2026/06/30 by Smriti Parashar, Klaus Ley · 1 voice
Medicine · Immunology and Microbiology · #Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers #CAR-T cell therapy research #Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
paper · doi:10.1172/jci206592
openalex publication_date 2026/06/30 · openalex created_date 2026/07/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27
Immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced inflammatory arthritis (ICI-IA) is an immune-related adverse event (irAE) following treatment with PD-1, PD-L1, or CTLA-4 inhibitors in patients with cancer. In this issue of the JCI, Ma and colleagues identified a subset of regulatory T cells (Tregs) that coexpress CD137 and IL-6 receptor (IL6R), termed atypical Tregs (AtpTregs), which are selectively enriched in patients with ICI-IA. Functionally, AtpTregs exhibited reduced suppressive capacity and a Th17-like proinflammatory phenotype. Notably, these cells were associated with more severe arthritis, yet improved cancer outcomes, suggesting a potential role in tumor control. The anti-IL6R therapy tocilizumab, administered as an off-label intervention for ICI-IA, reduced AtpTreg abundance and alleviated arthritis while maintaining antitumor immunity in a small cohort of patients with new-onset ICI-IA. Thus, anti-IL6R could be a targeted approach to manage ICI-IA and potentially other irAEs involving AtpTregs.