Cancers, Vol. 13, Pages 1934: Cannabinoid Receptor Type-2 in B Cells Is Associated with Tumor Immunity in Melanoma
Cancers, Vol. 13, Pages 1934: Cannabinoid Receptor Type-2 in B Cells Is Associated with Tumor Immunity in Melanoma
Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers13081934
Authors:
Thomas Gruber
Steve Robatel
Mirela Kremenovic
Lukas Bäriswyl
Jürg Gertsch
Mirjam Schenk
Agents targeting the endocannabinoid system (ECS) have gained attention as potential cancer treatments. Given recent evidence that cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) regulates lymphocyte development and inflammation, we performed studies on CB2R in the immune response against melanoma. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data revealed a strong positive correlation between CB2R expression and survival, as well as B cell infiltration in human melanoma. In a murine melanoma model, CB2R expression reduced the growth of melanoma as well as the B cell frequencies in the tumor microenvironment (TME), compared to CB2R-deficient mice. In depth analysis of tumor-infiltrating B cells using single-cell RNA sequencing suggested a less differentiated phenotype in tumors from Cb2r−/− mice. Thus, in this study, we demonstrate for the first time a protective, B cell-mediated role of CB2R in melanoma. This gained insight might assist in the development of novel, CB2R-targeted cancer therapies.
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Thomas Gruber Steve Robatel Mirela Kremenovic Lukas B äriswyl J ürg Gertsch Mirjam Schenk Tags: Article Source Type: research