Candidate Immunotherapy Target Identified for Brain Cancer, Possibly Other Tumors
February 16, 2021
Source: National Cancer Institute; creator Rhoda Baer, photographer
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, reported the discovery of a potential new target for immunotherapy of malignant brain tumors. The team used single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to study gene expression and the clonal landscape of tumor-infiltrating T cells across more than 30 patients with diffuse gliomas and glioblastoma. Their work indicated that the immune cell surface receptor, CD161, suppresses the cancer-fighting activity of immune T cells, and is activated by its ligand, CLEC2D, on tumor cells and immune-suppressing cells in the brain. Their studies showed that genetically deleting the KLRB1 that codes for CD161, or using antibodies to block CD161, increased T cell-mediated killing of glioma cells in vitro and anti-tumor
Scientists discover new immunotherapy target for malignant brain tumors
Scientists say they have discovered a potential new target for immunotherapy of malignant brain tumors, which so far have resisted the ground-breaking cancer treatment based on harnessing the body s immune system. The discovery, reported in the journal
CELL, emerged from laboratory experiments and has no immediate implications for treating patients.
Scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard said the target they identified is a molecule that suppresses the cancer-fighting activity of immune T cells, the white blood cells that seek out and destroy virus-infected cells and tumor cells.