CD4+ T cells are required to improve the efficacy of CIK therapy in non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

As a widely studied adoptive treatment method, CIK (cytokine-induced killer cells) treatment has shown clinical benefits in many clinical trials on non-small cell lung cancer. As a heterogeneous cell population, however, CIK cells have a strong instability and individual differences in their efficacies, which are collaboratively regulated by the tumor microenvironment and CIK subpopulations. Among them, CD4⁺ T cells belong to a crucial subgroup of the CIK cell population, and their influence on CIK therapy is still unclear. Herein, we show how CD4⁺ T cells positively regulate the functions of CD3⁺CD56⁺ T and CD3⁺CD8⁺ T cells. During this process, we found that Th1/Th17 CD4⁺ subgroups can induce the phosphorylation of the AKT pathway by secreting IL-17A, and upregulate the expression of T-bet/Eomes transcription factors, thereby restoring the function of CD8⁺/CD3⁺CD56⁺ T cells and reversing the exhaustion of PD-1⁺Tim-3⁺ T cells. These findings will provide guidance for the clinical screening of suitable populations for CIK treatment and formulation of strategies for CIK therapy plus immune checkpoint treatment. Based on these findings, we are conducting an open-label phase II study (NCT04836728) is to evaluate the effects of autologous CIKs in combination with PD-1 inhibitor in the first-line treatment of IV NSCLC, and hope to observe patients’ benefits in this clinical trial.

Herein, Liu and colleagues show that CD4⁺ T cells in cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are required to enhance the clinical efficacy of CIK therapy. In addition, CD4⁺ T cells help via IL-17A production is critical to restoring the function of CD8⁺/CD3⁺CD56⁺ T cells and reversing the exhaustion of PD-1⁺TIM-3⁺ T cells in CIK therapy.