Download Cholesterol potentiates T cell Anti-tumor Activity

The Good Side of Cholesterol: It Potentiates CD8
T cells Anti-tumor Activity
Researchers find that modulating cholesterol metabolism makes CD8 T cells better at fighting
cancer.
We all know that too much cholesterol is bad for our health. However, our CD8 T cells beg to differ. If
they accumulate more cholesterol inside their plasma membrane, they become better at fighting cancer.
This is what the latest research published in the journal Nature shows.
Many people think a high cholesterol diet is not
good for your health. But not CD8 T cells. They
gain extra anti-tumor powers when they have more
cholesterol in their plasma membrane. Image
Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/
CD8 T cells play an important role in the fight
against cancer, since they secrete granules that kill
tumor cells. They also make memory cells that
have the ability to “remember” the tumor cells they
encountered previously and therefore respond
faster when they come across it a second time.
However, tumors have managed to evade CD8 T
cells by releasing factors that directly or indirectly suppress the cells. Scientists have dedicated years of
research trying to understand how to prevent this process from happening. In a recent blog, we wrote about
how manipulating the breathing machinery in CD8 T cells can make them better at fighting cancer cells.
Here, we highlight new research that describes another method by which CD8 T cells can become more
potent in killing tumor cells. A group of scientists from Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences show
that by losing an enzyme that helps in cholesterol esterification, CD8 T cells have better anti-tumor
potential, because of their ability to accumulate cholesterol in their plasma membrane. The researchers then
went on to show that by using a drug, Avasimibe, which inhibits cholesterol esterification, CD8 T cells had
better proliferation and function. When they tested this drug, together with anti-PD-1 treatment in mice
models of melanoma, they observed that tumor growth was inhibited and the mice survived longer. Best
part about their finding: Avasimibe has been used in clinical trials for treating atherosclerosis and has
shown a good safety profile in humans, making it an excellent drug to test in clinical trials in cancer
patients.1
Reference:
Yang W. et al., 2016. Potentiating the antitumour response of CD8 T cells by modulating cholesterol
metabolism. Nature, 531:doi:10.1038/nature17412.
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