Frontiers in Immunology (Oct 2019)

Melanoma-Derived Exosomes Induce PD-1 Overexpression and Tumor Progression via Mesenchymal Stem Cell Oncogenic Reprogramming

  • Edina Gyukity-Sebestyén,
  • Edina Gyukity-Sebestyén,
  • Mária Harmati,
  • Mária Harmati,
  • Gabriella Dobra,
  • Gabriella Dobra,
  • István B. Németh,
  • Johanna Mihály,
  • Ágnes Zvara,
  • Éva Hunyadi-Gulyás,
  • Róbert Katona,
  • István Nagy,
  • Péter Horváth,
  • Árpád Bálind,
  • Ábel Szkalisity,
  • Mária Kovács,
  • Mária Kovács,
  • Tibor Pankotai,
  • Barbara Borsos,
  • Miklós Erdélyi,
  • Zsolt Szegletes,
  • Zoltán J. Veréb,
  • Edit I. Buzás,
  • Lajos Kemény,
  • Tamás Bíró,
  • Krisztina Buzás,
  • Krisztina Buzás

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.02459
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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Recently, it has been described that programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) overexpressing melanoma cells are highly aggressive. However, until now it has not been defined which factors lead to the generation of PD-1 overexpressing subpopulations. Here, we present that melanoma-derived exosomes, conveying oncogenic molecular reprogramming, induce the formation of a melanoma-like, PD-1 overexpressing cell population (mMSCPD-1+) from naïve mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Exosomes and mMSCPD-1+ cells induce tumor progression and expression of oncogenic factors in vivo. Finally, we revealed a characteristic, tumorigenic signaling network combining the upregulated molecules (e.g., PD-1, MET, RAF1, BCL2, MTOR) and their upstream exosomal regulating proteins and miRNAs. Our study highlights the complexity of exosomal communication during tumor progression and contributes to the detailed understanding of metastatic processes.

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