CAR-T triggers TAM reeducation and adaptive anti-tumor response via TREM2 deficiency or CD40 agonist.

Abstract

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapy targeting GPC3 shows unsatisfactory clinical efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Combining clinical data and the immunocompetent orthotopic HCC model, we demonstrate that TREM2⁺ tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are critical mediators of GPC3-CAR-T resistance. We find that Trem2 deficiency synergizes with GPC3-CAR-T to enhance tumor control by expanding endogenous tumor-specific CD8⁺ T cells (not CAR-T amplification) and reeducating TAMs to an anti-tumor CXCL9^hi/SPP1^lo phenotype via metabolic reprogramming. Mechanistically, this combination enhances oxidative metabolism while suppressing glycolysis through JAK-STAT1 triggering, AMPK activation, and PI3K-AKT-mTOR inhibition. Crucially, Trem2 deficiency up-regulates CD40 expression, enabling CD40 agonism to phenocopy Trem2-deficiency effects via AMPK activation and STAT1-driven CXCL9 production. Notably, the clinical agonist sotigalimab similarly enhances human CD8⁺ T cell migration in vitro. Our findings highlight the significance of combining GPC3-CAR-T therapy with CD40 agonist as a critical pre-requisite for eliciting reeducation of TAMs and enhancing the efficacy of CAR-T therapy in HCC.