Doctors always recommend keeping your cholesterol levels low to reduce your risk of a heart attack, which is a great recommendation. But did you know that low cholesterol levels could enhance T cell immunotherapies against cancer? Well according to a recently published Journal of Experimental Medicine paper by Cleveland Clinic researchers, it can.
Previously, Qing Yi, the leader of the current study, and the team showed that a subset of T cells called Tc9 cells are great at combating tumors compared to other types of T cells. In their current study, the team has been able to describe the mechanisms that allow Tc9 cells to be so effective at battling cancers and how those mechanisms can be adjusted to enhance immunotherapies.
Using gene profiling, the team found that there were lower levels of intracellular cholesterol in Tc9 cells compared to other T cells. They then thought perhaps lower levels of cholesterol may contribute to the effectiveness of Tc9 cells against tumors. This was, in fact, the case. When cholesterol-lowering drugs were administered to cells, IL-9 expression and NF-kB signaling were turned on by anti-cancer pathways. The group was also able to show in a tumor-bearing preclinical model reducing cholesterol levels prior to immunotherapy led to higher concentrations of IL-9 and greater anti-tumor activity success.
Immunotherapy is one type of cancer treatment that uses the immune system kill cancer cells. Adoptive T cell transfer is a way to tackle cancer by administering engineered T cells to recognize a certain type of cancer. Many researchers have looked for ways to optimize the cancer-fighting ability of T cells. Some researchers have tried transferring cells at different stages of differentiation or using certain drugs in tandem with immunotherapy.
"Our studies suggest a relatively simple, cost-effective way to enhance T cell transfer therapy," Yi said. "We hope to test our findings in clinical trials soon."