γδ T cells are effectors of immunotherapy in cancers with HLA class I defects

Abstract DNA mismatch repair-deficient (MMR-d) cancers present an abundance of neoantigens that is thought to explain their exceptional responsiveness to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) 1,2 . Here, in contrast to other cancer types 3–5 , we observed that 20 out of 21 (95%) MMR-d cancers with genomic inactivation of β2-microglobulin (encoded by B2M ) retained responsiveness to ICB, suggesting the involvement of immune effector cells other than CD8 + T cells in this context. We next identified a strong association between B2M inactivation and increased infiltration by γδ T cells in MMR-d cancers. These γδ T cells mainly comprised the Vδ1 and Vδ3 subsets, and expressed high levels of PD-1, other activation…

• EC
  European Commission

  Award: 852832
• UL
  Universiteit Leiden
• LU
  Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum
• OI
  Oncode Institute