BioCentury
ARTICLE | Preclinical News

Kinase identified as new cancer immunotherapy target

October 3, 2018 11:08 PM UTC

Genentech Inc. scientists identified a kinase as a new cancer immunotherapy target in a Cell Reports study led by VP of Cancer Immunology Ira Mellman. The results suggest that inactivation of the kinase enhances T cell immune response and could complement treatment with checkpoint inhibitors.

Previous studies suggested that mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase 1 (HPK1; MAP4K1), which is solely expressed by hematopoietic cells such as T cells, acts as a negative regulator of T cell activation and signaling...