Harnessing Unconventional T Cells and Innate Lymphoid Cells to Prevent and Treat Hematological Malignancies: Prospects for New Immunotherapy

Abstract

Unconventional T cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) make up a heterogeneous set of cells that characteristically show prompt responses toward specific antigens. Unconventional T cells recognize non-peptide antigens, which are bound and presented by diverse non-polymorphic antigen-presenting molecules and comprise γδ T cells, MR1-restricted mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAITs), and natural killer T cells (NKTs). On the other hand, ILCs lack antigen-specific receptors and act as the innate counterpart to the T lymphocytes found in the adaptive immune response. The alteration of unconventional T cells and ILCs in frequency and functionality is correlated with the onset of several autoimmune diseases, allergy, inflammation, and tumor. However, depending on the physio-pathological framework, unconventional T cells may exhibit either protective or pathogenic activity in a range of neoplastic diseases. Nonetheless, experimental models and clinical studies have displayed that some unconventional T cells are potential therapeutic targets, as well as prognostic and diagnostic markers. In fact, cell-mediated immune response in tumors has become the focus in immunotherapy against neoplastic disease. This review concentrates on the present knowledge concerning the function of unconventional T cell sets in the antitumor immune response in hematological malignancies, such as acute and chronic leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lymphoproliferative disorders. Moreover, we discuss the possibility that modulating the activity of unconventional T cells could be useful in the treatment of hematological neoplasms, in the prevention of specific conditions (such as graft versus host disease), and in the formulation of an effective anticancer vaccine therapy. The exact knowledge of the role of these cells could represent the prerequisite for the creation of a new form of immunotherapy for hematological neoplasms.

The Impact of Curcumin on Immune Response: An Immunomodulatory Strategy to Treat Sepsis

“…However, the analysis of the immunological effects exerted by curcumin remains the cornerstone of its use in infectious diseases. The study of its action on unconventional immune accessory cells [ 170 ] will hopefully lead to new inputs for the use of curcumin in patients with sepsis and disorders of the immunological effectors.…”

The Interplay between Medical Plants and Gut Microbiota in Cancer

“…In fact, an important interindividual variability has been observed in glucoraphanin pharmacokinetics and it could reflect the different composition of enteric microbiota influencing polymorphisms in genes involved in dithiocarbamate production and the amount of glucoraphanin hydrolysis. Nonetheless, this evidence opens the road to a possible rational and practical use of food-derived molecules as chemopreventive agents [84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99].…”

Unconventional protein secretion (UPS): role in important diseases

“…Analogously, immune responses of T cells have become the focus of immunotherapy against neoplastic diseases, especially of hematological malignancies, such as acute/chronic leukemia and multiple myeloma. Moreover, unconventional T cells could be useful in the treatment of specific forms of hematological neoplasms and in the development of an effective anticancer vaccine therapy [ 108 , 109 ]. Analogously, EVs from MSCs were shown to promote neurodegeneration..…”