Work

Enhancement of immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy by DHX58+ SELL+ T cells in advanced gastric cancer

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Although there have been recent advancements in immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for gastric cancer (GC), pinpointing the essential T‐cell subsets that drive antitumor responses continues to pose a challenge. In this study, we created a coculture system using patient‐derived organoids (PDOs) and tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) that mimics important interactions between PDOs and TILs in the presence of various ICIs. Our findings reveal that CD62L+ T cells, activated by CD44+ cancer stem cells (CSCs), facilitate tumor regression in samples sensitive to ICIs. Additionally, publicly available single‐cell RNA sequencing (scRNA‐seq) data indicate that stem‐like SELL+ T cells, which show increased expression of DHX58, enhance their interactions with CD44+ CSCs in GC patients who have favorable prognoses. This research highlights the promise of DHX58+ SELL+ T cells, in a stem‐like state prompted by CD44+ CSCs, as potential diagnostic markers and targets for T cell‐based immunotherapy in GC.

Source: Open Research (University of Surrey)

DOI: 10.1002/viw.20250212