Fusobacterium nucleatum stimulates cell proliferation and promotes PD-L1 expression via IFIT1-related signal in colorectal cancer

Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) is enriched in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues and a high amount of F. nucleatum was associated with an immunosuppressive tumor environment. PD-L1 is an important immune checkpoint expressed on tumor cells and promotes tumor immune escape. Whether PD-L1 is regulated by F. nucleatum is still unclear. We demonstrated that F. nucleatum promoted CRC progression and upregulated PD-L1 protein expression in CRC cell lines. Combined m(6)A-seq and RNA-seq identified m(6)A-modified IFIT1 mediating F. nucleatum induced PD-L1 upregulation. IFIT1 mRNA was modified with m(6)A modifications in 3’UTR and the m(6)A levels were altered by F. nucleatum treatment. Our results also indicated that IFIT1 served as a potential oncogene in CRC and regulated PD-L1 protein levels through altering PD-L1 ubiquitination. Clinical CRC data confirmed the correlation among F. nucleatum abundance, IFIT1 and PD-L1 expressions. Our work highlighted the function of F. nucleatum in stimulating PD-L1 expression through m(6)A-modified IFIT1 and provided new aspects for understanding F. nucleatum mediated immune escape.