Dendritic cells control tertiary lymphoid structure development and maintenance in cancer

R Raphaël Mattiuz J Jesse Boumelha E Emmanouil Aerakis (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) J Jessica Le Berichel P Pauline Hamon L Laszlo Halasz A Abishek Vaidya (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) B Brian Y. Soong E Emir Radkevich H Hye Mi Kim (Tumor Microenvironment Center, Department of Immunology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.) M Matthew D. Park R Romain Donne (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) L Leanna Troncoso R Rachel A. Kaplan (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) C Clotilde Hennequin (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) I Isaias Hernández-Verdin (Department of Immunology, Inflammation, Complement and Cancer, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.) L Lucía López (Cellular Immunology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy.) F Frederika Rentzeperis (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) D Darwin D’Souza M Medard Ernest Kaiza (Tumor Microenvironment Center, Department of Immunology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.) I Ian P. MacFawn (Tumor Microenvironment Center, Department of Immunology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.) M Meriem Belabed G Guillaume Mestrallet (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) E Etienne Humblin (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) R Raphaël Merand (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) S Samarth Hegde J Jean-Christophe Lone (GIMM, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine and Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.) G Giorgio Ioannou (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) S Sinem Ozbey (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) I Igor Figueiredo (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) A Alexander Tepper (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) H Hajer Merarda (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) N Nadine Serhan M Maximilian M. Schaefer J Jinping An (Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.) R Ray A. Ohara E Erika Nemeth (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) S Simon Goldstein (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) A Amanda M. Reid (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) M Moataz Noureddine (Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) A Alexandra Tabachnikova (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) G Giulia Maria Piperno (Cellular Immunology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy.) M Maria Tsoumakidou (Institute for Bioinnovation, “Alexander Fleming” Biomedical Sciences Research Center, Vari, Greece.) J Jalal Ahmed (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) A Alexandros D. Polydorides (Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, and Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) N Nina Bhardwaj (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) A Amaia Lujambio (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) Z Zhihong Chen E Edgar Gonzalez Kozlova (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) S Seunghee Kim-Schulze J Joshua D. Brody (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) M Michael Schotsaert C Christine Moussion (Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, USA.) S Sacha Gnjatic V Vladimir Roudko (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) F Florent Ginhoux K Kenneth M. Murphy C Catherine Sautès-Fridman (Department of Immunology, Inflammation, Complement and Cancer, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.) W Wolf Herman Fridman (Department of Immunology, Inflammation, Complement and Cancer, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.) B Brian D. Brown T Thomas U. Marron F Federica Benvenuti (Cellular Immunology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy.) J Jason G. Cyster H Hélène Salmon (Institut Curie, Paris, France.) T Tullia C. Bruno (Tumor Microenvironment Center, Department of Immunology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.) N Nikhil S. Joshi (Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.) A Alice O. Kamphorst (Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.) M Miriam Merad

Abstract

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are associated with immunotherapy response, yet the mechanisms controlling their formation and maintenance remain unclear. Using spatial transcriptomics and multiplex imaging across human tumors, we found that CCR7 + mature dendritic cells (DCs) accumulate in TLSs. In a mouse non–small cell lung cancer model that forms mature TLSs, we show that early TLS development requires interferon-γ (IFN-γ)–driven type 1 conventional dendritic cell (cDC1) maturation, migration to tumor-draining lymph nodes (tdLNs), and T cell recruitment. As tumors progress, TLSs persist independently of tdLN T cell egress, coinciding with cDC1 accumulation within intratumoral CCL19 stromal hubs. There, cDC1–major histocompatibility complex class 1 (MHC-I) and –MHC-II concomitant antigen presentation, along with CD40 signaling, sustain TLS, T follicular helper (T FH ) cell pool, germinal centers, and tumor-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG). These findings highlight local mature cDC1s as key TLS orchestrators and potential targets to enhance antitumor TLS function.

Article Details

Journal Science
Volume / Issue Vol. 393, Issue 6808
Published July 16, 2026
ISSN 0036-8075
Publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science

Journal Info

Science

American Association for the Advancement of Science

ISSN: 0036-8075 Social Sciences

Authors (68)

R

Raphaël Mattiuz

J

Jesse Boumelha

E

Emmanouil Aerakis

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

J

Jessica Le Berichel

P

Pauline Hamon

L

Laszlo Halasz

A

Abishek Vaidya

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

B

Brian Y. Soong

E

Emir Radkevich

H

Hye Mi Kim

Tumor Microenvironment Center, Department of Immunology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

M

Matthew D. Park

R

Romain Donne

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

L

Leanna Troncoso

R

Rachel A. Kaplan

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

C

Clotilde Hennequin

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

I

Isaias Hernández-Verdin

Department of Immunology, Inflammation, Complement and Cancer, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.

L

Lucía López

Cellular Immunology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy.

F

Frederika Rentzeperis

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

D

Darwin D’Souza

M

Medard Ernest Kaiza

Tumor Microenvironment Center, Department of Immunology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

I

Ian P. MacFawn

Tumor Microenvironment Center, Department of Immunology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

M

Meriem Belabed

G

Guillaume Mestrallet

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

E

Etienne Humblin

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

R

Raphaël Merand

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

S

Samarth Hegde

J

Jean-Christophe Lone

GIMM, Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine and Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.

G

Giorgio Ioannou

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

S

Sinem Ozbey

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

I

Igor Figueiredo

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

A

Alexander Tepper

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

H

Hajer Merarda

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

N

Nadine Serhan

M

Maximilian M. Schaefer

J

Jinping An

Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

R

Ray A. Ohara

E

Erika Nemeth

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

S

Simon Goldstein

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

A

Amanda M. Reid

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

M

Moataz Noureddine

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

A

Alexandra Tabachnikova

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

G

Giulia Maria Piperno

Cellular Immunology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy.

M

Maria Tsoumakidou

Institute for Bioinnovation, “Alexander Fleming” Biomedical Sciences Research Center, Vari, Greece.

J

Jalal Ahmed

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

A

Alexandros D. Polydorides

Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, and Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

N

Nina Bhardwaj

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

A

Amaia Lujambio

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

Z

Zhihong Chen

E

Edgar Gonzalez Kozlova

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

S

Seunghee Kim-Schulze

J

Joshua D. Brody

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

M

Michael Schotsaert

C

Christine Moussion

Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, USA.

S

Sacha Gnjatic

V

Vladimir Roudko

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

F

Florent Ginhoux

K

Kenneth M. Murphy

C

Catherine Sautès-Fridman

Department of Immunology, Inflammation, Complement and Cancer, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.

W

Wolf Herman Fridman

Department of Immunology, Inflammation, Complement and Cancer, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.

B

Brian D. Brown

T

Thomas U. Marron

F

Federica Benvenuti

Cellular Immunology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy.

J

Jason G. Cyster

H

Hélène Salmon

Institut Curie, Paris, France.

T

Tullia C. Bruno

Tumor Microenvironment Center, Department of Immunology, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

N

Nikhil S. Joshi

Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.

A

Alice O. Kamphorst

Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

M

Miriam Merad