Editorial: Endoplasmic Reticulum and Its Role in Tumor Immunity

Cancer cells express surface proteins and display antigens that differ from the "norm?" These differences can be exploited to promote a therapeutic antitumor immune response. Specifically, components within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) play a critical role in deciding which antigenic peptides are presented on the cancer cell surface to immune cells. Furthermore, under stress conditions, certain ER resident proteins can exit the ER and translouate to the surface. The translocation of such ER proteins to the outside of the cell (1, 2) can lead to modulation of immune responses in cancer (3, 4), autoimmunity (5) and other diseases (6, 7). Normally, proteins undergo a number of ER stress checks for correct folding and, e.g., ability to resist inappropriate oxidation and reduction before secretion. Failing these quality controls leads to ER stress and triggers a series of unfolded protein responses (UP Rs) to restore order. In cancer cells, these pathways can be dysregulated opening up the possibility of developing potential therapeutics to target cancer cells (8). In this topic, these various aspects of the ER in tumor immunity are explored in a series of focused review and research articles.