Tumor-specific cholinergic CD4⁺ T lymphocytes guide immunosurveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Cholinergic nerves are involved in tumor progression and dissemination. In contrast to other visceral tissues, cholinergic innervation in the hepatic parenchyma is poorly detected. It remains unclear whether there is any form of cholinergic regulation of liver cancer. Here, we show that cholinergic T cells curtail the development of liver cancer by supporting antitumor immune responses. In a mouse multihit model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we observed activation of the adaptive immune response and induction of two populations of CD4⁺ T cells expressing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), including regulatory T cells and dysfunctional PD-1⁺ T cells. Tumor antigens drove the clonal expansion of these cholinergic T cells in HCC. Genetic ablation of Chat in T cells l

SUBMITTER: Zheng C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10597839 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature