Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
12-12-2023
Journal
Cancer Discovery
Abstract
UNLABELLED: The tumor microenvironment (TME) restricts antitumor CD8+ T-cell function and immunotherapy responses. Cancer cells compromise the metabolic fitness of CD8+ T cells within the TME, but the mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that one-carbon (1C) metabolism is enhanced in T cells in an antigen-specific manner. Therapeutic supplementation of 1C metabolism using formate enhances CD8+ T-cell fitness and antitumor efficacy of PD-1 blockade in B16-OVA tumors. Formate supplementation drives transcriptional alterations in CD8+ T-cell metabolism and increases gene signatures for cellular proliferation and activation. Combined formate and anti-PD-1 therapy increases tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, which are essential for enhanced tumor control. Our data demonstrate that formate provides metabolic support to CD8+ T cells reinvigorated by anti-PD-1 to overcome a metabolic vulnerability in 1C metabolism in the TME to further improve T-cell function.
SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies that deficiencies in 1C metabolism limit the efficacy of PD-1 blockade in B16-OVA tumors. Supplementing 1C metabolism with formate during anti-PD-1 therapy enhances CD8+ T-cell fitness in the TME and CD8+ T-cell-mediated tumor clearance. These findings demonstrate that formate supplementation can enhance exhausted CD8+ T-cell function. See related commentary by Lin et al., p. 2507. This article is featured in Selected Articles from This Issue, p. 2489.
Keywords
Humans, Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Neoplasms, Formates, Dietary Supplements, Tumor Microenvironment, One carbon metabolism, formate, PHGDH, immune metabolism, anti-PD-1, anti-tumor immunity, immune checkpoint blockade, tumor microenvironment
Included in
Biochemical Phenomena, Metabolism, and Nutrition Commons, Bioinformatics Commons, Biomedical Informatics Commons, Medical Cell Biology Commons, Medical Immunology Commons, Oncology Commons
Comments
Supplementary Materials
Data Availability Statement
PMID: 37728660