Mechanisms Of Action Of The Antigen Presenting Cells That Impair Lymphoma-specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$295,983.00
Summary
Our immune systems are continually fighting cancer. However, the cancer cells occasionally acquire mutations that enable them to subvert the immune system. Usually they do this by hiding under the appearance of normal tissue, but sometimes they activate the very mechanisms that are in place to shut-down immune responses when these are no longer necessary. The goal of this proposal is to identify such mechanisms and find ways of bypassing them, thus restoring anti-tumour activity in patients.
I am an immunologist determining the development and function of the dendritic cell system, including its role in autoimmunity and resistance to infection.
Generating Tumour-Specific Dendritic Cells For Cancer Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$288,210.00
Summary
Therapies using the immune system are showing promise for cancer treatment, particularly for melanoma, but complete durable responses are few and improvements are needed. We believe that such immunotherapies, in their current form, fail to sufficiently mimic a natural immune reaction to disease, and therefore fall short of effectively controling cancer. In particular, an alarm (danger signal) is not produced within tumour as it would be when the body is challenged by infectious agents. Such dang ....Therapies using the immune system are showing promise for cancer treatment, particularly for melanoma, but complete durable responses are few and improvements are needed. We believe that such immunotherapies, in their current form, fail to sufficiently mimic a natural immune reaction to disease, and therefore fall short of effectively controling cancer. In particular, an alarm (danger signal) is not produced within tumour as it would be when the body is challenged by infectious agents. Such danger signals are critical for the immune system to respond effectively and for white blood cells of the immune system to find their way to the disease organism and eliminate it. The strongest danger signals are produced by a type of white blood cell known as a dendritic cell (DC). These cells detect infectious agents and produce biochemical alarm molecules that alert the entire immune system to the danger resulting in powerful action against the disease. However, tumours are really just a part of our own body and no danger signal is produced. It is our aim to use genetic modification to make DC see tumours as a threat and produce danger signals. These gene-modified DC either alone, or in combination with other immunotherapies, may lead to destruction of tumours.Read moreRead less
Targeting Antigen To Clec9A On Dendritic Cell For Humoral Immunity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$744,624.00
Summary
Dendritic cells capture infectious organisms and display them to other immune cells to initiate immunity. The process of capturing organisms requires dendritic cells to express a variety of cell-surface receptors that detect components carried by infectious agents. Here we will examine the efficacy of attaching vaccine components to a targeting agent that binds one of these receptors with the aim of enabling dendritic cells to efficiently kick-start immunity against vaccine components.