Steroid receptor coactivator 3-deficient regulatory T cells eradicate multiple solid tumors in syngeneic mouse models
Steroid receptor coactivator 3 (SRC-3) is highly expressed in regulatory T cells (Tregs) and is important for their immunosuppressive activity. Recently, we demonstrated that disrupting SRC-3 expression in Tregs eliminates triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and prostate cancer in syngeneic animal models by generating an anti-tumor immune microenvironment without inducing immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Further analysis of these mice revealed that SRC-3 knockout (KO) Tregs infiltrated breast tumors and facilitated the infiltration of CD8<sup>+</sup>, CD4<sup>+</sup>, and natural killer (NK) immune cells into the tumor microenvironment (TME). Given the anti-tumor effects of SRC-3KO Tregs in two different solid cancers, we sought to extend our studies to additional cancer types. Here, we showed that SRC-3KO Tregs exerted a potent antitumor immunity-like effect, capable of eradicating glioblastoma, melanoma, and lung cancer in their respective syngeneic mouse models by generating an anti-tumor immune environment. These results support the translational development of SRC-3-targeted Treg modulation as a safe and effective immunotherapy platform for treatment-refractory cancers.
Authors
- Adam Dean
- Nuri Sung
- Yosef Gilad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8475-9197)
- David M. Lonard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4876-8479)
- EunSu Kim
- Yuri Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8848-1387)
- S. Han
- Clifford C. Dacso
- Jianming Xu
- Yan Xia
Institutions
- Baylor College of Medicine (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- OncoImmunology
- Published
- 2026-03-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/2162402x.2026.2640261
- Primary Topic
- Estrogen and related hormone effects
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00