Pellino1-PKCθ 信号轴是改善抗肿瘤 CD8+ T 淋巴细胞功能的关键靶点

CD8+ T cells play an important role in the elimination of tumors.

However, the underlying mechanisms involved in eliciting and maintaining effector responses in CD8+ T cells remain to be elucidated. Pellino1 (Peli1) is a receptor signal-responsive ubiquitin E3 ligase, which acts as a critical mediator for innate immunity.

Here, we found that the risk of developing tumors was dependent on Peli1 expression. Peli1 was upregulated in CD8+ T cells among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). In contrast, a deficit of Peli1 enhanced the maintenance and effector function of CD8+ TILs. The development of Peli1-deficient CD8+ TILs prevented T-cell exhaustion and retained the hyperactivated states of T cells to eliminate tumors.

We also found that Peli1 directly interacted with protein kinase C-theta (PKC ), a central kinase in T-cell receptor downstream signal transduction, but whose role in tumor immunology remains unknown. Peli1 inhibited the PKC pathway by lysine 48-mediated ubiquitination degradation in CD8+ TILs. In summary, the Peli1-PKC signaling axis is a common inhibitory mechanism that prevents antitumor CD8+ T-cell function, and thus targeting Peli1 may be a useful therapeutic strategy for improving cytotoxic T-cell activity.