γδ T Cell Therapy Development for Breast Cancer

γδ T lymphocytes have a unique ability to recognize antigens, do not require major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigen presentation, and can quickly activate anti-tumor responses, which has aroused interest in oncology, especially potential applications in immunotherapy. Based on the unique ability of γδ T lymphocytes, Creative Biolabs proposes γδ T cell therapy development services to help breast cancer immunotherapy research.

Introduction to Breast Cancer

Breast cancer develops from breast tissue. It is the most common invasive cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer. Signs of breast cancer may include breast lumps, changes in breast shape, sunken skin, nipple discharge, new inverted nipples, or red or scaly spots on the skin.

Due to the recognition of breast cancer and the support of research funds, great progress has been made in the treatment of breast cancer in the past 20 years, but the number of deaths is still not optimistic. Therefore, efforts should be made to develop more effective and targeted treatment methods and reliable prognostic indicators to help guide the treatment of breast cancer.

γδ T Cell as Foes in Breast Cancer Development

It is increasingly recognized that tumor microenvironment plays an important role in the development and spread of cancer. A small part of this microenvironment in the human body is γδ T lymphocytes, which are independent of MHC antigen presentation, recognize tumor cells and rapidly initiate immune responses, thus bridging the innate and adaptive immune system. Therefore, they show unique potential in the immunotherapy of breast cancer. They do this through direct cytotoxicity, stimulating the secretion of cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interferon (IFN)-γ of other components of the immune response, inhibiting angiogenesis and antigen presentation. In addition, there is also evidence that tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) density is a positive prognostic indicator for some types of breast cancer. Since γδ T cells are usually detected in TIL, the importance of studying the possible existence of local γδ T cells has been emphasized.

Fig.1 Schematic representation of tumor microenvironment. (Presti, 2018)

Application of γδ T cells in Breast Cancer

Recent studies have shown that amino bisphosphonates can be used in cultures in which a large number of γδ T cells are proliferated in vitro. Experiments have conducted clinical studies on patients with breast cancer to further determine the safety, immunological effect and feasibility of zoledronate-activated Vγ9 γδ T cell immunotherapy. The results showed that no serious toxicity was observed, and this immunotherapy can restore the number of Vγ9 γδ T cells in breast cancer patients, and may provide another mode of adoptive immunotherapy.

What Can We Do?

Some cytokines in tumor microenvironment drive the functional plasticity of the immunosuppressive function of γδ T lymphocytes, which limits the effectiveness of immunotherapy so far. In order to give full play to the potential of this therapy, it is necessary to optimize the subtypes of γδ T lymphocytes for anti-tumor effects, and manipulate the tumor microenvironment to promote rather than inhibit this purpose. In breast cancer, early studies have shown that the effectiveness of γδ T lymphocytes may vary among different molecular subtypes. Therefore, studies in breast cancer must be designed to fully evaluate the effects of different subtypes.

Creative Biolabs has a lot of experience in immunotherapy. We can provide researchers with various preclinical services, including γδ T Cell Development Services, γδ T Cell Receptors Services, γδ T Cell Engineering Services and so on, to assist in the immunotherapy of breast cancer. If you want to get more information, please feel free to contact us.

Reference

1. Presti, E. L., et al. γδ T Cells and Tumor Microenvironment: From Immunosurveillance to Tumor Evasion. Frontiers in Immunology. 2018: 1395-1395.