Autologous Peripheral Vγ9Vδ2 T Cell Synergizes with αβ T Cell Through Antigen Presentation and BTN3A1 Blockade in Immunotherapy of Cervical Cancer

Abstract

Abstract New treatment strategies are urgently needed for patients with advanced cervical cancer (CC). Here, a synergistic anti‐CC effect of a novel combinatorial immunotherapy with adoptively transferred autologous Vγ9Vδ2 T cells and αβ T cells is shown. The pivotal role of both circulating and tumor‐infiltrating Vγ9Vδ2 T cells in anti‐CC immunity is uncovered. Importantly, autologous Vγ9Vδ2 T cells show a synergistic anti‐CC effect with αβ T cells not only through killing tumor directly, but also by promoting the activation and tumoricidal activity of syngeneic αβ T cells through antigen presentation, which can be further boosted by conventional chemotherapy. Moreover, Vγ9Vδ2 T cells can restore the tumoricidal function of αβ T cell through competitively binding to BTN3A1, a TCR‐Vγ9Vδ2 ligand on CC cells upregulated by IFN‐γ derived from activated αβ T cell. These findings uncover a critical synergistic effect of autologous Vγ9Vδ2 T cells and αβ T cells in immunotherapy of CC and reveal the underlying mechanisms.

Keywords

• antigen presentation
• BTN3A1
• cervical cancer
• immunotherapy
• Vγ9Vδ2 T cell
• α