Abstract PR-16: Therapeutic inhibition of TREX1 elicits type I interferon–mediated antitumor immunity with minimal autoimmune toxicity
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract Background: Three-prime repair exonuclease 1 (TREX1) is a cytosolic DNase that suppresses cGAS–STING–mediated type I interferon (IFN-I) responses by degrading self-DNA. While this function is essential for immune homeostasis—highlighted by the fact that TREX1 loss causes autoimmune disorders such as Aicardi-Goutières syndrome—many cancers exploit TREX1 upregulation to evade immune surveillance, particularly following genotoxic therapies. Therapeutically inhibiting TREX1 offers an opportunity to re-engage IFN-I–driven antitumor immunity, but it also raises concerns about triggering immune-related adverse events. Here, we aimed to define the therapeutic benefit and immune safety of targeting TREX1 in vivo. Methods: We employed a multimodal strategy to assess the therapeutic potential and safety of targeting TREX1. First, we conducted a high-throughput screen to identify small-molecule inhibitors of TREX1 and evaluated lead compound #296 in syngeneic mouse tumor models. Second, we tested TREX1-deficient tumor cells as autologous cancer vaccines. Finally, we generated inducible whole-body Trex1 knockout mice to model systemic TREX1 inhibition and assess its long-term immune safety. Results: Lead compound #296 selectively inhibited TREX1 enzymatic activity, triggered IFN-I signaling in tumor cells, and significantly suppressed tumor growth in multiple syngeneic mouse models. Treatment with #296 enhanced CD8+ T cell infiltration and reversed resistance to anti–PD-1 therapy in poorly immunogenic B16-F10 melanoma, without inducing systemic inflammation or elevated CRP. TREX1-deficient tumor cells activated tumor-intrinsic cGAS–STING signaling and functioned as effective autologous cancer vaccines, eliciting durable systemic antitumor immunity that protects against both tumor rechallenge and metastasis. Importantly, systemic TREX1 deletion in adult mice using an inducible knockout model led to sustained tumor suppression across diverse tumor models, while maintaining immune safety over 6 months with minimal immune toxicity. Conclusions: Our study reveals TREX1 as a druggable target to stimulate IFN-I–driven antitumor immunity. Across three distinct therapeutic approaches—small-molecule inhibitor, cell-based vaccination, and systemic gene knockout—TREX1 targeting elicited durable tumor control with minimal autoimmune toxicity, supporting its translational potential as a safe and effective cancer immunotherapy. Citation Format: Cong Xing, Nan Yan. Therapeutic inhibition of TREX1 elicits type I interferon–mediated antitumor immunity with minimal autoimmune toxicity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Mechanisms of Cancer Immunity and Cancer-related Autoimmunity; 2025 Sep 24-27; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2025;13(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PR-16.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".