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St. Jude Scientists Identify ZMYND8 Gene Driving T-Cell Exhaustion
Key Takeaways
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists published in Nature that the gene ZMYND8 is a major regulator of CD8+ T-cell exhaustion.
- ZMYND8 normally brakes genes such as the IL-2 receptor gene Il2ra, but chronic infections and some cancers co-opt it to shut down T-cell activation.
- Deleting Zmynd8 improved CD8+ T-cell function against tumors and chronic infections, and may work synergistically with immunotherapy.
- The finding could help overcome immunotherapy's limited success against many pediatric solid tumors, though therapeutic translation needs further study.
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DT Editorial Team··via medicalxpress.com