γδ T cell expansion and their use in in vitro cytotoxicity assays

Limited therapeutic options for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients prompted the exploration of advanced immunotherapeutic approaches in this cancer entity. γδ T cells started gaining attention for their remarkable ability to suppress skin cancer, which rapidly extended to other cancer entities. This special T cells represent a suitable immune population to be used in adoptive T cell transfer approaches. Combining characteristics of both αβ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, these unique T cells exhibit swift cancer cell elimination independent of MHC class I antigen presentation. The distinct advantage of γδ T cell immunotherapy lies in its HLA-unrestricted nature, enabling the utilization of cells from healthy donors. Up to date, many studies demonstrate that also expanded γδ T cells from breast cancer patients exhibit enhanced cytotoxicity and cytokine release in vitro, paving the way for γδ T cell-based therapies. The approach outlined below offers an alternative method for conducting in vitro cytotoxicity assays, utilizing γδ T cells as the effector cell population and breast cancer stem cells as the target.