The NLRP3 inflammasome – interleukin 1β axis in uveal melanoma

Abstract

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular cancer in the adult population. Recent studies suggested that the NLRP3 inflammasome could be a therapeutic target for cutaneous melanoma (CM), but the role of NLRP3 in UM remains unknown. Here, we analyzed the NLRP3‐IL‐1β axis in 5 UM and 4 CM cell lines. Expression of NLRP3 mRNA in UM and CM was low, and expression in UM was lower than in CM (P < 0.001). NLRP3 protein levels were below detection limit for all cell lines. UM exhibited lower baseline IL‐1β secretion than CM, especially when compared to the Hs294t cell line (P < 0.05). Bioinformatic analysis of human tumor samples showed that UM has significantly lower expression of NLRP3 and IL‐1β compared with CM. In conclusion, our work shows evidence of extremely low NLRP3 expression and IL‐1β secretion by melanoma cells and highlight differences between CM and UM.