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Tracing the effects of tumor mutations on T cell differentiation
Characterizing the effects of tumor mutational burden on CD4+ and CD8+ T cell differentiation in non–small-cell lung cancer through the use of multi-omics.
The urgent need to address COVID-19 has highlighted the delicate relationships among science, politics and the media. To achieve a successful long-term response to the pandemic, stakeholders need to be guided by data, integrity and a sense of responsibility toward the public.
Crowdsourcing efforts are currently underway to collect and analyze data from patients with cancer who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These community-led initiatives will fill key knowledge gaps to tackle crucial clinical questions on the complexities of infection with the causative coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 in the large, heterogeneous group of vulnerable patients with cancer.
Studies of the tumor microenvironment have provided fundamental insights into cancer progression. A new study now delineates the dynamics of immune-cell alterations at the single-cell level and across stages of multiple myeloma, elucidating the microenvironmental changes involved in the precursor states of the disease.
Immune-checkpoint blockade holds great promise in cancer therapy; however, T cell–specific checkpoint inhibitors are not effective for all patients with cancer. The transcription factor c-Rel is now shown to regulate pro-inflammatory polarization of myeloid cells and modulate anti-tumor immune responses.
Garnett and colleagues review principles that underpin the pre-clinical development of genomics-guided cancer medicines, challenges that limit their impact, and new opportunities, such as CRISPR-based screening, for refining and extending their use.
Li et al. report that c-Rel, a member of the NF-κB transcription factor family, acts as a checkpoint for antitumor immunity as it promotes the generation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and its inhibition in myeloid cells suppresses tumor growth.
Aparicio and colleagues identify gene expression changes in breast cancer datasets putatively associated with age-related endocrine effects, suggesting that patient age may influence the prognostic potential of certain biomarkers.
O’Donnell and colleagues report that activation of the integrated stress response in non-small cell lung cancer cells by impairing heme production leads to enhanced PD-L1 translation in an eIF5B-dependent manner.
Ghorani et al. use a multiomics approach to characterize the effect of tumour mutational burden on the differentiation of CD4 and CD8 T cell subpopulations in non-small cell lung cancer.