Deficiency of angiopoietin-like 4 enhances CD8 T cell bioactivity via metabolic reprogramming for impairing tumour progression.

Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) is a secreted metabolism-modulating glycoprotein involved in the progression of tumours, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome and infectious diseases. In this study, more CD8 T cells were activated to be effector T cells in ANGPTL4 mice. Impaired growth of tumours implanted in 3LL, B16BL6 or MC38 cells and reduced metastasis by B16F10 cells were observed in ANGPTL4 mice. Bone marrow (BM) transplantation experiments displayed that deficiency of ANGPTL4 in either host or BM cells promoted CD8 T cell activation. However, ANGPTL4 deficiency in CD8 T cells themselves showed more efficient anti-tumour activities. Recombinant ANGPTL4 protein promoted tumour growth in vivo with the less CD8 T cell infiltration and it directly downregulated CD8 T cell activation ex vivo. Transcriptome sequencing and metabolism analysis identified that ANGPTL4 CD8 T cells increased glycolysis and decreased oxidative phosphorylation, which was dependent on the PKCζ-LKB1-AMPK-mTOR signalling axis. Reverse correlation of elevated ANGPTL4 levels in sera and tumour tissues with activated CD8 T cells in the peripheral blood was displayed in patients with colorectal cancer. These results demonstrated that ANGPTL4 decreased immune surveillance in tumour progression by playing an immune-modulatory role on CD8 T cells via metabolic reprogramming. Efficient blockade of ANGPTL4 expression in tumour patients would generate an effective anti-tumour effect mediated by CD8 T cells.