IL-8 drives the differentiation of CD74high neutrophils to activate anti-tumor immunity and attenuate NSCLC progression [I]
Neutrophils infiltrated in the tumor microenvironment (TME) are heterogeneous populations associated with the prognosis of cancer and cancer immunotherapy. However, the plasticity and function of heterogeneous neutrophils in the TME of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain poorly understood. Here, we show that neutrophils produce high levels of IL-8 which induce the differentiation of CD74highSiglecFlow neutrophils and suppress the generation of CD74lowSiglecFhigh neutrophils in the TME of IL-8-humanized (IL8-hu) KrasLSL-G12DTp53fl/fl (KP) and EGFRT790M/Del-Exon19 (EGFRTD) NSCLC mouse models. The CD74highSiglecFlow neutrophils exhibit antigen cross-presentation activity to augment anti-tumor T cell responses. Consistently, deletion of CD74 in IL8-hu neutrophils attenuates the activation of T cells and exacerbates the progression of NSCLC, whereas treatment of a CD74 agonist promotes anti-tumor T cell activation and enhances the effects of anti-PD1 or Osimertinib therapy in the IL8-hu NSCLC mouse models. In addition, we have found that the CD74highCD63low neutrophils in the TME and peripheral blood of advanced NSCLC patients pheno-copy the CD74highSiglecFlow neutrophils in the TME of NSCLC mice and correlate well with the responsiveness to anti-PD-1 plus chemotherapies. Collectively, these data demonstrate an IL-8-CD74high neutrophil axis that promotes anti-tumor immunity in NSCLC. Overall design: Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-seq data in neutrophils sorted from tumor-burdened lungs of KrasLSL-G12D/+Tp53fl/flIL8 mice.