IL-9 promotes the survival and function of human melanoma-infiltrating CD4 + CD8 + double-positive T cells
Résumé
We previously demonstrated an accumulation of tumor-reactive CD4 + CD8 + double positive (DP) T cells within melanoma-infiltrating lymphocytes, supporting their role in the regulation of anti-tumor immune responses. Similarly to their CD8 + counterparts, intra-tumor DP T cells are MHC class-I restricted but differed by a limited lytic activity against autologous melanoma cells. Based on these observations and to further characterize DP T cells, both populations were compared at the transcriptional level. Our results revealed the overexpression of the IL-9 receptor (IL-9R) by DP T cells and prompted us to investigate the impact of IL-9 on their biology. We show that IL-9 favors DP T-cell survival by protecting them from apoptosis and by promoting their proliferation. In addition, IL-9 enhances their ability to produce cytokines and increased their levels of granzyme B/perforin as well as degranulation capacity, leading to a strengthened cytotoxic activity against melanoma cells. Taken together, the IL-9R high DP T-cell population could be a new preferential target for IL-9, which could take part in their retention within the melanoma infiltrate while also favoring their anti-tumor activity. More generally, our results extend the pleiotropic effects of IL-9 to IL-9R-expressing intra-tumor T cells, which could further potentiate anti-tumor immune responses. Keywords: CD4 + CD8 + double-positive T lymphocyte r IL-9R r IL-9 r Melanoma r TIL Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher's web-site
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