Intracellular radar: Understanding γδ T cell immune surveillance and implications for clinical strategies in oncology

T cells play a key role in anticancer immunity, with responses mediated through a diversity of alpha beta or gamma delta T cell receptors. Although alpha beta and gamma delta T cells stem from common thymic precursors, the development and subsequent biological roles of these two subsets differ considerably. gamma delta T cells are an unconventional T cell subset, uniquely poised between the adaptive and innate immune systems, that possess the ability to recognize intracellular disturbances and non-peptide-based antigens to eliminate tumors. These distinctive features of gamma delta T cells have led to recent interest in developing gamma delta-inspired therapies for treating cancer patients. In this minireview, we explore the biology of gamma delta T cells, including how the gamma delta T cell immune surveillance system can detect intracellular disturbances, and propose a framework to understand the gamma delta T cell-inspired therapeutic strategies entering the clinic today.

Automated summary

This minireview explores the biology of gamma delta T cells, including their unique ability to recognize intracellular disturbances and non-peptide-based antigens, and proposes a framework for understanding gamma delta T cell-inspired therapeutic strategies in cancer treatment.