“We know that the presence of CD8+ T cells is essential to attack and destroy cancer cells. If we manage to prolong the survival of these cells, they will be able to then activate for longer against cancer cells ».
Discovery of a key gene for the duration of anti-tumor response
The study is developing a new mathematical method capable of identifying shared or unique genetic programs in different datasets relating to several types of human cancers. In total, the scientists analyzed 33,161 CD8+ T cells from 132 patients suffering from 7 different types of cancer. These analyzes reveal:
- 72 genes commonly expressed in chronically activated CD8+ T cells in these cancers;
- that one of these genes, CXCR6, can promote the survival of CD8+ T lymphocytes by overactivating the CD28 signaling pathway.
What implications? The developed mathematical method can be applied to analyze different datasets on several human cancers and thus enable the identification of common targets, as well as specific targets, for cancer immunotherapies.
Research continues to test additional genes to extend the life of T lymphocytes.
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