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Regulatory T Cells: Their Role, Mechanism of Action, and Impact on Cancer

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Oncoimmunology

Abstract

Generating antitumor immunity by using therapeutic monoclonal antibodies to block immune checkpoint receptors expressed on the surface of T cells has led to a revolution in the treatment of several solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. T cells upregulate expression of immune checkpoint receptors following prolonged antigen stimulation, and expression of these receptors is associated with T cell dysfunction. Monoclonal antibodies targeting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) have been successful in the clinic. These advances in immuno-oncology have led to prolonged survival in some patients with aggressive cancers, such as metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung carcinoma. Despite the success of immuno-oncology, there are still many patients that do not derive benefits from blockade of inhibitory receptors, suggesting that additional immune mechanisms may need to be targeted to elicit an effective antitumor response.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Tullia Bruno, Creg Workman, Lawrence Andrews, Abigail Overacre, Deepali Sawant, Kathleen Vignali, and all the members of the Vignali Lab for constructive comments on the manuscript. This work is supported by National Institutes of Health (P01 AI108545, R01 CA203689, and P50 CA097190) and NCI Comprehensive Cancer Support CORE grant (CA047904).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Anthony R. Cillo & Dario A. A. Vignali

  2. Tumor Microenvironment Center, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA

    Anthony R. Cillo & Dario A. A. Vignali

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  1. Anthony R. Cillo
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  2. Dario A. A. Vignali
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Correspondence to Dario A. A. Vignali .

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  1. Gustave Roussy Cancer Center , Villejuif Cedex, France

    Laurence Zitvogel

  2. Gustave Roussy Cancer Center , Villejuif Cedex, France

    Guido Kroemer

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Cillo, A.R., Vignali, D.A.A. (2018). Regulatory T Cells: Their Role, Mechanism of Action, and Impact on Cancer. In: Zitvogel, L., Kroemer, G. (eds) Oncoimmunology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62431-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62431-0_6

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