Data from Downregulation of Membrane Trafficking Proteins and Lactate Conditioning Determine Loss of Dendritic Cell Function in Lung Cancer

Restoring antigen presentation for efficient and durable activation of tumor-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses is pivotal to immunotherapy, yet the mechanisms that cause subversion of dendritic cell (DC) functions are not entirely understood, limiting the development of targeted approaches. In this study, we show that bona fide DCs resident in lung tumor tissues or DCs exposed to factors derived from whole lung tumors become refractory to endosomal and cytosolic sensor stimulation and fail to secrete IL12 and IFNI. Tumor-conditioned DC exhibited downregulation of the SNARE VAMP3, a regulator of endosomes trafficking critical for cross-presentation of tumor antigens and DC-mediated tumor rejection. Dissection of cell-extrinsic suppressive pathways identified lactic acid in the tumor microenvironment as sufficient to inhibit type-I IFN downstream of TLR3 and STING. DC conditioning by lactate also impacted adaptive function, accelerating antigen degradation and impairing cross-presentation. Importantly, DCs conditioned by lactate failed to prime antitumor responses in vivo. These findings provide a new mechanistic viewpoint to the concept of DC suppression and hold potential for future therapeutic approaches.

Significance: These findings provide insight into the cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic mechanisms that cause loss of presentation of tumor-specific antigens in lung cancer tissues. Cancer Res; 78(7); 1685–99. ©2018 AACR.