Zheng Tongsen, Ding Chujie, Lai Shihui, Gao Yang, Lyu Cheng, Liu Caiqi, Shi Jiaqi, Li Xiaobo, Li Mingwei, Meng Hongxue, Li Mingqi, Liang Yingjian, Tai Sheng, Cheng Liang, Zhang Yan, Li Li, Han Peng, Sun Bin, Liu Te, Geng Feng, Hao Dapeng, Zhang Xue
Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, China.
Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China.
Nat Cell Biol. 2025 Sep 9. doi: 10.1038/s41556-025-01753-3.
The colon exhibits higher propensity for tumour development than ileum. However, the role of immune microenvironment differences in driving this disparity remains unclear. Here, by comparing paired ileum and colon samples from patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and healthy donors, we identified ileum-enriched CD160CD8 T cells with previously unrecognized characteristics, including resistance to terminal exhaustion and strong clonal expansion. The transfer of CD160CD8 T cells significantly inhibits tumour growth in microsatellite instability-high and inflammation-induced CRC models. Cd160 knockout accelerates tumour growth, which is mitigated by transferring CD160CD8 T cells. Notably, in microsatellite instability-high and anti-PD-1-resistant CRC models, CD160CD8 T cells improve anti-PD-1 efficacy and overcome its resistance by increasing tumour-infiltrating progenitor-exhausted T cells, nearly eradicating tumours. Mechanistically, we uncover a CD160-PI3K (p85α) interaction that promotes FcεR1γ and 4-1BB expression via the AKT-NF-κB pathway, thereby enhancing CD8 T cell cytotoxicity. Our study reveals CD160 as a crucial regulator of CD8 T cell function and proposes an innovative immunotherapy strategy of transferring CD160CD8 T cells to overcome anti-PD-1 resistance.
与回肠相比,结肠表现出更高的肿瘤发生倾向。然而,免疫微环境差异在导致这种差异中所起的作用仍不清楚。在这里,通过比较来自结直肠癌(CRC)患者和健康供体的配对回肠和结肠样本,我们鉴定出了富含回肠的CD160⁺CD8⁺ T细胞,其具有以前未被认识到的特征,包括对终末耗竭的抗性和强烈的克隆扩增。CD160⁺CD8⁺ T细胞的转移在微卫星高度不稳定和炎症诱导的CRC模型中显著抑制肿瘤生长。Cd160基因敲除会加速肿瘤生长,而通过转移CD160⁺CD8⁺ T细胞可缓解这种情况。值得注意的是,在微卫星高度不稳定和抗PD-1耐药的CRC模型中,CD160⁺CD8⁺ T细胞可提高抗PD-1疗效,并通过增加肿瘤浸润的祖细胞耗竭T细胞来克服其耐药性,几乎根除肿瘤。从机制上讲,我们发现了一种CD160-PI3K(p85α)相互作用,该相互作用通过AKT-NF-κB途径促进FcεR1γ和4-1BB的表达,从而增强CD8⁺ T细胞的细胞毒性。我们的研究揭示了CD160是CD8⁺ T细胞功能的关键调节因子,并提出了一种创新的免疫治疗策略,即转移CD160⁺CD8⁺ T细胞以克服抗PD-1耐药性。