Tireless surveillance by exhausted T cells

Journal article

T cell exhaustion is an evocative concept that results in attenuated function in the face of chronic antigen exposure and is critical to avoid immunopathology. However, tumors often exploit this dampened T cell function to escape the antitumor immune response. In this issue of the JCI, You et al. investigated a different aspect of T cell exhaustion in the setting of tumor immunity by characterizing the capacity of T cells for tireless migration. The dynamic nature of normal T cells was first made famous by intravital microscopy studies in explanted tissues. You et al. used a similar imaging strategy with reanimated human tumors, in which exhausted T cells displayed an enhanced capacity for intratumoral motility. These results suggest that exhausted T cells may be able to teach T cell engineers lessons about navigating within the tumor microenvironment.

Authors: Dustin, ML

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Society for Clinical Investigation
• Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation More from this journal
• Volume: 131
• Issue: 18
• Article number: e152382
• Publication date: 2021-09-15
• DOI: 10.1172/jci152382
• EISSN: 1558-8238
• ISSN: 0021-9738
• Pmid: 34523616
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR