BioCentury
ARTICLE | Translation in Brief

Malaria's checkpoint sister

Why PD-L2 could drive T cell immunity to treat infections

September 1, 2016 7:00 AM UTC

With all eyes on the interaction of PD-1 with its ligand PD-L1 in immuno-oncology, an Australian group has highlighted the therapeutic potential of a second ligand, PD-L2, which could be exploited for driving immunity against malaria.

Most of the attention for the checkpoint inhibitor PD-1 expressed on T cells is based on the fact that, when engaged by PD-L1 on tumor cells, PD-1 inhibits T cell activation. That same activity occurs with pathogens expressing PD-L1, which similarly capitalize on the PD-1 pathway to avoid clearance by the host immune system. ...