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. 2018 Aug 15;78(16):4671-4679.
doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-3752. Epub 2018 Jun 19.

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Human Prostate Cancer Demonstrates Enhanced Immune Evasion Marked by IDO1 Expression

Kimberley Kolijn  1 , Esther I Verhoef  2 , Marcel Smid  3 , René Böttcher  4 , Guido W Jenster  4 , Reno Debets  3 , Geert J L H van Leenders  2
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Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Human Prostate Cancer Demonstrates Enhanced Immune Evasion Marked by IDO1 Expression

Kimberley Kolijn et al. Cancer Res. .

Abstract

Cancer invasion and metastasis are driven by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), yet the exact mechanisms that account for EMT in clinical prostate cancer are not fully understood. Expression of N-cadherin is considered a hallmark of EMT in clinical prostate cancer. In this study, we determined the molecular mechanisms associated with N-cadherin expression in patients with prostate cancer. We performed laser capture microdissection of matched N-cadherin-positive and -negative prostate cancer areas from patient samples (n = 8), followed by RNA sequencing. N-cadherin expression was significantly associated with an immune-regulatory signature including profound upregulation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1; log2-fold change = 5.1; P = 2.98E-04). Fluorescent immunostainings of patient samples confirmed expression of IDO1 protein and also its metabolite kynurenine in primarily N-cadherin-positive areas. N-cadherin-positive areas also exhibited a local decrease of intraepithelial cytotoxic (CD8+) T cells and an increase of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (CD4+/FOXP3+). In conclusion, EMT in clinical prostate cancer is accompanied by upregulated expression of IDO1 and an increased number of regulatory T cells. These data indicate that EMT, which is an important step in tumor progression, can be protected from effective immune control in patients with prostate cancer.Significance: These findings demonstrate EMT is linked to an immunosuppressive environment in clinical prostate cancer, suggesting that patients with prostate cancer can potentially benefit from combinatorial drug therapy. Cancer Res; 78(16); 4671-9. ©2018 AACR.

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