UNI-MB - logo
UMNIK - logo
 
E-resources
Peer reviewed Open access
  • Human regulatory T cells ki...
    Choi, Bryan D; Gedeon, Patrick C; Herndon, 2nd, James E; Archer, Gary E; Reap, Elizabeth A; Sanchez-Perez, Luis; Mitchell, Duane A; Bigner, Darell D; Sampson, John H

    Cancer immunology research, 09/2013, Volume: 1, Issue: 3
    Journal Article

    A major mechanism by which human regulatory T cells (T(regs)) have been shown to suppress and kill autologous immune cells is through the granzyme-perforin pathway. However, it is unknown whether T(regs) also possess the capacity to kill tumor cells using similar mechanisms. Bispecific antibodies (bscAbs) have emerged as a promising class of therapeutics that activate T cells against tumor antigens without the need for classical MHC-restricted TCR recognition. Here, we show that a bscAb targeting the tumor-specific mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFRvIII, redirects human CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) T(regs) to kill glioblastoma (GBM) cells. This activity was significantly abrogated by inhibitors of the granzyme-perforin pathway. Notably, analyses of human primary GBM also displayed diffuse infiltration of granzyme-expressing FoxP3(+) T cells. Together, these data suggest that despite their known suppressive functions, tumor-infiltrating T(regs) possess potent cytotoxic mechanisms that can be co-opted for efficient tumor cell lysis.