Rapamycin Induces Phenotypic Alterations in Oral Cancer Cells That May Facilitate Antitumor T Cell Responses

oleh: Amirmoezz Yonesi, Kei Tomihara, Danki Takatsuka, Hidetake Tachinami, Manabu Yamazaki, Amir Reza Younesi Jadidi, Mayu Takaichi, Shuichi Imaue, Kumiko Fujiwara, Shin-Ichi Yamada, Jun-Ichi Tanuma, Makoto Noguchi

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2024-05-01

Deskripsi

Objectives: In this study, we investigated the antitumor immunomodulatory effects of rapamycin in oral cancer. Study Design: We examined the proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of cancer cells and investigated the cell surface expression levels of immune accessory molecules and T cell immune responses in vitro. We investigated the effect of in vivo administration of rapamycin on immune cell distribution and T cell immune responses in oral tumor-bearing mice. Results: Rapamycin treatment significantly inhibited OSCC cell proliferation and migration, increased apoptotic cell death, and upregulated cell surface expression of several immune accessory and adhesion molecules, including CD40, CD83, PD-L1, PD-L2, MHC class I, P-selectin, and VCAM-1. These cancer cells augmented T cell proliferation. In vivo rapamycin administration significantly attenuated mouse tumor growth with an increased proportion of immune cells, including CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells, CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells, and dendritic cells (DCs); decreased the proportion of immune suppressive cells, such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells and regulatory T cells; enhanced DC maturation and upregulated the surface expression of CD40, CD86, and ICAM-1. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the therapeutic effect of mTOR inhibition in oral cancer can cause direct antitumor and immunomodulatory effects.