4-1BB Agonist Focuses CD8 Tumor-Infiltrating T-Cell Growth into a Distinct Repertoire Capable of Tumor Recognition in Pancreatic Cancer

Survival for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients is extremely poor and improved therapies are urgently needed. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) adoptive cell therapy (ACT) has shown great promise in other tumor types, such as metastatic melanoma where overall response rates of 50% have been seen. Given this success and the evidence showing that T-cell presence positively correlates with overall survival in PDAC, we sought to enrich for CD8 TILs capable of autologous tumor recognition. In addition, we explored the phenotype and T-cell receptor repertoire of the CD8 TILs in the tumor microenvironment. We used an agonistic 4-1BB mAb during the initial tumor fragment culture to provide 4-1BB costimulation and assessed changes in TIL growth, phenotype, repertoire, and antitumor function. Increased CD8 TIL growth from PDAC tumors was achieved with the aid of an agonistic 4-1BB mAb. Expanded TILs were characterized by an activated but not terminally differentiated phenotype. Moreover, 4-1BB stimulation expanded a more clonal and distinct CD8 TIL repertoire than IL2 alone. TILs from both culture conditions displayed MHC class I-restricted recognition of autologous tumor targets. Costimulation with an anti-4-1BB mAb increases the feasibility of TIL therapy by producing greater numbers of these tumor-reactive T cells. These results suggest that TIL ACT for PDAC is a potential treatment avenue worth further investigation for a patient population in dire need of improved therapy. .