Antigen presentation by tumor infiltrating B cells influences CD4 T cell phenotype and function in primary lung cancer patient tumors

Despite improvements in surgical techniques and combined chemotherapies, the 5-year survival rate for all stages of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is only 18%. Understanding the function of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in NSCLC patient tumors will contribute to the development of rationally designed treatments and improved statistics. B cells in tumors (TIL-Bs) are detected in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their frequency correlates with improved survival, however, the functional mechanism of TIL-Bs in solid tumors is not well understood. We hypothesize that TIL-Bs help generate potent, long-term immune responses against cancer by presenting tumor antigens to CD4 tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in primary human lung tumors. Using un-manipulated, primary human B cells from fresh tumor, tumor-adjacent, and normal (cancer-free) lung tissue per the protocol described in Figure 1, we observed that the total number of B cells at the site of the tumor versus the tumor-adjacent tissue was increased compared to other immune subsets (Figure 2). Further, in analyzing B cell markers of activation and