CD28 promotes long-lived anti-tumor T cell effects

As the scope of the immuno-oncology field grows, so does the understanding of how immune cells, particularly T cells, function and survive. A study published in Cell provides new insights into how manipulating T cell metabolism promotes memory T cell function and long-lived effects of anti-tumor T cell immunotherapy.

In the study, researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics and colleagues found evidence that when the CD28 receptor on T cells is engaged during cell activation, the cells undergo a metabolic change that enables them to form functional memory T cells capable of mounting an anti-tumor response when re-challenged with the same antigen...