Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 play critical roles in maintaining an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. The purpose of the present study was to assess expression of PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 in mouse prostate tumors. A total of 33 mouse prostate tumors derived from Pten-null mice were examined using immunohistochemical staining for PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2. The animals were either with interleukin-17 receptor c (Il-17rc) wild-type or knockout genotype, or fed with regular diet or high-fat diet to 30 weeks of age. We found that Il-17rc wild-type mouse prostate tumors had significantly higher levels of PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 than Il-17rc knockout mouse prostate tumors. High-fat diet-induced obese mice had significantly higher levels of PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 in their prostate tumors than lean mice fed with regular diet. Increased expression of PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 was associated with increased number of invasive prostate tumors formed in the Il-17rc wild-type and obese mice compared to the Il-17rc knockout and lean mice, respectively. Our findings suggest that expression of PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 may enhance development of mouse prostate cancer through creating an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.
Keywords: IL-17; PD-1; PD-L1; PD-L2; Prostate cancer; obesity.