Protective Mechanisms Against Lymphocyte Apoptosis Induced by Breast Carcinoma

摘要

The overall goal of the proposed study was to provide insights into the molecular mechanisms contributing to the lack of cell-mediated immune response against breast carcinoma (BrCA). Our studies demonstrated that the two known pathways of apoptosis, the death receptor cascade and the mitochondrial cascade, are involved in BrCA-induced T cell death. Over-expression of endogenous inhibitors specific to each of file apoptotic pathways had significant, but partial, reducing effect on the level of the apoptosis induced by interaction with BrCA cells. Therefore, efficient inhibition of T cell death in the tumor microenvironment would require the blocking of the two major apoptotic pathways.