🧬 Fascinating translational work from @BraunMDPhD lab by Dr. Rout at #AACRkidney2026 Single-cell transcriptomics of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells in ICI-resistant RCC 🔬 Key findings: ➡️ Insufficient T cell infiltration is a core feature of ICI resistance in RCC ➡️ TGFB1 emerges as a potential driver of the exhausted resident memory T cell phenotype ➡️ This Tex-rm phenotype correlates with resistance to immune checkpoint inhibition Why this matters: 💡 TGFB1 has long been implicated in immune exclusion, but pinpointing its role in shaping a specific exhausted T cell state in RCC gives us a more precise therapeutic target If TGFB1 is locking CD8+ T cells into an exhausted resident memory fate or excluding CD8 T cells from TME, anti-TGFb strategies combined with ICI may deserve a closer look in biomarker-selected RCC patients 🎯 Single-cell resolution is revealing what bulk analyses miss. This is the kind of mechanistic work that drives the next generation of rational combinations. 👏 #KidneyCancer #RCC #Immunotherapy #ICIResistance #TGFbeta #SingleCell #Tcells #GUOnc #AACRkidney2026