Short-term cultured autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a potential immunogen to activate Tax-specific CTL response in adult T-cell leukemia patients Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is one of the few malignancies that has a certain trigger. Infection by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is necessary for the development of ATL, but it is not sufficient. Studies have shown that Tax-specific CD8 + cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are often present in asymptomatic

more »

... 1 carriers, which suggests an anti-tumor effect. In this study, Ishizawa et al investigate novels methods to stimulate these Tax-specific CD8 + CTLs. In the past, they have developed vaccines with similar mechanism, but they are only available to three HLA alleles. They chose to isolate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from individuals infected with HTLV-1. Upon in vitro culture, these PBCMs could induce Tax cross-presentation and ultimately increase levels of Tax-specific CD8 + CTL activity. If these results persist in vivo, short-term cultured autologous PBMCs may change the paradigm of ATL therapy. Discoidin domain receptor s orches tr ate c ancer progression: A focus on c ancer ther apies Tyrosine kinases inhibitors have already changed the way that certain cancers are treated and there are numerous clinicians searching for new applications. Discoidin domain receptors (DDRs) are a class of transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) that are relatively new. In this review, Gao et al discuss the features of this new class of RTKs and the role that it may play in future cancer research. DDRs are different from the RTKs that are currently being targeted because DDRs are activated by collagens as opposed to soluble growth factors. DDRs may be the key to new biomarkers and therapeutics as DDR1 and DDR2 have been shown to be elevated in numerous cancers and they play a role in cell proliferation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, cell migration, and cell invasion. DDRs are novel oncogenes that may significantly improve cancer care.