美国乔治敦大学Samir N. Khleif小组发现，MEK抑制可将CD8⁺T淋巴细胞重编程为具有强大抗肿瘤作用的记忆干细胞。相关论文于2020年11月23日在线发表在《自然—免疫学》杂志上。

Title: MEK inhibition reprograms CD8 + T lymphocytes into memory stem cells with potent antitumor effects

Author: Vivek Verma, Nazli Jafarzadeh, Shannon Boi, Subhadip Kundu, Zhinuo Jiang, Yiping Fan, Jose Lopez, Rahul Nandre, Peng Zeng, Fatmah Alolaqi, Shamim Ahmad, Pankaj Gaur, Simon T. Barry, Viia E. Valge-Archer, Paul D. Smith, Jacques Banchereau, Mikayel Mkrtichyan, Benjamin Youngblood, Paulo C. Rodriguez, Seema Gupta, Samir N. Khleif

Issue&Volume: 2020-11-23

Abstract: Regenerative stem cell–like memory (TSCM) CD8+ T cells persist longer and produce stronger effector functions. We found that MEK1/2 inhibition (MEKi) induces TSCM that have naive phenotype with self-renewability, enhanced multipotency and proliferative capacity. This is achieved by delaying cell division and enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis and fatty acid oxidation, without affecting T cell receptor-mediated activation. DNA methylation profiling revealed that MEKi-induced TSCM cells exhibited plasticity and loci-specific profiles similar to bona fide TSCM isolated from healthy donors, with intermediate characteristics compared to naive and central memory T cells. Ex vivo, antigenic rechallenge of MEKi-treated CD8+ T cells showed stronger recall responses. This strategy generated T cells with higher efficacy for adoptive cell therapy. Moreover, MEKi treatment of tumor-bearing mice also showed strong immune-mediated antitumor effects. In conclusion, we show that MEKi leads to CD8+ T cell reprogramming into TSCM that acts as a reservoir for effector T cells with potent therapeutic characteristics.

DOI: 10.1038/s41590-020-00818-9

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-020-00818-9