miR-142-3p Prevents Macrophage Differentiation during Cancer-Induced Myelopoiesis

Tumor progression is accompanied by an altered myelopoiesis causing the accumulation of immunosuppressive cells. Here, we showed that miR-142-3p downregulation promoted macrophage differentiation and determined the acquisition of their immunosuppressive function in tumor. Tumorreleased cytokines signaling through gp130, the common subunit of the interleukin-6 cytokine receptor family, induced the LAP* isoform of C/EBP beta transcription factor, promoting macrophage generation. miR-142-3p downregulated gp130 by canonical binding to its messenger RNA (mRNA) 3' UTR and repressed C/EBP beta LAP* by noncanonical binding to its 5' mRNA coding sequence. Enforced miR expression impaired macrophage differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. Mice constitutively expressing miR-142-3p in the bone marrow showed a marked increase in survival following immunotherapy with tumor-specific T lymphocytes. By modulating a specific miR in bone marrow precursors, we thus demonstrated the feasibility of altering tumor-induced macrophage differentiation as a potent tool to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.