| First Author | Fujiwara Y | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 5857 |
| PubMed ID | 34615877 | Mgi Jnum | J:314364 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6787603 | Doi | 10.1038/s41467-021-26135-9 |
| Citation | Fujiwara Y, et al. (2021) The GPR171 pathway suppresses T cell activation and limits antitumor immunity. Nat Commun 12(1):5857 |
| abstractText | The recently identified G-protein-coupled receptor GPR171 and its ligand BigLEN are thought to regulate food uptake and anxiety. Though GPR171 is commonly used as a T cell signature gene in transcriptomic studies, its potential role in T cell immunity has not been explored. Here we show that GPR171 is transcribed in T cells and its protein expression is induced upon antigen stimulation. The neuropeptide ligand BigLEN interacts with GPR171 to suppress T cell receptor-mediated signalling pathways and to inhibit T cell proliferation. Loss of GPR171 in T cells leads to hyperactivity to antigen stimulation and GPR171 knockout mice exhibit enhanced antitumor immunity. Blockade of GPR171 signalling by an antagonist promotes antitumor T cell immunity and improves immune checkpoint blockade therapies. Together, our study identifies the GPR171/BigLEN axis as a T cell checkpoint pathway that can be modulated for cancer immunotherapy. |
