Multimodal and spatially resolved profiling identifies distinct patterns of T cell infiltration in nodal B cell lymphoma entities

Abstract

The redirection of T cells has emerged as an attractive therapeutic principle in B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL). However, a detailed characterization of lymphoma-infiltrating T cells across B-NHL entities is missing. Here we present an in-depth T cell reference map of nodal B-NHL, based on cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes, T cell receptor sequencing, flow cytometry and multiplexed immunofluorescence applied to 101 lymph nodes from patients with diffuse large B cell, mantle cell, follicular or marginal zone lymphoma, and from healthy controls. This multimodal resource revealed quantitative and spatial aberrations of the T cell microenvironment across and within B-NHL entities. Quantitative differences in PD1+TCF7− cytotoxic T cells, T follicular helper cells or IKZF3+ regulatory T cells were linked to their clonal expansion. The abundance of PD1+TCF7− cytotoxic T cells was associated with poor survival. Our study portrays lymphoma-infiltrating T cells with unprecedented comprehensiveness and provides a unique resource for the investigation of lymphoma biology and prognosis.