The composition and diversity of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cell populations have important consequences on the development of anti-tumor immunity. In a murine model of lung cancer, we have addressed the role of dendritic cell subsets on the generation of various types of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells. We show that CD44+PD1- effector and PD1+TIM3+ exhausted, tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells require XCR1+ DC1s but not IRF4-dependent CD11b+ DC2s. By contrast, immunotherapy responsive CD103+CXCR6+ TRM-like, tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells require both DC1s and DC2s. The same requirement is found in tumor-draining lymph nodes where we identify CD103+CXCR6+ TRM-like precursors that are dependent on both XCR1+ DC1s and CD11b+, migratory DC2s. Mechanistically, we evidence that both types of migratory DCs cooperate. Mild TCR triggering by low MHCI-peptide density at the surface of cross-presenting migratory DC2s and low IL-12 support TGF-β -dependent TRM specification in lymph nodes. High TCR triggering and high MHCI-peptide density at the surface of cross-presenting migratory DC1s and high IL-12 support proliferative expansion and CXCR6 acquisition. Altogether, these findings highlight the induction of intratumoral TRM-like cells under the collective aegis of multiple DCs subsets within tumor-draining lymph nodes reconciliating TRM phenotype instruction with proliferative expansion.

Tumor infiltration by XCR1⁺ conventional dendritic cells (cDC1) correlates strongly with favorable prognosis and improved responses to immunotherapy. Yet, tumor-driven immunosuppressive programs restrict efficient cDC1 recruitment, highlighting the need for strategies to increase cDC1 access to the tumor microenvironment. Here, we establish a proof-of-concept cell-based immunotherapy that enhances the infiltration of circulating cDC1 progenitors and supports their local expansion. Intratumoral engraftment of autologous mesenchymal stromal cells engineered to express membrane bound FLT3L promotes cDC1 recruitment when combined with poly(I:C). We identify poly(I:C)-induced CXCL9 and CCL5 as essential chemokines controlling intratumoral cDC1 infiltration. Stromal cell-mediated local delivery of FLT3L together with CXCL9 and CCL5 is sufficient to enhance cDC1 infiltration in mice or humanized mice settings. Finally, this approach activates antitumor immunity and partially overcomes resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. Collectively, our data support the therapeutic potential of expanding intratumoral cDC1s through local and sustained delivery of FLT3L, CXCL9, and CCL5.

Type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) are critical for initiating adaptive immune responses through the cross-priming of CD8⁺ T cells against antigens from tumor or virus-infected cells. This function depends on specialized cross-presentation pathways that allow cDC1s to process phagocytosed cell debris and present peptide–MHC I complexes. In this study, we identify the small GTPase Rab32 as being highly and selectively over-expressed in cDC1s as compared to cDC2s. While cDC1s from Rab32-deficient mice develop normally and can respond to maturation signals, their capacity to activate CD8⁺ T cells in vivo is impaired. Notably, Rab32- deficient cDC1s retain the ability to stimulate TCR transgenic CD8⁺ T cells ex vivo using both cell-associated antigens and MHC I-binding peptides of varying affinity. However, in vivo , Rab32 is essential for effective CD8⁺ T cell responses to cell-associated antigens, independent of Rab32 expression in T cells themselves. Importantly, Rab32-mediated cross-priming is required for the efficient expansion of tumor-specific CD8⁺ T cells into solid tumors. These findings underscore a critical role for Rab32 in cDC1-mediated cross-priming, highlighting the contribution of non-antigen processing vesicular pathways in shaping CD8⁺ T cell responses to cellular antigens. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Reprogramming T cell metabolism can improve intratumoural fitness. By performing a CRISPR/Cas9 metabolic survey in CD8+ T cells, we identified 83 targets and we applied single-cell RNA sequencing to disclose transcriptome changes associated with each metabolic perturbation in the context of pancreatic cancer. This revealed elongation of very long-chain fatty acids protein 1 (Elovl1) as a metabolic target to sustain effector functions and memory phenotypes in CD8+ T cells. Accordingly, Elovl1 inactivation in adoptively transferred T cells combined with anti-PD-1 showed therapeutic efficacy in resistant pancreatic and melanoma tumours. The accumulation of saturated long-chain fatty acids in Elovl1-deficient T cells destabilized INSIG1, leading to SREBP2 activation, increased plasma membrane cholesterol and stronger T cell receptor signalling. Elovl1-deficient T cells increased mitochondrial fitness and fatty acid oxidation, thus withstanding the metabolic stress imposed by the tumour microenvironment. Finally, ELOVL1 in CD8+ T cells correlated with anti-PD-1 response in patients with melanoma. Altogether, Elovl1 targeting synergizes with anti-PD-1 to promote effective T cell responses.

