Fasting-mimicking diet induces IFNβ secretion in tumor-associated macrophages via NRF1-mediated ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of Trex1. (PubMed, Br J Cancer)
In this study, we revealed for the first time that FMD/fasting coordinates NRF1-UPS and Trex1/Sting-mediated type I interferon responses in TAMs that contribute to suppressing tumour growth. Graphical abstract: FMD upregulates the entry of NRF1 into the TAM nucleus to promote gene expression of proteasome subunits, which induces the ubiquitin/proteasome-dependent proteolysis of Trex1, leading to derepression of the cGAS-Sting-IFNβ axis. On the other hand, FMD triggers increasing of mtDNA in TAMs, promoting the cGAS-Sting-IFNβ axis to release IFNβ. In myeloid NRF1 knockout TAMs, transcriptional levels of proteasome subunits are reduced, resulting in impaired proteolysis of Trex1 and its subsequent accumulation during fasting. Then, Trex1 binds to mtDNA, directing the inhibition of the cGAS-Sting-IFNβ axis and inhibiting IFNβ secretion of macrophages.