A distinct innate lymphoid cell population regulates tumor-associated T cells

SQ Crome, LT Nguyen, S Lopez-Verges, SYC Yang… - Nature medicine, 2017 - nature.com
SQ Crome, LT Nguyen, S Lopez-Verges, SYC Yang, B Martin, JY Yam, DJ Johnson, J Nie…
Nature medicine, 2017nature.com
Antitumor T cells are subject to multiple mechanisms of negative regulation,,. Recent
findings that innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) regulate adaptive T cell responses,, led us to
examine the regulatory potential of ILCs in the context of cancer. We identified a unique ILC
population that inhibits tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from high-grade serous tumors,
defined their suppressive capacity in vitro, and performed a comprehensive analysis of their
phenotype. Notably, the presence of this CD56+ CD3− population in TIL cultures was …
Abstract
Antitumor T cells are subject to multiple mechanisms of negative regulation,,. Recent findings that innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) regulate adaptive T cell responses,, led us to examine the regulatory potential of ILCs in the context of cancer. We identified a unique ILC population that inhibits tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from high-grade serous tumors, defined their suppressive capacity in vitro, and performed a comprehensive analysis of their phenotype. Notably, the presence of this CD56+CD3 population in TIL cultures was associated with reduced T cell numbers, and further functional studies demonstrated that this population suppressed TIL expansion and altered TIL cytokine production. Transcriptome analysis and phenotypic characterization determined that regulatory CD56+CD3 cells exhibit low cytotoxic activity, produce IL-22, and have an expression profile that overlaps with those of natural killer (NK) cells and other ILCs. NKp46 was highly expressed by these cells, and addition of anti-NKp46 antibodies to TIL cultures abrogated the ability of these regulatory ILCs to suppress T cell expansion. Notably, the presence of these regulatory ILCs in TIL cultures corresponded with a striking reduction in the time to disease recurrence. These studies demonstrate that a previously uncharacterized ILC population regulates the activity and expansion of tumor-associated T cells.
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