OX40+ plasmacytoid dendritic cells in the tumor microenvironment promote antitumor immunity
Kate Poropatich, … , Sandeep Samant, Bin Zhang
Kate Poropatich, … , Sandeep Samant, Bin Zhang
Published March 17, 2020
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2020;130(7):3528-3542. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI131992.
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Research Article Immunology Oncology

OX40+ plasmacytoid dendritic cells in the tumor microenvironment promote antitumor immunity

Abstract

Plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), the major producers of type I interferon, are principally recognized as key mediators of antiviral immunity. However, their role in tumor immunity is less clear. Depending on the context, pDCs can promote or suppress antitumor immune responses. In this study, we identified a naturally occurring pDC subset expressing high levels of OX40 (OX40+ pDC) enriched in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. OX40+ pDCs were distinguished by a distinct immunostimulatory phenotype, cytolytic function, and ability to synergize with conventional DCs (cDCs) in generating potent tumor antigen–specific CD8+ T cell responses. Transcriptomically, we found that they selectively utilized EIF2 signaling and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. Moreover, depletion of pDCs in the murine OX40+ pDC–rich tumor model accelerated tumor growth. Collectively, we present evidence of a pDC subset in the TME that favors antitumor immunity.

Authors

Kate Poropatich, Donye Dominguez, Wen-Ching Chan, Jorge Andrade, Yuanyuan Zha, Brian Wray, Jason Miska, Lei Qin, Lisa Cole, Sydney Coates, Urjeet Patel, Sandeep Samant, Bin Zhang

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Figure 6

OX40+ pDCs correlate to survival in cancer patients and suppress tumor growth.

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OX40+ pDCs correlate to survival in cancer patients and suppress tumor g...
(A) Prospective recurrence-free survival (log-rank, Mantel-Cox test) of HNSCC cohort (n = 80), stratified by median (45%) intratumoral pDC OX40 expression, as measured by flow cytometry. (B) Overall survival (log-rank, Mantel-Cox test) of HNSCC patients (n = 500) from the GDC data portal, stratified first by median pDC gene signature Z scores followed by stratification of mean TNFRSF4 (encodes OX40) mRNA levels. (C) Correlation (Pearson, with line of best fit) of TNFRSF4 log2 mRNA levels (among cases with pDChi gene signatures) with CD8+ T effector scores in HNSCC (n = 172). (D) OX40 expression on intratumoral pDCs from different murine tumor models. n =4; 4 experimental replicates. (E) gp100-specific Pmel-1 CD8+ T cell IFN-γ production by proliferating (eFluor 450–low) CD8+ T cells, measured in the presence or absence of pDCs from the dLNs of B16-F10– and B16CCR7-bearing mice. n = 2; 2 experimental repeats. (F) gp100-specific proliferating (eFluor 450–low) Pmel-1 CD8+ T cells in the presence or absence of B16CCR7 pDCs prestimulated with Resiquimod and OX86. n = 2; 2 experimental repeats. (G) Effect of pDC depletion (anti-PDCA1) in B16-F10– and B16CCR7-bearing mice compared with controls (anti-polyclonal IgG). Data are pooled from at least 2 independent experiments with 3 to 5 mice per group. (H) Quantification (by flow cytometry) of conventional cDCs (CD11c+CD11b–) and CD8a+ cDCs from B16CCR7-bearing mice treated with anti-PDCA1 or anti-polyclonal IgG. Data are pooled from individual experiments and normalized to 5 × 105 live cells. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test (D), 2-way ANOVA with Sidak’s test for multiple comparisons (H), and unpaired Student’s t test (G). **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001. Tumor burden data and bar graph data are mean ± SEM.