How tumours escape the immune system is not well defined. Nirschl et al. show that immune phagocytes in human melanoma share a physiological gene signature, which co-enriches and correlates with interferon-γ (IFNγ)-directed gene transcripts, and which is induced across multiple human cancers. Suppressor of cytokine signalling 2 (SOCS2) was highly expressed in melanoma-infiltrating mononuclear phagocytes and required for immune escape. SOCS2 loss in vivo led to robust immune-mediated tumour rejection. This indicates that SOCS2, as part of an IFNγ-induced tissue signature, mediates peripheral immune surveillance, and this is exploited by tumours.
References
Nirschl C. J. et al. IFNγ-dependent tissue-immune homeostasis is co-opted in the tumor microenvironment. Cell 170, 127–141 (2017)
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Harjes, U. Tumours copy to escape. Nat Rev Cancer 17, 453 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc.2017.66
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc.2017.66