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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

In Vivo Augmentation of Gut-Homing Regulatory T Cell Induction
Published on: January 22, 2020
T-regulatory cells shift from a protective anti-inflammatory to a cancer-promoting proinflammatory phenotype in
Elias Gounaris1, Nichole R Blatner, Kristen Dennis
1Division of Gastroenterology and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611-3015, USA.
Abstract:
T-regulatory (Treg) cells play a major role in cancer by suppressing protective antitumor immune responses. A series of observations (from a single laboratory) suggest that Treg cells are protective in cancer by virtue of their ability to control cancer-associated inflammation in an interleukin (IL)-10-dependent manner. Here, we report that the ability of Treg cells to produce IL-10 and control inflammation is lost in the course of progressive disease in a mouse model of hereditary colon cancer. Treg cells that expand in adenomatous polyps no longer produce IL-10 and instead switch to production of IL-17. Aberrant Treg cells from polyp-ridden mice promote rather than suppress focal mastocytosis, a critical tumor-promoting inflammatory response. The cells, however, maintain other Treg characteristics, including their inability to produce IL-2 and ability to suppress proliferation of stimulated CD4 T cells. By promoting inflammation and suppressing T-helper functions, these cells act as a double-edged knife propagating tumor growth.
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