CD137 and CD137L signals are main drivers of type 1, cell-mediated immune responses

Bhushan Dharmadhikari; Meihui Wu; Nur Sharalyn Abdullah; Sakthi Rajendran; Nur Diana Ishak; Emily Nickles; Zulkarnain Harfuddin; Herbert Schwarz

doi:10.1080/2162402X.2015.1113367

CD137 and CD137L signals are main drivers of type 1, cell-mediated immune responses

Oncoimmunology. 2015 Nov 11;5(4):e1113367. doi: 10.1080/2162402X.2015.1113367. eCollection 2016 Apr.

Authors

Bhushan Dharmadhikari¹, Meihui Wu¹, Nur Sharalyn Abdullah¹, Sakthi Rajendran¹, Nur Diana Ishak¹, Emily Nickles¹, Zulkarnain Harfuddin², Herbert Schwarz²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology, and Immunology Programme, National University of Singapore , Singapore.
² Department of Physiology, and Immunology Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore; NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

Abstract

CD137 is expressed on activated T cells and NK cells, among others, and is a potent co-stimulator of antitumor immune responses. CD137 ligand (CD137L) is expressed by antigen presenting cells (APC), and CD137L reverse signaling into APC enhances their activity. CD137-CD137L interactions as main driver of type 1, cell-mediated immune responses explains the puzzling observation that CD137 agonists which enhance antitumor immune responses also ameliorate autoimmune diseases. Upon co-stimulation by CD137, Th1 CD4⁺ T cells together with Tc1 CD8⁺ T cells and NK cells inhibit other T cell subsets, thereby promoting antitumor responses and mitigating non-type 1 auto-immune diseases.

Keywords: CD137; T cell polarization; Tc1; Th1.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't