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The study revealed that vitamin E treatment could augment the effects of cancer vaccines
Combining a retrospective analysis of clinical records with in-depth laboratory studies, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, US have discovered that vitamin E can enhance immunotherapy responses by stimulating the activity of dendritic cells in the tumour. The findings were published today in Cancer Discovery.
The researchers demonstrated that vitamin E directly binds and blocks the activity of the SHP1 checkpoint protein in dendritic cells, which increases antigen presentation and primes T cells for an anti-tumor immune response.
The results point to possible new therapeutic approaches to improve immunotherapy outcomes, including combinations with vitamin E as well as directly targeting SHP1 in dendritic cells.
The researchers demonstrated that the vitamin E treatment led to upregulation of several activation markers on the dendritic cells. Additionally, dendritic cells from tumors treated with vitamin E promoted more T cell proliferation relative to controls, suggesting vitamin E enhanced the priming step.