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Gut bacteria link to immunotherapy sparks interest

Nature Biotechnology volume 36, pages 121–122 (2018)Cite this article

The buzz over intestinal microflora and its impact on human physiology is mounting and, in particular, the microflora's modulating effects on checkpoint inhibitors are drawing biopharma's attention. Checkpoint inhibitors can cause dramatic tumor regressions. Those approved so far include the CTLA-4, PD-1 and PD-L1 blocking antibodies for different cancer indications. But one of their main drawbacks is that some patients, inexplicably, do not benefit. In 2015, mice studies describing how certain gut microbes can influence checkpoint inhibitor responses began to appear. Teams led by Laurence Zitvogel at the Gustave Roussy Institute in Paris and Thomas Gajewski at the University of Chicago each reported that bacteria in the gut had a major effect on the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in mice (Science 350, 1079–1084, 2015; Science 350, 1084–1089, 2015).

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  1. St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada

    Brian Owens

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Owens, B. Gut bacteria link to immunotherapy sparks interest. Nat Biotechnol 36, 121–122 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0218-121

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