Biopsy analysis reveals spatial exclusion and contact-dependent suppression of CD8+ T cells by neutrophils in head and neck cancer, indicating distinct myeloid regulatory niches.
Key Points
To investigate the spatial distribution and functional impact of tumor-associated neutrophils and macrophages on CD8+ T cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Analyzed pre-treatment biopsies from 14 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma using multiplex immunofluorescence staining.
Quantified neutrophil, macrophage, and CD8+ T cell enrichment within tumor nests versus the stromal compartment and mapped spatial immune overlap niches.
Neutrophils, macrophages, and CD8+ T cells were all primarily enriched within the tumor stroma rather than tumor nests.
CD8+ T cells spatially co-localized with macrophages but demonstrated spatial exclusion from neutrophils.
In regions where CD8+ T cells and neutrophils overlapped, neutrophils were associated with suppressed CD8+ T cell proliferation, indicating contact-dependent inhibition.