Pédiatrie. Progrès récents et orientations futures de la thérapie avec cellules CAR-T en oncologie pédiatrique

Combattre la leucémie en utilisant les armes immunologiques, via les anticorps et les lymphocytes, est une idée ancienne, qui a déjà connu un accomplissement dans la greffe de moelle osseuse. Pour limiter les effets néfastes sur d'autres organes (maladie du greffon contre l'hôte), des cellules T autologues peuvent être modifiées pour exprimer des récepteurs d'antigènes chimères synthétiques (CAR) avec spécificité antigénique. Dans le cadre d'essais cliniques, les cellules CAR-T anti-CD19 ont montré une efficacité importante dans les leucémies et les lymphomes B en rechute ou réfractaires. Dans cet article, nous décrivons les approches proposées, les résultats des essais cliniques, les effets secondaires et l'orientation future de ces thérapies dans les leucémies et d'autres cancers pédiatriques ainsi que leurs perspectives dans le contexte suisse

Optimized combinatorial pMHC class II multimer labeling for precision immune monitoring of tumor-specific CD4 T cells in patients

With immunotherapy gaining increasing approval for treatment of different tumor types, scientists rely on cutting edge methods for the monitoring of immune responses and biomarker development in patients. Due to the lack of tools to efficiently detect rare circulating human tumor-specific CD4 T cells, their characterization in patients still remains very limited

Bone marrow microenvironment controls the in vivo differentiation of murine dendritic cells into osteoclasts.

International audienceFinding that activated T cells control osteoclast (OCL) differentiation has revealed the importance of the interactions between immune and bone cells. Dendritic cells (DCs) are responsible for T-cell activation and share common precursors with OCLs. Here we show that DCs participate in bone resorption more directly than simply through T-cell activation. We show that, among the splenic DC subsets, the conventional DCs have the higher osteoclastogenic potential in vitro. We demonstrate that conventional DCs differentiate into functional OCLs in vivo when injected into osteopetrotic oc/oc mice defective in OCL resorptive function. Moreover, this differentiation involves the presence of activated CD4(+) T cells controlling a high RANK-L expression by bone marrow stromal cells. Our results open new insights in the differentiation of OCLs and DCs and offer new basis for analyzing the relations between bone and immune systems

Consensus nomenclature for CD8 + T cell phenotypes in cancer

Whereas preclinical investigations and clinical studies have established that CD8(+) T cells can profoundly affect cancer progression, the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. Challenging the prevalent view that the beneficial effect of CD8(+) T cells in cancer is solely attributable to their cytotoxic activity, several reports have indicated that the ability of CD8(+) T cells to promote tumor regression is dependent on their cytokine secretion profile and their ability to self-renew. Evidence has also shown that the tumor microenvironment can disarm CD8(+) T cell immunity, leading to the emergence of dysfunctional CD8(+) T cells. The existence of different types of CD8(+) T cells in cancer calls for a more precise definition of the CD8(+) T cell immune phenotypes in cancer and the abandonment of the generic terms "pro-tumor" and "antitumor." Based on recent studies investigating the functions of CD8(+) T cells in cancer, we here propose some guidelines to precisely define the functional states of CD8(+) T cells in cancer