Fig. 3: Consequences of T cell trogocytosis.

The acquisition of immune regulatory molecules by T-cell trogocytosis modulates anti-tumor immunity. a Activation: T cells acquire peptide‒MHC (pMHC) complexes from antigen-presenting cells (APCs) or tumor cells, enabling them to function as APCs. This process leads to the activation of neighboring T cells. b Fratricide: CD8 T cells that acquire pMHC I complexes can become targets of antigen-specific killing by neighboring CD8 T cells, leading to fratricide. c Immunosuppression: The immune regulatory molecules transferred after trogocytosis, such as HLA-G and PD-L1, suppress the reactivity of other immune cells. d Depletion of pMHC and co-stimulatory molecules on APCs: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) can capture co-stimulatory molecules from APCs via CTLA-4-mediated trogocytosis, leading to the depletion of these molecules on APCs. e Th2 differentiation: Trogocytosis of CD4 T cells dressed with pMHC complexes can induce the differentiation of neighboring T cells into Th2 cells, altering the immune response toward a Th2 phenotype.