β-Catenin inhibition shapes tumor immunity and synergizes with immunotherapy in colorectal cancer.
In colorectal cancer, Wnt/β-catenin signaling is often aberrantly activated and associated with a T-cell-excluded phenotype which is a major obstacle for many immunotherapies. However, the effects of Wnt/β-catenin inhibition on tumor immunity and immunotherapy remain to be elucidated. In syngeneic mouse models of colorectal cancer, β-catenin/TCF inhibitor iCRT14 potently enhanced the infiltration of T and NK cells, without influencing their proliferation or the infiltration of most myeloid populations. Mechanistically, β-catenin inhibition upregulated while its overexpression suppressed the expression of T/NK cell-recruiting CXCR3 chemokines CXCL9/10/11 in both mouse and human colorectal cancer cells. Furthermore, iCRT14 treatment synergized with tumor vaccines or Treg cell ablation to achieve a complete inhibition of tumor growth in syngeneic models of CT26-OVA and MC38-S33Y.β-cat, respectively. Taken together, our work reveals that β-catenin inhibition shifts colorectal tumor microenvironment into a T-cell-inflamed phenotype and potentiates the efficacy of other immunotherapeutic strategies for colorectal cancer.
['Wang|Caihong|C|', 'Yan|Jingjing|J|', 'Yin|Pan|P|', 'Gui|Liming|L|', 'Ji|Lu|L|', 'Ma|Bin|B|', 'Gao|Wei-Qiang|WQ|']
D000818:Animals D051177:Catenins D002415:Cats D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic D007167:Immunotherapy D051379:Mice D011725:Pyridines D011758:Pyrroles D045162:Thiazolidinediones D059016:Tumor Microenvironment D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway D051176:beta Catenin
β-catenin immunotherapy colorectal cancer Wnt CXCR3 chemokine tumor microenvironment