The composition and diversity of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cell populations have important consequences on the development of anti-tumor immunity. In a murine model of lung cancer, we have addressed the role of dendritic cell subsets on the generation of various types of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells. We show that CD44+PD1- effector and PD1+TIM3+ exhausted, tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells require XCR1+ DCs but not IRF4-dependent DCs. By contrast, CD103+CXCR6+ TRM-like, tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells require both XCR1+ DCs and IRF4-dependent DCs. The same requirement is found in tumor-draining lymph nodes where we identify CD103+CXCR6+ TRM-like precursors that are dependent on both XCR1+ DCs and IRF4-dependent migratory DCs. Mechanistically, we evidence that both types of migratory DCs cooperate. Mild TCR triggering by low MHCI-peptide density at the surface of cross-presenting migratory DC2s and low IL-12 support TGFb-dependent TRM specification in lymph nodes. High TCR triggering and high MHCI-peptide density at the surface of cross-presenting migratory DC1s and high IL-12 support proliferative expansion and CXCR6 acquisition. Altogether, these findings highlight the induction of intratumoral TRM-like cells under the collective aegis of multiple DCs subsets within tumor-draining lymph nodes reconciliating TRM phenotype instruction with proliferative expansion.

Receptors for the Fc fragment of immunoglobulin G (FcyRs) are critical in the defense against pathogens and in monoclonal antibody-based therapies. When activated by immune complexes or opsonized particles, FcyRs are endocytosed. Components of the endocytosis machinery are used during autophagy, a process which is triggered by starvation or by activation of specific receptors. In this work, we demonstrate that activation of FcyRs initiates autophagy, characterized by formation of p62 protein puncta and activation of ULK1, a major component of the autophagy initiation complex. Autophagy induction downstream of FcyRs activation involves the protein phosphatase Pp2a and its enzymatic activity, as demonstrated by in situ protein labeling. In animal models in which autophagy was inactivated or enhanced in myeloid cells, autophagy negatively regulates pro-inflammatory cytokine production downstream of FcyRs receptors, while being required for FcyRs -mediated antibody-induced cell phagocytosis and myeloid cell survival. Our results suggest that, for antibody-based therapeutic strategies that target the activation of FcyRs, an additional level of control can be obtained by manipulation of autophagy.

Cross-presentation by type 1 DCs (cDC1) is critical to induce and sustain antitumoral CD8 T cell responses to model antigens, in various tumor settings. However, the impact of cross-presenting cDC1 and the potential of DC-based therapies in tumors carrying varied levels of bona-fide neoantigens (neoAgs) remain unclear. Here we develop a hypermutated model of non-small cell lung cancer in female mice, encoding genuine MHC-I neoepitopes to study neoAgs-specific CD8 T cell responses in spontaneous settings and upon Flt3L + αCD40 (DC-therapy). We find that cDC1 are required to generate broad CD8 responses against a range of diverse neoAgs. DC-therapy promotes immunogenicity of weaker neoAgs and strongly inhibits the growth of high tumor-mutational burden (TMB) tumors. In contrast, low TMB tumors respond poorly to DC-therapy, generating mild CD8 T cell responses that are not sufficient to block progression. scRNA transcriptional analysis, immune profiling and functional assays unveil the changes induced by DC-therapy in lung tissues, which comprise accumulation of cDC1 with increased immunostimulatory properties and less exhausted effector CD8 T cells. We conclude that boosting cDC1 activity is critical to broaden the diversity of anti-tumoral CD8 T cell responses and to leverage neoAgs content for therapeutic advantage.

