Tumor-specific T cells in head and neck cancer have rescuable functionality and can be identified through single-cell co-culture.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains a treatment-resistance disease with limited response to immunotherapy. While T cells in HNSCC are known to display phenotypic dysfunction, whether they retain rescuable functional capacity and tumor-killing capability remains unclear.

Methods

To investigate the functionality and tumor-specificity of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) across HNSCCs, malignant cell lines and TILs were derived from 31 HPV-negative HNSCCs at the time of standard surgical resection. T cell functional capacity was evaluated through ex vivo expansion, immunophenotyping, and IsoLight single-cell proteomics. Tumor-specificity was investigated through both bulk and single-cell tumor-TIL co-culture.<

SUBMITTER: Zenga J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10851216 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature