A potential cure for tumor‐associated immunosuppression by Toxoplasma gondii

Abstract

BackgroundRecently, immunotherapy has become very hopeful for cancer therapy. Cancer treatment through immunotherapy has excellent specificity and less toxicity than conventional chemoradiotherapy. Pathogens have been used in cancer immunotherapy for a long time. The current study aims to evaluate the possibility of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) as a probable treatment for cancers such as melanoma, breast, ovarian, lung, and pancreatic cancer.Recent findingsNonreplicating type I uracil auxotrophic mutants of T. gondii can stimulate immune responses against tumors by reverse immunosuppression at the cellular level. T. gondii can be utilized to research T helper 1 (Th1) cell immunity in intracellular infections. Avirulent T. gondii uracil auxotroph vaccine can change the tumor's immunosuppression and improve the production of type 1 helper cell cytokines, i.e., Interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ) and Interleukin‐12 (IL‐12) and activate tumor‐related Cluster of Differentiation 8 (CD8+) T cells to identify and destroy cancer cells. The T. gondii profilin protein, along with T. gondii secreted proteins, have been found to exhibit promising properties in the treatment of various cancers. These proteins are being studied for their potential to inhibit tumor growth and enhance the effectiveness of cancer therapies. Their unique mechanisms of action make them valuable candidates for targeted interventions in ovarian cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, melanoma, and lung cancer treatments.ConclusionIn summary, the study underscores the significant potential of harnessing T. gondii, including its diverse array of proteins and antigens, particularly in its avirulent form, as a groundbreaking approach in cancer immunotherapy.

Specific Cell Targeting by Toxoplasma gondii Displaying Functional Single-Chain Variable Fragment as a Novel Strategy; A Proof of Principle

“…The strategic use of T. gondii in the context of several diseases offers a promising therapeutic approach. Given T. gondii ’s ability to invade all nucleated cells, one approach to reduce nonspecific cell invasion and promote selectivity is by targeting parasites to receptors that are unique or overexpressed by the targeted cells [ 49 ]. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether engineering T. gondii to express surface antibody fragments would induce specific cell targeting.…”