Sensory neuron-derived CCL5 orchestrates an immunosuppressive niche via regulatory T cells to fuel head and neck tumor progression

  • J Immunother Cancer. 2026 May 8;14(5):e013958. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2025-013958.
Kailiu Wu  #  1  2  3 ,  Zhen Zhang  #  1  2  3  4 ,  Xing Qin  #  1  2  3 ,  Guanying Feng  1  2  3 ,  Huasheng Li  1  2  3 ,  Ruiyu Guo  1  2  3 ,  Yuhua Hu  1  2  3 ,  Yikang Ji  1  2  3 ,  Yang Wang  5  6 ,  Ming Yan  7  2  3 ,  Chenping Zhang  7  2  3
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
  • 2. College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
  • 3. National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China.
  • 4. Digital Diagnosis and Treatment Innovation Center for Cancer, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
  • 5. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
  • 6. Fengcheng Hospital of Fengxian District, Shanghai, China.
  • 7. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China [email protected] [email protected] [email protected].
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 42103358 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2025-013958
Abstract

Background: Perineural invasion (PNI) is a hallmark of malignancy in solid tumors, including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and is closely associated with poor prognosis. Emerging evidence suggests a critical association between PNI and the tumor immune microenvironment (TME).

Methods: In this study, we used spatial transcriptomics, in vitro and in vivo experiments, and clinical specimen validation to systematically study the interplay between neural infiltration and immune modulation in OSCC.

Results: Our results suggest that intratumoral nerves may enhance the recruitment of regulatory T cells (Tregs) through C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5)-mediated chemotaxis and further promote the acquisition of an immunosuppressive phenotype in Tregs by activating the RAMP1 signaling pathway. Through these coordinated mechanisms, neural components in the TME contribute to immune suppression and facilitate tumor progression. Therapeutically, both combination of CCL5 blockade with anti-CTLA-4 antibody and the combination of RAMP1 blockade with anti-PD-1 antibody exhibited significantly enhanced anti-tumor efficacy.

Conclusions: This study highlights a previously underappreciated neural-Treg axis in the TME and provides new insights into potential combinatorial strategies for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Keywords
Head and Neck Cancer; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor.
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