Epithelial cells mimic immune cells: a novel path toward tumor immunotherapy

摘要

Recently,we have shown that FOXP3,a critical transcription factor in regulatory T cells(Tregs),is expressed in pancreatic epithelial cells,and restrain the activity of CD8+T cells by upregulating PD-L1,which in turn regulates immune escape in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)^(1).On the basis of a series of studies of our laboratory,we hypothesize that a subset of pancreatic epithelial cells mimics the phenotype and function of Tregs(named quasi-Tregs or qTregs);this concept has been supported by a peer-reviewed commentary^(2).Moreover,evidence suggests that tumor epithelial cells can mimic other types of immune cells and participate in the formation of a tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment(TIM).