近日，国际著名杂志Nature Communications刊登了德国埃朗根－纽伦堡大学医院研究人员的最新研究成果“A role for T-bet-mediated tumour immune surveillance in anti-IL-17A treatment of lung cancer”，文章中指出，该院研究人员开发出一种治疗肺癌的新方法，通过引入抗体阻断一种促进肿瘤生长的“信使物质”，可提高肺癌患者的存活率。
据介绍，研究人员发现人体免疫系统中一种名为白介素－17A的“信使物质”会促进肿瘤生长，而这种物质往往会在肺癌患者体内大量出现。
摸清了免疫系统的“工作流程”后，研究人员开始探索治疗肺癌的新方法，结果发现，引入某种抗体“封锁”上述“信使物质”后，可有效抑制肿瘤增长，提高患者存活率。此外，研究人员没有采取传统的注射方法给患者引入抗体，而是通过滴鼻剂的方式引入。
据世界卫生组织的数据，肺癌不但是最常见的一种癌症，它导致的死亡人数也比其它癌症高。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi:10.1038/ncomms1609
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A role for T-bet-mediated tumour immune surveillance in anti-IL-17A treatment of lung cancer
S. Reppert,I. Boross,M. Koslowski,Ö. Türeci,S. Koch,H.A. Lehr&S. Finotto
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The cytokine interleukin-17A supports tumour vascularization and growth, however, its role in lung cancer is unknown. Here we show, in the lungs of patients with lung adenocarcinoma, an increase in interleukin-17A that is inversely correlated with the expression of T-bet and correlated with the T regulatory cell transcription factor Foxp3. Local targeting of interleukin-17A in experimental lung adenocarcinoma results in a reduction in tumour load, local expansion of interferon-γ-producing CD4+ T cells and a reduction in lung CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. T-bet(−/−) mice have a significantly higher tumour load compared with wild-type mice. This is associated with the local upregulation of interleukin-23 and induction of interleukin-17A/interleukin-17R-expressing T cells infiltrating the tumour. Local anti-interleukin-17A antibody treatment partially improves the survival of T-bet(−/−) mice. These results suggest that local anti-interleukin-17A antibody therapy could be considered for the treatment of lung tumours.
