| First Author | Dixon KO | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 595 |
| Issue | 7865 | Pages | 101-106 |
| PubMed ID | 34108686 | Mgi Jnum | J:314511 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6741208 | Doi | 10.1038/s41586-021-03626-9 |
| Citation | Dixon KO, et al. (2021) TIM-3 restrains anti-tumour immunity by regulating inflammasome activation. Nature 595(7865):101-106 |
| abstractText | T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-containing molecule 3 (TIM-3), first identified as a molecule expressed on interferon-gamma producing T cells(1), is emerging as an important immune-checkpoint molecule, with therapeutic blockade of TIM-3 being investigated in multiple human malignancies. Expression of TIM-3 on CD8(+) T cells in the tumour microenvironment is considered a cardinal sign of T cell dysfunction; however, TIM-3 is also expressed on several other types of immune cell, confounding interpretation of results following blockade using anti-TIM-3 monoclonal antibodies. Here, using conditional knockouts of TIM-3 together with single-cell RNA sequencing, we demonstrate the singular importance of TIM-3 on dendritic cells (DCs), whereby loss of TIM-3 on DCs-but not on CD4(+) or CD8(+) T cells-promotes strong anti-tumour immunity. Loss of TIM-3 prevented DCs from expressing a regulatory program and facilitated the maintenance of CD8(+) effector and stem-like T cells. Conditional deletion of TIM-3 in DCs led to increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species resulting in NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Inhibition of inflammasome activation, or downstream effector cytokines interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and IL-18, completely abrogated the protective anti-tumour immunity observed with TIM-3 deletion in DCs. Together, our findings reveal an important role for TIM-3 in regulating DC function and underscore the potential of TIM-3 blockade in promoting anti-tumour immunity by regulating inflammasome activation. |
