Cancer is a disease caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells that escape the body’s natural defenses. One way cancer protects itself is by taking advantage of certain immune cells called regulatory T cells, or Tregs. Normally, Tregs help prevent autoimmune diseases by controlling the immune system. But inside tumors, they behave differently. Instead of defending the body, they suppress the immune cells that could attack the cancer.
Many cancer treatments aim to activate the immune system to fight tumors more effectively. However, the presence of Tregs within the tumor makes this difficult. These cells act like bodyguards for the cancer, blocking the immune response that might otherwise slow or stop tumor growth.
Researchers have tried to eliminate Tregs by targeting a protein called CD25, found on their surface. However, earlier efforts often failed because these treatments also interfere with interleukin-2 (IL-2), a molecule that is essential for other immune cells to function. Blocking IL-2 weakens the entire immune response, limiting the treatment’s effectiveness.
To overcome this challenge, scientists recently developed a new antibody called 2B010. This study, titled “A novel anti-human CD25 mAb with preferential reactivity to activated T regulatory cells depletes them from the tumor microenvironment,” was published in Oncotarget (Volume 16).
Full blog - https://www.oncotarget.org/2025/11/19/new-antibody-removes-tregs-to-boost-immune-response-against-cancer/
Paper DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28752
Correspondence to - Ethan M. Shevach - eshevach@Niaid.NIH.gov
Abstract video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NJcGsI7WXA
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Keywords - cancer, Treg, CD25, TME, mAb, GVHD
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Cancer is a disease caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells that escape the body’s natural defenses. One way cancer protects itself is by taking advantage of certain immune cells called regulatory T cells, or Tregs. Normally, Tregs help prevent autoimmune diseases by controlling the immune system. But inside tumors, they behave differently. Instead of defending the body, they suppress the immune cells that could attack the cancer.
Many cancer treatments aim to activate the immune system to fight tumors more effectively. However, the presence of Tregs within the tumor makes this difficult. These cells act like bodyguards for the cancer, blocking the immune response that might otherwise slow or stop tumor growth.
Researchers have tried to eliminate Tregs by targeting a protein called CD25, found on their surface. However, earlier efforts often failed because these treatments also interfere with interleukin-2 (IL-2), a molecule that is essential for other immune cells to function. Blocking IL-2 weakens the entire immune response, limiting the treatment’s effectiveness.
To overcome this challenge, scientists recently developed a new antibody called 2B010. This study, titled “A novel anti-human CD25 mAb with preferential reactivity to activated T regulatory cells depletes them from the tumor microenvironment,” was published in Oncotarget (Volume 16).
Full blog - https://www.oncotarget.org/2025/11/19/new-antibody-removes-tregs-to-boost-immune-response-against-cancer/
Paper DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28752
Correspondence to - Ethan M. Shevach - eshevach@Niaid.NIH.gov
Abstract video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NJcGsI7WXA
Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://oncotarget.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Foncotarget.28752
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Keywords - cancer, Treg, CD25, TME, mAb, GVHD
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Behind the Study: R-spondin Family Roles in Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Oncotarget
7 minutes 6 seconds
3 months ago
Behind the Study: R-spondin Family Roles in Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Aiden Deacon from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, discusses a research paper he co-authored that was published in Volume 16 of Oncotarget, titled “Dissecting the functional differences and clinical features of R-spondin family members in metastatic prostate cancer.”
DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28758
Correspondence to - Justin Hwang - jhwang@umn.edu
Video interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXKhWWU1gnY
Abstract
This study investigates the R-spondin family of genes (RSPO1/2/3/4), a group of secreted proteins that act as Wnt regulators, and their subsequent role in advanced prostate cancer (PC). When evaluating transcriptomic data from primary and metastatic PC patients, we found that alterations in RSPO2 were more prevalent than in other RSPO family members or Wnt-regulating genes APC and CTNNB1. Further, we found that RSPO2 alterations in PCs were significantly associated with worse disease-free survival. Through our in silico modeling, RSPO2 exhibited strong positive associations with genes regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and double-negative prostate cancer (DNPC), but had negative correlations with androgen receptor (AR) and AR-associated genes. Furthermore, 3D modeling of RSPO2 revealed structural differences between itself and other RSPOs. In cell lines, RSPO2 overexpression caused up-regulation of EMT pathways, including EMT-regulatory transcription factors ZEB1, ZEB2, and TWIST1. Conversely, this was not observed when CTNNB1 was overexpressed in the same models. These findings highlight that, in PC, RSPO2 functions as a unique member of the R-spondin family by promoting genes and signaling pathways associated with aggressive PC, and RSPO2 amplifications are associated with poor outcomes in PC patients.
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Keywords - cancer, RSPO2, prostate cancer, Wnt signaling, genomics, therapeutics
About Oncotarget
Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science.
Oncotarget is indexed and archived by PubMed/Medline, PubMed Central, Scopus, EMBASE, META (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) (2018-2022), and Dimensions (Digital Science).
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Oncotarget
Cancer is a disease caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells that escape the body’s natural defenses. One way cancer protects itself is by taking advantage of certain immune cells called regulatory T cells, or Tregs. Normally, Tregs help prevent autoimmune diseases by controlling the immune system. But inside tumors, they behave differently. Instead of defending the body, they suppress the immune cells that could attack the cancer.
Many cancer treatments aim to activate the immune system to fight tumors more effectively. However, the presence of Tregs within the tumor makes this difficult. These cells act like bodyguards for the cancer, blocking the immune response that might otherwise slow or stop tumor growth.
Researchers have tried to eliminate Tregs by targeting a protein called CD25, found on their surface. However, earlier efforts often failed because these treatments also interfere with interleukin-2 (IL-2), a molecule that is essential for other immune cells to function. Blocking IL-2 weakens the entire immune response, limiting the treatment’s effectiveness.
To overcome this challenge, scientists recently developed a new antibody called 2B010. This study, titled “A novel anti-human CD25 mAb with preferential reactivity to activated T regulatory cells depletes them from the tumor microenvironment,” was published in Oncotarget (Volume 16).
Full blog - https://www.oncotarget.org/2025/11/19/new-antibody-removes-tregs-to-boost-immune-response-against-cancer/
Paper DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28752
Correspondence to - Ethan M. Shevach - eshevach@Niaid.NIH.gov
Abstract video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NJcGsI7WXA
Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://oncotarget.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Foncotarget.28752
Subscribe for free publication alerts from Oncotarget - https://www.oncotarget.com/subscribe/
Keywords - cancer, Treg, CD25, TME, mAb, GVHD
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