MicroRNA (miRNA) transfer via exosomes may mediate cell-to-cell communication. Interestingly, specific miRNAs are enriched in exosomes in a cell-type-dependent fashion. However, the mechanisms whereby miRNAs are sorted to exosomes and the significance of miRNA transfer to acceptor cells are unclear. We used macrophages and endothelial cells (ECs) as a model of heterotypic cell communication in order to investigate both processes. RNA profiling of macrophages and their exosomes shows that miRNA sorting to exosomes is modulated by cell-activation-dependent changes of miRNA target levels in the producer cells. Genetically perturbing the expression of individual miRNAs or their targeted transcripts promotes bidirectional miRNA relocation from the cell cytoplasm/P bodies (sites of miRNA activity) to multivesicular bodies (sites of exosome biogenesis) and controls miRNA sorting to exosomes. Furthermore, the use of Dicer-deficient cells and reporter lentiviral vectors (LVs) for miRNA activity shows that exosomal miRNAs are transferred from macrophages to ECs to detectably repress targeted sequences.

Cytotoxic chemotherapy is an effective treatment for invasive breast cancer. However, experimental studies in mice also suggest pro-metastatic effects of chemotherapy. Primary tumours release extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, that can facilitate the seeding and growth of metastatic cancer cells in distant organs, but the effects of chemotherapy on tumour-derived EVs remain unclear. Here we show that two classes of cytotoxic drugs broadly employed in pre-operative (neoadjuvant) breast cancer therapy, taxanes and anthracyclines, elicit tumour-derived EVs with enhanced pro-metastatic capacity. Chemotherapy-elicited EVs are enriched in annexin-A6 (ANXA6), a Ca2+-dependent protein that promotes NF-kB-dependent endothelial cell activation, Ccl2 induction, and Ly6C+CCR2+ monocyte expansion in the pulmonary pre-metastatic niche to facilitate the establishment of lung metastasis. Genetic inactivation of Anxa6 in cancer cells, or Ccr2 in host cells, blunts the pro-metastatic effects of chemotherapy-elicited EVs. ANXA6 is detected, and potentially enriched, in the circulating EVs of breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) largely express an alternatively activated (or M2) phenotype, which entails immunosuppressive and tumour-promoting capabilities. Reprogramming TAMs towards a classically activated (M1) phenotype may thwart tumour-associated immunosuppression and unleash anti-tumour immunity. Here we show that conditional deletion of the microRNA (miRNA)-processing enzyme DICER in macrophages prompts M1-like TAM programming, characterized by hyperactive IFN-γ/STAT1 signalling. This rewiring abated the immunosuppressive capacity of TAMs and fostered the recruitment of activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to the tumours. CTL-derived IFN-γ exacerbated M1 polarization of Dicer1-deficient TAMs and inhibited tumour growth. Remarkably, DICER deficiency in TAMs negated the anti-tumoral effects of macrophage depletion by anti-CSF1R antibodies, and enabled complete tumour eradication by PD1 checkpoint blockade or CD40 agonistic antibodies. Finally, genetic rescue of Let-7 miRNA activity in Dicer1-deficient TAMs partly restored their M2-like phenotype and decreased tumour-infiltrating CTLs. These findings suggest that DICER/Let-7 activity opposes IFN-γ-induced, immunostimulatory M1-like TAM activation, with potential therapeutic implications.

Nearly 90% of human melanomas contain inactivated wild-type p53, the underlying mechanisms for which are not fully understood. Here, we identify that cyclin B1/CDK1-phosphorylates iASPP, which leads to the inhibition of iASPP dimerization, promotion of iASPP monomer nuclear entry, and exposure of its p53 binding sites, leading to increased p53 inhibition. Nuclear iASPP is enriched in melanoma metastasis and associates with poor patient survival. Most wild-type p53-expressing melanoma cell lines coexpress high levels of phosphorylated nuclear iASPP, MDM2, and cyclin B1. Inhibition of MDM2 and iASPP phosphorylation with small molecules induced p53-dependent apoptosis and growth suppression. Concurrent p53 reactivation and BRAFV600E inhibition achieved additive suppression in vivo, presenting an alternative for melanoma therapy.