Immune System Strike Against Lung Cancer

Th17 Cells Summon an Immune System Strike Against Cancer
Helper T cell's effect raises possibility of cellular therapy, vaccine development

T cells are lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell produced by the thymus equipped with receptors that recognize and bind to antigens, pieces of invading organisms presented to the T cells by dendritic cells. The bound antigen converts the T cell to T helper cells that secrete signaling molecules called cytokines to launch an appropriate immune response. Helper cells, in effect, guide the adaptive immune response.

In the Immunity paper, additional experiments outlined the specific pathway by which Th17 suppresses tumors:

Tumor invasion of the lung attracts Th17 cells that secrete IL-17A.
IL-17A in turn promotes the secretion of two chemokines, CCL2 and CCL20, which recruit leukocytes to the tumor site.
The leukocytes include dendritic cells, which seize tumor antigens and migrate to the lymph nodes.
There, the antigens are used to prime CD8+ killer cells, which then migrate to the lung and kill established tumors.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• md anderson
• lung
• cancer
• chen dong
• th17
• immune system
• metastatic melanoma
• immunity