Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibition sensitizes radiotherapy by promoting T cell infiltration

Radiotherapy could regulate systemic antitumor immunity, while the immune state in the tumor microenvironment (TME) also affects the efficacy of radiotherapy. We have found that higher CD8⁺ T cell infiltration is associated with longer overall survival of lung adenocarcinoma and melanoma patients receiving radiotherapy. 8-Gray radiation increased the transcriptional levels of chemokines in tumor cells in vitro. However, it was not sufficient to induce significant lymphocyte infiltration in vivo. Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) has been reported to inactivate chemokines via post-translational truncation. Single-cell sequencing revealed that dendritic cells (DCs) had a higher DPP4 expression among other cells in the TME and upregulated DPP4 expression after radiation. Combining a DPP4 inhibitor with radiotherapy could promote chemokines expression and T cell infiltration in the TME, enhancing the antitumor effect of radiotherapy. Moreover, this therapy further enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-1. In this study, we demonstrated the underlying mechanism of why radiotherapy failed to induce sufficient T cell infiltration and proposed an effective strategy to promote T cell infiltration and sensitize radiotherapy. These findings demonstrate the translational value of DPP4 inhibition as a complementary approach to enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy and the combination of radiotherapy with immunotherapy.