瘤内 T(reg) 细胞清除激发 NK 细胞介导的对 CD8 T 细胞耐药肿瘤的控制

Cancer cells frequently lose major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) to evade CD8 T cell recognition. Natural killer (NK) cells are poised to target MHC I-deficient cancer cells, but MHC I loss alone is often insufficient to unleash fully effective NK cell responses.

Here, we show that selective intratumoral (IT) ablation of regulatory T cells (T reg cells) elicited potent antitumor NK cell responses that controlled MHC I-deficient and even MHC I + cancers that expressed NKG2D ligands. T reg cells controlled the activation, maturation, and antitumor cytotoxic activity of NK cells within the tumor microenvironment.

Mechanistically, depletion of IT-T reg cells relieved the inhibition of cDC2-dependent induction of IL-2 production by conventional CD4 T cells that was necessary for NK cell activation. Systemically administered antibodies that selectively depleted IT-T reg cells similarly empowered NK cell-dependent tumor control.

These findings expand the breadth of T reg cell-mediated cancer immunosuppression to encompass antitumor NK cells and suggest that therapeutic targeting of T reg cells in tumors can control CD8 T cell-resistant cancers.