Ibrutinib Enhances Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Engraftment and Efficacy in Leukemia To evaluate the effect of ibrutinib treatment on the T-cell compartment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) as it relates to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell generation, researchers examined the phenotype and function of T-cells in a cohort of CLL patients during their course of treatment with ibrutinib. [Blood] Abstract Expression of CD39 on Activated T Cells Impairs Their Survival in Older Individuals To identify age-associated defects in memory cell formation, scientists profiled activated CD4+ T cells and found an increased induction of the ATPase CD39 with age. CD39+ CD4+ T cells resembled effector T cells with signs of metabolic stress and high susceptibility to undergo apoptosis. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Frequent CTLA4-CD28 Gene Fusion in Diverse Types of T Cell Lymphoma Researchers identified a fusion between the two genes from partial gene duplication in a case of angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma by RNA sequencing. The fusion gene consists of the extracellular domain of CTLA4 and the cytoplasmic region of CD28, likely capable of transforming inhibitory signals into stimulatory signals for T cell activation. [Haematologica] Abstract | Full Article CRISPR-Cas9 Mediated Efficient PD-1 Disruption on Human Primary T Cells from Cancer Patients The authors described for the first time a non-viral mediated approach to reprogram primary human T cells by disruption of programmed death-1 (PD-1). The disruption of inhibitory checkpoint gene PD-1 resulted in significant reduction of PD-1 expression but did not affect the viability of primary human T cells during the prolonged in vitro culture. [Sci Rep] Full Article A Novel Method for Evaluating Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity by Flow Cytometry Using Cryopreserved Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Researchers established a novel method for evaluating cytotoxicity, which involves the detection and quantification of dead target cells using flow cytometry. With the new approach, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity activity was more reproducibly, sensitively, and specifically detectable, not only in freshly isolated but also in frozen human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, than with the calcein-AM release assay. [Sci Rep] Full Article Lymphocyte Depletion and Repopulation after Chemotherapy for Primary Breast Cancer Researchers used flow-cytometry to assess circulating lymphocyte levels and phenotypes in 88 primary breast cancer patients before chemotherapy and at time-points from two weeks to nine months after chemotherapy completion. Levels of B, T and NK cells were significantly reduced two weeks after chemotherapy. [Breast Cancer Res] Full Article | Press Release X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein Mediates Tumor Cell Resistance to Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Scientists hypothesized that high expression of anti-apoptotic molecules in tumors would render them resistant to antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). They demonstrated that the most potent caspase inhibitor, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein, overexpressed in inflammatory breast cancer, drives resistance to ADCC mediated by cetuximab and trastuzumab. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article New Insights into the Phenotype of Human Dendritic Cell Populations Investigators summarized the reactivity of different monoclonal antibodies to 68 different cell-surface molecules expressed by human myeloid and dendritic cell populations. [Clin Transl Immunol] Full Article Subscribe to our sister publications: Immunology of Infectious Disease News & Immune Regulation News! |