Differential Abundance of DNA Damage Sensors and Innate Immune Signaling Proteins in Inositol Polyphosphate 4-Phosphatase Type II–Negative Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Classified by Immunotype

The influence of neoplastic cells on the tumor microenvironment is poorly understood. In this study, eight patient samples representing two immunotypes of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), defined by quantitative histologic criteria as T-cell desert and T-cell infiltrated (TCI), were compared via label-free quantitative protein mass spectrometry of material extracted directly from targeted regions of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Of 2934 proteins quantitated, 439 were significantly differentially abundant, among which 361 were overabundant in TCI-TNBC. The 361-protein group included proteins involved in major histocompatibility complex-I antigen processing and presentation, viral defense, DNA damage response, and innate immune signaling. Immunohistochemical validation of selected proteins showed good positive correlation between neoplastic cell histoscores and label-free quantitation. Extension of immunohistochemical analysis to a total of 58 inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase type II–negative TNBC confirmed elevated levels of the DNA damage sensor interferon-γ–inducible protein 16, inflammasome adaptor apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), and pore-forming protein gasdermin D in TCI-TNBC neoplastic cells. By contrast, cGMP-AMP synthase inhibitor barrier to autointegration factor (BAF) was elevated in the neoplastic cells of T-cell desert TNBC. These findings demonstrate a previously unknown correlation between the degree of T-cell infiltration in inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase type II–negative TNBC and the levels, in cognate neoplastic cells, of proteins that modulate innate immune signaling in response to DNA damage.