ILC2-derived IL-9 promotes eosinophil-mediated antitumor activity

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) regulate tissue immunity, yet their roles in tumor control remain incompletely understood. Here, we combined analyses of human sequencing datasets with genetic ablation mouse models and adoptive transfer experiments to identify that glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR) engagement on tumor-infiltrating group 2 ILCs (ILC2s) induced activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) and robust interleukin-9 (IL-9) production, exceeding the modest coinduction of IL-5 and IL-13. ILC2-derived IL-9 promoted intratumoral eosinophil accumulation by enhancing survival, tissue retention, and cytotoxicity through tumor-induced IL-9 receptor expression. Eosinophil ablation abolished GITR-mediated tumor control, whereas adoptive eosinophil transfer restored it. This IL-9-eosinophil pathway suppressed tumor growth in the absence of adaptive lymphocytes. In human datasets, IL-9 and eosinophil signatures were associated with favorable prognosis in melanoma and lung adenocarcinoma. These findings define an innate pathway linking ILC2s to eosinophil-mediated tumor immunity and support GITR agonism as a therapeutic strategy.