DENR controls JAK2 translation to induce PD-L1 expression for tumor immune evasion [CRISPR screen]

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) can recognize thousands of RNAs that help to maintain cell homeostasis, and RBP dysfunction is frequently observed in various cancers. However, whether specific RBPs are involved in tumor immune evasion by regulating programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is unclear. We performed targeted RBP CRISPR/Cas9 screening and identified density regulated re-initiation and release factor (DENR) as a PD-L1 regulator. DENR-depleted cancer cells exhibited reduced PD-L1 expression in vitro and in vivo. DENR depletion significantly suppressed tumor growth and enhanced the tumor-killing activity of CD8+ T cells. Mechanistically, DENR antagonized the translational repression of three consecutive upstream open reading frames (uORFs) upstream of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2); thus, DENR deficiency impaired JAK2 translation and the IFN?-JAK-STAT signaling pathway, resulting in reduced PD-L1 expression in tumors. Overall, we discovered that the RBP DENR is a novel regulator in PD-L1 expression and highlighted the potential of DENR as a therapeutic target for immunotherapy. Overall design: Examination of single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) enrichment in sorted cell populations based on PD-L1 expression