Authors: Yuki Fujiwara, Robert J. Torphy, Yi Sun, Emily N. Miller, Felix Ho, Nicholas Borcherding, Tuoqi Wu, Raul M. Torres, Weizhou Zhang, Richard D. Schulick, Yuwen Zhu
Published: 2021-10-08
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26135-9
Source: Full article
AbstractThe recently identified G-protein-coupled receptor GPR171 and its ligand BigLEN are thought to regulate food uptake and anxiety. Though GPR171 is commonly used as a T cell signature gene in transcriptomic studies, its potential role in T cell immunity has not been explored. Here we show that GPR171 is transcribed in T cells and its protein expression is induced upon antigen stimulation. The neuropeptide ligand BigLEN interacts with GPR171 to suppress T cell receptor-mediated signalling pathways and to inhibit T cell proliferation. Loss of GPR171 in T cells leads to hyperactivity to antigen stimulation and GPR171 knockout mice exhibit enhanced antitumor immunity. Blockade of GPR171 signalling by an antagonist promotes antitumor T cell immunity and improves immune checkpoint blockade therapies. Together, our study identifies the GPR171/BigLEN axis as a T cell checkpoint pathway that can be modulated for cancer immunotherapy.