"To be or not to Be": Regulatory T cells in melanoma

Yousif Saleh Ibrahim; Ali H Amin; Zanko Hassan Jawhar; Mohammad A Alghamdi; Ghaidaa Raheem Lateef Al-Awsi; Abdullah M Shbeer; Hasan S Al-Ghamdi; Gamal A Gabr; Andrés Alexis Ramírez-Coronel; Abbas F Almulla

doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110093

"To be or not to Be": Regulatory T cells in melanoma

Int Immunopharmacol. 2023 May:118:110093. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110093. Epub 2023 Apr 4.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Laboratory Techniques, Al-maarif University College, Ramadi, Al-Anbar, Iraq.
² Deanship of Scientific Research, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia; Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt.
³ Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Lebanese French University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq; Clinical Biochemistry Department, College of Health Sciences, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
⁴ Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Albaha University, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Radiological Techniques, Al-Mustaqbal University College, 51001 Hillah, Babylon, Iraq.
⁶ Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Internal Medicine Department, Division of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Albaha University, Albaha City, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia; Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt. Electronic address: g.gabr@psau.edu.sa.
⁹ Catholic University of Cuenca, Azogues Campus, Ecuador; University of Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National University of Education, Azogues, Ecuador; CES University, Colombia.
¹⁰ Medical Laboratory Technology Department, College of Medical Technology, The Islamic University, Najaf, Iraq.

PMID: 37023699
DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110093

Abstract

In spite of progresses in the therapy of different malignancies, melanoma still remains as one of lethal types of skin tumor. Melanoma is almost easily treatable by surgery alone with higher overall survival rates when it is diagnosed at early stages. However, survival rates are decreased remarkably upon survival if the tumor is progressed to advanced metastatic stages. Immunotherapeutics have been prosperous in the development of anti-tumor responses in patients with melanoma through promotion of the tumor-specific effector T cells in vivo; nonetheless, suitable clinical outcomes have not been satisfactory. One of the underlying causes of the unfavorable clinical outcomes might stem from adverse effects of regulatory T (Treg) cell, which is a prominent mechanism of tumor cells to escape from tumor-specific immune responses. Evidence shows that a poor prognosis and low survival rate in patients with melanoma can be attributed to a higher Treg cell number and function in these subjects. As a result, to promote melanoma-specific anti-tumor responses, depletion of Treg cells appears to be a promising approach; even though the clinical efficacy of different approaches to attain appropriate Treg cell depletion has been inconsistent. Here in this review, the main purpose is to assess the role of Treg cells in the initiation and perpetuation of melanoma and to discuss effective strategies for Treg cell modulation with the aim of melanoma therapy.

Keywords: Cancer; Immunotherapy; Melanoma; Treatment; Treg cell.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Immunity
Melanoma*
Skin Neoplasms*
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory
Treatment Outcome