They also found that immunotherapy enhanced the formation of these structures in a mouse model. This discovery suggests new opportunities to regulate the anti-tumour response of the immune system.
Glioma is a deadly brain tumour with a dismal prognosis. One reason why brain tumours are very hard to treat is that our immune system, which is designed to detect and destroy foreign cells including cancer cells, cannot easily reach the tumour site due to the barriers that surround the brain.
To fight a developing tumour, killer immune cells such as T lymphocytes must be activated and primed in our lymph nodes, before travelling to the tumour site to effectively kill the cancer cells. Because of the barriers around the brain, it is a challenging process for T lymphocytes to reach the tumour.
In the study now published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers describe their discovery of structures similar to lymph nodes in the brain where T lymphocytes could be activated.
