CD163
+ cytokine-producing cDC2 stimulate intratumoral type 1 T cell responses in HPV16-induced oropharyngeal cancer.
J Immunother Cancer 2021;
8:jitc-2020-001053. [PMID:
32771994 PMCID:
PMC7418847 DOI:
10.1136/jitc-2020-001053]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is a distinct clinical entity with a much better prognosis after (chemo)radiotherapy than HPV-negative OPSCC, especially in patients with a concomitant intratumoral HPV-specific and type-1 cytokine-oriented T cell response. However, knowledge on the type of myeloid cells and their coordination with intratumoral T cells and influence on patient outcome in OPSCC is lacking.
Methods
We analyzed the presence of intratumoral myeloid cells and their relationship to tumor-infiltrating T cells and patient outcome in a well-described cohort of HPV16+ patients with OPSCC using multispectral immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and functional analyses.
Results
We show that the tumor microenvironment of HPV16+ OPSCC tumors with such an ongoing HPV16-specific T cell response is highly infiltrated with a newly defined CD163+ cytokine-producing subset of conventional dendritic cell type 2 (cDC2), called DC3. These CD163+ cDC2 predominantly stimulated type 1 T cell polarization and produced high levels of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-18, required for IFNγ and IL-22 production by T cells after cognate antigen stimulation. Tumor-infiltration with these CD163+ cDC2 positively correlated with the infiltration by Tbet+ and tumor-specific T cells, and with prolonged survival.
Conclusions
These data suggest an important role for intratumoral CD163+ cDC2 in stimulating tumor-infiltrating T cells to exert their antitumor effects.
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