Immunoregulatory molecule B7-H1 (CD274) contributes to skin carcinogenesis.

B7-H1 (CD274), a member of the B7 family of coinhibitory molecules, is often induced in human tumors and its expression is closely correlated with a poor prognosis or higher malignancy grade. Tumor-associated B7-H1 is implicated in mechanisms of immune escape. Under inflammatory conditions, B7-H1 is also inducible in normal epithelial cells, but little is known about its involvement in the conversion of normal cells to tumor cells. We recently found that skin-specific expression of B7-H1 accelerates chemically induced carcinogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), despite impaired skin inflammatory responses, in B7-H1 transgenic (B7-H1tg) mice. B7-H1tg-derived keratinocytes (KC) and SCCs exhibited a marked reduction of E-cadherin, and B7-H1tg-originated SCCs showed elevated expression of the transcription factors Slug and Twist, suggesting that B7-H1 overexpression in KCs promotes the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and accelerates carcinogenesis. This review discusses the diverse functions of B7-H1 in carcinogenesis and cancer progression, and considers future directions for developing cancer therapy targeting B7-H1.