Gene expression profile at single cell level of CD44+CD8+ from tumors and PD-1+CD8+ T cells from draining LNs of untreated and aPDL-1 and CTLA-4 treated AT3-OVA-bearing mice.
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE253205 | GEO | 2025/05/27
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:In chronic infections and cancer, exhausted CD8 T cells exhibit heterogeneous subpopulations. TCF1+PD-1+ progenitor exhausted CD8 T cells (Tpex) can self-renew and give rise to Tim-3+PD-1+ terminally differentiated CD8 T cells that retain their effector functions. Tpex cells are thus essential to maintaining a pool of antigen-specific CD8 T cells during persistent antigenic stimulation, and only they respond to PD-1-targeted therapy. Despite their potential as a crucial therapeutic target for immune interventions, the mechanisms controlling the maintenance of virus-specific Tpex cells remain to be determined. We observed approximately 10-fold fewer Tpex cells in the spleens of mice chronically infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) one-year post-infection (p.i.) than at three months p.i. Similar to memory CD8 T cells, Tpex cells have been found to undergo self-renewal in the lymphoid organs, prominently the bone marrow, during chronic LCMV infection. Furthermore, ex vivo treatment with IL-15 preferentially induced the proliferation of Tpex cells rather than the terminally differentiated subsets. Interestingly, single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of LCMV-specific exhausted CD8 T cells after ex vivo IL-15 treatment compared with those before treatment revealed upregulation of ribosome-related genes and downregulation of genes associated with the TCR signaling pathway and apoptosis in both Tpex and Ttex subsets. The exogenous administration of IL-15 to chronically LCMV-infected mice also significantly increased self-renewal of Tpex cells in the spleen and bone marrow. In addition, we assessed the responsiveness of CD8 tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from renal cell carcinoma patients to IL-15. Similar to the data we obtained from chronic viral infection in mice, the expansion of the Tpex subset of PD-1+ CD8 TILs upon ex vivo IL-15 treatment was significantly higher than that of the terminally differentiated subset. These results show that IL-15 could promote self-renewal of Tpex cells, which has important therapeutic implications.
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Project description:T cell exhaustion is a state of functional decline in T cells, driven by chronic antigen exposure and inhibitory signals within the tumor microenvironment. Exhausted CD8+ T cells (Tex) derive from precursor exhausted T cells (Tpex), a self-renewing population responsible for the proliferative burst observed in anti-PD-1 therapies. Exhausted cells are exposed to adenosine in the tumor, yet the role of the CD73/adenosine axis and Tpex/Tex differentiation remains unclear. Using an in vitro model for CD8+ T cell exhaustion, we found that CD73 expression increased during Tpex formation and that its expression is negatively correlated with Tex generation. CD73-deficient (CD73KO) CD8⁺ T cells showed impaired activation and reduced progression to Tex. Moreover, we demonstrated that CD73 promotes transcriptional expression of the adenosine receptor A2A (A2AR) and the differentiation into IFNγ/TNFα-producing Tex cells. RNAseq analysis of exhausted CD73KO CD8+ T cells showed a more stem-like transcriptomic profile and enrichment in genes associated with the immune response than their WT counterpart. In vivo, co-transfer of naïve CD73 KO and WT tumor antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells into tumor-bearing mice showed increased Tpex frequency and numbers among CD73KO cells in tumors. Conversely, in vitro exhaustion in the presence of A2AR agonists decreased Tex frequency and activation/exhaustion markers, while increasing CD73 and CD62L, markers associated with stemness. Supporting this, A2AR blockade with SYN115 in tumor-bearing mice reduced Tpex markers and increased Tex differentiation. Altogether, our data suggest CD73 promotes Tpex-to-Tex differentiation, whereas adenosine-A2AR signaling supports Tpex maintenance in the tumor microenvironment.
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Project description:CD8+ T cells are rendered exhausted in tumor and chronic infection. Among heterogeneous exhausted T cells, a subpopulation of progenitor-like (Tpex) cells have been found important for long-term tumor or pathogen control, and are also the main responders in immunotherapy. Using a new reporter mouse for the orphan nuclear receptor NR4A1, originally characterized critical in T cell dysfunction, we discover that the reporter is highly expressed in Tpex cells in tumor and chronic infection. Enforced expression of Nr4a1 promotes Tpex cell accumulation, whereas tumor control is improved after Nr4a1 deletion, associated with increased effector function but decreased long-term maintenance of CD8+ T cells. Integrating ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analysis, NR4A1 is found to bind and promote the expression of Tpex-related genes, and suppresses terminal differentiation-associated genes. This study therefore has identified a key role of NR4A1 in Tpex regulation and provides a promising target for immunotherapy.
