The novel cytokine IL-17D at the intersection of cellular stress and immune activation (P1364)

Abstract

Abstract Our laboratory has recently identified a novel role for the cytokine IL-17D as an important mediator of the antitumor immune response, and the loss of IL-17D as a key component of tumor progression. Our data show for the first time that overexpression of the cytokine IL-17D is sufficient to induce tumor rejection or growth delay. Tumors expressing IL-17D displayed an increased infiltration of natural killer cells, which gave way to a commensurate increase of M1-type macrophages. While examining the regulation of IL-17D, we came across the surprising finding that IL-17D can be induced by oxidative stress signals via the transcription factor nrf2. Nrf2, responsible for regulating the expression of the anti-oxidant response element genes, is known as the primary cellular responder to oxidative stress. Although the role of nrf2 in cancer biology has been well studied, the role of nrf2 in the regulation of immune responses (especially via IL-17D) has yet to be defined. We find that nrf2 is necessary to induce IL-17D expression in a variety of tumor and non-tumor cells, and that this regulation is active in both tumor progression and viral infection. These studies constitute an intriguing and novel connection between oxidative cellular stress and immune activation.