IMR Press / FBL / Volume 28 / Issue 12 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2812327
Open Access Original Research
Quercetin/Anti-PD-1 Antibody Combination Therapy Regulates the Gut Microbiota, Impacts Macrophage Immunity and Reshapes the Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tumor Microenvironment
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1 School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, 410208 Changsha, Hunan, China
2 Teaching and Research Section of Traditional Chinese Medicine Surgery, The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, 410021 Changsha, Hunan, China
3 School of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, 410208 Changsha, Hunan, China
4 Department of Oncology, the Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 410006 Changsha, Hunan, China
5 College of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, 410208 Changsha, Hunan, China
6 Department of Oncology, The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, 410021 Changsha, Hunan, China
*Correspondence: 004329@hnucm.edu.cn (Ruoxia Wu)
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2023, 28(12), 327; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2812327
Submitted: 24 March 2023 | Revised: 3 May 2023 | Accepted: 16 May 2023 | Published: 1 December 2023
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Objective: The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) provides promising strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. This study aimed to explore impact and underlying mechanism of the combination therapy of quercetin and anti-programmed cell death 1 (anti-PD-1) antibody on HCC. Methods: Orthotopically transplanted HCC tumors in mice were treated with quercetin, anti-PD-1 antibody, or a combination of both therapies. Histopathological changes and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression were characterized by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. The diversity and differences of gut microbiota (GM) were evaluated through 16S rRNA sequencing. Levels of macrophage immunity-related cytokines were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and Western blot. Results: Combination therapy reduced necrosis, fibrosis, and PD-L1 expression in liver tissues. Additionally, combination therapy reduced GM imbalance and increased abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobiota at the phylum level as well as Dubosiella and Akkermansia at the genus level. Combination therapy improved macrophage immunity, raised the expressions of CD8a, CD4, CD11b, interleukin (IL)-10, and interferon (IFN)-γ , and declined the expressions of IL-4, IL-6, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), an inhibitor of nuclear factor κBα (IκBα), and the NFκB subunit p65. Upon combination therapy, expressions of M2 macrophage-related genes arginase-1 (Arg-1), IL-10, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were upregulated. Instead, M1 macrophage-related genes IL-6, IL-12a, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were downregulated. Conclusions: Quercetin/anti-PD-1 antibody combination therapy reshaped HCC tumor microenvironment in mice in parallel with regulating the GM and macrophage immunity.

Keywords
quercetin
anti-PD-1 antibody
hepatocellular carcinoma
gut microbiota
macrophage immunity
Funding
2021JJ40407/Youth program of Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province
202101/Youth project of Hunan Administration of traditional Chinese Medicine
20B451/Outstanding youth project of Hunan Education Department
Figures
Fig. 1.
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