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Cancer Vaccines pp 201–221Cite as

Monitoring the Frequency and Function of Regulatory T Cells and Summary of the Approaches Currently Used to Inhibit Regulatory T Cells in Cancer Patients

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1139))

Abstract

Regulatory T cells (Treg) are a subset of T lymphocytes that in humans represent less than the 10 % of circulating CD4+ T cells. Treg are specialized in the inhibition of the immune responses and play a crucial role in the maintenance of immunological tolerance. Several lines of evidence clearly documented the role of Treg in restraining antitumor immune responses. For this reason, antitumor immunotherapy approaches have been recently associated with drug treatments aimed at depleting Treg or blocking their functions. A summary of the currently used in vivo approaches to limit Treg expansion in cancer patients is here provided.

A comprehensive phenotypic and functional monitoring of Treg is crucial for the precise assessment of the effects that these different drug treatments exert on Treg. In this chapter, we will provide guidelines for an accurate ex vivo identification of human Treg. Due to the phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, intrinsic plasticity, and the lack of a unique marker exclusively expressed by human Treg, the clear-cut identification of this T cell subset requires the expert usage of multiparametric flow cytometry analysis (FACS). In this view, a combination of phenotypic and functional assessment of Treg is mandatory. In this chapter, we will describe the most reliable methods to identify and monitor the modulation of human Treg in patients undergoing immunological or drug-based treatments. Protocols to measure ex vivo the suppressive functions of Treg are also provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy

    Chiara Camisaschi, Marcella Tazzari, Licia Rivoltini & Chiara Castelli

Authors
  1. Chiara Camisaschi
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  2. Marcella Tazzari
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  3. Licia Rivoltini
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  4. Chiara Castelli
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Morphogenesis, Inc., Tampa, Florida, USA

    Michael J.P. Lawman

  2. Morphogenesis, Inc., Tampa, Florida, USA

    Patricia D. Lawman

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Camisaschi, C., Tazzari, M., Rivoltini, L., Castelli, C. (2014). Monitoring the Frequency and Function of Regulatory T Cells and Summary of the Approaches Currently Used to Inhibit Regulatory T Cells in Cancer Patients. In: Lawman, M., Lawman, P. (eds) Cancer Vaccines. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1139. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0345-0_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0345-0_18

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-0344-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-0345-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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