Induction of PD-L1 expression by epidermal growth factor receptor-mediated signaling in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential effect of activation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway on the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells with EGFR overexpression.

Methods: Flow cytometry and Western blot methods were used to assess PD-L1 expression on ESCC cells when EGFR signaling pathway was activated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) with or without EGFR-specific inhibitor AG-1478, and then EGFR signaling array was applied to analyze the potential signaling pathways involved.

Results: This study found that PD-L1 expression increased significantly in an EGFR-dependent manner by the activation of EGFR signaling and decreased sharply when EGFR signaling was blocked. The upregulated expression of PD-L1 was not associated with EGFR-STAT3 signaling pathway, but may be affected by EGFR-PI3K-AKT, EGFR-Ras-Raf-Erk, and EGR-PLC-γ signaling pathways.

Conclusion: The expression of PD-L1 can be regulated by EGFR signaling activation in ESCC, which indicates an important role for EGFR-mediated immune escape and potential molecular pathways for EGFR-targeted therapy and immunotherapy.