Role of CD8+ T lymphocyte cells: Interplay with stromal cells in tumor microenvironment

CD8(+) T lymphocytes are pivotal cells in the host response to antitumor immunity. Tumor-driven microenvironments provide the conditions necessary for regulating infiltrating CD8(+) T cells in favor of tumor survival, including weakening CD8(+) T cell activation, driving tumor cells to impair immune attack, and recruiting other cells to reprogram the immune milieu. Also in tumor microenvironment, stromal cells exert immunosuppressive skills to avoid CD8(+) T cell cytotoxicity. In this review, we explore the universal function and fate decision of infiltrated CD8(+) T cells and highlight their antitumor response within various stromal architectures in the process of confronting neoantigen-specific tumor cells. Thus, this review provides a foundation for the development of antitumor therapy based on CD8(+) T lymphocyte manipulation. (C) 2021 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.