Apoptotic resistance is often associated with metastatic phenotype in tumor cells and is considered a hallmark of tumor progression. In this study, IFN regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) expression was found to be inversely correlated with an apoptotic-resistant and metastatic phenotype in human colon carcinoma cell lines in vitro. This inverse correlation was further extended to spontaneously arising primary mammary carcinoma and lung metastases in a mouse tumor model in vivo. Exogenous expression of IRF8 in the metastatic tumor cell line restored, at least partially, the sensitivity of the tumor cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis, and disruption of IRF8 function conferred the poorly metastatic tumors with enhanced apoptotic resistance and metastatic capability. DNA demethylation restored IRF8 expression and sensitized the metastatic tumor cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis. Analysis of genomic DNA isolated from both primary and metastatic tumor cells with methylation-sensitive PCR revealed hypermethylation of the IRF8 promoter in metastatic tumor cells but not in primary tumor cells. Taken together, our data suggest that IRF8 is both an essential regulator in Fasmediated apoptosis pathway and a metastasis suppressor in solid tumors and that metastatic tumor cells use DNA hypermethylation to repress IRF8 expression to evade apoptotic cell death and to acquire a metastatic phenotype.

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CD11b+Gr-1+-expressing cells, termed myeloid-derived suppressor cells, can mediate immunosuppression and tumor progression. However, the intrinsic molecular events that drive their protumorigenic behavior remain to be elucidated. Although CD11b+Gr-1+ cells exist at low frequencies in normal mice, it also remains unresolved whether they are biologically distinct from those of tumor-bearing hosts. These objectives were investigated using CD11b+Gr-1+ cells from both implantable (4T1) and autochthonous (mouse mammary tumor virus-polyomavirus middle T Ag (MMTV-PyMT)) mouse models of mammary carcinoma. Limited variation was observed in the expression of markers associated with immunoregulation between CD11b+Gr-1+ cells of both tumor models, as well as with their respective controls (Cnt). Despite limited differences in phenotype, tumor-induced CD11b+Gr-1+ cells were found to produce a more immunosuppressive cytokine profile than that observed by Cnt CD11b+Gr-1+ cells. Furthermore, when admixed with tumor cells, CD11b+Gr-1+ cells from tumor-bearing mice significantly enhanced neoplastic growth compared with counterpart cells from Cnt mice. However, the protumorigenic behavior of these tumor-induced CD11b+Gr-1+ cells was significantly diminished when the expression of IFN regulatory factor 8, a key myeloid-associated transcription factor, was enhanced. The loss of this protumorigenic effect occurred independently of the host immune system and correlated with a CD11b+Gr-1+ cytokine/chemokine production pattern that resembled cells from nontumor-bearing Cnt mice. Overall, our data indicate that 1) tumor-induced CD11b+Gr-1+ cells from both cancer models were phenotypically similar, but biologically distinct from their nontumor-bearing counterparts and 2) modulation of IFN regulatory factor 8 levels in tumor-induced CD11b+Gr-1+ cells can significantly abrogate their protumorigenic behavior, which may have important implications for cancer therapy.

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Tumor escape and recurrence are major impediments for successful immunotherapy. It is well-documented that the emergence of Ag-loss variants, as well as regulatory mechanisms suppressing T cell function, have been linked to inadequate antitumor activity. However, little is known regarding the role of Fas-mediated cytotoxicity by tumor-specific CD8+ CTL in causing immune evasion of Fas resistant variants during adoptive immunotherapy. In this study, we made use of an adoptive transfer model of experimental lung metastasis using tumor-specific CTL as a relevant immune-based selective pressure, and wherein the Fas ligand pathway was involved in the antitumor response. Surviving tumor cells were recovered and examined for alterations in antigenic, functional, and biologic properties. We showed that diminished susceptibility to Fas-mediated cytotoxicity in vivo was an important determinant of tumor escape following CTL-based immunotherapy. Tumor escape variants (TEV) recovered from the lungs of CTL-treated mice exhibited more aggressive behavior in vivo. However, these TEV retained relevant MHC class I and tumor Ag expression and sensitivity to CTL via the perforin pathway but reduced susceptibility to Fas-mediated lysis. Moreover, TEV were significantly less responsive to eradication by CTL adoptive immunotherapy paradigms as a consequence of increased Fas resistance. Overall, we identified that Faslow-TEV emerged as a direct consequence of CTL-tumor interactions in vivo, and that such an altered neoplastic Fas phenotype compromised immunotherapy efficacy. Together, these findings may have important implications for both tumor progression and the design of immunotherapeutic interventions to confront these selective pressures or escape mechanisms.