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Antitumour T cells stand the test of time

Enhancing antitumour immune responses has revolutionized cancer treatment, yet some hurdles impede this approach. The discovery of a way to boost the lifespan and function of antitumour immune cells removes a key obstacle.
  1. Miguel Reina-Campos

    1. Miguel Reina-Campos is in the Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA.

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  2. Ananda W. Goldrath

    1. Ananda W. Goldrath is in the Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA.

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Immune cells called cytotoxic CD8 T cells can directly kill tumours and are key weapons mobilized in many immunotherapy approaches used in the clinic. However, the cells’ activity can be thwarted by the ability of tumours to create harsh microenvironments, recruit immunoregulatory cells and induce inhibitory signals that hamper T-cell function, accumulation and tumour infiltration. Writing in Nature, Wei et al.1 report that depletion of the protein REGNASE-1 extends the survival of antitumour CD8 T cells and enhances their function, enabling the cells to fight cancer more effectively.

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Nature 576, 392-393 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03731-w

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Competing Interests

A.W.G. is on the SAB of Pandion Therapeutics and Arsenal Bio.

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