Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology; University of Texas; MD Anderson Cancer Center; Houston, TX USA.
Oncoimmunology. 2012 Aug 1;1(5):735-738. doi: 10.4161/onci.20823.
The elevated expression of PD-1, BTLA, and other co-inhibitory molecules on T cells from cancer patients has become an accepted signature for a state called T-cell "exhaustion" that has emerged almost as dogma in the field. However, here we propose that in some cases this "exhausted" T-cell phenotype may instead be an indicator of T cells that are in a more heightened state of T-cell activation more susceptible to negative regulation rather than being "exhausted." This alternative interpretation fits in line with the view that CD8(+) T-cell activation in cancer results from a continuum of signals regulating their differentiation towards potent effector cells.
肿瘤患者 T 细胞表面程序性死亡受体 1（PD-1）、B 和 T 淋巴细胞衰减因子（BTLA）等共抑制分子的高表达，已成为 T 细胞“耗竭”状态的公认特征，该状态在该领域几乎已成定论。然而，我们在此提出，在某些情况下，这种“耗竭”的 T 细胞表型可能反而代表 T 细胞处于更高度的 T 细胞激活状态，更容易受到负性调控，而并非“耗竭”。这种替代解释与以下观点一致，即癌症中 CD8+T 细胞的激活源于一系列信号，这些信号调节其向有效效应细胞分化。
