Eosinophils in Lung Metastasis

The recognition of the immune system as a key component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) led to promising therapeutics. Since such therapies benefit only subsets of patients, understanding the activities of immune cells in the TME is required. Eosinophils are an integral part of the TME especially in mucosal tumors. Nonetheless, their role in the TME and the environmental cues that direct their activities are largely unknown. We report that breast cancer lung metastasis are characterized by resident and recruited eosinophils. Eosinophil recruitment to the metastatic sites in the lung was regulated by G protein-coupled receptor signaling but independent of CCR3. Functionally, eosinophils promoted lymphocyte-mediated anti-tumor immunity. Transcriptome and proteomic analyses identified the TME rather than intrinsic differences between eosinophil subsets as a key instructing factor directing anti-tumorigenic eosinophil activities. Specifically, TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma-activated eosinophils facilitated CD4+ and CD8+ T cell infiltration and promoted anti-tumor immunity. Collectively, we identify a mechanism by which the TME trains eosinophils to adopt anti-tumorigenic properties, which may lead to the development of eosinophil-targeted therapeutics.