Huang Lili, Guo Yeye, Liu Shujing, Wang Huaishan, Zhu Jinjin, Ou Lingling, Xu Xiaowei
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA.
Mol Biomed. 2021;2(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s43556-021-00038-z. Epub 2021 Apr 19.
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential in the maintenance of immunity, and they are also a key to immune suppressive microenvironment in solid tumors. Many studies have revealed the biology of Tregs in various human pathologies. Here we review recent understandings of the immunophenotypes and suppressive functions of Tregs in melanoma, including Treg recruitment and expansion in a tumor. Tregs are frequently accumulated in melanoma and the ratio of CD8 T cells versus Tregs in the melanoma is predictive for patient survival. Hence, depletion of Tregs is a promising strategy for the enhancement of anti-melanoma immunity. Many recent studies are aimed to target Tregs in melanoma. Distinguishing Tregs from other immune cells and understanding the function of different subsets of Tregs may contribute to better therapeutic efficacy. Depletion of functional Tregs from the tumor microenvironment has been tested to induce clinically relevant immune responses against melanomas. However, the lack of Treg specific therapeutic antibodies or Treg specific depleting strategies is a big hurdle that is yet to be overcome. Additional studies to fine-tune currently available therapies and more agents that specifically and selectively target tumor infiltrating Tregs in melanoma are urgently needed.
调节性T细胞（Tregs）对维持免疫至关重要，也是实体瘤免疫抑制微环境的关键。许多研究揭示了Tregs在各种人类疾病中的生物学特性。在此，我们综述了黑色素瘤中Tregs免疫表型和抑制功能的最新认识，包括Tregs在肿瘤中的募集和扩增。Tregs在黑色素瘤中常积聚，黑色素瘤中CD8 T细胞与Tregs的比例可预测患者生存。因此，耗竭Tregs是增强抗黑色素瘤免疫力的一种有前景的策略。最近许多研究旨在靶向黑色素瘤中的Tregs。区分Tregs与其他免疫细胞并了解不同亚群Tregs的功能可能有助于提高治疗效果。已测试从肿瘤微环境中耗竭功能性Tregs以诱导针对黑色素瘤的临床相关免疫反应。然而，缺乏Treg特异性治疗抗体或Treg特异性耗竭策略是一个尚未克服的重大障碍。迫切需要进一步研究来微调现有疗法，并研发更多特异性和选择性靶向黑色素瘤中肿瘤浸润Tregs的药物。
