Regulation of PD-L1 Expression by YY1 in Cancer: Therapeutic Efficacy of Targeting YY1

Simple Summary We have recently witnessed several milestones in the treatment of various cancers with immunotherapy through modulating the activity of the immune system to suppress and destroy cancer cells. One main factor involved in the anti-cancer immune system is cytotoxic immune cells known as T cells. T cells can recognize pathogenic cancer cells and launch targeted destruction attacks. However, these T cells may become non-functional due to their close association with cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment. Cancer cell activity can ultimately suppress T-cell function. New approaches that prevent the inactivation of T cells by cancer cells would result in recovery of the T-cell functions, cancer regression, and overall survival. Targeting cancer cells specifically to prevent T-cell inactivation would result in tumor disappearance, inhibition of metastasis, and the reversal of resistance to therapy. Therefore, this proposed alternative approach is promising as it is applicable to numerous cancers, including those that are resistant to treatment.Abstract During the last decade, we have witnessed several milestones in the treatment of various resistant cancers including immunotherapeutic strategies that have proven to be superior to conventional treatment options, such as chemotherapy and radiation. This approach utilizes the host's immune response, which is triggered by cancer cells expressing tumor-associated antigens or neoantigens. The responsive immune cytotoxic CD8+ T cells specifically target and kill tumor cells, leading to tumor regression and prolongation of survival in some cancers; however, some cancers may exhibit resistance due to the inactivation of anti-tumor CD8+ T cells. One mechanism by which the anti-tumor CD8+ T cells become dysfunctional is through the activation of the inhibitory receptor programmed death-1 (PD-1) by the corresponding tumor cells (or other cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME)) that express the programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1). Hence, blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction via specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) restores the CD8+ T cells' functions, leading to tumor regression. Accordingly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several checkpoint antibodies which act as immune checkpoint inhibitors. Their clinical use in various resistant cancers, such as metastatic melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), has shown significant clinical responses. We have investigated an alternative approach to prevent the expression of PD-L1 on tumor cells, through targeting the oncogenic transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1), a known factor overexpressed in many cancers. We report the regulation of PD-L1 by YY1 at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational levels, resulting in the restoration of CD8+ T cells' anti-tumor functions. We have performed bioinformatic analyses to further explore the relationship between both YY1 and PD-L1 in cancer and to corroborate these findings. In addition to its regulation of PD-L1, YY1 has several other anti-cancer activities, such as the regulation of proliferation and cell viability, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), metastasis, and chemo-immuno-resistance. Thus, targeting YY1 will have a multitude of anti-tumor activities resulting in a significant obliteration of cancer oncogenic activities. Various strategies are proposed to selectively target YY1 in human cancers and present a promising novel therapeutic approach for treating unresponsive cancer phenotypes. These findings underscore the distinct regulatory roles of YY1 and PD-L1 (CD274) in cancer progression and therapeutic response.