Ascites reprograms innate lymphoid immune cells in ovarian cancer by promoting ILC2 enrichment and dysfunctional NK-cell states.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is commonly accompanied by malignant ascites, a clinically relevant tumor niche that promotes immune evasion, metastasis, and treatment resistance. Although natural killer (NK)-cell dysfunction has been described in ovarian cancer, the broader innate lymphoid landscape of ascites and the mechanisms linking ascites-derived signals to innate immune suppression remain insufficiently resolved. METHODS: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of NK/innate lymphoid cells from ovarian cancer ascites to define cellular heterogeneity and differentiation states. Functional assays assessed NK-cell cytotoxicity, degranulation, and receptor expression following exposure to patient-derived ascites, with or without transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptor inhibition. Proteomic profiling was used to characterize the soluble ascites milieu, and clinical associations were examined for innate lymphoid subsets. RESULTS: Single-cell analysis identified eight transcriptionally distinct NK/innate lymphoid states, including cytotoxic, precursor, early-like, tolerant/immunoregulatory, regulatory, proinflammatory, and innate lymphoid populations. Ovarian cancer ascites was characterized by depletion of cytotoxic and precursor NK-cell states together with enrichment of early-like, tolerant, regulatory, pro-inflammatory, and innate lymphoid cell (ILC) populations. Trajectory analysis indicated impaired maturation toward terminally differentiated cytotoxic NK cells. Notably, ascites contained an expanded population of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)+ ILC2s, which were more abundant in patients with shorter progression-free survival. In functional assays, short-term exposure of healthy donor NK cells to ascites suppressed degranulation and tumor-cell killing, reduced expression of activating receptors including NKp30 and DNAM-1, increased inhibitory receptor expression, and shifted NK cells toward a CD56highCD16low phenotype. Proteomic profiling supported a soluble milieu consistent with type 2 immune skewing and NK-cell suppression. Importantly, TGF-β receptor inhibition partially restored NK-cell activation and function in the presence of ascites. CONCLUSIONS: HGSOC ascites establishes a type 2-skewed immunoregulatory niche that coordinately drives NK cell dysfunction and PD-1+ ILC2 accumulation. The findings identify TGF-β-linked suppression and ascites-associated immune regulators as candidate immunotherapeutic vulnerabilities for restoring antitumor immunity in ovarian cancer.