0000000000701966
AUTHOR
Dieter Kabelitz
Immunotherapy With Human Gamma Delta T Cells—Synergistic Potential of Epigenetic Drugs?
Epigenetics has emerged as one of the fastest growing concepts, adding more than 45 new publications every day, spreading through various fields ( 1). Conrad Waddington coined the term “epigenetics” in 1942; however, a multitude of definitions has been endorsed by different researchers. In essence, Waddington’s definition of “epigenetics” and its redefinition by Holiday is at the heart of cellular function. Hence, it is obvious that epigenetic regulation plays a central role also in the specification, differentiation, and functional plasticity of T lymphocytes ( 2). T-cell fate decision in progenitor cells, functional CD4 T-cell plasticity, CD8 T-cell differentiation, but also T-cell memory…
Galectin-3 Released by Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Suppresses γδ T Cell Proliferation but Not Their Cytotoxicity
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment with a dense desmoplastic stroma. The expression of β-galactoside-binding protein galectin-3 is regarded as an intrinsic tumor escape mechanism for inhibition of tumor-infiltrating T cell function. In this study, we demonstrated that galectin-3 is expressed by PDAC and by γδ or αβ T cells but is only released in small amounts by either cell population. Interestingly, large amounts of galectin-3 were released during the co-culture of allogeneic in vitro expanded or allogeneic or autologous resting T cells with PDAC cells. By focusing on the co-culture of tumor cells and γδ T cells, we obse…