title: PD-1 and BTLA and CD8(+) T-cell "exhaustion" in cancer: "Exercising" an alternative viewpoint.
abstract: The elevated expression of PD-1, BTLA, and other co-inhibitory molecules on T cells from cancer patients has become an accepted signature for a state called T-cell "exhaustion" that has emerged almost as dogma in the field. However, here we propose that in some cases this "exhausted" T-cell phenotype may instead be an indicator of T cells that are in a more heightened state of T-cell activation more susceptible to negative regulation rather than being "exhausted." This alternative interpretation fits in line with the view that CD8(+) T-cell activation in cancer results from a continuum of signals regulating their differentiation towards potent effector cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology; University of Texas; MD Anderson Cancer Center; Houston, TX USA.
authors.forename: Cara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haymaker
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Chantale
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bernatchez
authors.forename: Laszlo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Radvanyi