Abstract
SCLC is an aggressive malignancy with a very poor prognosis and limited effective therapeutic options. Despite the high tumor mutational burden, responses to immunotherapy are rare in SCLC patients, which may be due to the lack of immune surveillance. Here, we aimed to examine the role and mechanism of oncogene MYC in the regulation of NKG2DL, the most relevant NK-activating ligand in SCLC-N. Western Blotting, Immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Co-Immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and Cytotoxicity assay were used on H2227 cells, H446 cells, and other SCLC cell lines, and we found that c-Myc negatively regulated NKG2DL expression in SCLC-N cells. Mechanistically, c-Myc recruited HDAC3 to deacetylate H3K9ac at the promoter regions of MICA and MICB, suppressing the MICA/B expression of SCLC-N cells and the cytotoxicity of NK cells. Treatment with selective HDAC3 inhibitor up-regulated the expression of NKG2DL on SCLC-N cells and increased the cytotoxicity of NK cells. Furthermore, analysis of the CCLE and Kaplan-Meier plotter data performed the negative correlation between MYC and NKG2DL in SCLC-N cells and the correlation with the prognosis of lung cancer patients. Collectively, the results provided the new insight into the role and mechanism of c-Myc/HDAC3 axis in NKG2DL expression and innate immune escape of SCLC-N, suggesting the potential target for SCLC-N immunotherapy.