Articles | Open Access | https://doi.org/10.55640/

BRD7 Suppresses PD-L1 Expression to Counteract Immune Evasion in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Dr. Mu-Sheng Zeng , Professor, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a prevalent head and neck malignancy with unique epidemiological and clinical characteristics [1, 39]. Despite advances in treatment, immune evasion remains a significant challenge, often mediated by the overexpression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) on tumor cells [2, 7, 8]. This study investigates the role of Bromodomain-containing protein 7 (BRD7), a known tumor suppressor, in regulating PD-L1 expression and modulating immune escape in NPC. We demonstrate that BRD7 is frequently downregulated in NPC and that its restoration significantly inhibits PD-L1 expression both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, BRD7 exerts this effect by directly binding to the PD-L1 promoter, leading to transcriptional repression. Furthermore, we show that BRD7's suppressive effect on PD-L1 enhances T-cell mediated cytotoxicity against NPC cells. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which BRD7 contributes to anti-tumor immunity in NPC, suggesting that strategies aimed at upregulating BRD7 or targeting its downstream effects could improve the efficacy of immunotherapy for NPC patients.

Keywords

Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Immune Evasion, Immunotherapy

References

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BRD7 Suppresses PD-L1 Expression to Counteract Immune Evasion in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma. (2025). Global Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 4(06), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.55640/