2024-05-09 | GSE266287 | GEO
Project description:CD8+ T cells are rendered exhausted in tumor and chronic infection. Among heterogeneous exhausted T cells, a subpopulation of progenitor-like (Tpex) cells have been found important for long-term tumor or pathogen control, and are also the main responders in immunotherapy. Using a new reporter mouse for the orphan nuclear receptor NR4A1, originally characterized critical in T cell dysfunction, we discover that the reporter is highly expressed in Tpex cells in tumor and chronic infection. Enforced expression of Nr4a1 promotes Tpex cell accumulation, whereas tumor control is improved after Nr4a1 deletion, associated with increased effector function but decreased long-term maintenance of CD8+ T cells. Integrating ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analysis, NR4A1 is found to bind and promote the expression of Tpex-related genes, and suppresses terminal differentiation-associated genes. This study therefore has identified a key role of NR4A1 in Tpex regulation and provides a promising target for immunotherapy.
2024-05-09 | GSE266286 | GEO
Project description:Durability of an antitumor immune response is mediated in part by the persistence of progenitor exhausted CD8 T cells (Tpex). Tpex serve as a source for the pool of effector T cells, and in the absence of their cognate antigen, they are able to preserve their quantity through a process of self-renewal. However, it remains unknown how TCR engagement impacts the self-renewal capacity of Tpex in settings of continued antigen exposure. Here, we used a Lewis lung carcinoma model that elicits an optimal or attenuated TCR signal in CD8 T cells to investigate its effect on Tpex persistence during tumor development. Longitudinal phenotyping and single-cell transcriptomics of tumor-specific T cells revealed that formation of the Tpex reservoir in tumor-draining lymph nodes, and its subsequent replenishment of intratumoral Tpex, is dependent on optimal TCR engagement. Notably, adoptive transfer of optimally primed Tpex into a tumor setting with attenuated TCR stimulation significantly accelerates their terminal differentiation, contrasting to the sustained self-renewal occuring with optimal TCR stimulation. This TCR-reinforced Tpex development and self-renewal is coupled to proximal positioning to dendritic cell niches and epigenetic imprinting that involves increased chromatin accessibility at Egr2 and Tcf1 target loci. Collectively, our study highlights the critical role of TCR engagement in sustaining Tpex during tumor progression
2024-04-05 | GSE262816 | GEO
Project description:Durability of an antitumor immune response is mediated in part by the persistence of progenitor exhausted CD8 T cells (Tpex). Tpex serve as a source for the pool of effector T cells, and in the absence of their cognate antigen, they are able to preserve their quantity through a process of self-renewal. However, it remains unknown how TCR engagement impacts the self-renewal capacity of Tpex in settings of continued antigen exposure. Here, we used a Lewis lung carcinoma model that elicits an optimal or attenuated TCR signal in CD8 T cells to investigate its effect on Tpex persistence during tumor development. Longitudinal phenotyping and single-cell transcriptomics of tumor-specific T cells revealed that formation of the Tpex reservoir in tumor-draining lymph nodes, and its subsequent replenishment of intratumoral Tpex, is dependent on optimal TCR engagement. Notably, adoptive transfer of optimally primed Tpex into a tumor setting with attenuated TCR stimulation significantly accelerates their terminal differentiation, contrasting to the sustained self-renewal occuring with optimal TCR stimulation. This TCR-reinforced Tpex development and self-renewal is coupled to proximal positioning to dendritic cell niches and epigenetic imprinting that involves increased chromatin accessibility at Egr2 and Tcf1 target loci. Collectively, our study highlights the critical role of TCR engagement in sustaining Tpex during tumor progression
2024-04-05 | GSE262843 | GEO
