Abstract #0125

The immune checkpoint PD-L1 alters choline kinase expression and metabolism in triple negative breast cancer cells

Jesus Pacheco-Torres¹, Marie-France Penet^1,2, Flonne Wildes¹, Yelena Mironchik¹, Balaji Krishnamachary¹, and Zaver M Bhujwalla^1,2,3

¹The Russell H Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) plays a significant role in creating an immune suppressive tumor microenvironment. We investigated the relationship between the aberrant choline metabolism observed in most cancers and PD-L1 expression in triple negative human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Using siRNA to downregulate Chk-a or PD-L1 or both, we identified a close inverse interdependence between Chk-α and PD-L1. We identified, for the first time, the role of PD-L1 in cancer cell metabolism. These results have significant implications for therapy and provide new insights into the relationship between metabolism and immune resistance in these breast cancer cells.

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