Antigen-Presenting Intratumoral B Cells Affect CD4+ TIL Phenotypes in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

TC Bruno, PJ Ebner, BL Moore, OG Squalls… - Cancer immunology …, 2017 - AACR
TC Bruno, PJ Ebner, BL Moore, OG Squalls, KA Waugh, EB Eruslanov, S Singhal
Cancer immunology research, 2017AACR
Effective immunotherapy options for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are
becoming increasingly available. The immunotherapy focus has been on tumor-infiltrating T
cells (TILs); however, tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIL-Bs) have also been reported to correlate
with NSCLC patient survival. The function of TIL-Bs in human cancer has been
understudied, with little focus on their role as antigen-presenting cells and their influence on
CD4+ TILs. Compared with other immune subsets detected in freshly isolated primary …
Abstract
Effective immunotherapy options for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are becoming increasingly available. The immunotherapy focus has been on tumor-infiltrating T cells (TILs); however, tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIL-Bs) have also been reported to correlate with NSCLC patient survival. The function of TIL-Bs in human cancer has been understudied, with little focus on their role as antigen-presenting cells and their influence on CD4+ TILs. Compared with other immune subsets detected in freshly isolated primary tumors from NSCLC patients, we observed increased numbers of intratumoral B cells relative to B cells from tumor-adjacent tissues. Furthermore, we demonstrated that TIL-Bs can efficiently present antigen to CD4+ TILs and alter the CD4+ TIL phenotype using an in vitro antigen-presentation assay. Specifically, we identified three CD4+ TIL responses to TIL-Bs, which we categorized as activated, antigen-associated, and nonresponsive. Within the activated and antigen-associated CD4+ TIL population, activated TIL-Bs (CD19+CD20+CD69+CD27+CD21+) were associated with an effector T-cell response (IFNγ+ CD4+ TILs). Alternatively, exhausted TIL-Bs (CD19+CD20+CD69+CD27CD21) were associated with a regulatory T-cell phenotype (FoxP3+ CD4+ TILs). Our results demonstrate a new role for TIL-Bs in NSCLC tumors in their interplay with CD4+ TILs in the tumor microenvironment, establishing them as a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(10); 898–907. ©2017 AACR.
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