Human Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3 recognizes double-stranded (ds) RNA and induces production of interferon (IFN)-beta independent of the adaptor molecules MyD88 and TIRAP. Thus, another adaptor must exist that preferentially mediates TLR3-dependent production of IFN-beta. We have identified an alternative adaptor, designated Toll-interleukin 1 receptor domain (TIR)-containing adaptor molecule (TICAM)-1, that can physically bind the TIR domain of TLR3 and activate the IFN-beta promoter in response to poly(I):poly(C). Thus, dsRNA-TLR3-dependent production of IFN-beta is mediated mainly by TICAM-1. This TICAM-1-dependent pathway may have a role in other TLR-IFN-beta pathways, which form part of the MyD88-independent cellular immune response.

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Successful treatment of many patients with advanced cancer using antibodies against programmed cell death 1 (PD-1; also known as PDCD1) and its ligand (PD-L1; also known as CD274) has highlighted the critical importance of PD-1/PD-L1-mediated immune escape in cancer development. However, the genetic basis for the immune escape has not been fully elucidated, with the exception of elevated PD-L1 expression by gene amplification and utilization of an ectopic promoter by translocation, as reported in Hodgkin and other B-cell lymphomas, as well as stomach adenocarcinoma. Here we show a unique genetic mechanism of immune escape caused by structural variations (SVs) commonly disrupting the 3' region of the PD-L1 gene. Widely affecting multiple common human cancer types, including adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma (27%), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (8%), and stomach adenocarcinoma (2%), these SVs invariably lead to a marked elevation of aberrant PD-L1 transcripts that are stabilized by truncation of the 3'-untranslated region (UTR). Disruption of the Pd-l1 3'-UTR in mice enables immune evasion of EG7-OVA tumour cells with elevated Pd-l1 expression in vivo, which is effectively inhibited by Pd-1/Pd-l1 blockade, supporting the role of relevant SVs in clonal selection through immune evasion. Our findings not only unmask a novel regulatory mechanism of PD-L1 expression, but also suggest that PD-L1 3'-UTR disruption could serve as a genetic marker to identify cancers that actively evade anti-tumour immunity through PD-L1 overexpression.

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