UCI-led study finds that cancer immunotherapy may self-limit its efficacy
Common tumor inhibitor drug triggers favorable and unfavorable immune effects
2021-06-22
(Press-News.org) Irvine, Calif., June 21, 2021 -- Cancer immunotherapy involving drugs that inhibit CTLA-4 also activates an unwanted response that may self-limit its efficacy in fighting tumors, according to a new study led by Francesco Marangoni, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology & biophysics and member of the Institute for Immunology at the University of California, Irvine. Study results are published online in the journal Cell.
Using a person's own immune system - immunotherapy - to treat cancer may also stimulate T regulatory cells, which are essential for preventing autoimmunity, in which the body attacks healthy cells and tissue, but limit tumor control. Some anticancer drugs of the checkpoint inhibitor family block the molecule CTLA-4 and activate both the CD8 and CD4 effector T cells, which kill cancer. Using intravital microscopy, a technique that allows imaging of cells within a living organism, researchers found that CTLA-4 blockage also causes the expansion of T regulatory cells, decreasing the effect of immunotherapy.
"Much of our knowledge of the mechanisms by which immunotherapy works is focused on the positive aspects of the body's reaction, but that treatment targets the whole immune system. In this study, we investigated how Treg cells are activated within the tumor mass. We discovered that Treg cells are continuously activated in cancer. In turn, they use CTLA-4 to instruct dendritic cells to become inefficient activators of the immune system. Upon CTLA-4 inhibition, dendritic cells become more active and promote the function of effector and regulatory T cells at the same time. This has the potential of limiting efficacy and may explain the failure of immunotherapy in some patients," said Marangoni, corresponding author on the study.
Future research will focus on identifying and removing unwanted immune reactions in other forms of immunotherapy. In particular, new strategies must be developed to decrease the activation of Treg cells in a controlled manner in order to avoid "fatal autoimmunity," Marangoni said: "The indiscriminate depletion of Treg cells would cause the CD8 and CD4 effector T cells to attack our body and potentially kill us."
INFORMATION:
The research team also included physicians and scholars from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and Germany's University of Cologne and University of Lübeck. This work was supported by several National Institutes of Health grants, a Melanoma Research Foundation award and a Sara Elizabeth O'Brien/Charles A. King Trust fellowship.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation's top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu.
Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
NOTE TO EDITORS: PHOTO AVAILABLE AT
https://news.uci.edu/2021/06/21/uci-led-study-finds-that-cancer-immunotherapy-may-self-limit-its-efficacy/
Contact: Pat Harriman
949-501-1008
pharrima@uci.edu
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2021-06-22
Every year in Canada, six trillion litres of municipal wastewater are partially treated and released into the environment, while another 150 billion litres of untreated sewage are discharged straight into pristine surface waters.
Now researchers have found a way to stem that flow: by filtering the waste through the roots of willow trees. Experimenting with a plantation in Quebec, the scientists estimate that over 30 million litres of primary wastewater per hectare can be treated using 'bio-refinery' annually.
Their results were published June 14 in the journal ...
2021-06-22
[Brooklyn, New York] - [June 21, 2021] - Applied Biological Laboratories (Applied Bio), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the respiratory disease market, announced that its study published online in Immunology, Inflammation and Disease was able to determine the mechanism behind respiratory inflammation and treat it effectively with Biovanta(TM), a 100% naturally derived, over-the-counter (OTC) drug for cold, cough and sore throat.
The study results also showed that almost all of the leading OTC products on the market can damage the upper respiratory cells and may prolong illness. This research study and its findings represent one of the first major breakthroughs in decades for the cold and flu market.
The study, titled ...
2021-06-22
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Clickbait headlines might not be as enticing to readers as once thought, according to a team of researchers. They added that artificial intelligence -- AI -- may also come up short when it comes to correctly determining whether a headline is clickbait.
In a series of studies, the researchers found that clickbait -- headlines that often rely on linguistic gimmicks to tempt readers to read further -- often did not perform any better and, in some cases, performed worse than traditional headlines.