Cross-presentation by MHCI is optimally efficient in type 1 dendritic cells (DC) due to their high capacity for antigen processing. However, through specific pathways, other DCs, such as type 2 DCs and inflammatory DCs (iDCs) can also cross-present antigens. FcγR-mediated uptake by type 2 DC and iDC subsets mediates antibody-dependent cross-presentation and activation of CD8+ T cell responses. Here, an important role for the p84 regulatory subunit of PI3Kγ in mediating efficient cross-presentation of exogenous antigens in otherwise inefficient cross-presenting cells, such as type 2 DCs and GM-CSF-derived iDCs is identified. FcγR-mediated cross-presentation is shown in type 2 and iDCs depend on the enzymatic activity of the p84/p110γ complex of PI3Kγ, which controls the activity of the NADPH oxidase NOX2 and ROS production in murine spleen type 2 DCs and GM-CSF-derived iDCs. In contrast, p84/p110γ is largely dispensable for cross-presentation by type 1 DCs. These findings suggest that PI3Kγ-targeted therapies, currently considered for oncological practice, may interfere with the ability of type 2 DCs and iDCs to cross-present antigens contained in immune complexes.

Supplemental Figures S1 - S7 Supplemental Tables S1 - S17

Abstract The efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in NSCLC depends on the tumor mutational burden (TMB). However, a fraction of patients with high TMB and predicted immunogenic neoantigens (neoAgs) do not respond. Here we show that in a model of highly mutated NSCLC, cross-presenting cDC1s are required to induce broad effector CD8+ T cell responses to both strong and weak endogenous neoAgs. Importantly, cDC1 amplification by Flt3L increases immunogenicity of MHC class-I neoepitopes and promotes tumor regression, whilst PD-L1 blockade is ineffective. cDC1 density correlates to CD8+ T cell scores and prognosis, particularly in hypermutated human NSCLC. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the molecular determinants of Flt3L-therapy including expansion of immunogenic lung cDC1 and proliferation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells with reduced exhaustion. We conclude that boosting cDC1 activity is critical to leverage neoAgs content for therapeutic advantage in hypermutated lung tumors that do not respond to ICB.

While positive social-behavioral factors predict longer survival in cancer patients, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Since tumor metastasis are the major cancer mortality factor, we investigated how an enriched environment (EE) conductive to enhanced sensory, cognitive and motor stimulation impact metastatic progression in lungs following intravasation in the circulation. We find that mice housed in EE exhibited reduced number of lung metastatic foci compared to control mice housed in a standard environment (SE). Compared to SE mice, EE mice increased lung inflammation as early as 4 days after circulating tumor cells extravasation. The impact of environmental signals on lung metastasis is independent of adrenergic receptors signaling. By contrast, we find that serum corticosterone levels are lower in EE mice and that glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist reduces the number of lung metastasis in SE mice. In addition, the difference of the number of lung metastasis between SE and EE mice is abolished when inflammatory monocytes are rendered deficient in GR signaling. This decreased GR signaling in inflammatory monocytes of SE mice results in an exacerbated inflammatory profile in the lung. Our study shows that not only EE reduces late stages of metastatic progression in lungs but disclose a novel anti-tumor mechanism whereby GR-dependent reprogramming of inflammatory monocytes can inhibit metastatic progression in lungs. Moreover, while inflammatory monocytes have been shown to promote cancer progression, they also have an anti-tumor effect, suggesting that their role is more complex than currently thought.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are mononuclear phagocytes of hematopoietic origin residing in lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues. DCs are often referred as the sentinels of the immune system as they can sense pathogens and danger signals. Upon activation, DCs migrate to the draining lymph nodes and present antigens to naïve T cells to trigger adaptive immunity. Hematopoietic progenitors for DCs reside in the adult bone marrow (BM). Therefore, BM cell culture systems have been developed to generate large amounts of primary DCs in vitro conveniently enabling to analyze their developmental and functional features. Here, we review various protocols enabling to generate DCs in vitro from murine BM cells and discuss the cellular heterogeneity of each culture system.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells controlling the activation of T cells and thus regulating adaptive immune response against pathogens or tumors. Modeling human DC differentiation and function is crucial for our understanding of immune response and the development of new therapies. Considering DC rarity in human blood, in vitro systems allowing their faithful generation are needed. This chapter will describe a DC differentiation method based on the co-culture of CD34+ cord blood progenitors together with mesenchymal stromal cells (eMSCs) engineered to deliver growth factors and chemokines.

