Laboratory of Human Diseases and Immunotherapies, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China; State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Chengdu 610041, China.
School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94304, USA.
Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer. 2020 Dec;1874(2):188439. doi: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2020.188439. Epub 2020 Sep 24.
Over the past decades, tumor-resident immune cells have been extensively studied to dissect their biological functions and clinical roles. Tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells, because of their cytotoxic and killing ability, have been under the spotlight for a long time, whereas CD4 T cells are considered just a supporting actor in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Until recently, accumulating evidence has demonstrated the ability of CD4 T cells in eradicating solid tumors, and their functions in mediating antitumor immunity have been investigated in various orientations. In this review, we highlight the pivotal role of CD4 T cells in eliciting vigorous antitumor immune responses, summarize key signaling axes and molecular networks behind these antitumor functions, and also propose possible targets and promising strategies which might translate into more efficient immunotherapies against human cancers.
在过去的几十年中，肿瘤驻留免疫细胞已被广泛研究，以剖析其生物学功能和临床作用。肿瘤浸润 CD8 T 细胞因其细胞毒性和杀伤能力而长期受到关注，而 CD4 T 细胞在癌症免疫治疗领域则被认为只是一个配角。直到最近，越来越多的证据表明 CD4 T 细胞具有消除实体肿瘤的能力，并且它们在介导抗肿瘤免疫方面的功能已在各个方向上得到研究。在这篇综述中，我们强调了 CD4 T 细胞在引发强烈抗肿瘤免疫反应中的关键作用，总结了这些抗肿瘤功能背后的关键信号轴和分子网络，并提出了可能转化为更有效的人类癌症免疫治疗的潜在靶点和有前途的策略。
