ArticlePloS one2019
MEK inhibition suppresses B regulatory cells and augments anti-tumor immunity.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Heating the Cold: Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Microsatellite-Stable Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- The Predictive Value ofFrontiers in immunology · 2021Pooled it
- Tumor-infiltrating B cells participate in shaping the immunosuppressive microenvironment in solid tumors.International journal of cancer · 2026Review
- Multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitors: exploring immunomodulatory effects on various immune cell types in cancer.Cancer cell international · 2026Review
- The Role of B Cells in Tumorigenesis and Immunotherapy.Immune network · 2026Review
- Regulatory B Cells in Tumor Microenvironment.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Parasitic Infections and Carcinogenesis: Molecular Mechanisms, Immune Modulation, and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies.Oncology research · 2026Review
- Melanoma: Pathogenesis and Targeted Therapy.MedComm · 2026Review
- Elucidating Ras protein as a dual therapeutic target for inflammation and cancer: a review.Discover oncology · 2025Review
- Multifaceted function of B cells in tumorigenesis.Frontiers of medicine · 2025Review
- Dynamic roles of tumor-infiltrating B lymphocytes in cancer immunotherapy.Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII · 2025Review
- The Dual Role of B Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment: Implications for Cancer Immunology and Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- The current understanding of the phenotypic and functional properties of human regulatory B cells (Bregs).Oxford open immunology · 2024Review
- The dichotomy of regulatory B cells in cancer versus allergic disease.Molecular carcinogenesis · 2024Review
- PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in cold colorectal cancer: challenges and strategies.Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII · 2023Review
- PAK1 and Therapy Resistance in Melanoma.Cells · 2023Review
- CDK4/6-MEK Inhibition in MPNSTs Causes Plasma Cell Infiltration, Sensitization to PD-L1 Blockade, and Tumor Regression.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2023Article
- Immune characteristics and genetic markers of esophageal cancer by single-cell analysis: implications for immunotherapy.Journal of thoracic disease · 2023Article
- Exploring the dual role of B cells in solid tumors: implications for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Mechanisms of induction of regulatory B cells in the tumour microenvironment and their contribution to immunosuppression and pro-tumour responses.Clinical and experimental immunology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK) is an integral component of the RAS pathway and a therapeutic target in RAS-driven cancers. Although tumor responses to MEK inhibition are rarely durable, MEK inhibitors have shown substantial activity and durable tumor regressions when combined with systemic immunotherapies in preclinical models of RAS-driven tumors. MEK inhibitors have been shown to potentiate anti-tumor T cell immunity, but little is known about the effects of MEK inhibition on other immune subsets, including B cells. We show here that treatment with a MEK inhibitor reduces B regulatory cells (Bregs) in vitro, and reduces the number of Bregs in tumor draining lymph nodes in a colorectal cancer model in vivo. MEK inhibition does not impede anti-tumor humoral immunity, and B cells contribute meaningfully to anti-tumor immunity in the context of MEK inhibitor therapy. Treatment with a MEK inhibitor is associated with improved T cell infiltration and an enhanced response to anti-PD1 immunotherapy. Together these data indicate that MEK inhibition may reduce Bregs while sparing anti-tumor B cell function, resulting in enhanced anti-tumor immunity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.