Abstract 657: IRAK1 regulated inflammatory signal from the leukemia cells modulates tumor microenvironment and promote leukemogenesis
Authors: Zhang Ting , Lu Xiaocui , Matsunaga Atsuko , Fang Xuexiu , Mori Stephanie Fay , Cowell John , Hu Tianxiang 
Published: April 2023

Hematologic malignancy associated with fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) translocations develops an aggressive stem cell leukemia/lymphoma (SCLL), 80% of which progress to AML and only ~15% show survival of &gt; 15 months. In addition, 23.6% of de novo AML patients overexpress FGFR1, compared with healthy individuals. Therefore, investigating how tumor-intrinsic FGFR1 signaling modulates the tumor microenvironment and their contribution to leukemogenesis is not only important for understanding leukemia initiation and progression but also critical for the development of an efficient cure for AML patients. Interleukin Receptor Associated Kinase 1 (IRAK1) is a protein kinase that initiates a cascade of signaling events eventually leading to activation of proinflammatory genes, including IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ, which play critical roles in inflammation and innate immunity. The role of IRAK1 has been reported in several different subtypes of leukemia, including B cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ABC DLBCL), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and melanoma. Most previous IRAK1 studies, however, only focused on its survival and proliferation promoting roles inside the tumor cell itself. Since most of these studies engrafted human cancer cell lines into NSG mice, which lack a functional immune system, it was impossible to investigate the function of IRAK1 in modulating the tumor microenvironment. Using our well-established syngeneic SCLL mouse model, we defined IRAK1 gene as a critical target of FGFR1 in driving leukemogenesis. Our preliminary studies revealed that IRAK1 knockout (KO) in SCLL leukemia cells leads to T cell mediated clearance of the leukemia cells. In contrast, IRAK1 expressing mock control (MC) cells induce the accumulation of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), which sequentially suppress T cell function to promote leukemia progression. These observations indicate a critical function for IRAK1 in modulating the tumor microenvironment and promoting leukemogenesis. Most importantly, pilot cytokine profiling of the MC and IRAK1 KO leukemia cells identified IFN-γ as one of the direct targets of IRAK1 in leukemia cells, and scRNA-Seq analysis revealed predominant expression of IFNGR1 and identified activation of the IFN-γ signaling pathway in leukemia induced MDSCs. Genes in this pathway include IFN-γ directly regulated genes, such as CD274 and SOCS3. Further engraftment using either IFNGR1-/- mice or IFNG KO leukemia cells revealed the involvement of this leukemia cell intrinsic, IRAK1 regulated IFN-γ in modulating the tumor microenvironment to promote leukemogenesis. In summary, our data suggests that leukemia cell-derived, IRAK1 regulated inflammatory signals act as critical modulators in establishing a tumor favorable microenvironment during leukemogenesis.

Citation Format: Ting Zhang, Xiaocui Lu, Atsuko Matsunaga, Xuexiu Fang, Stephanie Fay Mori, John Cowell, Tianxiang Hu. IRAK1 regulated inflammatory signal from the leukemia cells modulates tumor microenvironment and promote leukemogenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 657.