Circadian control of macrophages in the tumor microenvironment.

Abstract

Abstract Introduction All leukocytes tested to date have functional circadian clocks, and nearly every arm of the immune response is subject to circadian regulation. Circadian clocks instruct the time-of-day-dependent, rhythmic expression of genes in a tissue- and cell-specific manner. In macrophages (mΦs), the circadian clock regulates several factors that are critical to executing effective immune responses. Tumor-associated mΦs are major contributors to immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Evidence suggests that metabolically stressful factors in the TME such as acidic pH and nutrient limitation promote mΦ-mediated immune suppression, and recent data point to dysregulation of the circadian clock downstream of metabolic stress. Methods We study the effect of TME-associated metabolic stress on the circadian clock of mΦs in vitro by culturing bone marrow-derived mΦs in conditions mimicking acidic pH and nutrient limitations that have been observed in the TME. To study the impact of mΦ-intrinsic circadian rhythms on tumorigenesis in vivo, we use mice genetically engineered to have a myeloid cell-specific disruption of the circadian clock via deletion of the key clock protein BMAL1. Results Oscillation of core clock proteins is altered in mΦs subjected to TME-associated metabolic stress. Additionally, we observe increased tumor growth in mice co-injected with mΦs whose circadian clocks were disrupted compared to mice co-injected with mΦs whose circadian clocks were functional. Conclusion Our data suggests that stressful conditions associated with the TME can alter the mΦ circadian clock, and that a functional circadian clock in mΦs can suppress tumor growth in a syngeneic murine tumor model of pancreatic cancer. This research has been supported by the following fellowships and grants: 2021-Current: Wilmot Predoctoral Cancer Research Fellowship, Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 2020-2021: NIH T32 Training Grant in Cellular, Biochemical & Molecular Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY