Natural killer cell accumulation in tumors is dependent on IFN-gamma and CXCR3 ligands

Several studies have correlated high numbers of tumor-infiltrating natural killer (NK) cells with a good prognosis for cancer patients. Our study aimed at identifying factors controlling intratumoral NK cell accumulation in s.c. injected NK cell sensitive tumor models and at studying their effect on survival time of recipient mice. We observed that fewer NK cells infiltrated the tumors in IFN-gamma receptor knockout (IFN-gammaR(-/-)) mice compared with wild-type controls that correlated with decreased survival rate. Exogenous application of IFN-gamma in the tumor augmented levels of ligands of the chemokine receptor CXCR3, increased NK cell accumulation, and prolonged survival. Furthermore, our data show that CD27(high) NK cells, which under steady-state conditions express CXCR3, preferentially accumulated in the tumor tissue. Accordingly, significantly lower numbers of tumor-infiltrating NK cells were detected in CXCR3(-/-) mice, and the capacity of adoptively transferred CXCR3(-/-) NK cells to accumulate in the tumor was severely impaired. Finally, exogenous application of the CXCR3 ligand CXCL10 in the tumor or ectopic expression of CXCL10 by tumor cells increased the numbers of NK cells in the tumors and prolonged NK cell-dependent survival. Our results identify IFN-gamma and the expression of CXCR3 on NK cells as prerequisites for NK cell infiltration into tumors. Exploiting strategies to augment NK cell accumulation in the tumor might lead to the development of effective antitumor therapies.