Effector T cell responses unleashed by regulatory T cell ablation exacerbate oral squamous cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Immune suppression by CD4⁺FOXP3⁺ regulatory T (Treg) cells and tumor infiltration by CD8⁺ effector T cells represent two major factors impacting response to cancer immunotherapy. Using deconvolution-based transcriptional profiling of human papilloma virus (HPV)-negative oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) and other solid cancers, we demonstrate that the density of Treg cells does not correlate with that of CD8⁺ T cells in many tumors, revealing polarized clusters enriched for either CD8⁺ T cells or CD4⁺ Treg and conventional T cells. In a mouse model of carcinogen-induced OSCC characterized by CD4⁺ T cell enrichment, late-stage Treg cell ablation triggers increased densities of both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺

SUBMITTER: Chao JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8484691 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature