Palmitoylation of PD-L1 Regulates Its Membrane Orientation and Immune Evasion

Langmuir. 2025 Mar 4;41(8):5170-5178. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c04441. Epub 2025 Feb 18.

Abstract

Recently identified palmitoylation of PD-L1 is essential for immune regulation. To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanism, we performed giant plasma membrane vesicle (GPMV) experiments, μs-scale all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments, and immune killing experiments. GPMV experiments indicated that PD-L1 palmitoylation enhanced its lipid raft affinity. MD simulations revealed dramatically different membrane orientation states of PD-L1 in liquid-ordered (Lo, lipid raft) compared to liquid-disordered (Ld, nonraft) membrane environments, which was validated by FRET experiments. The Ld region promoted the "lie-down" orientation of PD-L1, which could inhibit its association with the PD-1 protein on immune cells and thus promote the immune killing of cancer cells. This hypothesis was supported by immune killing experiments using γδT cells as effector cells and NCI-H1299 lung cancer cells as target cells. In short, our study demonstrates that the palmitoylation affects PD-L1's membrane localization and then membrane orientation, which thus regulates its binding with T cell PD-1 and the immune regulation. These observations may guide therapeutic strategies by explicating the regulation of immune checkpoint proteins by post-translational modifications and membrane environments.

MeSH terms

  • B7-H1 Antigen* / chemistry
  • B7-H1 Antigen* / immunology
  • B7-H1 Antigen* / metabolism
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Membrane* / metabolism
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
  • Humans
  • Immune Evasion*
  • Lipoylation*
  • Membrane Microdomains / chemistry
  • Membrane Microdomains / metabolism
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Substances

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • CD274 protein, human