The Role of γδ T-Lymphocytes in Glioblastoma: Current Trends and Future Directions.

Simple Summary: Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive brain tumors, with poor survival and early recurrence rates. The development of effective immunotherapy treatments has been limited by the infiltration-resistant and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments of these tumors. γδ T cells are unconventional T cells that have the potential to overcome these challenges through their unique recognition of molecular targets on glioblastoma cells. Nonetheless, challenges exist in the utilization of these cells, including their isolation, expansion, and potential for protumor activity. In this review, we discuss the biology of γδ T cells and their role in immunotherapy for glioblastoma and propose several research avenues for future studies. Cell-based immunotherapy for glioblastoma (GBM) encounters major challenges due to the infiltration-resistant and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). γδ T cells, unconventional T cells expressing the characteristic γδ T cell receptor, have demonstrated promise in overcoming these challenges, suggesting great immunotherapeutic potential. This review presents the role of γδ T cells in GBM and proposes several research avenues for future studies. Using the PubMed, ScienceDirect, and JSTOR databases, we performed a review of the literature studying the biology of γδ T cells and their role in GBM treatment. We identified 15 studies focused on γδ T cells in human GBM. Infiltrative γδ T cells can incite antitumor immune responses in certain TMEs, though rapid tumor progression and TME hypoxia may impact the extent of tumor suppression. In the studies, available findings have shown both the potential for robust antitumor activity and the risk of protumor activity. While γδ T cells have potential as a therapeutic agent against GBM, the technical challenges of extracting, isolating, and expanding γδ T cells, and the activation of antitumoral versus protumoral cascades, remain barriers to their application. Overcoming these limitations may transform γδ T cells into a promising immunotherapy in GBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]