Reversing radiation-activated immune suppression in cancer
Researchers at the University of Chicago have identified a mechanism to make immune cells reprogrammed by radiation therapy attack tumors rather than protect them. The study, published in Cancer Cell, shows that radiation activates a protein called TET2 on immune cells in bone marrow, where it removes chemical tags from RNA and locks these cells into an immune-suppressing state.
Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered a way to reverse the immune suppression caused by radiation therapy in cancer treatment. Radiation therapy, which is used to treat 50-60% of cancer patients, kills tumor cells by damaging their DNA. However, it also triggers the expansion of immune-suppressing myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the bone marrow, which block the tumor-killing CD8+ T cells.
A team of researchers found that radiation therapy activates a protein called TET2 in immune cells in the bone marrow, causing them to remove chemical tags from RNA and become immune-suppressing. When they blocked TET2 in mice, the same immune cells began attacking the cancer, helping radiation and immunotherapy shrink tumors and control metastasis.
This discovery suggests that targeting the epigenetic machinery of immune cells could reverse radiation resistance, making it a potentially reversible program.
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