IL-7R licenses a population of epigenetically poised memory CD8⁺ T cells with superior antitumor efficacy that are critical for melanoma memory.

ABSTRACT: Recurrence of advanced melanoma after therapy is a major risk factor for reduced survival, and treatment options are limited. Antitumor immune memory plays a critical role in preventing melanoma recurrence and memory T cells could be a potent cell-based therapy, but the identity, and functional properties of the required immune cells are incompletely understood. Here, we show that an IL-7R^hi tumor-specific CD8⁺ population is critical for antitumor memory and can be epigenetically augmented to drive powerful antitumor immune responses. Using a model of functional antimelanoma memory, we found that high IL-7R expression selectively marks a CD8⁺ population in lymphoid organs that plays critical roles in maintaining tumor remission after immunotherapy or surgic

SUBMITTER: Micevic G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10372654 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature