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Review
. 2021 Feb 25:2021:6616391.
doi: 10.1155/2021/6616391. eCollection 2021.

T Cell Exhaustion and CAR-T Immunotherapy in Hematological Malignancies

Lu Tang  1   2 , Yinqiang Zhang  1   2 , Yu Hu  1   2 , Heng Mei  1   2
Affiliations
Review

T Cell Exhaustion and CAR-T Immunotherapy in Hematological Malignancies

Lu Tang et al. Biomed Res Int. .

Abstract

T cell exhaustion has been recognized to play an immunosuppressive role in malignant diseases. Persistent tumor antigen stimulation, the presence of inhibitory immune cells and cytokines in tumor microenvironment (TME), upregulated expression of inhibitory receptors, changes in T cell-related transcription factors, and metabolic factors can all result in T cell exhaustion. Strategies dedicated to preventing or reversing T cell exhaustion are required to reduce the morbidity from cancer and enhance the effectiveness of adoptive cellular immunotherapy. Here, we summarize the current findings of T cell exhaustion in hematological malignancies and chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) immunotherapy, as well as the value of novel technologies, to inverse such dysfunction. Our emerging understanding of T cell exhaustion may be utilized to develop personalized strategies to restore antitumor immunity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mechanisms of T cell exhaustion induced in TME.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Promising strategies to inverse T cell exhaustion in CAR-T immunotherapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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