Fig. 7: Graphical abstract of the discovery.
From: Tumors induce de novo steroid biosynthesis in T cells to evade immunity
T cell-mediated de novo steroidogenesis in the tumor microenvironment promotes tumor growth by inhibiting anti-tumor immunity, in part by inducing M2 phenotype in macrophages and suppressing T and NK cell function. Genetic deletion of Cyp11a1 or pharmacologic inhibition of Cyp11a1 activity stimulates anti-tumor immunity by increasing the number of M1 macrophages and functional T cells, and decreasing the number of regulatory T cells, M2 macrophages.
