TREM2+ macrophages suppress CD8+ T-cell infiltration after transarterial chemoembolisation in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Background & aims: The immune landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) remains to be clarified. This study aimed to characterise the immune landscape following TACE and the underlying mechanism of HCC progression.

Methods: Tumour samples from five patients with treatment-naive HCC and five patients who received TACE therapy were collected and subjected to single-cell RNA sequencing. Another 22 paired samples were validated using immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry. To clarify the underlying mechanisms, in vitro co-culture experiments and two types of TREM2-KO/WT mouse models, namely, an HCC cell orthotopic injection model and a spontaneous HCC model, were used.

Results: A reduced number of CD8⁺ T cells and an increased number of tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) were observed in the post-TACE microenvironment. TACE therapy reduced the cluster CD8_C4, which was highly enriched with tumour-specific CD8⁺ T cells of pre-exhausted phenotype. TREM2 was found to be highly expressed in TAMs following TACE, which was associated with a poor prognosis. TREM2⁺ TAMs secreted less CXCL9 but more galectin-1 than did TREM2^- TAMs. Galectin-1 promoted PD-L1 overexpression in vessel endothelial cells, impeding CD8⁺ T cell recruitment. TREM2 deficiency also increased CD8⁺ T cell infiltration, which inhibited tumour growth in both in vivo HCC models. More importantly, TREM2 deficiency enhanced the therapeutic effect of anti-PD-L1 blockade.

Conclusions: This study shows that TREM2⁺ TAMs play an important role in suppressing CD8⁺ T cells. TREM2 deficiency increased the therapeutic effect of anti-PD-L1 blockade by enhancing antitumour activity of CD8⁺ T cells. These findings explain the reasons for recurrence and progression after TACE and provide a new target for HCC immunotherapy after TACE.

Impact and implications: Studying the immune landscape in post-TACE HCC is important to uncover the mechanisms of HCC progression. By using scRNA sequencing and functional assays, we discovered that both the number and function of CD8⁺ T cells are compromised, whereas the number of TREM2⁺ TAMs is increased in post-TACE HCC, correlating with worse prognosis. Moreover, TREM2 deficiency dramatically increases CD8⁺ T cell infiltration and augments the therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-L1 blockade. Mechanistically, TREM2⁺ TAMs display lower CXCL9 and increased Gal-1 secretion than do TREM2^- TAMs, with Gal-1 mediating the overexpression of PD-L1 in vessel endothelial cells. These results suggest that TREM2 could be a novel immunotherapeutic target for patients treated with TACE in HCC. This provides an opportunity to break the plateau of limited therapeutic effect. This study has the value of understanding the tumour microenvironment of post-TACE HCC and thinking a new strategy of immunotherapy in the field of HCC. It is therefore of key impact for physicians, scientists and drug developers in the field of liver cancer and gastrointestinal oncology.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Immune microenvironment; TREM2; Transarterial chemoembolisation.