Macrophages from human and mouse skin share phenotypic and functional features, but remain to be characterized in pathological skin conditions. Skin-resident macrophages are known to derive from embryonic precursors or from adult hematopoiesis. In this report, we investigated the origins, phenotypes and functions of macrophage subsets in mouse and human skin and in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) using the spectral flow cytometry technology that enables cell autofluorescence to be considered as a full-fledged parameter. Autofluorescence identifies macrophage subsets expressing the CD206 mannose receptor in human peri-tumoral skin and cSCC. In mouse, all AF(+) macrophages express the CD206 marker, a subset of which also displaying the TIM-4 marker. While TIM-4(-)CD206(+) AF(+) macrophages can differentiate from bone-marrow monocytes and infiltrate skin and tumor, TIM-4 identifies exclusively a skin-resident AF(+) macrophage subset that can derive from prenatal hematopoiesis which is absent in tumor core. In mouse and human, AF(+) macrophages from perilesional skin and cSCC are highly phagocytic cells contrary to their AF(-) counterpart, thus identifying autofluorescence as a bona fide marker for phagocytosis. Our data bring to light autofluorescence as a functional marker characterizing subsets of phagocytic macrophages in skin and cSCC. Autofluorescence can thus be considered as an attractive marker of function of macrophage subsets in pathological context.

Tissue engineering opens multiple opportunities in regenerative medicine, drug testing, and modeling of the hematopoiesis in health and disease. Recapitulating the organization of physiological microenvironments supporting leukocyte development is essential to model faithfully the development of immune cells. Hematopoietic organs are shaped by spatially organized niches defined by multiple cellular contributions. A shared feature of immune niches is the presence of mesenchymal stromal cells endowed with unique roles in organizing niche development, maintenance, and function. Here, we review challenges and opportunities in harnessing stromal cells for the engineering of artificial immune niches and hematopoietic organoids recapitulating leukocyte ontogeny both in vitro and in vivo .

NK cells and tissue-resident innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are innate effectors found in the skin. To investigate their temporal dynamics and specific functions throughout the development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), we combined transcriptomic and immunophenotyping analyses in mouse and human cSCCs. We identified an infiltration of NK cells and ILC1s as well as the presence of a few ILC3s. Adoptive transfer of NK cells in NK cell‒ and ILC-deficient Nfil3-/- mice revealed a role for NK cells in early control of cSCC. During tumor progression, we identified a population skewing with the infiltration of atypical ILC1 secreting inflammatory cytokines but reduced levels of IFN-γ at the papilloma stage. NK cells and ILC1s were functionally impaired, with reduced cytotoxicity and IFN-γ secretion associated with the downregulation of activating receptors. They also showed a high degree of heterogeneity in mouse and human cSCCs with the expression of several markers of exhaustion, including TIGIT on NK cells and PD-1 and TIM-3 on ILC1s. Our data show an enrichment in inflammatory ILC1 at the precancerous stage together with impaired antitumor functions in NK cells and ILC1 that could contribute to the development of cSCC and thus suggest that future immunotherapies should take both ILC populations into account.

