The Role of Regulatory T Cells in Malignant Glioma

• Published in: Anticancer research Vol. 28; no. 2B; pp. 1143 - 1150
• Main Authors: SONABEND, Adam M, ROLLE, Cleo E, LESNIAK, Maciej S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Attiki International Institute of Anticancer Research 01-03-2008
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Neoplasms - immunology; Brain Neoplasms - therapy; Chemokines - immunology; Glioma - immunology; Glioma - therapy; Humans; Medical sciences; Neurology; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology; Tumors; Tumors of the nervous system. Phacomatoses; Nervous system diseases; brain tumor; Malignant tumor; CD4+ CD25+ cells; Glioblastoma multiforme; Immunity; Intracranial tumor; Cerebral disorder; Malignant glioma; Cancerology; Glioma; immune function; review; Central nervous system disease; T-Lymphocyte; Regulatory cell; Bibliographic review; regulatory T cells (Treg); Cancer
• ISSN: 0250-7005; 1791-7530

The aggressive nature of gliomas is closely related to their capacity to evade the anti-tumoral immune response. The mechanisms
implicated in this phenomenon are only partially understood. A subset of T cells, termed CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells (Treg), have been shown to inhibit the actions of effector lymphocytes. These Tregs are increased in the
blood and tumors of glioma patients and animals with experimental brain tumors. Moreover, tumor infiltration by Tregs correlates
with tumor grade and in animal models, depletion of Tregs is associated with prolonged survival. This review focuses on the
role of Tregs in the immune suppression exhibited by malignant gliomas. The biology of these cells is briefly described in
this context and finally, potential therapeutic strategies related to Treg ablation are explored.