Modulating Treg stability to improve cancer immunotherapy

Jee Hye Kang; Roberta Zappasodi

doi:10.1016/j.trecan.2023.07.015

Modulating Treg stability to improve cancer immunotherapy

Trends Cancer. 2023 Nov;9(11):911-927. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.07.015. Epub 2023 Aug 17.

Authors

Jee Hye Kang¹, Roberta Zappasodi²

Affiliations

¹ Weill Cornell Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA; Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School, New York, NY, USA.
² Weill Cornell Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA; Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: roz4002@med.cornell.edu.

PMID: 37598003
DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.07.015

Abstract

Immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs) provide a main mechanism of tumor immune evasion. Targeting Tregs, especially in the tumor microenvironment (TME), continues to be investigated to improve cancer immunotherapy. Recent studies have unveiled intratumoral Treg heterogeneity and plasticity, furthering the complexity of the role of Tregs in tumor immunity and immunotherapy response. The phenotypic and functional diversity of intratumoral Tregs can impact their response to therapy and may offer new targets to modulate specific Treg subsets. In this review we provide a unifying framework of critical factors contributing to Treg heterogeneity and plasticity in the TME, and we discuss how this information can guide the development of more specific Treg-targeting therapies for cancer immunotherapy.

Keywords: cancer immunotherapy; immunotolerance; lineage instability; regulatory T cells; tumor microenvironment.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Immunotherapy
Neoplasms* / pathology
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory
Tumor Escape
Tumor Microenvironment