Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Tumor Transplantation for Assessing the Dynamics of Tumor-Infiltrating CD8+ T Cells in Mice
Published on: June 12, 2021
The interplay of effector and regulatory T cells in cancer
Rahul Roychoudhuri1, Robert L Eil1, Nicholas P Restifo1
1National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Regulatory T (Treg) cells suppress effector T (Teff) cells and prevent immune-mediated rejection of cancer. Much less appreciated are mechanisms by which Teff cells antagonize Treg cells. Herein, we consider how complex reciprocal interactions between Teff and Treg cells shape their population dynamics within tumors. Under states of tolerance, including during tumor escape, suppressed Teff cells support Treg cell populations through antigen-dependent provision of interleukin (IL)-2. During immune activation, Teff cells can lose this supportive capacity and directly antagonize Treg cell populations to neutralize their immunosuppressive function. While this latter state is rarely achieved spontaneously within tumors, we propose that therapeutic induction of immune activation has the potential to stably disrupt immunosuppressive population states resulting in durable cancer regression.
Related Concept Videos
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
Tumor Immunotherapy
The Tumor Microenvironment
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...

