Hyung-Don Kim1,2, Seongju Jeong2, Seongyeol Park2, Yong Joon Lee2, Young Seok Ju2, Danbee Kim1, Gi-Won Song3, Jae Hoon Lee3, Sang-Yeob Kim4, Jaehoon Shin4, Eui-Cheol Shin2, Shin Hwang3, Changhoon Yoo1, Su-Hyung Park2. 1. Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 2. Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. 3. Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 4. Department of Convergence Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The heterogeneous immune landscapes of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remain largely unknown. Here we aimed to investigate the implications of tissue-resident memory (TRM)-related features of tumour-infiltrating CD8+ T cells (CD8+ TILs) from ICC patients. METHODS: From ICC patients, we obtained blood samples and ICC surgical specimens (n = 33). We performed multicolour flow cytometry, multiplexed immunohistochemistry and RNA sequencing. RESULTS: When compared to peripheral CD8+ T cells, the CD8+ TILs included significantly higher proportions of the CD69+ CD103- and CD69+ CD103+ TRM-like subsets (P < .001 for both). Relative to CD69- and CD69+ CD103- cells, the CD69+ CD103+ CD8+ TILs harboured higher levels of T-cell markers representing tumour specificity (ie CD39), proliferation (ie Ki-67) and T-cell activation (ie HLA-DR and CD38) (all P < .001). Moreover, compared to the stroma, the tumour margin and core density each had a significantly higher density of CD103+ CD8+ TILs (P < .001 for both). ICCs with high proportions of CD69+ CD103+ cells displayed higher levels of parameters associated with response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)-including number of CD8+ TIL infiltrates (P = .019), PD-L1 expression in the tumour (P = .046) and expression of the T cell-inflamed gene signature (P < .001). ICCs with lower proportions of CD69+ CD103+ CD8+ TILs exhibited significant enrichment of genes related to the Wnt/β-catenin (P < .001) and TGF-β pathways (P = .002). CONCLUSION: CD69+ CD103+ TRM-like CD8+ TILs represent prominent tumour-specific immune responses and hold promise as a potential therapeutic target in ICC patients. Differential TRM-related features of ICCs may help develop future immunotherapeutic strategies such as maximizing TRM responses or inhibiting pathways contributing to immune evasion.
BACKGROUND: The heterogeneous immune landscapes of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remain largely unknown. Here we aimed to investigate the implications of tissue-resident memory (TRM)-related features of tumour-infiltrating CD8+ T cells (CD8+ TILs) from ICC patients. METHODS: From ICC patients, we obtained blood samples and ICC surgical specimens (n = 33). We performed multicolour flow cytometry, multiplexed immunohistochemistry and RNA sequencing. RESULTS: When compared to peripheral CD8+ T cells, the CD8+ TILs included significantly higher proportions of the CD69+ CD103- and CD69+ CD103+ TRM-like subsets (P < .001 for both). Relative to CD69- and CD69+ CD103- cells, the CD69+ CD103+ CD8+ TILs harboured higher levels of T-cell markers representing tumour specificity (ie CD39), proliferation (ie Ki-67) and T-cell activation (ie HLA-DR and CD38) (all P < .001). Moreover, compared to the stroma, the tumour margin and core density each had a significantly higher density of CD103+ CD8+ TILs (P < .001 for both). ICCs with high proportions of CD69+ CD103+ cells displayed higher levels of parameters associated with response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)-including number of CD8+ TIL infiltrates (P = .019), PD-L1 expression in the tumour (P = .046) and expression of the T cell-inflamed gene signature (P < .001). ICCs with lower proportions of CD69+ CD103+ CD8+ TILs exhibited significant enrichment of genes related to the Wnt/β-catenin (P < .001) and TGF-β pathways (P = .002). CONCLUSION:CD69+ CD103+ TRM-like CD8+ TILs represent prominent tumour-specific immune responses and hold promise as a potential therapeutic target in ICC patients. Differential TRM-related features of ICCs may help develop future immunotherapeutic strategies such as maximizing TRM responses or inhibiting pathways contributing to immune evasion.
Authors: Dong Liu; Lara Rosaline Heij; Zoltan Czigany; Edgar Dahl; Sven Arke Lang; Tom Florian Ulmer; Tom Luedde; Ulf Peter Neumann; Jan Bednarsch Journal: J Exp Clin Cancer Res Date: 2022-04-07