Abstract
Tolerance induction in T cells takes place in most tumors and is thought to account for tumor evasion from immune eradication. Production of the cytokine TGF-β is implicated in immunosuppression, but the cellular mechanism by which TGF-β induces T cell dysfunction remains unclear. With a transgenic model of prostate cancer, we showed that tumor development was not suppressed by the adaptive immune system, which was associated with heightened TGF-β signaling in T cells from the tumor-draining lymph nodes. Blockade of TGF-β signaling in T cells enhanced tumor antigen-specific T cell responses and inhibited tumor development. Surprisingly, T cell- but not Treg cell-specific ablation of TGF-β1 was sufficient to augment T cell cytotoxic activity and blocked tumor growth and metastases. These findings reveal that T cell production of TGF-β1 is an essential requirement for tumors to evade immunosurveillance independent of TGF-β produced by tumors.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 123-134 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Immunity |
Volume | 35 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 22 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases