TNF-α-induced Tim-3 expression marks the dysfunction of infiltrating natural killer cells in human esophageal cancer

BACKGROUND: Impairment of natural killer (NK) cell activity is an important mechanism of tumor immunoevasion. T cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain-3 (Tim-3) is an activation-induced inhibitory molecule, inducing effector lymphocyte exhaustion in chronic viral infection and cancers. However, its function in NK cells in human esophageal cancer remains unclear. METHODS: We prospectively collected peripheral blood and tumor samples from 53 patients with esophageal cancer. Peripheral and tumor-infiltrating NK cells were analyzed for Tim-3, Annexin V, CD69, CD107a and IFN-γ expression by flow cytometry. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to test relative mRNA expression of IFN-γ, granzyme B, perforin and NKG2D in sorted Tim-3(+) NK cells and Tim-3(−) NK cells, respectively. NK cells isolated from healthy donors were treated with recombinant TNF-α to induce Tim-3 expression. Tim-3 and TNF-α mRNA levels in tumor tissues were measured in both humans and mice. Finally, associations between NK cell frequencies with pathological parameters were investigated. RESULTS: We observed up-regulation of Tim-3 expression on NK cells from esophageal cancer patients, especially at the tumor site. Furthermore, tumor-infiltrating NK cells with high Tim-3 expression exhibited a phenotype with enhanced dysfunction. In vitro, Tim-3 expression on NK cells isolated from blood of healthy donors can be induced by recombinant TNF-α via NF-κB pathway. In both animal models and patients, the Tim-3 level was positively correlated with TNF-α expression in esophageal cancer tissues. Finally, higher Tim-3 level on tumor-infiltrating NK cells is correlated with tumor invasion, nodal status and poor stage in patients with esophageal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, Tim-3 may play a crucial role to induce NK cell dysfunction in tumor microenvironment and could serve as a potential biomarker for prognosis of esophageal cancer. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-019-1917-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.