Imprinting of lymphocytes with melanoma antigens acquired by trogocytosis facilitates identification of tumor-reactive T cells

Galit Eisenberg, Ronny Uzana, Aviad Pato, Shoshana Frankenburg, Sharon Merims, Eitan Yefenof, Soldano Ferrone, Tamar Peretz, Arthur Machlenkin*, Michal Lotem

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Trogocytosis is a contact-dependent intercellular transfer of membrane fragments and associated molecules from APCs to effector lymphocytes. We previously demonstrated that trogocytosis also occurs between tumor target and cognate melanoma Agspecific cytotoxic T cells (CTL). In this study, we show that, following trogocytosis, immune effector cells acquire molecular components of the tumor, including surface Ags, which are detectable by specific mAbs. We demonstrate that CD8+ and CD4+ T cells from melanoma patients' PBMC and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) capture melanoma Ags, enabling identification of trogocytosing lymphocytes by staining with Ag-specific Abs. This finding circumvents the necessity of tumor prelabeling, which in the past was mandatory to detect membrane-capturing T cells. Through the detection of melanoma Ags on TIL, we sorted trogocytosing T cells and verified their preferential reactivity and cytotoxicity. Furthermore, tumor Ag-imprinted T cells were detected at low frequency in fresh TIL cultures shortly after extraction from the tumor. Thus, T cell imprinting by tumor Ags may allow the enrichment of melanoma Ag-specific T cells for research and potentially even for the adoptive immunotherapy of patients with cancer.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5856-5865
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Immunology
Volume190
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2013

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Imprinting of lymphocytes with melanoma antigens acquired by trogocytosis facilitates identification of tumor-reactive T cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this