Abstract B050: Convergent signaling via C/EBPβ regulates MDSC-intrinsic NLRP3 inflammasomes to drive inflammatory CAF polarization

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Pivotal contributors to therapeutic resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are myeloid cell infiltration and signaling, and interleukin-1 (IL1)-mediated inflammatory polarization of cancer-associated fibroblasts (iCAF). We have shown that granulocytic myeloid- derived suppressor cell (gMDSC) promote iCAF polarization via NLRP3 inflammasome-derived IL-1β. Here, we sought to dissect the mechanisms regulating NLRP3 inflammasome induction in gMDSCs that drive iCAF polarization in PDAC. METHODS: Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed in PKT mice treated with NLRP3i SB-NL02 vs vehicle. Single-Cell rEgulatory Network Inference and Clustering (SCENIC) analysis identified putative regulons binding upstream to Nlrp3 Transcription Start Site (TSS) in gMDSC subclusters in scRNA-seq data. CRISPR/cas9 silencing of Nlrp3 and Cebpb was performed in gMDSC-like J774M cells in vitro. These edited gMDSCs and J774M cells treated with/without SB-NL02 were co-cultured with Il6/Acta2 dual-reporter CAFs to examine iCAF polarization. RESULTS: PKT mice treated with NLRP3i SB-NL02 showed reduced tumor burden, gMDSC-intrinsic ASC oligomerization, and iCAF polarization in vivo. In silico analysis of intercellular single-cell communication showed striking attenuation in gMDSC-Nlrp3/Il1b:CAF-Il1r1 ligand-receptor crosstalk following NLRP3i treatment. To dissect mechanisms underlying NLRP3 regulation in gMDSCs that drive iCAF skewness, lineage trajectory inference revealed strong co-expression of Tlr4, Cxcr2, Nlrp3 and Il1b genes. Mechanistic studies in J774M gMDSCs showed activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and IL-1βsecretion not only via canonical TLR4-MyD88 signaling, but also via CXCR2-mediated p38 MAPK induction. This was corroborated in vivo where ASC speck formation in intratumoral Ly6G+ gMDSCs was diminished in mice treated with CXCR2i AZD5069 and p38i peximetinib. To dissect how TLR4 and CXCR2-p38 signaling converge to regulate NLRP3, SCENIC analysis in single-cell gMDSCs transcriptomes revealed Cebpb as the top predicted regulon at the Nlrp3 TSS. In vitro studies using peximetinib and TLR4i (and combinations) revealed that p38 MAPK and TLR4-Myd88 signaling cooperatively regulate C/EBPβ, which in turn dictates Nlrp3 transcription. Cebpb silencing in J774M gMDSCs abolished Nlrp3 transcription, ASC assembly, and IL-1β secretion. ChIP-seq analysis showed strong occupancy of Cebpb on promoter regions of Nlrp3 upon inflammasome induction in gMDSCs. Finally, gMDSC-mediated CAF-Il6 induction in dual-reporter CAFs was significantly disrupted by co-culture with J774M-Cebpb KO cells, recapitulating the effect on iCAF mitigation demonstrated by co-cultures with J774M-Nlrp3 KO or gMDSCs pre-treated with SB-NL02. CONCLUSIONS: CXCR2-p38 and TLR4 signaling converge on C/EBPβ to regulate gMDSC-intrinsic NLRP3 inflammasomes, which drives iCAF polarization in PDAC. The role of C/EBPβ activation as a central node in imparting myeloid checkpoint function in gMDSCs warrants further exploration. Citation Format: Karthik Rajkumar, Andrew Adams, Haleh Amirian, Manan Patel, Erin Dickey, Harper Margaret Marsh, Siddharth Mehra, Nagaraj Nagathihalli, Nipun Merchant, Anna Bianchi, Jashodeep Datta. Convergent signaling via C/EBPβ regulates MDSC-intrinsic NLRP3 inflammasomes to drive inflammatory CAF polarization [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Advances in Pancreatic Cancer Research; 2024 Sep 15-18; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(17 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B050.