Harnessing the IL-7/IL-7Rα axis to improve tumor immunotherapy

C Bryce Johnson; John Wrangle; Shikhar Mehrotra; Zihai Li; Chrystal M Paulos; David J Cole; Charles D Surh; Mark P Rubinstein

doi:10.1080/2162402X.2015.1122865

Harnessing the IL-7/IL-7Rα axis to improve tumor immunotherapy

Oncoimmunology. 2016 Jan 19;5(5):e1122865. doi: 10.1080/2162402X.2015.1122865. eCollection 2016 May.

Authors

C Bryce Johnson¹, John Wrangle², Shikhar Mehrotra¹, Zihai Li², Chrystal M Paulos³, David J Cole¹, Charles D Surh⁴, Mark P Rubinstein³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, SC.
² Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, SC.
³ Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
⁴ Academy of Immunology and Microbiology, Institute for Basic Science, Pohang, South Korea; Department of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, South Korea; Division of Developmental Immunology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Abstract

IL-7 and IL-15 are critical for supporting T cells transferred into a lymphopenic environment. As activated CD8(+) T cells downregulate IL-7Rα, it is thought IL-15 is more important. However, we find that CD8(+) T cells activated with IL-12 have elevated IL-7Rα and rely on IL-7 for persistence and antitumor immunity.

Keywords: Adoptive cellular therapy; CD8; IL-15; IL-7; IL-7Ra.

Grants and funding

K12 CA157688/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States