Blockade of the Phagocytic Receptor MerTK on Tumor-Associated Macrophages Enhances P2X7R-Dependent STING Activation by Tumor-Derived cGAMP (Immunity)

Zhou et al. generate an antibody that selectively inhibits efferocytosis by the phagocytic receptor MerTK and show that MerTK blockade increases tumor immunogenicity and potentiates anti-tumor immunity via the transfer of tumor-derived cGAMP into tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) through the ATP-gated channel P2X7R and subsequent STING activation.