The paradox of immune cell populations and transcription factors
It’s interesting to me how people often think of science as absolutes or black and white, and yet paradoxically we consistently see more yin and yang effects, with the tipping point determined by context or the specific situations encountered.
In immunology, there’s also a fine line between too much and too little thus finding the threshold is a very tricky thing indeed.
For a long time I have been fascinated by what I call the hidden underbelly in immunology… we look at various inhibitory or stimulatory factors in response to a particular targeted therapy all the while ignoring the vast networks of transcription factors, which might offer some helpful context to any particular situation.
Often times, companies rush headlong into clinical trials without really paying attention to these details, some of which may exert effects not considered in the bigger picture and end up being surprised or blindsided down the road.
Here then, we explore some important recent research, which may well open quite a few people’s eyes and reconsider when is enough, enough – or even too much – and how does this line have a role to play in the immuno-oncology (IO) field?
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