Longitudinal profiling of tumor-reactive T cells during TIL therapy in metastatic melanoma

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) with expanded autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) can induce durable responses in metastatic melanoma, yet many patients relapse. We profiled tumor-reactive T cell dynamics during TIL therapy using single-cell RNA and TCR sequencing from seven patients to elucidate underlying reasons. We found that tumor-reactive T cells preferentially expanded early during ex vivo TIL culture, transitioning from exhausted to reinvigorated effector states. Particularly, CD8 ⁺ exhausted T cells (Tex) and CD4 ⁺ follicular helper T cell (Tfh), but not CD4 ⁺ Tex, were efficiently reinvigorated. Further, we resolved the heterogeneity of tumor-reactive CD8 ⁺ and CD4 ⁺ subsets, defining unique signatures for their identification during TIL expansion. In addition, non-responders (NRs) exhibit increased levels of Type 17 T cells in TIL products, suggesting a potential association with resistance to therapy. After transfer, tumor-reactive clones rapidly extravasated and established a stem-like reservoir. However, in NRs, CD4 ⁺ regulatory T cells (Tregs) expanded de novo and tumor-reactive CD8 ⁺ T cells reacquired exhaustion markers, limiting their functionality. By contrast, responders (Rs) retained a pool of less differentiated, stem-like cells.

Collectively, these data provide a comprehensive analysis of T cell fates during TIL-ACT providing the basis for new approaches to enhance therapeutic strategies.