Regulatory T cells in cancer immunotherapy

FOXP3-expressing regulatory T (Treg) cells, which suppress aberrant immune response against self-antigens, also suppress anti-tumor immune response. Infiltration of a large number of Treg cells into tumor tissues is often associ- ated with poor prognosis. There is accumulating evidence that the remo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCell research Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 109 - 118
Main Authors Tanaka, Atsushi, Sakaguchi, Shimon
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.01.2017
Nature Publishing Group
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Online AccessGet full text
ISSN1001-0602
1748-7838
1748-7838
DOI10.1038/cr.2016.151

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Summary:FOXP3-expressing regulatory T (Treg) cells, which suppress aberrant immune response against self-antigens, also suppress anti-tumor immune response. Infiltration of a large number of Treg cells into tumor tissues is often associ- ated with poor prognosis. There is accumulating evidence that the removal of Treg cells is able to evoke and enhance anti-tumor immune response. However, systemic depletion of Treg cells may concurrently elicit deleterious autoim- munity. One strategy for evoking effective tumor immunity without antoimmunity is to specifically target terminally differentiated effector Treg cells rather than all FOXP3+ T cells, because effector Treg cells are the predominant cell type in tumor tissues. Various cell surface molecules, including chemokine receptors such as CCR4, that are specifi- cally expressed by effector Treg cells can be the candidates for depleting effector Treg cells by specific cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies. In addition, other immunological characteristics of effector Treg cells, such as their high ex- pression of CTLA-4, active proliferation, and apoptosis-prone tendency, can be exploited to control specifically their functions. For example, anti-CTLA-4 antibody may kill effector Treg ceils or attenuate their suppressive activity. It is hoped that combination of Treg-cell targeting (e.g., by reducing Treg cells or attenuating their suppressive activity in tumor tissues) with the activation of tumor-specific effector T cells (e.g., by cancer vaccine or immune checkpoint blockade) will make the current cancer immunotherapy more effective.
Bibliography:FOXP3-expressing regulatory T (Treg) cells, which suppress aberrant immune response against self-antigens, also suppress anti-tumor immune response. Infiltration of a large number of Treg cells into tumor tissues is often associ- ated with poor prognosis. There is accumulating evidence that the removal of Treg cells is able to evoke and enhance anti-tumor immune response. However, systemic depletion of Treg cells may concurrently elicit deleterious autoim- munity. One strategy for evoking effective tumor immunity without antoimmunity is to specifically target terminally differentiated effector Treg cells rather than all FOXP3+ T cells, because effector Treg cells are the predominant cell type in tumor tissues. Various cell surface molecules, including chemokine receptors such as CCR4, that are specifi- cally expressed by effector Treg cells can be the candidates for depleting effector Treg cells by specific cell-depleting monoclonal antibodies. In addition, other immunological characteristics of effector Treg cells, such as their high ex- pression of CTLA-4, active proliferation, and apoptosis-prone tendency, can be exploited to control specifically their functions. For example, anti-CTLA-4 antibody may kill effector Treg ceils or attenuate their suppressive activity. It is hoped that combination of Treg-cell targeting (e.g., by reducing Treg cells or attenuating their suppressive activity in tumor tissues) with the activation of tumor-specific effector T cells (e.g., by cancer vaccine or immune checkpoint blockade) will make the current cancer immunotherapy more effective.
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Treg; CTLA-4; cancer; immunotherapy
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ISSN:1001-0602
1748-7838
1748-7838
DOI:10.1038/cr.2016.151