PRRX1-OLR1 axis supports CAFs-mediated lung cancer progression and immune suppression

Abstract Objective To investigate the mechanism by which cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) affect the growth and immune evasion of lung cancer cells. Methods Initially, datasets comparing CAFs with normal fibroblasts were downloaded from the GEO dataset GSE48397. Genes with the most significant differential expression were selected and validated using clinical data. Subsequently, CAFs were isolated, and the selected genes were knocked down in CAFs. Co-culture experiments were conducted with H1299 or A549 cells to analyze changes in lung cancer cell growth, migration, and immune evasion in vitro and in vivo. To further elucidate the upstream regulatory mechanism, relevant ChIP-seq data were downloaded from the GEO database, and the regulatory relationships were validated through ChIP-qPCR and luciferase reporter assays. Results OLR1 was significantly overexpressed in CAFs and strongly correlated with adverse prognosis in lung cancer patients. Knockdown of OLR1 markedly inhibited CAFs’ support for the growth and immune evasion of lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. ChIP-seq results demonstrated that PRRX1 can promote OLR1 expression by recruiting H3K27ac and H3K4me3, thereby activating CAFs. Knockdown of PRRX1 significantly inhibited CAFs’ function, while further overexpression of OLR1 restored CAFs’ support for lung cancer cell growth, migration, and immune evasion. Conclusion PRRX1 promotes OLR1 expression by recruiting H3K27ac and H3K4me3, activating CAFs, and thereby promoting the growth, migration, and immune evasion of lung cancer cells.