Science

Aug 18, 2025, 15:34

Himanshu Mishra: Targeting DHODH to Reverse Immunosuppression and Overcome Anti-PD1 Resistance

Himanshu Mishra, Microbiologist At Zydus Lifescience pvt Ltd Ahemdabad, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Inhibition of tumor cell macropinocytosis driver DHODH reverses immunosuppression and overcomes anti-PD1 resistance.

Tumor cells’ macropinocytosis sustains their growth under nutrient-limiting conditions. However, the metabolic regulation of cancer macropinocytosis in immune escape and its effect on immunotherapy remain unclear. Through the metabolism compound library and genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screenings, we identified dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) as an essential driver of tumor cell macropinocytosis.

DHODH sustained O-GlcNAcylation of the macropinocytic mediator neuropilin-1 (NRP1) and its membrane localization, mediating tumor cell macropinocytosis. Moreover, the DHODH-NRP1 axis-driven macropinocytosis increased intracellular amounts of lysine and tryptophan, which promoted glutarylation of the transcription factor class II transactivator (CIITA) to repress cancer cell major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC class II) expression.

Pharmacological inhibition or genetic deletion of tumor cell-expressed DHODH potently recruited more immune cell infiltration and activated antitumor immunity in vivo, overcoming anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) resistance. High expression of DHODH and NRP1 in human breast and lung cancer tissues predicted patients’ poor prognosis. Therefore, targeting DHODH to inhibit tumor cell macropinocytosis provides a potential approach to reverse immunosuppression for improving cancer immunotherapy.

Highlights:

High-throughput screenings identify DHODH to be required for cancer macropinocytosis.
DHODH sustains NRP1 O-GlcNAcylation and membrane localization for macropinocytosis.
Macropinocytosis promotes immune evasion via increasing CIITA glutarylation to repress MHC class II.
Inhibition of cancer DHODH activates immune response and reverses anti-PD1 resistance.”

Himanshu Mishra: Targeting DHODH to Reverse Immunosuppression and Overcome Anti-PD1 Resistance