IL-4 together with IL-1β induces antitumor Th9 cell differentiation in the absence of TGF-β signaling

Abstract

CD4+ helper T cells producing IL-9 (Th9) have been implicated in anti-tumor immunity, with Th9 differentiation inducible in vitro via IL-4 and TGFβ treatment. Here the authors show that replacing TGFβ with IL-1β induces a distinct IL-9+ CD4+ population that have strong cytotoxic and anti-tumor activity in preclinical mouse models.