CD103⁺ cDC1 and endogenous CD8⁺ T cells are necessary for improved CD40L-overexpressing CAR T cell antitumor function

While effective in specific settings, adoptive chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for cancer requires further improvement and optimization. Our previous results show that CD40L-overexpressing CAR T cells mobilize endogenous immune effectors, resulting in improved antitumor immunity. However, the cell populations required for this protective effect remain to be identified. Here we show, by analyzing Batf3^-/- mice lacking the CD103⁺ conventional dendritic cell type 1 (cDC1) subpopulation important for antigen cross-presentation, that CD40L-overexpressing CAR T cells elicit an impaired antitumor response in the absence of cDC1s. We further find that CD40L-overexpressing CAR T cells stimulate tumor-resident CD11b^-CD103^- double-negative (DN) cDCs to proliferate and differentiate into cDC1s in wild-type mice. Finally, re-challenge experiments show that endogenous CD8⁺ T cells are required for protective antitumor memory in this setting. Our findings thus demonstrate the stimulatory effect of CD40L-overexpressing CAR T cells on innate and adaptive immune cells, and provide a rationale for using CD40L-overexpressing CAR T cells to improve immunotherapy responses.