LAG3 associates with TCR-CD3 complexes and suppresses signaling by driving co-receptor-Lck dissociation

Vignali and colleagues show that the inhibitory receptor LAG3 interferes with TCR signaling and T cell activation by lowering the pH at the immune synapse, which causes the dissociation of the tyrosine kinase Lck from the CD4 or CD8 co-receptor. LAG3 is an inhibitory receptor that is highly expressed on exhausted T cells. Although LAG3-targeting immunotherapeutics are currently in clinical trials, how LAG3 inhibits T cell function remains unclear. Here, we show that LAG3 moved to the immunological synapse and associated with the T cell receptor (TCR)-CD3 complex in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, in the absence of binding to major histocompatibility complex class II-its canonical ligand. Mechanistically, a phylogenetically conserved, acidic, tandem glutamic acid-proline repeat in the LAG3 cytoplasmic tail lowered the pH at the immune synapse and caused dissociation of the tyrosine kinase Lck from the CD4 or CD8 co-receptor, which resulted in a loss of co-receptor-TCR signaling and limited T cell activation. These observations indicated that LAG3 functioned as a signal disruptor in a major histocompatibility complex class II-independent manner, and provide insight into the mechanism of action of LAG3-targeting immunotherapies.