Human breast tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells retain polyfunctionality despite PD-1 expression

Abstract

Functional CD8+T cells in human tumors play a clear role in clinical prognosis and response to immunotherapeutic interventions. PD-1 expression in T cells involved in chronic infections and tumors such as melanoma often correlates with a state of T-cell exhaustion. Here we interrogate CD8+tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from human breast and melanoma tumors to explore their functional state. Despite expression of exhaustion hallmarks, such as PD-1 expression, human breast tumor CD8+TILs retain robust capacity for production of effector cytokines and degranulation capacity. In contrast, melanoma CD8+TILs display dramatic reduction of cytokine production and degranulation capacity. We show that CD8+TILs from human breast tumors can potently kill cancer cells via bi-specific antibodies. Our data demonstrate that CD8+TILs in human breast tumors retain polyfunctionality, despite PD-1 expression, and suggest that they may be harnessed for effective immunotherapies.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 16, 2018
Source ID
10.1038/s41467-018-06653-9

Entities

People

  • Christian Avalos
  • Colt Egelston
  • Diana L. Simons
  • Grecia Jimenez
  • Jae Y. Jung
  • Joanne Mortimer
  • John H. Yim
  • Kim Margolin
  • Laleh Melstrom
  • Laura Kruper
  • Peter P Lee
  • Travis Y Tu

Organizations

  • National Cancer Institute
  • Stand Up to Cancer
  • The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
  • United States Department of Defense

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Immunology
  • Immunology and Pathology
  • Oncology

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Biotechnology - Cancer Biotech