Immunotherapy response induces divergent tertiary lymphoid structure morphologies in hepatocellular carcinoma

Daniel H. Shu, Won Jin Ho, Luciane T. Kagohara, Alexander Girgis, Sarah M. Shin, Ludmila Danilova, Jae W. Lee, Dimitrios N. Sidiropoulos, Sarah Mitchell, Kabeer Munjal, Kathryn Howe, Kayla J. Bendinelli, Emma Kartalia, Hanfei Qi, Guanglan Mo, Janelle Montagne, James M. Leatherman, Tamara Y. Lopez-Vidal, Qingfeng Zhu, Amanda L. HuffXuan Yuan, Alexei Hernandez, Erin M. Coyne, Neeha Zaidi, Daniel J. Zabransky, Logan L. Engle, Aleksandra Ogurtsova, Marina Baretti, Daniel Laheru, Jennifer N. Durham, Hao Wang, Joel C. Sunshine, Robert J. Johnston, Julie Stein Deutsch, Janis M. Taube, Robert A. Anders, Elizabeth M. Jaffee, Elana J. Fertig, Mark Yarchoan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are associated with improved response in solid tumors treated with immune checkpoint blockade, but understanding of the prognostic and predictive value of TLS and the circumstances of their resolution is incomplete. Here we show that in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant immunotherapy, high intratumoral TLS density at the time of surgery is associated with pathologic response and improved relapse-free survival. In areas of tumor regression, we identify a noncanonical involuted morphology of TLS marked by dispersion of the B cell follicle, persistence of a T cell zone enriched for T cell–mature dendritic cell interactions and increased expression of T cell memory markers. Collectively, these data suggest that TLS can serve as both a prognostic and predictive marker of response to immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma and that late-stage TLS may support T cell memory formation after elimination of a viable tumor.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2110-2123
Number of pages14
JournalNature Immunology
Volume25
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology

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