Dietary intervention through bacterial-derived butyrate elicits anti-tumor activity and increases anti-PD-1 response.
Diet-derived microbial metabolites are emerging as important regulators of antitumor immunity. Among them, the short-chain fatty acid butyrate has been shown to enhance tumor control and improve anti-PD-1 efficacy. To investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms, we performed RNA sequencing of bulk tumors and tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells from mice treated with butyrate, alone or in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that butyrate induces coordinated changes in CD8+ T cell programs related to proliferation, trafficking and metabolic activity, consistent with its ability to potentiate anti-tumor immune responses.These RNA-seq datasets provide a resource to further explore how diet- and microbiome-derived metabolites reprogram effector CD8+ T cells within the tumor microenvironment.