A KAIST research team led by Professor Heung Kyu Lee from the Department of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with researchers from Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Konyang University College of Medicine, has found that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), an active vitamin A metabolite, suppresses the “terminal exhaustion” of CD8⁺ T cells that attack cancer cells within brain tumors and enhances the effect of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Anti-PD-1 is a leading immuno-oncology drug (immune checkpoint inhibitor).
The research is published in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.