Melanomas resist T-cell therapy through inflammation-induced reversible dedifferentiation.

2012

Adoptive cell transfer therapies (ACTs) with cytotoxic T cells that target melanocytic antigens can achieve remissions in patients with metastatic melanomas, but tumours frequently relapse. Hypotheses explaining the acquired resistance to ACTs include the selection of antigen-deficient tumour cell variants and the induction of T-cell tolerance. However, the lack of appropriate experimental melanoma models has so far impeded clear insights into the underlying mechanisms. Here we establish an effective ACT protocol in a genetically engineered mouse melanoma model that recapitulates tumour regression, remission and relapse as seen in patients. We report the unexpected observation that melanoma…