Classical dendritic cells (cDCs) are rare sentinel cells specialized in the regulation of adaptive immunity. Modeling cDC development is crucial to study cDCs and harness their therapeutic potential. Here we address whether cDCs could differentiate in response to trophic cues delivered by mesenchymal components of the hematopoietic niche. We find that mesenchymal stromal cells engineered to express membrane-bound FLT3L and stem cell factor (SCF) together with CXCL12 induce the specification of human cDCs from CD34 + hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Engraftment of engineered mesenchymal stromal cells (eMSCs) together with CD34 + HSPCs creates an in vivo synthetic niche in the dermis of immunodeficient mice driving the differentiation of cDCs and CD123 + AXL + CD327 + pre/AS-DCs. cDC2s generated in vivo display higher levels of resemblance with human blood cDCs unattained by in vitro-generated subsets. Altogether, eMSCs provide a unique platform recapitulating the full spectrum of cDC subsets enabling their functional characterization in vivo.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) development has been linked to immune dysfunctions but the mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we report a progressive infiltration of tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) in precancerous and established cSCC lesions from chemically induced skin carcinogenesis. Comparative in-depth gene expression analyses identified a predominant protumor gene expression signature of TANs in lesions compared to their respective surrounding skin. In addition, in vivo depletion of neutrophils delayed tumor growth and significantly increased the frequency of proliferating IFN-γ (interferon-γ)-producing CD8+ T cells. Mechanisms that limited antitumor responses involved high arginase activity, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrite (NO), and the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) on TAN, concomitantly with an induction of PD-1 on CD8+ T cells, which correlated with tumor size. Our data highlight the relevance of targeting neutrophils and PD-L1-PD-1 (programmed death-1) interaction in the treatment of cSCC.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are antigen-presenting cells controlling T cell activation. In humans, the diversity, ontogeny, and functional capabilities of DC subsets are not fully understood. Here, we identified circulating CD88(-)CD1c(+)CD163(+) DCs (called DC3s) as immediate precursors of inflammatory CD88(-)CD14(+)CD1c(+) CD163(+)Fc epsilon RI+ DCs. DC3s develop via a specific pathway activated by GM-CSF, independent of cDC-restricted (CDP) and monocyte-restricted (cMoP) progenitors. Like classical DCs but unlike monocytes, DC3s drove activation of naive T cells. In vitro, DC3s displayed a distinctive ability to prime CD8(+) T cells expressing a tissue homing signature and the epithelial homing alpha-E integrin (CD103) through transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) signaling. In vivo, DC3s infiltrated luminal breast cancer primary tumors, and DC3 infiltration correlated positively with CD8(+)CD103(+)CD69(+) tissue-resident memory T cells. Together, these findings define DC3s as a lineage of inflammatory DCs endowed with a strong potential to regulate tumor immunity.

Abstract Inherent immune suppression represents a major challenge in the treatment of human cancer. The extracellular matrix molecule tenascin-C promotes cancer by multiple mechanisms, yet the roles of tenascin-C in tumor immunity are incompletely understood. Using a 4NQO-induced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) model with abundant and absent tenascin-C, we demonstrated that tenascin-C enforced an immune-suppressive lymphoid stroma via CCL21/CCR7 signaling, leading to increased metastatic tumors. Through TLR4, tenascin-C increased expression of CCR7 in CD11c+ myeloid cells. By inducing CCL21 in lymphatic endothelial cells via integrin α9β1 and binding to CCL21, tenascin-C immobilized CD11c+ cells in the stroma. Inversion of the lymph node-to-tumor CCL21 gradient, recruitment of T regulatory cells, high expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and matrisomal components were hallmarks of the tenascin-C–instructed lymphoid stroma. Ablation of tenascin-C or CCR7 blockade inhibited the lymphoid immune-suppressive stromal properties, reducing tumor growth, progression, and metastasis. Thus, targeting CCR7 could be relevant in human head and neck tumors, as high tenascin-C expression and an immune-suppressive stroma correlate to poor patient survival.