In the most in-depth study of its kind, scientists at Amgen and 2026世界杯直播赛程 Peking University have painted a hyper-detailed picture of T cell behavior in the presence of liver cancer.
While immunotherapy medicines have shown enormous potential in fighting cancer, many patients fail to respond to these agents for reasons that are not well understood. Even in cancers where T cells – the body’s
世界杯比赛时间 most potent protective cells – 世界杯直播频道 surround a 世界杯直播频道 2026世界杯直播赛程 tumor, these cells may fail to attack tumors on their own or in response to immune-boosting agents.
A new study1 published in Cell provides the most in-depth look to date at the features of T cells in the tumor micro-environment. The study 观看比赛直播 identified genes involved in suppressing T cell activity
世界杯直播频道 2026世界杯直播赛程 in tumors, which gives drug discovery scientists new leads for designing future 世界杯直播频道 immunotherapies, a major focus for Amgen’s oncology program.
“Immuno-oncology is one of the most active areas in cancer research, and this type of 世界杯直播频道 study provides real insights 世界杯直播频道 into why T cells don’t respond to cancer,” said Wenjun Ouyang, executive director, Research,
观看比赛直播 2026世界杯直播赛程 and one of 2026世界杯直播赛程 the paper’s authors. “Before this 世界杯比赛时间 work, 2026世界杯直播赛程 people had different hypotheses, but this study provides direct evidence of the different subtypes of 观看比赛直播 世界杯直播频道 T cells in 观看比赛直播 2026世界杯直播赛程 the tumor environment and the fate of those
世界杯比赛时间 观看比赛直播 世界杯直播频道 观看比赛直播 T cells.”
A census of genes 世界杯直播频道 active in 5,000 T cells
The study was a collaboration between scientists 世界杯直播频道 affiliated with Peking University in Beijing, led by Zemin Zhang, and scientists from Amgen’s 世界杯比赛时间 Inflammation and Oncology group in South San Francisco, led by Wenjun.
The China-based team performed deep, single-cell RNA sequencing on more than 5,000 T cells taken from six patients with liver cancer, a malignancy that does not respond well to immunotherapy drugs. The resulting
世界杯比赛时间 data provided detailed insights into the origins and lineage of these T 2026世界杯直播赛程 cells and the genes and cell surface receptors they expressed in the presence of cancer.
The Amgen team analyzed the resulting mountain of data with an eye towards pinpointing the factors that prevent immune cells from mounting a response to tumors. “Amgen’s role was to look for immunological insights
世界杯直播频道 世界杯直播频道 hidden in the data,” said Wenjun. “We have a very 世界杯直播频道 strong functional genomics group that can quickly figure out the function of the key genes that were identified.”
One such gene was LAYN, which was heavily expressed by 2026世界杯直播赛程 T regulatory cells 观看比赛直播 (T regs) and “exhausted,” or dysfunctional, killer T cells in 世界杯直播频道 tumor tissue. A functional analysis 世界杯比赛时间 showed that overexpression of LAYN
世界杯直播频道 世界杯比赛时间 世界杯比赛时间 观看比赛直播 2026世界杯直播赛程 世界杯直播频道 reduced production of 世界杯直播频道 interferon, a cell signaling molecule with tumor-killing activity.
The study identified 11 different subsets of 世界杯直播频道 T cells, “but the only subsets that were active in tumor tissue were the T regs and exhausted T cells, and both have immunosuppressive functions,” said Wenjun. These
世界杯比赛时间 types of T cells were 2026世界杯直播赛程 世界杯比赛时间 观看比赛直播 found in greater abundance 世界杯比赛时间 in tumor tissue, and their dampening effect 世界杯直播频道 on other T cells could account for the immune system’s failure to identify and 世界杯比赛时间 attack cancer.
For immunotherapy to work in malignancies like liver cancer, researchers will need to find ways to overcome the effects of immune-suppressing T cells or convert them into cancer-killing cells. Wenjun said that
世界杯比赛时间 世界杯直播频道 世界杯直播频道 世界杯比赛时间 世界杯比赛时间 Amgen scientists have several hypotheses they will be testing based on the data acquired in 世界杯比赛时间 this study. “If our hypotheses are true, that will provide new ways to target or convert T cells inside 世界杯直播频道 the tumors.”
Wenjun 世界杯比赛时间 世界杯直播频道 noted that the team behind the study has also decided to make all the data that they collected available to the broader scientific community. An interactive web tool has been 世界杯比赛时间 created 世界杯比赛时间 so that other researchers
世界杯直播频道 观看比赛直播 can analyze, 世界杯直播频道 visualize, and 世界杯比赛时间 download the study data.
“We moved the field forward, and it’s important that the whole 世界杯比赛时间 world understands this data, not just Amgen,” Wenjun said. “This research is a reminder of the progress we can make when Amgen scientists are open
世界杯直播频道 世界杯比赛时间 to external collaborations. Amgen has some impressive expertise to share, but there’s a lot more expertise outside the company.”
“This study is a great example of Amgen’s commitment to exploring the underlying biology of cancer to conceive novel approaches to stimulating the immune system to attack tumors,” said Ray Deshaies, senior vice
观看比赛直播 观看比赛直播 president, Discovery Research. “By marrying their complementary capabilities, the Amgen and Peking 世界杯比赛时间 University scientists were able to find answers more quickly than either could have on their own.”
Wenjun Ouyang (Far Right), pictured with 世界杯比赛时间 members of the Amgen team who contributed to the Cell paper, L-R: Ruozhen Hu and Jae-Kwang (Jay) Yoo. Postdoctoral student Julie Y. Huang also contributed to the paper.
1. Chunhong Zheng, et 观看比赛直播 al. Landscape of Infiltrating T Cells in Liver 世界杯比赛时间 Cancer Revealed by Single-Cell Sequencing. Cell 169, 1–15, June 15, 2017
