A critical function for type I interferons in cancer immunoediting

Speaker:李秀儀                             Time: PM 3:10~4:00; 10/05/2005

Commentator:黎煥耀  老師                   Room: 601

Abstract

Cancer immunoedting has dual roles in promoting host protection against cancer and facilitating tumor to escape from immune destruction during the tumor development. It is composed of three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape. The cancer elimination (cancer immunosurveillance) means that the immune system protects the immunocompetent host from the development of neoplasia¹. Many studies have focused on identifying immunological components involved in the immunoediting process. The important components to protect host against tumor growth are lymphocytes, nature killer cells, and immune effectors(INF-γand proforin)². However, whether type I interferons (interferon-α/β) participate in cancer immunoediting process remaining unclear. Therefore, the authors used tumor transplantation and primary tumor formation to elucidate the potential function of type I interferons. They found that interferon-α/βdeficiency mice showed increasing chemical carcinogen 3’-methylcholanthrene (MCA) induced tumorigenesis than wild type mice in primary tumor model. Moreover, the rejection of tumor requires interferon-α/β which was derived from the hematopoietic cell responsiveness in the tumor transplantation model³. Comparative the result of IFN-α/β versus IFN-γ responsiveness and unresponsiveness tumor cells showed that tumor cells were not the targets of endogenously produced type I interferon. All together, the authors identified that interferon-α/β during the tumor development as a critical component to enhance host immune system against tumor growth in cancer immunoediting.

References

1. Dunn, G..P. et al. The immunobiology of cancer immunosurveillance and immunoediting. Immunity 21, 137-148 (2004).

2. Smyth, M.J. et al. Type I interferon and cancer immunoediting. Nat. Immunol. 6, 646-648 (2005).

3. Dunn, G.P. et al. A critical function for type I interferons in cancer immunoediting. Nat. Immunol. 6, 722-729 (2005).