NaCl enhances CD8+ T cell effector functions in cancer immunotherapy.
Nat Immunol
; 25(10): 1845-1857, 2024 Oct.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39198631
ABSTRACT
CD8+ T cells control tumors but inevitably become dysfunctional in the tumor microenvironment. Here, we show that sodium chloride (NaCl) counteracts T cell dysfunction to promote cancer regression. NaCl supplementation during CD8+ T cell culture induced effector differentiation, IFN-γ production and cytotoxicity while maintaining the gene networks responsible for stem-like plasticity. Accordingly, adoptive transfer of tumor-specific T cells resulted in superior anti-tumor immunity in a humanized mouse model. In mice, a high-salt diet reduced the growth of experimental tumors in a CD8+ T cell-dependent manner by inhibiting terminal differentiation and enhancing the effector potency of CD8+ T cells. Mechanistically, NaCl enhanced glutamine consumption, which was critical for transcriptional, epigenetic and functional reprogramming. In humans, CD8+ T cells undergoing antigen recognition in tumors and predicting favorable responses to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy resembled those induced by NaCl. Thus, NaCl metabolism is a regulator of CD8+ T cell effector function, with potential implications for cancer immunotherapy.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Sodium Chloride
/
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
/
Immunotherapy
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Nat Immunol
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article