Contribution of MyD88 to the Tumor Exosome-Mediated Induction of Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells

In this study we observed that mice pretreated with tumor exosomes had a significant acceleration of tumor metastasis in the lung. Tumor metastasis correlated significantly with an increase in recruitment of more Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the lung of C57BL/6j (B6) mice pretreated with tumor exosomes. These effects were blunted when MyD88 knockout (KO) mice were pretreated with tumor exosomes. MDSCs induced by tumor exosomes and isolated from wild-type B6 mice also more potently inhibited T cell activation and induction of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α than MDSCs isolated from the lung of MyD88 KO mice. In vitro, addition of tumor exosomes to bone marrow-derived CD11b+ Gr-1+ cells isolated from wild-type B6 mice resulted in more cytokine production, including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and the chemokine CCL2, than CD11b+Gr-1+ cells isolated from MyD88 KO mice. Moreover, lower levels of CCL2 were observed in the lungs in MyD88 KO mice pretreated with tumor exosomes than that in wild-type mice. Together these data demonstrate a pivotal role for MyD88 in tumor exosome-mediated expansion of MDSCs and tumor metastasis.