MUC1-induced immunosuppression in colon cancer can be reversed by blocking the PD1/PDL1 signaling pathway

Mucin1 (MUC1) upregulation in colon cancer has been linked to poor patient outcomes and advanced stage at diagnosis. This is partially due to MUC1-mediated inhibition of T-cell proliferation affecting efficient lysis by cytotoxic lymphocytes, which contributes to escape from immune surveillance. In the present study, human colorectal cancer tissues were collected, and MUC1-positive and MUC1-negative colon cancer mouse models were prepared; subsequently, the number and function of immune cells in tumor tissues were measured using flow cytometry. The present study revealed that MUC1, as a tumor-associated antigen, can recruit more tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes into the tumor microenvironment compared with MUC1-negative colon cancer, but that these cells could not serve antitumor roles. Conversely, the present study demonstrated that MUC1-positive colon cancer attracted more regulatory T cells (Treg cells), myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) to the tumor site than MUC1-negative colon cancer. Furthermore, the data suggested that programmed death protein 1 (PD1)-programmed death ligand 1 (PDL1) expression is greater in MUC1-positive colon cancer. Blocking the PD1-PDL1 signaling pathway reduced the percentage of Treg cells, MDSCs and TAMs in the tumor microenvironment, enhanced T-cell cytotoxicity and inhibited tumor growth, prolonging the survival time of MUC1-positive tumor-bearing mice. Therefore, the present study elucidated the role of MUC1 in tumor immune escape and provides a foundation for the application of PDL1 inhibitors to MUC1-positive colon cancer.