虽然介导抗肿瘤免疫的效应细胞历来被认为是 αβ T 细胞和自然杀伤细胞，但 γδ T 细胞现在被认为是介导肿瘤排斥的补充机制。 γδ T 细胞具有从抗原呈递到调节功能的一系列功能，重要的是，它在引发抗肿瘤反应方面发挥着关键作用，而其他免疫效应器可能会变得无效。最近的发现阐明了具有特定 T 细胞受体和空间分布的 γδ T 细胞如何介导这些不同的功能。它们对 T 细胞耗竭等功能障碍机制的相对抵抗力促进了利用 γδ T 细胞的治疗方法的发展，而对这些细胞的进一步了解应该能够实现更有效的免疫疗法。© 2024。Springer Nature America, Inc.

While the effector cells that mediate anti-tumor immunity have historically been attributed to αβ T cells and natural killer cells, γδ T cells are now being recognized as a complementary mechanism mediating tumor rejection. γδ T cells possess a host of functions ranging from antigen presentation to regulatory function and, importantly, have critical roles in eliciting anti-tumor responses where other immune effectors may be rendered ineffective. Recent discoveries have elucidated how these differing functions are mediated by γδ T cells with specific T cell receptors and spatial distribution. Their relative resistance to mechanisms of dysfunction like T cell exhaustion has spurred the development of therapeutic approaches exploiting γδ T cells, and an improved understanding of these cells should enable more effective immunotherapies.© 2024. Springer Nature America, Inc.