Ma J, Song J, Yi X, Zhang S, Sun L, Huang L, Han C. Enhanced T cell immune activity mediated by Drp1 promotes the efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in treating lung cancer.
Cancer Immunol Immunother 2024;
73:40. [PMID:
38340166 PMCID:
PMC10858821 DOI:
10.1007/s00262-023-03582-5]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1)-mediated mitochondrial fission plays important roles in the activation, proliferation, and migration of T cells.
METHODS
We investigated the synergistic effect of Drp1-mediated T cell antitumor activities and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade for treating lung cancer through in vitro co-culture experiments and an in vivo nude mouse xenograft model.
RESULTS
High expression levels of Drp1 positively regulated T cell activation, enhanced T cell-induced suppression of lung cancer cells, promoted CD8+ T cell infiltration in the tumor and spleen, and significantly enhanced the antitumor immune response of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab. The mechanism of this synergistic antitumor effect involved the secretion of immune killing-related cytokines and the regulation of the PD-1-ERK/Drp1 pathway in T cells.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that modifying Drp1 expression in T cells could serve as a potential therapeutic target for enhancing the antitumor immune response in future immunotherapies.
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