LAG-3 sustains TOX expression and regulates the CD94/NKG2-Qa-1b axis to govern exhausted CD8 T cell NK receptor expression and cytotoxicity

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Institute for Immunology and Immune Health, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  • 2Institute for Immunology and Immune Health, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
  • 3Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  • 4Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  • 5Tara Miller Melanoma Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  • 6Institute for Immunology and Immune Health, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  • 7Institute for Immunology and Immune Health, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
  • 8Department of Immunology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
  • 9Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Tumor Microenvironment Center, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

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Abstract

Exhausted CD8 T (T) cells in chronic viral infection and cancer have sustained co-expression of inhibitory receptors (IRs). T cells can be reinvigorated by blocking IRs, such as PD-1, but synergistic reinvigoration and enhanced disease control can be achieved by co-targeting multiple IRs including PD-1 and LAG-3. To dissect the molecular changes intrinsic when these IR pathways are disrupted, we investigated the impact of loss of PD-1 and/or LAG-3 on T cells during chronic infection. These analyses revealed distinct roles of PD-1 and LAG-3 in regulating T cell proliferation and effector functions, respectively. Moreover, these studies identified an essential role for LAG-3 in sustaining TOX and T cell durability as well as a LAG-3-dependent circuit that generated a CD94/NKG2 subset of T cells with enhanced cytotoxicity mediated by recognition of the stress ligand Qa-1b, with similar observations in humans. These analyses disentangle the non-redundant mechanisms of PD-1 and LAG-3 and their synergy in regulating T cells.

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