Unexpected Allies: Neutrophils’ Role in Eradicating Tumors Unveiled in T Cell Immunotherapy Study

Empower & Inspire: Spread Health & Wellness

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered that neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, play a critical role in eradicating solid tumors. This finding is surprising because neutrophils are part of the innate immune system and are not known for targeting specific antigens like T cells.

In the study, published in Cell on March 30, the researchers investigated an experimental immunotherapy that boosts T cell activity and proliferation, along with T cells engineered to recognize melanoma-associated antigens.

They found that the T cells activated a swarm of neutrophils to kill off the remaining melanoma cells that lacked the targeted antigen. This discovery suggests that harnessing neutrophils can lead to new immunotherapies that can overcome tumor heterogeneity.

The research team identified a characteristic gene expression pattern in the anti-tumor neutrophils and found that the greater presence of this gene-expression signature in biopsied tumor samples was associated with better outcomes for patients. This finding suggests that neutrophils can play a significant role in mopping up escape variant tumor cells that would otherwise keep the tumor alive. The researchers hope to find a way to use measures of these antitumor neutrophils in tumor biopsies as biomarkers that help choose the best therapies for patients.

Cancer immunotherapies, which harness or boost immune cells’ ability to attack malignant cells, have begun to revolutionize cancer treatment over the past decade. These therapies have cured advanced cancer patients who would have had no hope of survival otherwise. However, researchers still have much to learn about how anticancer immunotherapies work and how their effectiveness can be improved. The study investigated an experimental immunotherapy that includes a drug to boost T cell activity and proliferation, plus T cells that have been engineered to recognize a melanoma-associated antigen. Tumors sometimes evade immunotherapy targeting a specific tumor antigen by ceasing to express that antigen. The researchers found that their boosted T cell therapy could eliminate melanomas, even when a large portion of the melanoma cells lacked the targeted antigen, Trp1.

The researchers are continuing to study anti-tumor neutrophils to determine how they can best be induced and directed as cancer-fighters on their own or as enhancers of other immunotherapies. The results were especially surprising because prior studies have shown that neutrophils around a tumor often act as allies of the tumor. The tumor co-opts them to help it survive and spread, which they do in part by suppressing other elements of antitumor immunity. The new findings suggest that in the context of a strong immunotherapy that includes engineered T-cells targeting tumor antigens and a general boosting of T-cell functions, neutrophils can play a significant antitumor role.

Key Takeaways in a Nutshell – Health Newstrack

– Neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, have an unexpected role in eradicating solid tumors.

– Tumors sometimes evade immunotherapy targeting a specific tumor antigen by ceasing to express that antigen, called “escape variants.”

– The researchers found that their boosted T cell therapy could eliminate melanomas even when a large portion of the melanoma cells lacked the targeted antigen, Trp1.

– The boosted T cell therapy activated a swarm of neutrophils to kill off the remaining melanoma cells that lacked the targeted antigen.

– Neutrophils can play a significant role in mopping up escape variant tumor cells that would otherwise keep the tumor alive.

– The researchers hope to find a way to use measures of these antitumor neutrophils in tumor biopsies as biomarkers that help choose the best therapies for patients.


Leave a Comment

Health Newstrack