International Seminar: “Targeting Regulatory T cells in cancer”
16/03/2018April 2nd, 2018
Regulatory T cells have a recognised and critical role in the maintenance of immune homeostasis in mice and man. Either educated in the thymus or generated in the periphery, Tregs circulate and infiltrate tissues with the goal of fine-tuning immunity and counterbalance inflammatory processes to prevent autoimmunity. Despite their critical role in immune homeostasis and maintaining host integrity, their function is known to be hijacked in the context of cancer. The murine and human tumor microenvironment actively recruits regulatory T cells bearing features of activation such as upregulation of the high-affinity IL2Ra (CD25) and the immune-regulatory receptor CTLA-4. In mice, prophylactic and therapeutic depletion of Tregs enhances anti-tumor immunity and synergises with other immune therapies to promote tumor control. In humans, the number of tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells and their spatial distribution with regards to effector T cells negatively associates with patient outcomes underscoring their negative role in anti-tumor immunity and the need for tools that tamper with their function and number. In this seminar, I will discuss the role of regulatory T cells in the context of cancer, as well as old and new strategies to target this compartment in an effort to eradicate cancer.
Speaker:
Sergio Quezada, PhD
Professorial Research Fellow
UCL Cancer Institute
Date:
Monday, April 2nd, 2018
Time:
16:00
Location:
Auditorium 4th Floor
Fundación Ciencia & Vida
Avenida Zañartu 1482, Ñuñoa, Santiago
