Blockade of programmed death-1/programmed death ligand pathway enhances the antitumor immunity of human invariant natural killer T cells

In this study, we investigated the interaction between PD-1 on iNKT cells and PDL on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in the context of iNKT cell stimulation. The blockade of PDL1 at the time of stimulation resulted in increased release of helper T cell (Th) 1 cytokines from iNKT cells, leading to the activation of NK cells. The direct antitumor function of iNKT cells was also enhanced after stimulation with anti-PDL1 antibody-treated APCs. According to these results, we conclude that the co-administration of anti-PDL1 antibody and alpha-galactosylceramide ( αGalCer)-pulsed APCs enhances iNKT cell-mediated antitumor immunity.

Source: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy - September 14, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research