Multiplexed imaging mass cytometry of the chemokine milieus in melanoma characterizes features of the response to immunotherapy

Authors: Tobias Hoch, Daniel Schulz, Nils Eling, Julia Martínez Gómez, Mitchell P. Levesque, Bernd Bodenmiller

Published: 2022-04-01

Abstract

Intratumoral immune cells are crucial for tumor control and antitumor responses during immunotherapy. Immune cell trafficking into tumors is mediated by binding of specific immune cell receptors to chemokines, a class of secreted chemotactic cytokines. To broadly characterize chemokine expression and function in melanoma, we used multiplexed mass cytometry–based imaging of protein markers and RNA transcripts to analyze the chemokine landscape and immune infiltration in metastatic melanoma samples. Tumors that lacked immune infiltration were devoid of most of the profiled chemokines and exhibited low levels of antigen presentation and markers of inflammation. Infiltrated tumors were characterized by expression of multiple chemokines.