Adaptation of the Tumor Antigen Presentation Machinery to Ionizing Radiation.

Ionizing radiation (IR) can reprogram proteasome structure and function in cells and tissues. In this article, we show that IR can promote immunoproteasome synthesis with important implications for Ag processing and presentation and tumor immunity. Irradiation of a murine fibrosarcoma (FSA) induced dose-dependent de novo biosynthesis of the immunoproteasome subunits LMP7, LMP2, and Mecl-1, in concert with other changes in the Ag-presentation machinery (APM) essential for CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity, including enhanced expression of MHC class I (MHC-I), ß2-microglobulin, transporters associated with Ag processing molecules, and their key transcriptional activator NOD-like receptor family CARD domain containing 5. In contrast, in another less immunogenic, murine fibrosarcoma (NFSA), LMP7 transcripts and expression of components of the immunoproteasome and the APM were muted after IR, which affected MHC-I expression and CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration into NFSA tumors in vivo. Introduction of LMP7 into NFSA largely corrected these deficiencies, enhancing MHC-I expression and in vivo tumor immunogenicity. The immune adaptation in response to IR mirrored many aspects of the response to IFN-γ in coordinating the transcriptional MHC-I program, albeit with notable differences. Further investigations showed divergent upstream pathways in that, unlike IFN-γ, IR failed to activate STAT-1 in either FSA or NFSA cells while heavily relying on NF-κB activation. The IR-induced shift toward immunoproteasome production within a tumor indicates that proteasomal reprogramming is part of an integrated and dynamic tumor-host response that is specific to the stressor and the tumor and therefore is of clinical relevance for radiation oncology.

Divergent mechanisms utilized by SOCS3 to mediate interleukin-10 inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha and nitric oxide production by macrophages.

The cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) potently inhibits macrophage function through activation of the transcription factor STAT3. The expression of SOCS3 (suppressor of cytokine signaling-3) has been shown to be induced by IL-10 in a STAT3-dependent manner. However, the relevance of SOCS3 expression to the anti-inflammatory effect of IL-10 on macrophages has been controversial. Through kinetic analysis of the requirement for SOCS3 in IL-10 inhibition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) transcription and translation, SOCS3 was found to be necessary for TNFalpha expression during the early phase, but not the late phase of IL-10 action. SOCS3 was essential for IL-10 inhibition of LPS-stimulated production of iNOS (inducible nitric-oxide synthase) protein and nitric oxide (NO). To determine the domains of SOCS3 protein important in mediating these effects, SOCS3-/- macrophages were reconstituted with SOCS3 mutated for the SH2, KIR, SOCS box domains, and tyrosines 204 (Tyr204) and 221 (Tyr221). The SH2 domain, SOCS box, and both Tyr204 and Tyr221 were required for IL-10 inhibition of TNFalpha mRNA and protein expression, but interestingly the KIR domain was necessary only for IL-10 inhibition of TNFalpha protein expression. In contrast, Tyr204 and Tyr221 were the only structural features of SOCS3 that were necessary in mediating IL-10 inhibition of iNOS protein expression and NO production. These data define SOCS3 as an important mediator of IL-10 inhibition of macrophage activation and that SOCS3 interferes with distinct LPS-stimulated signal transduction events through differing mechanisms.

SOCS2 can enhance interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-3 signaling by accelerating SOCS3 degradation.

Cytokine responses can be regulated by a family of proteins termed suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) which can inhibit the JAK/STAT pathway in a classical negative-feedback manner. While the SOCS are thought to target signaling intermediates for degradation, relatively little is known about how their turnover is regulated. Unlike other SOCS family members, we find that SOCS2 can enhance interleukin-2 (IL-2)- and IL-3-induced STAT phosphorylation following and potentiate proliferation in response to cytokine stimulation. As a clear mechanism for these effects, we demonstrate that expression of SOCS2 results in marked proteasome-dependent reduction of SOCS3 and SOCS1 protein expression. Furthermore, we provide evidence that this degradation is dependent on the presence of an intact SOCS box and that the loss of SOCS3 is enhanced by coexpression of elongin B/C. This suggests that SOCS2 can bind to SOCS3 and elongin B/C to form an E3 ligase complex resulting in the degradation of SOCS3. Therefore, SOCS2 can enhance cytokine responses by accelerating proteasome-dependent turnover of SOCS3, suggesting a mechanism for the gigantism observed in SOCS2 transgenic mice.