Marco Donia, Professor at University of Copenhagen, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Aspirin releases T Cells to fight cancer
Background:
Low-dose aspirin has been associated with reduced cancer mortality and metastasis. This study uncovers the underlying mechanism—linking aspirin to immune control of metastasis.
Key Findings:
Aspirin boosts T cell immunity
▪️ Blocks platelet-derived TXA2, which normally suppresses T cell activity
▪️ Preserves effective T cell responses against metastasizing cancer cells.
ARHGEF1 is a T cell-intrinsic checkpoint
▪️ Acts downstream of TXA2 in T cells
▪️ Deletion of ARHGEF1 improves T cell polyfunctionality and reduces exhaustion
Platelets suppress anti-tumor immunity
▪️ Main source of TXA2
▪️ Platelet-specific COX-1 deletion or aspirin reduces metastasis
Take-Home:
- Anti-metastatic effect of aspirin is immune-mediated
- The TXA2–ARHGEF1 pathway: a novel immune checkpoint.
Clinical Implications:
Supports aspirin as approach to enhance immune control of micrometastases/early stage cancer
Outstanding work from the team of Rahul Roychoudhuri and collaborators.”
Aspirin prevents metastasis by limiting platelet TXA2 suppression of T cell immunity
Authors: Jie Yang et al.
