1. Academic Validation
  2. Dual modulation of cytotoxic and checkpoint receptors tunes the efficacy of adoptive Delta One T cell therapy against colorectal cancer

Dual modulation of cytotoxic and checkpoint receptors tunes the efficacy of adoptive Delta One T cell therapy against colorectal cancer

  • Nat Cancer. 2025 Jun;6(6):1056-1072. doi: 10.1038/s43018-025-00948-9.
Rafael Blanco-Domínguez 1 Leandro Barros 2 Mariana Carreira 2 Manon van der Ploeg 3 Carolina Condeço 2 Gabriel Marsères 4 Cristina Ferreira 5 Carla Costa 5 Carlos M Ferreira 5 Julie Déchanet-Merville 4 6 Noel F C C de Miranda 3 Sofia Mensurado # 2 Bruno Silva-Santos # 7 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal. rafael.blanco@gimm.pt.
  • 2 Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • 3 Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
  • 4 University of Bordeaux, CNRS, ImmunoConcEpT, UMR 5164, Bordeaux, France.
  • 5 Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • 6 Equipe labelisée LIGUE Contre le Cancer, Bordeaux, France.
  • 7 Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal. bssantos@medicina.ulisboa.pt.
  • 8 Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal. bssantos@medicina.ulisboa.pt.
  • # Contributed equally.
Abstract

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) remains a challenge for current immunotherapies. Vδ1+ γδ T cells offer a promising alternative because of their HLA-I-independent cytotoxicity and natural tissue tropism. We developed Delta One T (DOT) cells, a Vδ1+ γδ T cell-based adoptive cell therapy clinically explored for hematological malignancies but not yet for solid tumors. Here we demonstrate the capacity of DOT cells to target CRC cell lines and patient-derived specimens and organoids in vitro and to control tumor growth in an orthotopic xenograft model of CRC. Notwithstanding, we found tumor-infiltrating DOT cells to exhibit a dysregulated balance of cytotoxic and inhibitory receptors that paralleled that of endogenous Vδ1+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and limited their cytotoxicity. To maximize efficacy, we unveil two strategies, increasing targeting through upregulation of NKG2D ligands upon butyrate administration and blocking the checkpoints TIGIT and PD1, which synergistically unleashed DOT cell cytotoxicity. These findings support DOT cell-based combinatorial approaches for CRC treatment.

Figures
Products