Clonal Abundance of Tumor-Specific CD4(+) T Cells Potentiates Efficacy and Alters Susceptibility to Exhaustion.

ABSTRACT: Current approaches to cancer immunotherapy aim to engage the natural T cell response against tumors. One limitation is the elimination of self-antigen-specific T cells from the immune repertoire. Using a system in which precursor frequency can be manipulated in a murine melanoma model, we demonstrated that the clonal abundance of CD4(+) T cells specific for self-tumor antigen positively correlated with antitumor efficacy. At elevated precursor frequencies, intraclonal competition impaired initial activation and overall expansion of the tumor-specific CD4(+) T cell population. However, through clonally derived help, this population acquired a polyfunctional effector phenotype and antitumor immunity was enhanced. Conversely, development of effector function was attenuated at low precursor fr

SUBMITTER: Malandro N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4996670 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature