The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Cancer Res. 2012 Jul 15;72(14):3439-44. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-11-3912. Epub 2012 Jul 3.
Regulatory T cells (Treg) have become an important player in regulating anticancer immune responses. In fact, published studies describe a correlation between tumor-infiltrating Tregs and poor prognosis. Once called "suppressor T cells," these T cells evaded isolation because of a lack of known markers that distinguished them from other T cells. However, the biology of these T cells is currently a major focus of immunologic research. Markers have since been discovered that identify these T cells and provide insights into how these T cells are regulated. Despite these advances, much needs to be learned about the subsets of Tregs and their specific roles in regulating immune responses. In addition, specific agents that target Tregs are currently unavailable. Cyclophosphamide has emerged as a clinically feasible agent that can suppress Tregs and allow more effective induction of antitumor immune responses. This review focuses on the use of cyclophosphamide in targeting Tregs to augment cancer vaccine approaches. However, these principles can also be applied to other immunotherapy strategies.
调节性 T 细胞(Treg)已成为调节抗肿瘤免疫反应的重要参与者。事实上,已发表的研究描述了肿瘤浸润性 Treg 与预后不良之间的相关性。这些 T 细胞曾被称为“抑制性 T 细胞”,由于缺乏区分它们与其他 T 细胞的已知标志物,因此被忽视了。然而,这些 T 细胞的生物学特性目前是免疫研究的主要焦点。此后,发现了一些标志物,可以识别这些 T 细胞,并深入了解这些 T 细胞是如何被调节的。尽管取得了这些进展,但仍需要更多地了解 Treg 的亚群及其在调节免疫反应中的具体作用。此外,目前还没有针对 Treg 的特定靶向药物。环磷酰胺已成为一种可行的临床药物,可抑制 Treg 并允许更有效地诱导抗肿瘤免疫反应。本综述重点介绍了使用环磷酰胺靶向 Treg 以增强癌症疫苗方法。然而,这些原则也可以应用于其他免疫治疗策略。