Transcriptome Signature of Vγ9Vδ2 T Cells Treated With Phosphoantigens and Notch Inhibitor Reveals Interplay Between TCR and Notch Signaling Pathways

Gamma delta (gamma delta) T cells, especially the V gamma 9V delta 2 subtype, have been implicated in cancer therapy and thus have earned the spotlight in the past decade. Although one of the most important properties of gamma delta T cells is their activation by phosphoantigens, which are intermediates of the Mevalonate and Rohmer pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis, such as IPP and HDMAPP, respectively, the global effects of such treatments on V gamma 9V delta 2 T cells remain elusive. Here, we used the high-throughput transcriptomics approach to elucidate the transcriptional changes in human V gamma 9V delta 2 T cells upon HDMAPP, IPP, and anti-CD3 treatments in combination with interleukin 2 (IL2) cytokine stimulation. These activation treatments exhibited a dramatic surge in transcription with distinctly enriched pathways. We further assessed the transcriptional dynamics upon inhibition of Notch signaling coupled with activation treatments. We observed that the metabolic processes are most affected upon Notch inhibition via GSI-X. The key effector genes involved in gamma-delta cytotoxic function were downregulated upon Notch blockade even in combination with activation treatment, suggesting a transcriptional crosstalk between T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling and Notch signaling in V gamma 9V delta 2 T cells. Collectively, we demonstrate the effect of the activation of TCR signaling by phosphoantigens or anti-CD3 on the transcriptional status of V gamma 9V delta 2 T cells along with IL2 stimulation. We further show that the blockade of Notch signaling antagonistically affects this activation.

Automated summary

The study elucidated the transcriptional changes in Vγ9Vδ2 T cells upon HDMAPP, IPP, and anti-CD3 treatments in combination with IL2 stimulation, as well as the impact of Notch signaling inhibition on these activation treatments. The results highlighted a transcriptional crosstalk between TCR signaling and Notch signaling in Vγ9Vδ2 T cells.