Rab37 mediates trafficking and membrane presentation of PD-1 to sustain T cell exhaustion in lung cancer

Bibliographic Details
Title: Rab37 mediates trafficking and membrane presentation of PD-1 to sustain T cell exhaustion in lung cancer
Authors: Wan-Ting Kuo, I-Ying Kuo, Hung-Chia Hsieh, Ssu-Ting Wu, Wu-Chou Su, Yi-Ching Wang
Source: Journal of Biomedical Science, Vol 31, Iss 1, Pp 1-20 (2024)
Publisher Information: BMC, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Medicine
Subject Terms: PD-1, Rab37, Membrane trafficking, T cell, Lung cancer, Medicine
More Details: Abstract Background Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) is an immune checkpoint receptor expressed on the surface of T cells. High expression of PD-1 leads to T-cell dysfunction in the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the mechanism of intracellular trafficking and plasma membrane presentation of PD-1 remains unclear. Methods Multiple databases of lung cancer patients were integratively analyzed to screen Rab proteins and potential immune-related signaling pathways. Imaging and various biochemical assays were performed in Jurkat T cells, splenocytes, and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Rab37 knockout mice and specimens of lung cancer patients were used to validate the concept. Results Here, we identify novel mechanisms of intracellular trafficking and plasma membrane presentation of PD-1 mediated by Rab37 small GTPase to sustain T cell exhaustion, thereby leading to poor patient outcome. PD-1 colocalized with Rab37-specific vesicles of T cells in a GTP-dependent manner whereby Rab37 mediated dynamic trafficking and membrane presentation of PD-1. However, glycosylation mutant PD-1 delayed cargo recruitment to the Rab37 vesicles, thus stalling membrane presentation. Notably, T cell proliferation and activity were upregulated in tumor-infiltrating T cells from the tumor-bearing Rab37 knockout mice compared to those from wild type. Clinically, the multiplex immunofluorescence-immunohistochemical assay indicated that patients with high Rab37+/PD-1+/TIM3+/CD8+ tumor infiltrating T cell profile correlated with advanced tumor stages and poor overall survival. Moreover, human PBMCs from patients demonstrated high expression of Rab37, which positively correlated with elevated levels of PD-1+ and TIM3+ in CD8+ T cells exhibiting reduced tumoricidal activity. Conclusions Our results provide the first evidence that Rab37 small GTPase mediates trafficking and membrane presentation of PD-1 to sustain T cell exhaustion, and the tumor promoting function of Rab37/PD-1 axis in T cells of TME in lung cancer. The expression profile of Rab37high/PD-1high/TIM3high in tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells is a biomarker for poor prognosis in lung cancer patients.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1423-0127
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/1423-0127
DOI: 10.1186/s12929-024-01009-6
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/f40fd3e99c6c4fc29da14694cc63407c
Accession Number: edsdoj.f40fd3e99c6c4fc29da14694cc63407c
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:14230127
DOI:10.1186/s12929-024-01009-6
Published in:Journal of Biomedical Science
Language:English