Transplantation represents the treatment of choice for end-stage solid organ failure or tumor malignancies. The dissection of the mechanisms regulating host immune response toward foreign graft has led to the introduction into clinical practice of effective T-cell targeting immunosuppressive agents, which ...
Transplantation represents the treatment of choice for end-stage solid organ failure or tumor malignancies. The dissection of the mechanisms regulating host immune response toward foreign graft has led to the introduction into clinical practice of effective T-cell targeting immunosuppressive agents, which have abated the risk of acute rejection and increased the 1-year graft survival. However, current immunosuppressive agents are less effective in preventing chronic allograft rejection and are associated with an unacceptably high risk of multiple side effects, including infections and malignancy. CD8+ T cells play essential roles in fighting cancer and infectious diseases. However, CD8+ T cells frequently become functionally exhausted in the tumor microenvironment and during chronic infections. Exhausted T cells are characterized by high expression of inhibitory receptors, low secretion of effector cytokines, and mitochondrial depolarization. T cell exhaustion is a major hurdle currently limiting the efficacy of T cell–based immunotherapeutic regimens, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies. Efforts have been pursued to explore novel strategies that would allow minimization or even withdrawal of maintenance immunosuppression improving the CAR T and T cell function.
The aim of this Research Topic is to gather the latest insights on cellular and emerging novel therapies to improve T cell function toward tumor, solid organ and bone marrow transplantation, highlighting pre-clinical and clinical achievements and hurdles that need to be overcome.
We welcome authors to submit original research, review, clinical trial and case report articles focusing on, but not limited to, the following subtopics:
1. Chimeric Antigen Receptor: new targets and generations of CAR.
2. T cells dysfunction and exhaustion.
3. The use of biologicals to modulate rejection and graft-versus-host disease.
4. The use of biologicals to enhance the anti-tumor response.
5. Role of microbiome in the anti-tumor response and immune modulation.
Keywords:
T cell dysfunction, CAR T cells, Transplantation, Hematological malignancies, microbiome
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.