Protective mechanism exploited by tumors may provide new cancer...( hey really were suppressive like we tho...)

hey really were suppressive like we thought," Dr. Munn says. "Then, the most convincing part of this to us was that we could transfer the cells from a mouse that had a tumor into another that didn't and see if the immune system of the tumor-free mouse also became suppressed. And the answer was, 'Yes it did.'"

While he is excited about the potential of using the laboratory findings to help patients, Dr. Munn says the steps from bench to bedside are still complex. In the last few years, scientists have recognized that the immune system is not a passive observer. Rather, there are ongoing natural mechanisms, including IDO expression, that actively help keep the immune system tolerant. "We have to be tolerant of ourselves all the time; otherwise, you get autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and lupus," Dr. Munn says. "It's the difference between a car that is sitting there not moving but doesn't have on the emergency brake so it could move versus one that has on the emergency brake and can't move until you take it off. Natural tolerance mechanisms are like a brake that must be removed before the immune system will attack the tumor.

"If you take off the brakes (for example with an IDO inhibitor drug), you may make people sick. We need to be very careful that we do not do something that causes harm to patients. So that is our next task: to test it in animal models to see if it's a safe and appropriate thing to give patients," Dr. Munn says.

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Contact: Toni Baker
tbaker@mcg.edu
706-721-4421
Medical College of Georgia
15-Jul-2004

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