While the role of TSLP in type 2 immune responses has been investigated extensively, recent studies have found an expanding role for TSLP in inflammatory diseases and cancer.
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a cytokine mainly released by epithelial cells that plays important roles in inflammation, autoimmune disease, and cancer.
As such, the loss of TSLP expression in cancer cells alone or TSLPR deficiency in B cells blocked both accumulation of pre-B-like cells in circulation and cancer metastasis, implying that the pre-B cell-TSLP axis can be an attractive therapeutic target.
The IL-1/IL-1 receptor axis and tumor cell released inflammasome adaptor ASC are key regulators of TSLP secretion by cancer associated fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer.
Our studies with murine cancer cells indicate that TSLP plays an essential role in cancer escape, as its inactivation in cancer cells alone was sufficient to almost completely abrogate cancer progression and lung metastasis.