CUL4B functions as a tumor suppressor in KRAS-driven lung tumors by inhibiting the recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

ABSTRACT

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. KRAS mutations are the most common oncogenic alterations found in lung cancer. Unfortunately, treating KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) remains a major oncotherapeutic challenge. Here, we used both autochthonous and transplantable KRAS-mutant tumor models to investigate the role of tumor-derived CUL4B in KRAS-driven lung cancers. We showed that knockout or knockdown of CUL4B promotes lung ADC growth and progression in both models. Mechanistically, CUL4B directly binds to the promoter of Cxcl2 and epigenetically represses its transcription. CUL4B deletion increases the expression of CXCL2, which binds to CXCR2 on myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and promotes their migration to the tumor microenvironment. Targeting of MDSCs significantly delayed the growth of CUL4B knockdown KRAS-mutant tumors. Collectively, our study provides mechanistic insights into the novel tumor suppressor-like functions of CUL4B in regulating KRAS-driven lung tumor development.