Biologists identify new targets for cancer vaccines

news.mit.edu

4 pointsintellaughs2 comments

> In this study, the researchers found that they had the most success when vaccinating with neoantigens that bind weakly to immune cells that are responsible for presenting the antigen to T cells.

How strange, isn't that all prediction services aim to finding neoantigens or derived peptides that bind strongly to immune cells? Or do I misunderstand something?

I guess the linked article is not describing accurately the scientific paper [0].

A central concept is immunodominance, where one type of T-cell reacts to many different peptides, thus blocking the action of a peptide vaccine targeting another T-cell type.

Here a peptide vaccine is used as secondary therapy to an immune checkpoint blockade (a recent and efficient therapy against cancer). yet it seems that the peptide vaccine has the inverse effect that the one which is desired. When administrated, it diminishes the action of the immune checkpoint therapy!

The scientists found that a special type of T-cell is immunodominant: CCR6+ TCF1+ progenitor cells

When they targeted those annoying CCR6+ TCF1+ progenitor cells with a vaccine, they were able to restore the immune response.

[0] https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00994-6

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