Bringing danger back

A growing body of cancer therapy strategies are taking a page from the autoimmunity playbook to boost anti-tumor immune responses. Now, a team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh proposes that IL-36γ, a "danger signal" cytokine associated with autoimmune disorders such as psoriasis, could represent a new tool in cancer immunotherapy.

"Some people call IL-36 cytokines danger signals. Normal tissues use them to signal tissue damage or viral infection," said Binfeng Lu, associate professor of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh and principal investigator on the study. "We believe this group of cytokines has great potential to promote tumor inflammation, which could provide some synergy with current checkpoint therapies."...