title: Tumor-specific immunotherapy based on dominant models of natural tolerance.
abstract: The assumption that cancer immunotherapy may be based on the existence of autoreactive lymphocytes recognizing self-antigens on cancer cells, obviously opens a new opportunity. Nevertheless this analysis, relying on a recessive model of natural tolerance, limits the approach to try to activate peripheral lymphocytes, by increasing co-stimulatory signals or using modified self-antigens for immunization. Here we hypothesize that, based on emerging dominant tolerance notions in autoimmunity, it would be possible to induce a specific autoimmunity against tumor cells and arrest their growth following the removal of regulatory T cells. These immunoregulatory cells suppress available immunocompetent autoreactive cells capable of destroying tumor cells. Therefore, in order to reach a complete tumor-specific autoimmunity it is necessary to combine the T cell immunosuppression which abrogates the regulatory cells, with the cancer vaccines, which induces extensive proliferation of lymphoid cells directed towards specificities on tumor cells.
authors.affiliation: Center of Molecular Immunology, Havana, Cuba. enrique@ict.cim.sld.cu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Amador
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lage
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000276:immunology*; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D019496:Cancer Vaccines