regulatory T cells

[GeekWire] Sonoma Biotherapeutics has raised $265 million in new funding which will be used to advance its programs aiming to treat autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and IBD.

[Moderna, Inc.] Moderna, Inc. announced the first participant has been dosed in the Phase I study of mRNA-6231, the company’s mRNA-encoded IL-2 modified for the expansion of regulatory T cells.

[Science Translational Medicine] The authors found that anti–cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated protein 4 (CTLA-4)×SIRPα preferentially depleted ICOShigh immunosuppressive Treg cells in the tumor microenvironment and enhanced immunity against solid tumors, including MC38 and CT26 murine colon cancers.

[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America] Using ex vivo human primary T cells, researchers found that PIP4K activity was required for Treg cell signaling and immunosuppressive activity. Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of PIP4K in Tregs reduced signaling through the PI3K, mTORC1/S6, and MAPK pathways, impaired cell proliferation, and increasedactivation-induced cell death while sparing Tconv.

[Cell Reports] To establish a benchmark of human Treg dysfunction, researchers targeted the master transcription factor FOXP3 in naive and memory Tregs. Although FOXP3-ablated Tregs upregulated cytokine expression, effects on suppressive capacity in vitro manifested slowly and primarily in memory Tregs.

[Immunity] Researchers focused on IL4I1+CD274(PD-L1)+IDO1+ macrophages, which accumulated in the tumor periphery in a T cell-dependent manner via interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and CD40/CD40L-induced maturation from IFN-primed monocytes.