Abstract
Inciting the cellular arm of adaptive immunity has been the fundamental goal of cancer immunotherapy strategies, specifically focusing on inducing tumor antigen-specific responses by CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). However, there is an emerging appreciation that the cytotoxic function of CD4(+) T cells can be effective in a clinical setting. Harnessing this potential will require an understanding of how such cells arise. In this study, we use an IL12-transduced variant of the 70Z/3 leukemia cell line in a B6D2F1 (BDF1) murine model system to reveal a novel cascade of cells and soluble factors that activate anticancer CD4(+) killer cells. We show that natural killer T cells play a pivotal role by activating dendritic cells in a contact-dependent manner; soluble products of this interaction, including MCP-1, propagate the activation signal, culminating in the development of CD4(+) CTLs that directly mediate an antileukemia response while also orchestrating a multipronged attack by other effector cells. A more complete picture of the conditions that induce such a robust response will allow us to capitalize on CD4(+) T-cell plasticity for maximum therapeutic effect.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1113-1124 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Cancer Immunology Research |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine