TGF-β suppresses type 2 immunity to cancer.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33087928.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41586-020-2836-1 and PMC identifier PMC4151216.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
The immune system uses two distinct defence strategies against infections: microbe-directed pathogen destruction characterized by type 1 immunity1, and host-directed pathogen containment exemplified by type 2 immunity in induction of tissue repair2. Similar to infectious diseases, cancer progresses with self-propagating cancer cells inflicting host-tissue damage. The immunological mechanisms of cancer cell destruction are well defined3-5, but whether immune-mediated cancer cell containment can be induced remains poorly understood. Here we show that depletion of transforming growth factor-β receptor 2 (TGFBR2) in CD4+ T cells, but not CD8+ T cells, halts cancer progression as a result of tissue healing and remodelling of the blood vasculature, causing cancer cell hypoxia and death in distant avascular regions. Notably, the host-directed protective response is dependent on the T helper 2 cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4), but not the T helper 1 cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Thus, type 2 immunity can be mobilized as an effective tissue-level defence mechanism against cancer.