Cell Granularity Reflects Immune Cell Function and Enables Selection of Lymphocytes with Superior Attributes for Immunotherapy

Abstract

In keeping with the rule of "form follows function", morphological aspects of a cell can reflect its role. Here, it is shown that the cellular granularity of a lymphocyte, represented by its intrinsic side scatter (SSC), is a potent indicator of its cell state and function. The granularity of a lymphocyte increases from naïve to terminal effector state. High-throughput cell-sorting yields a SSC^high population that can mediate immediate effector functions, and a highly prolific SSC^low population that can give rise to the replenishment of the memory pool. CAR-T cells derived from the younger SSC^low population possess desirable attributes for immunotherapy, manifested by increased naïve-like cells and stem cell memory (T_SCM )-like cells together with a balanced CD4/CD8 ratio, as well as enhanced target-killing in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, lymphocyte segregation based on biophysical properties is an effective approach for label-free selection of cells that share collective functions and can have important applications for cell-based immunotherapies.

Keywords: T cells; cell granularity; immunotherapy; lymphocyte; side scatter.