AUTHOR=Zhu Genyuan , Nemoto Satoshi , Mailloux Adam W. , Perez-Villarroel Patricio , Nakagawa Ryosuke , Falahat Rana , Berglund Anders E. , Mulé James J. 

TITLE=Induction of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures With Antitumor Function by a Lymph Node-Derived Stromal Cell Line

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01609

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2018.01609

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) associate with better prognosis in certain cancer types, but their underlying formation and immunological benefit remain to be determined. We established a mouse model of TLSs to study their contribution to antitumor immunity. Because the stroma in lymph nodes (sLN) participates in architectural support, lymphogenesis, and lymphocyte recruitment, we hypothesized that TLSs can be created by sLN. We selected a sLN line with fibroblast morphology that expressed sLN surface markers and lymphoid chemokines. The subcutaneous injection of the sLN line successfully induced TLSs that attracted infiltration of host immune cell subsets. Injection of MC38 tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cells activated TLS-residing lymphocytes to demonstrate specific cytotoxicity. The presence of TLSs suppressed MC38 tumor growth <italic>in vivo</italic> by improving antitumor activity of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes with downregulated immune checkpoint proteins (PD-1 and Tim-3). Future engineering of sLN lines may allow for further enhancements of TLS functions and immune cell compositions.</p>