Osr2 functions as a biomechanical checkpoint to aggravate CD8+ T cell exhaustion in tumor

Abstract

Alterations in extracellular matrix (ECM) architecture and stiffness represent hallmarks of cancer. Whether the biomechanical property of ECM impacts the functionality of tumor-reactive CD8⁺ T cells remains largely unknown. Here, we reveal that the transcription factor (TF) Osr2 integrates biomechanical signaling and facilitates the terminal exhaustion of tumor-reactive CD8⁺ T cells. Osr2 expression is selectively induced in the terminally exhausted tumor-specific CD8⁺ T cell subset by coupled T cell receptor (TCR) signaling and biomechanical stress mediated by the Piezo1/calcium/CREB axis. Consistently, depletion of Osr2 alleviates the exhaustion of tumor-specific CD8⁺ T cells or CAR-T cells, whereas forced Osr2 expression aggravates their exhaustion in solid tumor models. Mechanistically, Osr2 recruits HDAC3 to rewire the epigenetic program for suppressing cytotoxic gene expression and promoting CD8⁺ T cell exhaustion. Thus, our results unravel Osr2 functions as a biomechanical checkpoint to exacerbate CD8⁺ T cell exhaustion and could be targeted to potentiate cancer immunotherapy.

Keywords: Osr2; Piezo1; T cell exhaustion; biomechanical stress; cancer immunotherapy.