The selenium metabolite methylselenol regulates the expression of ligands that trigger immune activation through the lymphocyte receptor NKG2D

Michael Henrik Hagemann-Jensen, Franziska Katharina Uhlenbrock, Stephanie Kehlet, Lars Andresen, Charlotte Gabel-Jensen, Lars Ellgaard, Bente Gammelgaard, Søren Skov

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

For decades, selenium research has been focused on the identification of active metabolites, which are crucial for selenium chemoprevention of cancer. In this context, the metabolite methylselenol (CH3SeH) is known for its action to selectively kill transformed cells through mechanisms that include increased formation of reactive oxygen species, induction ofDNAdamage, triggering of apoptosis, and inhibition of angiogenesis. Here we reveal that CH3SeH modulates the cell surface expression of NKG2D ligands. The expression of NKG2D ligands is induced by stress-associated pathways that occur early during malignant transformation and enable the recognition and elimination of tumors by activating the lymphocyte receptor NKG2D.CH3SeH regulated NKG2D ligands both on the transcriptional and the posttranscriptional levels.CH3SeH induced the transcription of MHCclass I polypeptide-related sequence MICA/B and ULBP2 mRNA. However, the induction of cell surface expression was restricted to the ligands MICA/B. Remarkably, our studies showed that CH3SeH inhibited ULBP2 surface transport through inhibition of the autophagic transport pathway. Finally, we identified extracellular calcium as being essential for CH3SeH regulation of NKG2D ligands. A balanced cell surface expression of NKG2D ligands is considered to be an innate barrier against tumor development. Therefore, our work indicates that the application of selenium compounds that are metabolized to CH3SeH could improve NKG2D-based immune therapy.

Original languageEnglish
JournalThe Journal of Biological Chemistry
Volume289
Pages (from-to)31576-31590
Number of pages15
ISSN0021-9258
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Nov 2014

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The selenium metabolite methylselenol regulates the expression of ligands that trigger immune activation through the lymphocyte receptor NKG2D'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this