Dopamine Receptor 1 Impedes ILC2-Mediated Antitumor Immunity

J Immunol. 2023 Nov 1;211(9):1418-1425. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300220.

Abstract

Ever-growing evidence has revealed that group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) exhibit pleiotropic effects in antihelminth immunity, allergy, tissue protection, and cancer. Currently, the role of ILC2s in cancer is highly controversial regarding the intricate tumor microenvironment (TME), and the tumor-promoting or antitumor immunological mechanisms of ILC2s remain largely unknown. In this study, we report that dopamine receptor 1 (DRD1) restrains ILC2 activity in the TME. DRD1 deficiency promotes ILC2 activation, which irritates eosinophil recruitment and cytotoxic CD8+ T cell expansion during ongoing malignancy. Consequently, DRD1-deficient mice exhibit delayed tumor growth and reduced tumor progression. Furthermore, fenoldopam, a selective DRD1 agonist, restrains the ILC2 response in the TME and aggravates tumor burden in mice. Taken together, our data elaborate that the DRD1 signal acts as an excitatory rheostat in regulating ILC2-dependent antitumor immunity.