Metabolic reinvigoration of NK cells by IL-21 enhances immunotherapy against MHC class I-deficient solid tumors.
Yi Wang, Chao Huang, Guoxin Cai, Massimo Andreatta, Armand Kurum, Yang Zhao, Bing Feng, Min Gao, Santiago J Carmona, Zhan Zhou, Cheng Sun, Yugang Guo, Li Tang
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells, a type of potent cytotoxic lymphocyte, are particularly promising for the treatment of cancers that lose or downregulate major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC class I) expression to evade T cell-mediated immunotherapy. However, the hostile and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) greatly hinders the function of tumor-infiltrating NK cells, thus limiting the therapeutic efficacy. Here, we show a fusion protein of interleukin 21 (IL-21-Fc) that safely and effectively reprograms NK cell metabolism and restores their effector function in vivo. IL-21-Fc synergizes with IL-15 superagonist (IL-15SA) or adoptive NK cell transfer to eradicate MHC class I-deficient tumors and confer durable protection across multiple murine models. Mechanistically, we uncover that IL-21-Fc enhances NK cell effector function by upregulating glycolysis in a lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA)-dependent manner. This study reveals LDHA-dependent metabolic reprogramming as a key axis for NK cell rejuvenation and positions IL-21-Fc as a promising, clinically translatable strategy to overcome TME-mediated suppression in solid tumors.