Project description:Durability of an antitumor immune response is mediated in part by the persistence of progenitor exhausted CD8 T cells (Tpex). Tpex serve as a source for the pool of effector T cells, and in the absence of their cognate antigen, they are able to preserve their quantity through a process of self-renewal. However, it remains unknown how TCR engagement impacts the self-renewal capacity of Tpex in settings of continued antigen exposure. Here, we used a Lewis lung carcinoma model that elicits an optimal or attenuated TCR signal in CD8 T cells to investigate its effect on Tpex persistence during tumor development. Longitudinal phenotyping and single-cell transcriptomics of tumor-specific T cells revealed that formation of the Tpex reservoir in tumor-draining lymph nodes, and its subsequent replenishment of intratumoral Tpex, is dependent on optimal TCR engagement. Notably, adoptive transfer of optimally primed Tpex into a tumor setting with attenuated TCR stimulation significantly accelerates their terminal differentiation, contrasting to the sustained self-renewal occuring with optimal TCR stimulation. This TCR-reinforced Tpex development and self-renewal is coupled to proximal positioning to dendritic cell niches and epigenetic imprinting that involves increased chromatin accessibility at Egr2 and Tcf1 target loci. Collectively, our study highlights the critical role of TCR engagement in sustaining Tpex during tumor progression
2024-04-05 | GSE262842 | GEO
Project description:Durability of an antitumor immune response is mediated in part by the persistence of progenitor exhausted CD8 T cells (Tpex). Tpex serve as a source for the pool of effector T cells, and in the absence of their cognate antigen, they are able to preserve their quantity through a process of self-renewal. However, it remains unknown how TCR engagement impacts the self-renewal capacity of Tpex in settings of continued antigen exposure. Here, we used a Lewis lung carcinoma model that elicits an optimal or attenuated TCR signal in CD8 T cells to investigate its effect on Tpex persistence during tumor development. Longitudinal phenotyping and single-cell transcriptomics of tumor-specific T cells revealed that formation of the Tpex reservoir in tumor-draining lymph nodes, and its subsequent replenishment of intratumoral Tpex, is dependent on optimal TCR engagement. Notably, adoptive transfer of optimally primed Tpex into a tumor setting with attenuated TCR stimulation significantly accelerates their terminal differentiation, contrasting to the sustained self-renewal occuring with optimal TCR stimulation. This TCR-reinforced Tpex development and self-renewal is coupled to proximal positioning to dendritic cell niches and epigenetic imprinting that involves increased chromatin accessibility at Egr2 and Tcf1 target loci. Collectively, our study highlights the critical role of TCR engagement in sustaining Tpex during tumor progression
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Project description:In chronic viral infections, sustained CD8+ T cell response relies on TCF1+ precursor exhausted T cells (TPEX) exhibiting stem-like properties. TPEX self-renew and respond to PD-1 blockade, underscoring their paramount importance. However, strategies for effectively augmenting TPEX remain limited. Here, we demonstrate that ZC3H12A deficiency initiates a stemness program in TPEX but also increases cell death, whereas BCOR deficiency predominantly promotes TPEX proliferation. Consequently, co-targeting of both BCOR and ZC3H12A imparts exceptional stemness and functionality to TPEX, thereby enhancing viral control. Mechanistically, BCOR and ZC3H12A collaboratively suppress a core stemness program in TPEX characterized by heightened expression of approximately 216 factors. While TCF1 plays a role, this core stemness program relies on novel factors, including PDZK1IP1, IFIT3, PIM2, LTB, and POU2F2. Crucially, overexpressing POU2F2 robustly boosts TPEX and enhances antiviral immunity. Thus, a core stemness program exists in exhausted T cells, jointly repressed by BCOR and ZC3H12A, robustly controlling TPEX differentiation and providing new targets for addressing T cell exhaustion.
2025-04-23 | GSE285178 | GEO
Project description:In chronic viral infections, sustained CD8+ T cell response relies on TCF1+ precursor exhausted T cells (TPEX) exhibiting stem-like properties. TPEX self-renew and respond to PD-1 blockade, underscoring their paramount importance. However, strategies for effectively augmenting TPEX remain limited. Here, we demonstrate that ZC3H12A deficiency initiates a stemness program in TPEX but also increases cell death, whereas BCOR deficiency predominantly promotes TPEX proliferation. Consequently, co-targeting of both BCOR and ZC3H12A imparts exceptional stemness and functionality to TPEX, thereby enhancing viral control. Mechanistically, BCOR and ZC3H12A collaboratively suppress a core stemness program in TPEX characterized by heightened expression of approximately 216 factors. While TCF1 plays a role, this core stemness program relies on novel factors, including PDZK1IP1, IFIT3, PIM2, LTB, and POU2F2. Crucially, overexpressing POU2F2 robustly boosts TPEX and enhances antiviral immunity. Thus, a core stemness program exists in exhausted T cells, jointly repressed by BCOR and ZC3H12A, robustly controlling TPEX differentiation and providing new targets for addressing T cell exhaustion.
2025-04-23 | GSE285181 | GEO