Increased expression of protein arginine methyl transferase 6 (PRMT6) correlates with worse prognosis in lung cancer cases. To interrogate the in vivo functions of PRMT6 in lung cancer, we developed a tamoxifen-inducible lung-targeted PRMT6 gain-of-function mouse model, which mimics PRMT6 amplification events in human lung tumors. Lung-targeted overexpression of PRMT6 accelerated cell proliferation de novo and potentiated chemical carcinogen (urethane)-induced lung tumor growth. To explore the molecular mechanism/s by which PRMT6 promotes lung tumor growth, we used proteomics-based approaches and identified interleukin-enhancer binding protein 2 (ILF2) as a novel PRMT6-associated protein. Furthermore, by using a series of in vitro gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments, we defined a new role for the PRMT6-ILF2 signaling axis in alternate activation of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM). Interestingly, we have also identified macrophage migration inhibitory factor, which has recently been shown to regulate alternate activation of TAMs, as an important downstream target of PRMT6-ILF2 signaling. Collectively, our findings reveal a previously unidentified noncatalytic role for PRMT6 in potentiating lung tumor progression via the alternate activation of TAMs. IMPLICATIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate an in vivo role for PRMT6 in lung tumor progression via the alternate activation of TAMs.
©2019 American Association for Cancer Research.