[Report] Rescue of exhausted CD8 T cells by PD-1–targeted therapies is CD28-dependent
Programmed cell death–1 (PD-1)–targeted therapies enhance T cell responses and show efficacy in multiple cancers, but the role of costimulatory molecules in this T cell rescue remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the CD28/B7 costimulatory pathway is essential for effective PD-1 therapy during chronic viral infection. Conditional gene deletion showed a cell-intrinsic requirement of CD28 for CD8 T cell proliferation after PD-1 blockade. B7-costimulation was also necessary for effective PD-1 therapy in tumor-bearing mice. In addition, we found that CD8 T cells proliferating in blood after PD-1 therapy of lung cancer patients were predominantly CD28-positive. Taken together, these data demonstrate CD28-costimulation requirement for CD8 T cell rescue and suggest an important role for the CD28/B7 pathway in PD-1 therapy of cancer patients. Authors: Alice O. Kamphorst, Andreas Wieland, Tahseen Nasti, Shu Yang, Ruan Zhang, Daniel L. Barber, Bogumila T. Konieczny, Candace Z. Daugherty, Lydia Koenig, Ke Yu, Gabriel L. Sica, Arlene...