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author Song, No-Joon
Xie, Juan
Jung, Kyeong Joo
Wang, Yi
Pozniak, Joanna
Roda, Niccolo
Marine, Jean-Christophe
Riesenberg, Brian P
Jeon, Hyeongseon
Ma, Anjun
Cox, Nathanael
Wethington, Darren
Reynolds, Kelsi
Xiao, Tong
Li, Anqi
Kronen, Parker
Denko, Nicholas
Carbone, David P
Ma, Qin
Carson, William E
Mundy-Bosse, Bethany L
Burd, Christin E
Das, Jayajit
Chung, Dongjun
Li, Zihai
author_facet Song, No-Joon
Xie, Juan
Jung, Kyeong Joo
Wang, Yi
Pozniak, Joanna
Roda, Niccolo
Marine, Jean-Christophe
Riesenberg, Brian P
Jeon, Hyeongseon
Ma, Anjun
Cox, Nathanael
Wethington, Darren
Reynolds, Kelsi
Xiao, Tong
Li, Anqi
Kronen, Parker
Denko, Nicholas
Carbone, David P
Ma, Qin
Carson, William E
Mundy-Bosse, Bethany L
Burd, Christin E
Das, Jayajit
Chung, Dongjun
Li, Zihai
Song, No-Joon
Xie, Juan
Jung, Kyeong Joo
Wang, Yi
Pozniak, Joanna
Roda, Niccolo
Marine, Jean-Christophe
Riesenberg, Brian P
Jeon, Hyeongseon
Ma, Anjun
Cox, Nathanael
Wethington, Darren
Reynolds, Kelsi
Xiao, Tong
Li, Anqi
Kronen, Parker
Denko, Nicholas
Carbone, David P
Ma, Qin
Carson, William E
Mundy-Bosse, Bethany L
Burd, Christin E
Das, Jayajit
Chung, Dongjun
Li, Zihai
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Tumor-associated NK Cells Regulate Distinct CD8+ T-cell Differentiation Program in Cancer and Contribute to Resistance against Immune Checkpoint Blockers. Song, No-Joon Xie, Juan Jung, Kyeong Joo Wang, Yi Pozniak, Joanna Roda, Niccolo Marine, Jean-Christophe Riesenberg, Brian P Jeon, Hyeongseon Ma, Anjun Cox, Nathanael Wethington, Darren Reynolds, Kelsi Xiao, Tong Li, Anqi Kronen, Parker Denko, Nicholas Carbone, David P Ma, Qin Carson, William E Mundy-Bosse, Bethany L Burd, Christin E Das, Jayajit Chung, Dongjun Li, Zihai Humans CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Killer Cells, Natural Cell Differentiation Mice Neoplasms Animals Drug Resistance, Neoplasm Tumor Microenvironment Immune checkpoint blockers (ICB) targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis represent established therapies for many cancers. However, resistance occurs in most patients due to complex immune-suppressive mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment. NK cells can play effector roles in tumor control, but their impact on T-cell dysfunction and ICB efficacy remains controversial. Through genetic and antibody-mediated NK cell depletion, we found that a subset of tumor-associated NK cells plays a negative role in ICB sensitivity; they further impede CD8+ T-cell differentiation toward a CD69+ BCL2+ EOMES+ GZMB+ TIM3- GITR- phenotype. Mechanistically, the retinoic acid receptor α-dependent differentiation program in CD8+ T cells is hindered by tumor-infiltrating NK cells via competition for IFNα and IL-2. Finally, we observed that lower frequencies of NK cells correlate with better clinical responses to ICBs in patients with cancer. These findings suggest potential avenues for enhancing CD8+ T cell-centered immunotherapy by targeting regulatory NK cells. Although NK cells are traditionally viewed as antitumor effectors, our study uncovers their unexpected suppressive role in CD8+ T cell-based immunotherapy. By competing for cytokines, they disrupt retinoic acid receptor α-driven CD8+ T-cell differentiation and limit ICB efficacy. Clinically, reduced NK cell presence is associated with an enhanced immunotherapy response. See related commentary by Galvez-Cancino et al., p. 1777 See related article by Pozniak et al., p. 1819.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_40530506
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher Cancer discovery
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Tumor-associated NK Cells Regulate Distinct CD8+ T-cell Differentiation Program in Cancer and Contribute to Resistance against Immune Checkpoint Blockers.
Song, No-Joon
Xie, Juan
Jung, Kyeong Joo
Wang, Yi
Pozniak, Joanna
Roda, Niccolo
Marine, Jean-Christophe
Riesenberg, Brian P
Jeon, Hyeongseon
Ma, Anjun
Cox, Nathanael
Wethington, Darren
Reynolds, Kelsi
Xiao, Tong
Li, Anqi
Kronen, Parker
Denko, Nicholas
Carbone, David P
Ma, Qin
Carson, William E
Mundy-Bosse, Bethany L
Burd, Christin E
Das, Jayajit
Chung, Dongjun
Li, Zihai
Humans
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Killer Cells, Natural
Cell Differentiation
Mice
Neoplasms
Animals
Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
Tumor Microenvironment
Tumor-associated NK Cells Regulate Distinct CD8+ T-cell Differentiation Program in Cancer and Contribute to Resistance against Immune Checkpoint Blockers. Song, No-Joon Xie, Juan Jung, Kyeong Joo Wang, Yi Pozniak, Joanna Roda, Niccolo Marine, Jean-Christophe Riesenberg, Brian P Jeon, Hyeongseon Ma, Anjun Cox, Nathanael Wethington, Darren Reynolds, Kelsi Xiao, Tong Li, Anqi Kronen, Parker Denko, Nicholas Carbone, David P Ma, Qin Carson, William E Mundy-Bosse, Bethany L Burd, Christin E Das, Jayajit Chung, Dongjun Li, Zihai Humans CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Killer Cells, Natural Cell Differentiation Mice Neoplasms Animals Drug Resistance, Neoplasm Tumor Microenvironment Immune checkpoint blockers (ICB) targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis represent established therapies for many cancers. However, resistance occurs in most patients due to complex immune-suppressive mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment. NK cells can play effector roles in tumor control, but their impact on T-cell dysfunction and ICB efficacy remains controversial. Through genetic and antibody-mediated NK cell depletion, we found that a subset of tumor-associated NK cells plays a negative role in ICB sensitivity; they further impede CD8+ T-cell differentiation toward a CD69+ BCL2+ EOMES+ GZMB+ TIM3- GITR- phenotype. Mechanistically, the retinoic acid receptor α-dependent differentiation program in CD8+ T cells is hindered by tumor-infiltrating NK cells via competition for IFNα and IL-2. Finally, we observed that lower frequencies of NK cells correlate with better clinical responses to ICBs in patients with cancer. These findings suggest potential avenues for enhancing CD8+ T cell-centered immunotherapy by targeting regulatory NK cells. Although NK cells are traditionally viewed as antitumor effectors, our study uncovers their unexpected suppressive role in CD8+ T cell-based immunotherapy. By competing for cytokines, they disrupt retinoic acid receptor α-driven CD8+ T-cell differentiation and limit ICB efficacy. Clinically, reduced NK cell presence is associated with an enhanced immunotherapy response. See related commentary by Galvez-Cancino et al., p. 1777 See related article by Pozniak et al., p. 1819.
title Tumor-associated NK Cells Regulate Distinct CD8+ T-cell Differentiation Program in Cancer and Contribute to Resistance against Immune Checkpoint Blockers.
topic Humans
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Killer Cells, Natural
Cell Differentiation
Mice
Neoplasms
Animals
Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
Tumor Microenvironment
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40530506/