Opposing Functions of Distinct Regulatory T Cell Subsets in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Regulatory T (Treg) cells contribute to solid organ cancer progression, except in colorectal cancer (CRC) despite being abundantly present. Here, we demonstrate that two distinct tumoral IL-10 and IL-10- Treg cell subsets exert opposing functions by counteracting and promoting CRC tumor growth, respectively. The tumor restraining activity of IL-10 Treg cells was mediated by their suppression of effector CD4 T cell production of IL-17, which directly stimulates CRC tumor cell proliferation. Consistently, IL-10- Treg cells were more abundant in both mouse and human CRC tumors than in tumor-adjacent normal tissues, whereas IL-10+ Treg cells exhibited the opposite distribution. Furthermore, relative abundance of IL-10 and IL-10- Treg cells correlated with better and worse disease prognoses in human CRC, respectively. This functional dichotomy between Treg cell subsets provides a rationale for therapeutic strategies to selectively target pro-tumoral Treg cells while preserving their anti-tumoral counterparts across barrier tissue cancers that harbor both subsets.