scRNA-seq of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells from tumor draining LN, TIL and PBMC of melanoma bearing mice

CD8+ T cell-mediated immune response plays a pivotal role in controlling tumor growth.However, within the tumor microenvironment (TME), prolonged antigen exposure, as well as immunosuppressive factors, drive infiltrated tumor-specific CD8+ T cells into a hyporesponsive state known as “exhaustion”. These Tex cells are mainly characterized by the sustained and elevated expression of a series of inhibitory receptors as well as the hierarchical loss of effector functions. Further, the impaired proliferative capacity of exhausted CD8+ T cells results in decreasing numbers of tumor-specific T cells, such that the residual CD8+ T cells within the TME can barely provide sufficient protective immunity against tumor progression. Thus, the maintenance or reinforcement of intratumoral antigen-specific CD8+ T cells is indispensable for tumor repression. Here, we profiled the transcriptional signatures of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells from tumor draining LN, TIL and PBMC of melanoma bearing mice at single-cell level, aiming to draw a comprehensive immune-atlas of tumor-specific CD8 T cells during tumorigenesis. We performed single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) on antigen specific CD8+ T cells (P14) originated from TdLNs, TIL and PBMC of melanoma tumor model at day 16 (D16) post P14 cell transfer and set memory (P14, D200) T cells from acute LCMV infection as control.