Wnt3a Neutralization Enhances T-cell Responses through Indirect Mechanisms and Restrains Tumor Growth

2018

Abstract The Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulates T-cell functions, including the repression of effector functions to the advantage of memory development via Tcf1. In a companion study, we demonstrate that, in human cancers, Wnt3a/β-catenin signaling maintains tumor-infiltrating T cells in a partially exhausted status. Here, we have investigated the effects of Wnt3a neutralization in vivo in a mouse tumor model. Abundant Wnt3a was released, mostly by stromal cells, in the tumor microenvironment. We tested whether Wnt3a neutralization in vivo could rescue the effector capacity of tumor-infiltrating T cells, by administering an antibody to Wnt3a to tumor-bearing mice. This therapy restrained tumor…