gamma delta T cells as immune effectors against high-grade gliomas

Almost all individuals diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) will die of their disease as no effective therapies exist. Clearly, novel approaches to this problem are needed. Unlike the adaptive alpha beta T cell-mediated immune response, which requires antigen processing and MHC-restricted peptide display by antigen-presenting cells, gamma delta T cells can broadly recognize and immediately respond to a variety of MHC-like stress-induced self antigens, many of which are expressed on human GBM cells. Until now, there has been little progress toward clinical application, although several investigators have recently published clinically approvable methods for large-scale ex vivo expansion of functional gamma delta T cells for therapeutic purposes. This review discusses the biology of gamma delta T cells with respect to innate immunotherapy of cancer with a focus on GBM, and explores graft engineering techniques in development for the therapeutic use of gamma delta T cells.