TY - JOUR
T1 - ST2/IL-33 axis blockade inhibits regulatory T cell cytotoxicity towards CD8 T cells in the leukemic niche
AU - Jiang, Hua
AU - Fu, Denggang
AU - Pasupuleti, Santhosh Kumar
AU - Ramdas, Baskar
AU - Long, Alan
AU - Ramadan, Abdulraouf M.
AU - Yang, Jinfeng
AU - Kumar, Ramesh
AU - Hartman, Jessica H.
AU - Kendrick, B. Jacob
AU - Simpson, Ed
AU - Gao, Hongyu
AU - Liu, Yunlong
AU - Moore, Drew
AU - Subramanian, Suganya
AU - Berto, Stefano
AU - Gopalakrishnapillai, Anilkumar
AU - Barwe, Sonali P.
AU - Guo, Hongfen
AU - Cheung, Nai Kong V.
AU - Kapur, Reuben
AU - Paczesny, Sophie
N1 - © 2025. The Author(s).
PY - 2025/7/21
Y1 - 2025/7/21
N2 - Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients present with CD8 exhaustion signatures, and pharmacologic inhibition of checkpoints can have therapeutic benefit. The alarmin IL-33 and its receptor STimulation-2 (ST2) promote activation of tissue-regulatory T cells (Treg cells) and accelerate malignant progression in solid tumors, but their role in leukemia remains unclear. Here, we show that ST2+ Treg cells are enriched in bone marrow (BM) of humans and mice with AML and promote CD8+ T cells depletion and exhaustion. ST2 deficiency in Treg cells restores CD8+ T cell function, decreasing AML growth via retention of ST2+ Treg cells precursors in lymph nodes. AML-activated ST2+ Treg cells lack T-bet, IFN-γ and Bcl-6, and kill intratumoral CD8+ T cells by amplified granzyme B-mediated cytotoxicity compared to non-AML primed Treg cells. Engineered anti-ST2 antibodies induce ST2+ Treg cells apoptosis to extend survival in AML models. Together, our findings suggest that ST2 is a potential checkpoint target for AML immunotherapy.
AB - Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients present with CD8 exhaustion signatures, and pharmacologic inhibition of checkpoints can have therapeutic benefit. The alarmin IL-33 and its receptor STimulation-2 (ST2) promote activation of tissue-regulatory T cells (Treg cells) and accelerate malignant progression in solid tumors, but their role in leukemia remains unclear. Here, we show that ST2+ Treg cells are enriched in bone marrow (BM) of humans and mice with AML and promote CD8+ T cells depletion and exhaustion. ST2 deficiency in Treg cells restores CD8+ T cell function, decreasing AML growth via retention of ST2+ Treg cells precursors in lymph nodes. AML-activated ST2+ Treg cells lack T-bet, IFN-γ and Bcl-6, and kill intratumoral CD8+ T cells by amplified granzyme B-mediated cytotoxicity compared to non-AML primed Treg cells. Engineered anti-ST2 antibodies induce ST2+ Treg cells apoptosis to extend survival in AML models. Together, our findings suggest that ST2 is a potential checkpoint target for AML immunotherapy.
KW - Animals
KW - Apoptosis
KW - CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
KW - Cytotoxicity, Immunologic
KW - Female
KW - Granzymes/metabolism
KW - Humans
KW - Interleukin-1 Receptor-Like 1 Protein/metabolism
KW - Interleukin-33/metabolism
KW - Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/immunology
KW - Male
KW - Mice
KW - Mice, Inbred C57BL
KW - Mice, Knockout
KW - T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/immunology
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105011209853
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-025-61647-8
DO - 10.1038/s41467-025-61647-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 40691440
AN - SCOPUS:105011209853
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 16
SP - 6580
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 6580
ER -