Inhibiting intracellular CD28 in cancer cells enhances antitumor immunity and overcomes anti-PD-1 resistance via targeting PD-L1

Abstract

Deciphering mechanisms for cancer immune escape may provide targets for improving immunotherapy efficacy. By in vivo genome-wide CRISPR loss-of-function screening in a mouse model of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), we uncovered a non-classical function of Cd28 in cancer cells to promote immune escape. Knocking out Cd28 in cancer cells increased infiltration of type I conventional DC (cDC1) and activated tumor-specific CD8⁺ T cells, and pharmaceutical inducible knockdown of Cd28 inhibited pre-established tumor growth and overcame anti-PD-1 resistance in vivo. Furthermore, high expression of cancer cell CD28 in human TNBC tissues correlated with elevated PD-L1 expression, less CD8⁺ T cell infiltration, and poor prognosis. Mechanistically, intracellular CD28 directly bound to Cd274 mRNA and recruited spliceosomal factor SNRPB2 to stabilize Cd274 mRNA in nucleus, promoting PD-L1 expression and immune escape. Therefore, disrupting cancer cell CD28-mediated immune escape may provide a potential approach to improve breast cancer immunotherapy.

Keywords: CD8(+) T cell; PD-L1; anti-PD-1 therapy; antitumor immunity; cancer cell CD28; mRNA stability.