TMEM33 deletion potentiates anti-tumor CD8+ T cell immunity

Abstract

Improving responses to cancer immunotherapies requires deeper insight into the cellular mechanisms governing T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity. TMEM33 is an endoplasmic reticulum-resident transmembrane protein enriched across multiple tumor types, with reported functions in anti-viral immunity as well as calcium and lipid homeostasis, yet its role in tumor immunosurveillance remains unknown. Using murine genetic models, we demonstrate that host TMEM33 constrains anti-tumor CD8+ T cell responses. Constitutive Tmem33-/- mice exhibited delayed melanoma tumor growth and increased CD8+ T cell infiltration. Antigen-specific CD8+ compartments in tumors of Tmem33-/- mice showed TCF-1+PD-1+ progenitor-exhausted cell (Tpex) enrichment, elevated effector function and reduced exhaustion, alongside improved effector memory expansion and T-bet expression in draining lymph nodes. We highlight that TMEM33 functions intrinsically within the T cell compartment, as TMEM33 deletion (1) enhanced polyclonal activation of naive CD8+ T cells ex vivo, (2) promoted preferential Tpex accumulation among adoptively transferred naive OT-I cells in B16F10-OVA tumors and draining lymph nodes, and (3) improved the potency of ex vivo-expanded OT-I cells in controlling tumor growth during adoptive cell therapy. Finally, in a large, prospectively recruited metastatic melanoma cohort, lower TMEM33 expression in patient CD8+ T cells significantly correlated with improved survival and elevated TCF-7 (encoding TCF-1). Collectively, our findings define TMEM33 as a formerly unrecognized intrinsic determinant of tumor-directed CD8+ T cell fate that limits Tpex maintenance, and restrains cell therapy responses, suggesting that its modulation may strengthen immunotherapeutic efficacy. One sentence summaryTMEM33 intrinsically limits progenitor exhausted CD8+ T cells, scales anti-tumor responses and predicts melanoma patient survival.