Because fake news is a concern on social media, researchers have explored using AI to systematically identify and block clickbait. However, the studies also suggest ...
2021-06-22
Amazon rain forests could be at far higher risk of extreme drought than previously thought, according to new research.
An international study, led by the University of Leeds, warns that huge areas in the eastern part of the Amazon face severe drying by the end of the century if action is not taken to curb carbon emissions.
As a result, large amounts of carbon dioxide would be released from the forest into the atmosphere,
adding to the greenhouse gas effect and driving further climate change.
The increased dryness during the Amazon dry season would further threaten the viability of large parts of the rainforest, as trees are already water stressed and there is greater risk of forest fires.
The predicted droughts could also have far-reaching consequences ...
2021-06-22
Vanadium oxo (VO) species were often used to oxidise sulfide/amine compounds and alkenes when combined with peroxide oxidants. VO species are well known as important vitamin supplements for potential diabetic prevention. They are highly prevalent as metalloenzyme like haloperoxidase. The current catalyst class comprises VO species, substituted-salicylaldehyde, and alpha-amino acids that are nontoxic and highly enriched in ascidian sea animals and plants. Professor Chien-Tien Chen of NTHU pioneered aerobic asymmetric couplings of 2-naphthol with VO species to form optically active binaphols in 2001 (reported in C&EN News, 79(20), 45-57(2001)), which was believed to proceed in a VO-bound, single/dual-mode activation or free radical-radical/free ...
2021-06-22
What causes an eruption? Why do some volcanoes erupt regularly, while others remain dormant for thousands of years? A team of geologists and geophysicists, led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has reviewed the literature on the internal and external mechanisms that lead to a volcanic eruption. Analyzing the thermo-mechanics of deep volcanic processes and magma propagation to the surface, together with magma chemistry, the geologists determined that most of the magma rising from depth actually does not cause a volcanic eruption. They also show that older volcanoes tend to produce less frequent, but larger and more dangerous eruptions. Their findings, published in Nature Reviews ...
2021-06-22
A new study published in Nature Communications demonstrates the important role that planting new commercial forests could play in the fight against climate change by including new accounting of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation achieved from future use of harvested wood.
The study applied a novel, time-dependent assessment to capture the complex dynamics of carbon uptake, storage and partial eventual release back to the atmosphere, alongside product and energy substitution by wood products, over a 100-year timeframe.
Uniquely, the study considered multiple wood uses along multi-decadal cascading value chains (e.g. construction timber to paper to bioenergy), and future projections on wider decarbonisation of substituted ...
2021-06-22
Although the emissions targets for aviation are in line with the overall goals of the Paris Agreement, there is a high likelihood that the climate impact of aviation will not meet these goals, according to a new study.
Aviation is an important contributor to the global economy, but contributes to climate change by creating carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as non-CO2 effects such as forming nitrogen oxides, ozone and contrailcirrus clouds, which all contribute to global warming.
Researchers believe that, as long as the industry stages a recovery, the restrictions placed on global air travel in response to COVID-19 lockdown will only have ...
2021-06-22
Warming seas are driving many species of marine life to shift their geographic ranges out of the tropics to higher latitudes where the water is cooler. Florida's reefs will not be able to make that northward move, however, as they will be caught between intolerably hot tropical waters and increasingly frequent water-cooling cold snaps, according to new findings from Florida Institute of Technology, the U.S. Geological Survey, and several other institutions to be published June 22 in Nature's Scientific Reports.
Populations of the main species of reef-building corals are ...
2021-06-22
Published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe and part-funded by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, the study identified that people with multiple respiratory conditions were most likely to develop depression and anxiety later on. This has possible implications for future healthcare services if the Covid-19 pandemic brings about increases in long-term respiratory issues. The study confirms the importance of integrating mental health support early into care plans for those with multiple physical health conditions.
This is the first study of ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] UCI-led study finds that cancer immunotherapy may self-limit its efficacy
Common tumor inhibitor drug triggers favorable and unfavorable immune effects
