Transcriptomic Profiling of Tumor-Infiltrating CD4 + TIM-3 + T Cells Reveals Their Suppressive, Exhausted, and Metastatic Characteristics in Colorectal Cancer Patients.

T cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (TIM-3) is an immune checkpoint identified as one of the key players in regulating T-cell responses. Studies have shown that TIM-3 is upregulated in the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the precise role of TIM-3 in colorectal cancer (CRC) TME is yet to be elucidated. We performed phenotypic and molecular characterization of TIM-3 ⁺ T cells in the TME and circulation of CRC patients by analyzing tumor tissues (TT, TILs), normal tissues (NT, NILs), and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). TIM-3 was upregulated on both CD4 ⁺ and CD3 ⁺ CD4 ^- (CD8 ⁺ ) TILs. CD4 ⁺ TIM-3 ⁺ TILs expressed higher levels of T regulatory cell (Tregs)-signature genes, including FoxP3 and Helios, compared with their TIM-3 ^- counterparts. Transcriptomic and ingenuity pathway analyses showed that TIM-3 potentially activates inflammatory and tumor metastatic pathways. Moreover, NF-κB-mediated transcription factors were upregulated in CD4 ⁺ TIM-3 ⁺ TILs, which could favor proliferation/invasion and induce inflammatory and T-cell exhaustion pathways. In addition, we found that CD4 ⁺ TIM-3 ⁺ TILs potentially support tumor invasion and metastasis, compared with conventional CD4 ⁺ CD25 ⁺ Tregs in the CRC TME. However, functional studies are warranted to support these findings. In conclusion, this study discloses some of the functional pathways of TIM-3 ⁺ TILs, which could improve their targeting in more specific therapeutic approaches in CRC patients.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.