Panayotis Verginis, Themis Alissafi and colleagues recently published a study in Cancer Immunology Research

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer immunotherapy, however a significant proportion of patients whose tumors respond to these treatments develop immune-related adverse events (irAEs) resembling autoimmune diseases. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) maintain peripheral tolerance and prevent autoimmune diseases. In this study by Gigoriou et al the authors show a common inflammatory signature between isolated regulatory T cells (Tregs) from patients with solid tumors who develop irAEs and Tregs from patients with autoimmune diseases, suggesting shared underlying mechanisms. These findings may facilitate translational approaches aiming to induce robust antitumor immunity without disturbing peripheral tolerance.

Regulatory T cell transcriptomic reprogramming characterizes adverse events by checkpoint inhibitors in solid tumors
Grigoriou M, Banos A, Hatzioannou A, Kloetgen A, Kouzis P, Aggouraki D, Zakopoulou R, Bamias G, Kassi E, Mavroudis D, Bamias A, Boumpas DT, Tsirigos A, Gogas HJ, Alissafi T, Verginis P.
Cancer Immunol Res. 2021 Apr 5:canimm.0969.2020. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-20-0969. Online ahead of print.

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