Spatiotemporal Co-Dependency between Macrophages and Exhausted CD8 ⁺ T Cells in Cancer

Abstract

T cell exhaustion is a major impediment to anti-tumor immunity. However, it remains elusive how other immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) contribute to this dysfunctional state. Here we show that the biology of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) and exhausted T cells (T_ex) in the TME is extensively linked. We demonstrate that in vivo depletion of TAM reduces exhaustion programs in tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells and reinvigorates their effector potential. Reciprocally, transcriptional and epigenetic profiling reveals that T_ex express factors that actively recruit monocytes to the TME and shape their differentiation. Using lattice light sheet microscopy, we show that TAM and CD8⁺ T cells engage in unique long-lasting antigen-specific synaptic interactions that fail to activate T cells, but prime them for exhaustion, which is then accelerated in hypoxic conditions. Spatially resolved sequencing supports a spatiotemporal self-enforcing positive feedback circuit that is aligned to protect rather than destroy a tumor.

Keywords: tumor-associated macrophages, tumor microenvironment, T cell exhaustion, anti-tumor immunity, Immunotherapy