S100A8/A9 perturbation in bone marrow blunts antitumor immunity by promoting protumorigenic myelopoiesis in mouse models

Sci Transl Med. 2025 Jul 16;17(807):eadr3963. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adr3963. Epub 2025 Jul 16.

Abstract

S100A8/A9 plays a critical role in the formation of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Therefore, it is important to identify inhibitors targeting S100A8/A9 to enhance antitumor immunity. However, systemic targeting of S100A8/A9 in clinical trials has shown minimal effects. Understanding the reasons underlying this underperformance is important for developing drugs targeting S100A8/A9 that could effectively reverse the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In this study, using hematopoietic system-specific conditional knockout mice in heterotopic models of lung and colon cancer and systemic pharmacological interference, we demonstrated that S100A8/A9 perturbation in the hematopoietic system accelerates tumor progression by attenuating T cell-mediated antitumor immunity. Mechanistically, S100A8/A9 perturbation triggered myeloid-biased differentiation in the bone marrow by promoting the production of abnormal granulocyte-monocyte progenitors. The local release of S100A8/A9 inhibitors using a tumor-targeted drug delivery system exhibited antitumor potential by avoiding myelopoiesis-promoting effects. These findings reveal a mechanism underlying the limited efficacy of systemic S100A8/A9 inhibition and propose a targeted strategy to enhance antitumor effects.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bone Marrow* / metabolism
  • Bone Marrow* / pathology
  • Calgranulin A* / metabolism
  • Calgranulin B* / metabolism
  • Carcinogenesis* / pathology
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Myelopoiesis*
  • Tumor Microenvironment

Substances

  • Calgranulin B
  • Calgranulin A
  • S100A9 protein, mouse