Antigen reactivity defines tissue-resident memory and exhausted T cells in tumors.

ABSTRACT: CD8⁺ T cells are an important weapon in the therapeutic armamentarium against cancer. While CD8⁺CD103⁺ T cells with a tissue-resident memory T (T_RM) cell phenotype are associated with favorable prognoses, the tumor microenvironment also contains dysfunctional exhausted T (T_EX) cells that exhibit a variety of T_RM-like features. Here we deconvolute T_RM and T_EX cells across human cancers, ascribing markers and gene signatures that distinguish these populations and enable their functional distinction. Although T_RM cells have superior functionality and are associated with long-term survival post-tumor resection, they are not associated with responsiveness to immune checkpoint blockade. Tumor-assoc

SUBMITTER: Burn TN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12764432 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature