mediated transcription, elevated MDSC infiltration and low CD8⁺ T cell infiltration, and with elevated <i>CXCL5</i>/<i>6</i> expression. Last, PKCι-YAP1 signaling was a biomarker associated with poor response to ICI in patients with LUAD. Our data indicate that immunosuppressive PKCι-YAP1-CXCL5 signaling is a key determinant of response to ICI, and pharmacologic inhibition of PKCι may improve therapeutic response to ICI in patients with LUAD.