2017
May
STING activation reverses lymphoma-mediated resistance to antibody immunotherapy
May 31, 2017
In the context of immunotherapy, the pro- or anti-tumor activity of macrophages is a matter of nurture over nature. Macrophages in a healthy environment play a key role in inducing an adaptive immune response and clearing cellular debris; however, tumors create an immunosuppressive microenvironment that imprints a pro-tumor signature on macrophages, including a...
PD-1 expression by tumour-associated macrophages inhibits phagocytosis and tumour immunity
May 24, 2017
The presence of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in a tumor microenvironment (TME) is usually associated with worse outcomes for patients. However, recent research and ongoing clinical trials have demonstrated that therapies blocking the interaction between SIRPα and CD47 can induce TAMs to phagocytose tumor cells, providing therapeutic benefit. Gordon et al. set out to...
In vivo imaging reveals a tumor-associated macrophage-mediated resistance pathway in anti-PD-1 therapy
May 17, 2017
In order to fully understand the mechanism of PD-1 checkpoint blockade therapy and potentially reduce the number of nonresponders, it is important to understand exactly what is happening in vivo. For that reason, Arlauckas et al. used intravital imaging to follow a fluorescently-labeled anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) in real time at a subcellular...
Single-cell RNA-seq reveals new types of human blood dendritic cells, monocytes, and progenitors
May 10, 2017
Dendritic cells (DCs) provide the critical nexus between antigenic assault and initiating adaptive immunity. DCs are well known for their antigen presentation capabilities, but when it comes to the classification of DC subtypes, the differences in function, morphology, and expression of a limited number of known surface markers provided useful but limited distinctions...
Biopolymers codelivering engineered T cells and STING agonists can eliminate heterogeneous tumors
May 3, 2017
If a problem is too big for one troop, it’s time to call for backup. While systemic injections of CAR T cells have been notably successful in the treatment of hematological malignancies, their success in solid tumors has been limited due to a number of factors, including identifying suitable targets, inefficient trafficking of...
