The Y chromosome gene KDM5D restrains CD8+ T cell antitumor immunity through TCR and cholesterol-exhaustion programs

Abstract

Sex differences in immunity shape cancer risk, autoimmunity, and responses to immunotherapy, yet the sex-chromosome genes that regulate antitumor T cell function remain incompletely defined. Here, we identify the Y chromosome-encoded KDM5D histone demethylase as a male-specific suppressor of CD8+ T cell antitumor immunity. In murine colorectal cancer (CRC) models, male CD8+ T cells displayed reduced cytokine production, proliferation, cytotoxicity, TCR{beta} abundance, and proximal TCR signaling relative to female CD8+ T cells. CRISPR-RNP-mediated KDM5D depletion in male CD8+ T cells enhanced effector function, increased TCR{beta} expression, augmented TCR signaling, and improved tumor control after adoptive transfer. Transcriptomic and functional analyses further linked KDM5D to cholesterol biosynthesis and exhaustion-associated programs, with KDM5D depletion reducing SREBP2/XBP1-associated cholesterol and exhaustion signatures. Correspondingly, human CRC single-cell analyses supported the clinical relevance of this axis, showing enrichment of exhausted and cholesterol-associated CD8+ T cell states in male tumors. Pharmacologic inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis with lovastatin partially attenuated select exhaustion-associated markers in male CD8+ T cells and delayed tumor growth in vivo. Together, these findings define KDM5D as a sex chromosome-encoded regulator of male CD8+ T cell dysfunction and point to cholesterol-exhaustion programs as a potential therapeutic vulnerability in male CRC.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 19 Aug 2026.

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