放射治疗导致头颈癌中肿瘤抗原特异性淋巴细胞优先耗竭。

Radiation therapy results in preferential tumor antigen-specific lymphodepletion in head and neck cancer.

作者信息

Zenga Joseph, Awan Musaddiq J, Frei Anne, Foeckler Jamie, Kuehn Rachel, Kasprzak Julia, Massey Becky, Bruening Jennifer, Akakpo Kenneth, Shukla Monica, Wong Stuart J, Mathison Angela J, Wendt Andrae Jaime, Hunt Bryan, Puzyrenko Andrii, Jin Victor X, Memon Abdullah A, Villarreal Espinosa Oscar, Chen Fanghong, Shaheduzzaman Md, Kearl Tyce, Hematti Peiman, Himburg Heather A

机构信息

Department of Otolaryngology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WIh, USA.

出版信息

Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 1;16(1):5660. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-60827-w.

Abstract

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains a challenging malignancy, with radiotherapy, alone or combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, often failing to achieve durable disease control. Here, by conducting longitudinal multi-omic analyses of pre- and post-radiation biopsies from patients receiving a pre-operative hypofractionated radiation regimen, we uncover that radiation rapidly depletes a subpopulation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), characterized by a proliferative, cytotoxic, and tissue-resident gene signature (T). We provide multi-dimensional evidence for tumor antigen-specificity of T clonotypes and show that post-radiation tumors are instead repopulated by regulatory and non-specific clones. Finally, TIL depletion correlates with radiorecurrent disease after conventional radiation, emphasizing the potential impact of radiation-induced TIL loss regardless of fractionation. Thus, this study provides key insights into radiotherapy-induced alterations in the immune microenvironment that drive immunologic radioresistance and proposes restoring tumor antigen-specific T cell clonotypes as a strategy to improve radioimmunotherapy responses in HNSCC.

摘要

人乳头瘤病毒(HPV)阴性的头颈部鳞状细胞癌(HNSCC)仍然是一种具有挑战性的恶性肿瘤,单独放疗或联合免疫检查点抑制剂往往难以实现持久的疾病控制。在此,通过对接受术前低分割放疗方案的患者放疗前后活检组织进行纵向多组学分析,我们发现放疗会迅速消耗肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞(TIL)的一个亚群,其特征为具有增殖性、细胞毒性和组织驻留基因特征(T)。我们为T克隆型的肿瘤抗原特异性提供了多维度证据,并表明放疗后的肿瘤反而由调节性克隆和非特异性克隆重新填充。最后,TIL消耗与传统放疗后的放射性复发性疾病相关,强调了放疗诱导的TIL损失的潜在影响,而与分割方式无关。因此,本研究为放疗诱导的免疫微环境改变提供了关键见解,这些改变导致免疫放射抗性,并提出恢复肿瘤抗原特异性T细胞克隆型作为改善HNSCC放射免疫治疗反应的一种策略。

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