Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Publication Date

5-20-2023

Journal

Frontiers in Immunology

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are an extensive group of proteins involved in host defense processes that express themselves upon the increased production of endogenous damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) due to the constant contact that airway epithelium may have with pathogenic foreign antigens. We have previously shown that COPD-like airway inflammation induced by exposure to an aerosolized lysate of nontypeable

METHODS: In the present study, we have dissected the role of TLRs in this process by knocking out TLR2, 4, and 9 and analyzing how these deletions affect the promoting effect of COPD-like airway inflammation on K-ras-driven lung adenocarcinoma.

RESULTS: We found that knockout of TLR 2, 4, or 9 results in a lower tumor burden, reduced angiogenesis, and tumor cell proliferation, accompanied by increased tumor cell apoptosis and reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment to one that is antitumorigenic. Additionally, knocking out of downstream signaling pathways, MyD88/NF-κB in the airway epithelial cells further recapitulated this initial finding.

DISCUSSION: Our study expands the current knowledge of the roles that TLR signaling plays in lung cancer, which we hope, can pave the way for more reliable and efficacious prevention and treatment modalities for lung cancer.

Keywords

Mice, Animals, NF-kappa B, Toll-Like Receptor 2, Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88, Lung Neoplasms, Inflammation, Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing, Toll-Like Receptors, Epithelium, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Tumor Microenvironment, COPD, KRAS, toll-like receptor, lung cancer, IKK beta, MyD88

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.