Tet2 inactivation enhances the anti-tumor activity of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) to curtail melanoma growth Institutional Repository Document uri icon

abstract

  • Abstract Inactivation of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is one of the mechanisms mitigating anti-tumor immunity during tumor onset and progression. Epigenetic abnormalities are regarded as a major culprit contributing to the dysfunction of TILs within tumor microenvironments. In this study, we used a murine model of melanoma to discover that Tet2 inactivation significantly enhances the anti-tumor activity of TILs, with the efficacy comparable to immune checkpoint inhibition imposed by anti-PD-L1 treatment. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis further revealed that Tet2-deficient TILs exhibit effector-like features. Transcriptomic and ATAC-seq analysis further demonstrated that Tet2 deletion reshapes the chromatin accessibility and favors the binding of transcription factors geared toward CD8+ T cell activation. In summary, our study establishes that Tet2 constitutes one of the epigenetic barriers contributing to dysfunction of TILs, and that Tet2 inactivation could benefit anti-tumor immunity to boost tumor suppression.

author list (cited authors)

  • Lee, M., Li, J., Fang, S., Zhang, J., Vo, A., Han, W., ... Huang, Y.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Lee, Minjung||Li, Jianfang||Fang, Shaohai||Zhang, Joanna||Vo, Anh||Han, Wei||Zeng, Hongxiang||Isgandarova, Sevinj||Martinez-Moczygemba, Margarita||Han, Weidong||Zhou, Yubin||Li, Jia||Sun, Deqiang||Huang, Yun

Book Title

  • Research Square

publication date

  • August 2020