PD-L1-expressing tumor-associated macrophages are immunostimulatory and associate with good clinical outcome in human breast cancer

Abstract

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the predominant cells that express programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) within human tumors in addition to cancer cells, and PD-L1⁺ TAMs are generally thought to be immunosuppressive within the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Using single-cell transcriptomic and spatial multiplex immunofluorescence analyses, we show that PD-L1⁺ TAMs are mature and immunostimulatory with spatial preference to T cells. In contrast, PD-L1^- TAMs are immunosuppressive and spatially co-localize with cancer cells. Either higher density of PD-L1⁺ TAMs alone or ratio of PD-L1⁺/PD-L1^- TAMs correlate with favorable clinical outcome in two independent cohorts of patients with breast cancer. Mechanistically, we show that PD-L1 is upregulated during the monocyte-to-macrophage maturation and differentiation process and does not require external IFN-γ stimulus. Functionally, PD-L1⁺ TAMs are more mature/activated and promote CD8⁺ T cells proliferation and cytotoxic capacity. Together, our findings reveal insights into the immunological significance of PD-L1 within the TIME.