Polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase gamma are critical to tobacco-mimicking oral carcinogenesis in mice

Background Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a devastating disease most often associated with tobacco consumption that induces a field of mutations from which a tumor arises. Identification of ways to prevent the emergence of cancer in high-risk patients is an ultimate goal for combatting all types of cancer, including OSCC.Methods Our study employs a mouse model of tongue carcinogenesis induced by tobacco carcinogen mimetic, 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO), to establish tongue dysplasia and OSCC. We use conventional histology, immunohistochemistry, multispectral imaging, mass cytometry, novel cell lines, pharmaceutical inhibition of PI3Kγ, T-cell suppression assays and mouse transplant models in our functional experimentation.Results In our study, we identify Ly6G+ granulocytes as the most abundant immune cell type in a model of tongue carcinogenesis induced by tobacco carcinogen mimetic 4NQO. Targeting Ly6G+ granulocytes with a pharmacologic inhibitor of PI3Kγ, an isoform of PI3K exclusively expressed by myeloid cells, resulted in reduced tongue dysplasia severity, and reduced rates of OSCC. Importantly, we performed functional assays with the Ly6G+ granulocytes induced in cell line models of 4NQO carcinogenesis to demonstrate that these granulocytes have increased polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC) activity against T-cell proliferation and these PMN-MDSCs play a functional role in promoting tumor formation by inhibiting tumor regression in a PI3Kγ-dependent manner.Conclusions Overall, our data suggest that recruitment of PMN-MDSCs to sites of dysplasia is critical to immune suppression of CD8 T cells, thereby permitting malignancy, and PI3Kγ inhibitors are one mechanism to reduce PMN-MDSC recruitment, immunosuppression and tumorigenesis in OSCC

Genetic variation, inbreeding and chemical exposure—combined effects in wildlife and critical considerations for ecotoxicology

Exposure to environmental chemicals can have negative consequences for wildlife and even cause localized population extinctions. Resistance to chemical stress, however, can evolve and the mechanisms include desensitized target sites, reduced chemical uptake and increased metabolic detoxification and sequestration. Chemical resistance in wildlife populations can also arise independently of exposure and may be spread by gene flow between populations. Inbreeding—matings between closely related individuals—can have negative fitness consequences for natural populations, and there is evidence of inbreeding depression in many wildlife populations. In some cases, reduced fitness in inbred populations has been shown to be exacerbated under chemical stress. In chemical testing, both inbred and outbred laboratory animals are used and for human safety assessments, iso-genic strains (virtual clones) of mice and rats are often employed that reduce response variation, the number of animals used and associated costs. In contrast, for environmental risk assessment, strains of animals are often used that have been selectively bred to maintain heterozygosity, with the assumption that they are better able to predict adverse effects in wild, genetically variable, animals. This may not necessarily be the case however, as one outbred strain may not be representative of another or of a wild population. In this paper, we critically discuss relationships between genetic variation, inbreeding and chemical effects with the intention of seeking to support more effective chemical testing for the protection of wildlife