Published Nov. 8, 2018 in Nature...
In a study published today in Nature, researchers outline a new understanding of the biology of T cells, a type of immune cell in the body, that demonstrates how the cells can be activated to either enhance immunity against cancer or block autoimmune disease.
"As a trained immunologist who was involved in defining some of the key signaling pathways in T cells, it was truly amazing to find such a critical new player in T cell biology," added Penninger, who is also the founding director of Institute of Molecular Sciences of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. "And since it regulates not only early activation but how T cells grow, the possibilities for medical applications are extremely varied, from controlling autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies to having a new way to trigger anti-cancer immunity."
"By targeting BH4, we are able to suppress T cell activity in inflammatory conditions and increase their activity in the case of cancer," said study co-author Woolf, director of the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children's Hospital. "The ability to target the same pathway in opposite directions is significant and represents a whole new therapeutic approach."
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-11-discovery-cancer-autoimmune-disease-therapy.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0701-2

A new discovery by an international research team—co-led by UBC Canada 150 Research Chair Josef Penninger and Harvard Medical School neurobiologist Clifford Woolf—could have implications for therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.