4-1BB as a therapeutic target for human disease

Abstract

4-1BB (CD137) is being thought of as an attractive target for immunotherapy of many human immune diseases based on encouraging results with 4-1BB agonistic antibody treatment in mouse models of cancer, autoimmune disease, asthma and additionally as a means to improve vaccination. In this review, we will summarize the results of basic research on 4-1BB and 4-1BB immunotherapy of disease and provide some potential mechanistic insights into the many stimulatory and regulatory functions of 4-1BB.