Abstract PR013: A vagal sensory-to-sympathetic axis restrains anti-tumor immunity
Authors: Wei Haohan , Yu Chuyue , Hu Bo , Zeng Xing , Ichise Hiroshi , Germain Ronald N. , Chang Rui , Jin Chengcheng 
Published: November 2024

Solid tumors are innervated by distinct branches of the peripheral nervous system, and increased tumor innervation has been associated with poor cancer outcomes. However, it remains unexplored whether different types of nerves function together to sense and respond to a tumor, and how neural networks shape cancer immunity. As a major interoceptive system, vagal nerves sense a large variety of body signals and are critical for maintaining physiological homeostasis of visceral organs including the lung. While distinct vagal sensory neuron (VSN) subtypes have been identified to differently regulate pulmonary functions, it is unknown whether these VSNs interact with lung tumors and how they influence cancer progression. Here, we uncover that sensory nerves act through the sympathetic circuit to restrain anti-cancer immunity. Mechanistically, our data suggest that lung tumors hijack the vagal interoceptive system to activate sympathetic efferent nerves in the tumor microenvironment (TME), which in turn drive immune suppression via β2-adrenergic signaling in alveolar macrophages. Our key findings include: By applying anterograde labeling, tissue-clearing and 3D imaging to genetically engineered mouse models, we found that lung adenocarcinoma is richly innervated by vagal sensory nerves. We also showed that neurotrophic factors produced by cancer cells directly promote vagal sensory innervation. Furthermore, scRNA-seq analysis revealed tumor-induced transcriptional reprogramming of lung-innervating VSNs. Using multiple genetic tools to selectively label and deplete different VSN subtypes, we found that Npy2r + /Trpv1 + VSNs but not P2ry1 + VSNs innervate lung tumors and control lung cancer progression by inhibiting anti- cancer immunity. At the organism level, we demonstrated that vagal NPY2R/TRPV1 neurons inhibit anti-cancer immunity via the sympathetic axis. Depletion of vagal NPY2R/TRPV1 neurons resulted in reduced sympathetic nerve activity and a decreased norepinephrine level in the lung TME, whereas pharmacological activation of the sympathetic pathway suppressed the anti-tumor immune responses and restored tumor growth in mice lacking Npy2r + /Trpv1 + VSNs. At the molecular and cellular level, we identified that the vagal-to-sympathetic axis predominantly functions through β2-adrenergic signaling in alveolar macrophages (AMs) to drive immune suppression. AM depletion or selective deletion of β2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) in AMs derepressed the anti-tumor immunity and abolished the tumor-inhibiting effect of Npy2r + /Trpv1 + VSN ablation. Taken together, our study establishes an essential role of the sensory-to-sympathetic circuit in controlling cancer immunosurveillance, supporting the notion that the functional integration of sensory and sympathetic nerves systemically regulates anti- cancer immunity. Translationally, our findings from the preclinical model suggest that targeted disruption of the vagal sensory-to-sympathetic axis may provide new treatments for visceral organ cancers by enhancing anti-tumor immunity.

Citation Format: Haohan Wei, Chuyue Yu, Bo Hu, Xing Zeng, Hiroshi Ichise, Ronald N. Germain, Rui Chang, Chengcheng Jin. A vagal sensory-to-sympathetic axis restrains anti-tumor immunity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Tumor-body Interactions: The Roles of Micro- and Macroenvironment in Cancer; 2024 Nov 17-20; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(22_Suppl):Abstract nr PR013.