Citation

Tay T, Bommakanti G, Jaensch E, Gorthi A, Karapa Reddy I, Hu Y, Zhang R, Doshi AS, Tan SL, Brucklacher-Waldert V, Prickett L, Kurasawa J, Overstreet MG, Criscione S, Buenrostro JD, Mele DA. 2024. Degradation of IKZF1 prevents epigenetic progression of T cell exhaustion in an antigen-specific assay. Cell reports. Medicine. 5(11):101804. Pubmed: 39486420 DOI:10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101804

Abstract

In cancer, chronic antigen stimulation drives effector T cells to exhaustion, limiting the efficacy of T cell therapies. Recent studies have demonstrated that epigenetic rewiring governs the transition of T cells from effector to exhausted states and makes a subset of exhausted T cells non-responsive to PD1 checkpoint blockade. Here, we describe an antigen-specific assay for T cell exhaustion that generates T cells phenotypically and transcriptionally similar to those found in human tumors. We perform a screen of human epigenetic regulators, identifying IKZF1 as a driver of T cell exhaustion. We determine that the IKZF1 degrader iberdomide prevents exhaustion by blocking chromatin remodeling at T cell effector enhancers and preserving the binding of AP-1, NF-κB, and NFAT. Thus, our study uncovers a role for IKZF1 as a driver of T cell exhaustion through epigenetic modulation, providing a rationale for the use of iberdomide in solid tumors to prevent T cell exhaustion.
Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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The Buenrostro lab is broadly dedicated to advancing our knowledge of gene regulation and the downstream consequences on cell fate decisions.

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