Regulation of exhausted CD8+ T cell differentiation by IKZF transcription factors

CD8+ T cells play a vital role in the immune system by killing infected and cancerous cells. Uncontrolled T cell activation can lead to self-damage warranting the need for mechanisms that dampen their function, such as T cell ‘exhaustion’. Unfortunately, cancer takes advantage of exhaustion to survive. Immunotherapies aim to reinvigorate exhausted T cells to improve clinical outcome. However, not all patients respond. Thus, there is a dire need to better understand the genetic regulators that induce exhaustion. My project focused on an important family of genetic regulators and whether their depletion can rescue exhaustion and improve response to immunotherapies.