ABSTRACT
A prerequisite for tumor evolution toward a malignant state is the establishment of cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of immune suppression (Hanahan and Weinberg, 2000, 2011; Schreiber, Old, and Smyth, 2011). Widespread recruitment of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (TREG) is a prevailing means to dampen antitumor immunity. Advances in the characterization of TREG cell heterogeneity and physiological function of tissue resident TREG cells unfold new possibilities for nontraditional tumor-promoting functions of intratumoral TREG cells. This review will focus on the nonclassical function of TREG cells and their implicancies for cancer biology and treatment.
Acknowledgments
The author acknowledges the support of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.
Declaration of interest
The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.