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DC cross-presentation of dead cell F-actin antigens sculpts tumor evolution

Type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) cross-present tumor antigens to prime CD8+ T cells. DNGR-1 on cDC1s binds to F-actin of dead cells to allow for detection and internalization of necrotic debris, and signaling results in MHC-I processing...

Autologous multiantigen-targeted T cell therapy for pancreatic cancer: a phase 1/2 trial

37 patients with PDAC received ex vivo-expanded T cells that had been stimulated by DCs presenting peptides from 5 known TAAs. Tested polyclonal T cell products specifically responded to TAAs, compris...

CD27 agonism enhances long-lived CD4 T cell vaccine responses critical for antitumor immunity

To mechanistically understand better vaccine efficacy, Hwang et al. conducted a retrospective analysis of long-term (>18 years) breast cancer survivors who received HER2+ targeted autologous DC vac...

DF6215, an α-optimized IL-2-Fc fusion, expands immune effectors and drives robust preclinical anti-tumor activity

Stockmann et al. engineered DF6215, comprised of two truncated IgG1 Fc chains (which bind FcRn, but not FcγR) fused at one Fc C terminus to an IL-2 mutein with reduced IL-2Rα (modest) and IL-2Rαβγ (23...

Intratumoral delivery of FLT3L with CXCR3/CCR5 ligands promotes XCR1+ cDC1 infiltration and activates anti-tumor immunity

To overcome active inhibition of cDC1 recruitment to tumors, Gorline and Rosa do Carmo et al. showed that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), engineered to express the membrane-bound form of FLT3L and de...

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Previous Digests

Friend or foe? EPOR helps cDC1s make the call

January 7, 2026

The priming of an immune response is a complex process that is largely dependent on the functional state of cDC1s, which can induce either immunogenic or tolerogenic priming, depending on a number of conditions. While numerous factors associated with...

Bringing in neutrophils to improve CAR-T efficacy in solid tumors

December 17, 2025

Several challenges limit CAR T cell efficacy in solid tumors, including the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), tumor heterogeneity, and downregulation of CAR target antigen expression on tumor cells. In a recent publication in Cancer Cell, Zuo et al. assessed...

The downside of checkpoint blockade: a loss of stem-like T cells

December 10, 2025

T cells that maintain a stem-like state play a role in replenishing immune responses long-term, but how these cells are shaped and maintained in the context of antitumor immunity is not fully understood. To investigate this question, Hor et...

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