FGFR2 Promotes Expression of PD-L1 in Colorectal Cancer via the JAK/STAT3 Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Although multidisciplinary treatment is widely applied in colorectal cancer (CRC), the prognosis of patients with advanced CRC remains poor. Immunotherapy blocking of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a promising approach. Binding of the transmembrane protein PD-L1 expressed by tumor cells or tumor microenvironment cells to its receptor programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) induces immunosuppressive signals and reduces the proliferation of T cells, which is an important mechanism of tumor immune escape and a key issue in immunotherapy. However, the regulation of PD-L1 expression is poorly understood in CRC. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor (FGFR) 2 causes the tyrosine kinase domains to initiate a cascade of intracellular signals by binding to FGFs and dimerization (pairing of receptors), which is involved in tumorigenesis and progression. In this study, we showed that PD-L1 and FGFR2 were frequently overexpressed in CRC, and FGFR2 expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, clinical stage, and poor survival. In the current study, PD-L1 expression was positively correlated with FGFR2 expression in CRC. Tumor-derived–activated FGFR2 induced PD-L1 expression via the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in human CRC cells (SW480 and NCI-H716), which induced the apoptosis of Jurkat T cells. FGFR2 also promoted the expression of PD-L1 in a xenograft mouse model of CRC. The results of our study reveal a novel mechanism of PD-L1 expression in CRC, thus providing a theoretical basis for reversing the immune tolerance of FGFR2 overexpression in CRC.