IFNγ-activated dermal lymphatic vessels inhibit cytotoxic T cells in melanoma and inflamed skin

Abstract

Mechanisms of immune suppression in peripheral tissues counteract protective immunity to prevent immunopathology and are coopted by tumors for immune evasion. While lymphatic vessels facilitate T cell priming, they also exert immune suppressive effects in lymph nodes at steady-state. Therefore, we hypothesized that peripheral lymphatic vessels acquire suppressive mechanisms to limit local effector CD8+ T cell accumulation in murine skin. We demonstrate that nonhematopoietic PD-L1 is largely expressed by lymphatic and blood endothelial cells and limits CD8+ T cell accumulation in tumor microenvironments. IFNγ produced by tissue-infiltrating, antigen-specific CD8+ T cells, which are in close proximity to tumor-associated lymphatic vessels, is sufficient to induce lymphatic vessel PD-L1 expression. Disruption of IFNγ-dependent crosstalk through lymphatic-specific loss of IFNγR boosts T cell accumulation in infected and malignant skin leading to increased viral pathology and tumor control, respectively. Consequently, we identify IFNγR as an immunological switch in lymphatic vessels that balances protective immunity and immunopathology leading to adaptive immune resistance in melanoma.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 31, 2018
Source ID
10.1084/jem.20180654

Entities

People

  • Alec P. Breazeale
  • Amanda W. Lund
  • Andy Kaempf
  • Christopher P. Loo
  • Guillaume Thibault
  • Julia Femel
  • Motomi Mori
  • Ryan S Lane
  • Takahiro Tsujikawa
  • Young Hwan Chang

Organizations

  • Cancer Research Institute
  • Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
  • Melanoma Research Alliance
  • National Cancer Institute
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Oregon Health & Science University
  • Swedish Research Council
  • United States Department of Defense
  • V Foundation for Cancer Research

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Medicine

Readers

  • Immunology
  • Marine Ecological Systems Migration
  • Oncology