23&24. tumour immunology Flashcards
what did it take 20 years of research to show?
that the immune system could be used to control tumour growth for immunotherapeutic cancer therapy
what are immune checkpoints? and how is this implicated in therapy?
these are inhibitory pathways hardwired into the immune system that are crucial for maintaining self tolerance
>tumours can utilise these pathways for immune resistance - particularly against T cells for tumour antigens
>we can blockade checkpoints in immunotherapy
how did the former US present benefit from immunotherapy?
he was cured of metastatic melanoma at the age of 90 (immune system is weak when old and he was still able to reject tumours)
what occurs every day in terms of surveillance?
tumour surveillance - it can illuminate cells that are not normal
what is the pre-neoplasm stage of cancer?
a single mutation in cells that can be revered by cell intrinsic repair methods
what is cancer? and how long can it take to develop?
progressive build-up of many different mutations over time, 5-20 years
describe why colon cancer has been useful in understanding cancer progression?
polyps are initially benign (non-neoplastic lesions), these can develop into cancer if not removed
why is kidney cancer hard to detect?
people only know there is a problem when they start seeing symptoms - blood in urine and urination problems - these are a consequence of the mass of the tumour and so kidney - by this time the cancer is at an advanced stage
paper defining the hallmarks of caner was published in 2001, and amended in 2011. what two things were added?
genomic instability and mutations
deregulation of cellular energetics
what might potentially be added to an undated of this review?
evade elimination by the immune system
what can cancer cells do in a tissue in terms of other non cancerous cells?
they can conscripted and subverted normal cell types to serve as active collaborators in their neoplastic agenda
what type of cells contribute to the environment and the progression of the tumour? comment on their abundance
stromal cells such as fibroblasts and epithelial cells
>their presence will vary from patient to patient and between different stages of progression
why was the fact that the immune system could detect and eliminate tumour cells controversial?
there was a lack of experimental evidence until about 10 years ago
why are solid tumours likely to develop later in life?
the immune system is weaker
some medication can make people more susceptible to certain types of cancer, what drugs are these? and why is this?
immunosuppressants
>latent pre-malignant tumours cells which were once under control of immune system will progress towards more clinically detectable tumours
in 1909 it was hypothesised that immune system might repress tumour growth. 50 years later, what was shown?
> the concept of immunological surveillance via recognition of tumour specific antigens, T cells can recognise these antigens
in the 70s what was shown about nude mice?
they were not more cancer prone, this shut down the idea of immunosurveillance
why are mice deficient in B and T cells not more cancer prone?
they have NK cells
what evidence for tumour surveillance is there? (4)
- spontaneous regression of cancer is associated with injection and suggest that immune response may be responsible for tumour rejection
- Immunocompromised individuals are more susceptible to certain types of cancer
- presence of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes correlates with better prognosis
- mice deficient in key components of immune system have increased incidence of tumour
what was suggested could predict human colorectal tumour outcome? what did this study do?
type, density and location of immune cells
- characterised TILs in many patients colon cancer
- correlated this with prognostic and grade
- proved immunological data was better prediction of survival than current methods
what is an immunoscore?
the measure of TILs as a read out for the patients prognosis and a way to stage tumours - this provides accurate prognosis regardless of molecular read out
how can we KO key components of the immune system in mice to compare rate of tumourigenesis? and what sort of things can this affect? and what happens to these mice? and what does this show?
CRISPR >B and T cells >interferon signalling >MHC class I expression >TRAIL expression =they develop certain types of tumours different parts of immune system are more important in certain types of tumours
human tumours are immunogenic what does this mean?
there are tumour specific antigens which there are T cells specific to
>tumour cells can be recognized by the immune system
what was the first tumour antigen identified? and where is tis found?
MAGE (melanoma associated antigens)
>this is present in lots of types of cancer
name primary lymph nodes
bone marrow and thymus
name secondary lymph nodes
spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes
what happens if an infection occurs?
lymph node draining - the immune system will produce immune cells from the nearest lymph node
name 7 immune cells
T cells Cytotoxic T cells (CD8) NK cells helper T cells (CD4) B cells plasma cells regulatory T cells
which cell types produce perforin enzymes which result in the destruction of their target
cytotoxic T cells and NK cells
where does specificity in the immune system come from?
B cells - interact with antigens and become activated, differentiate into plasma cells and produce antibodies
what happens when mice exposed to irradiated tumour cells are exposed to the cells again?
immune cell memory results in tumour cells being rejected when injected viable
what cells are important and present in the tumour environment?
T regs - these regulate the relative concentrations of Th1 and Th2 cells
what do Th1 cells produce and what does this do?
gamma interferon, IL-2, TNFbeta
this recruits macrophages
what do Th2 cells produce and what does this do?
IL-3 IL-4 IL-5 IL-10
>these are responsible for strong antibody production
>eosinophil activation
>inhibit macrophages i.e. phagocytosis-independent response
name 5 cells of the innate immune system
dendritic cells, macrophages, NK cells, NKT cells, lymphocytes
why are markers apparent on tumour cells?
induced upon cellular stress and DNA damage - innate immune system recognise molecules that are upregulated upon stress
name two tissue resident presenting cells
dendritic cells, macrophages, lymphocytes
what type of response does the innate immune system supply and what enhances this?
phagocytosis and ADCC - antigen dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity
>they are enhanced by adaptive immunity
what does the innate immune cells in tissue secrete?
cytokines and chemokines which promote inflammation and recruit macrophages
what do adaptive immune cells recognise and what are these cells?
recognize tumour antigens T cells (TCR/MHC recognition) B cells (produce specific antibodies)
when innate immunity changes the adaptive response what happens?
there is increased activity by NK cells
macrophages are engulfed by DC which migrate to draining lymph node to display antigens to niave T cells
>tumour specific T cells home to tumour along chemokine gradient
what are NK activated by?
cytokines released by macrophages and myeloid cells e.g. IL-1 and IL-12
what do NK cells recognised and what then happens?
ligand on target cells
>they form synapse between cells to deliver kill
what do NK cells secrete to kill cell?
perforin - make pores in membrane
granzyme - activates caspase pathway
what receptor is associated with disease state and what does it bind? and what does this lead to?
Fas receptor bind Fas ligand on cytotoxic T cells
>when receptor is activated this leads to apoptosis
where is the TRAIL receptor found?
on tumours cells
>binds cytokine TRAIL and results in apoptosis
what is found on the surface of all nucleated cells and what does it display
MHC1
>self antigens
what type of signal is MHC1 to NK cells?
an inhibitory signal - this is strong than positive signals on normal cells