TGF-β signalling limits effector function capacity of NK cell anti-tumour immunity in human bladder cancerResearch in context

• Published in: EBioMedicine Vol. 104; p. 105176
• Main Authors: Joshua K.M. Wong, Timothy R. McCulloch, Louisa Alim, Natacha Omer, Ahmed M. Mehdi, Zewen Kelvin Tuong, Alexis Bonfim-Melo, Eric Chung, Alice Nicol, Fiona Simpson, Handoo Rhee, Gustavo Rodrigues Rossi, Fernando Souza-Fonseca-Guimaraes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 01.06.2024
• Subjects: ADCC; Bladder cancer; CD16; NK cells; TGF-β
• ISSN: 2352-3964

Background: Natural killer (NK) cells are important innate immunity players and have unique abilities to recognize and eliminate cancer cells, particularly in settings of antibody-opsonization and antibody-dependant cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). However, NK cell-based responses in bladder cancers to therapeutic antibodies are typically immunosuppressed, and these immunosuppressive mechanisms are largely unknown. Methods: Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and high-dimensional flow cytometry were used to investigate the phenotype of tumour-infiltrating NK cells in patients with bladder cancer. Further, in vitro, and in vivo models of this disease were used to validate these findings. Findings: NK cells within bladder tumours displayed reduced expression of FcγRIIIa/CD16, the critical Fc receptor involved in ADCC-mediated cytotoxicity, on both transcriptional and protein levels. Transcriptional signatures of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-signalling, a pleiotropic cytokine known for its immunosuppressive and tissue residency-inducing effects, were upregulated in tumour-infiltrating NK cells. TGF-β mediated CD16 downregulation on NK cells, was further validated in vitro, which was accompanied by a transition into a tissue residency phenotype. This CD16 downregulation was also abrogated by TGF-βR signalling inhibition, which could also restore the ADCC ability of NK cells subject to TGF-β effects. In a humanized mouse model of bladder cancer, mice treated with a TGF-β inhibitor exhibited increased ADCC activity compared to mice treated only with antibodies. Interpretation: This study highlights how TGF-β-rich bladder cancers inhibit NK cell-mediated ADCC by downregulating CD16. TGF-β inhibition represents new avenues to reverse immunosuppression and enhance the tumoricidal capacity of NK cells in bladder cancer. Funding: The Guimaraes Laboratory is funded by a US Department of Defense—Breast Cancer Research Program—Breakthrough Award Level 1 (#BC200025), a grant (#2019485) awarded through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF, with the support of the Queensland Children's Hospital Foundation, Microba Life Sciences, Richie's Rainbow Foundation, Translational Research Institute (TRI) and UQ), and a grant (#RSS_2023_085) funded by a Metro South Health Research Support Scheme. J.K.M.W. is funded by a UQ Research Training Program PhD Scholarship and N.O. is funded by a NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship (#2021932).