Anti-allergic drugs and miraculous anti-cancer functions are expected to solve the problem of patient insensitivity to drugs

Immune checkpoint inhibitors can regulate the activity of T cells, allowing them to regain their anti-tumor effects, and ultimately achieve the goal of eliminating cancer cells

A new study by "Cancer Cells" found that a common anti-allergic drug may be able to help these patients and enhance their sensitivity to immunotherapy

In order to investigate which drugs can affect the effect of checkpoint inhibitors, researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center conducted a retrospective analysis of the clinical data of patients who had received the therapy in the past

Although the number of samples of different cancer types is different, the drugs related to the improvement of survival conditions all point to one result: antihistamine drugs that target histamine receptor H1 (HRH1), which were originally used for anti-allergic and anti-allergic drugs.

Using the cancer gene map and patient data, the researchers found that when tumors highly express HRH1, the function of T cells will also be disordered, which is related to the poor efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors and decreased survival rates

▲ Schematic diagram of the new research (picture source: reference [2])

These results also led researchers to speculate that HRH1 and histamine may determine the sensitivity of patients to immunotherapy

In follow-up studies, they found that the expression levels of the two proteins in the tumor microenvironment will increase at the same time, but the two do not come from the same place

This type of TAM is also called M2 type macrophages, which can inhibit the function of the immune system

Researchers found in mouse models that both gene knockout or antihistamine therapy to prevent the function of macrophages HRH1 can reduce the activity of M2 TAM

In fact, reducing the activity of HIRI can also cause abnormal positioning of a receptor called VISTA on the surface of macrophages.

Based on the results of preclinical studies, researchers have confirmed that when antihistamines are used in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, they can enhance the anti-cancer effects of the drugs and prolong survival

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1] Antihistamines can influence immunotherapy response by enhancing T cell activation.