U-CRI • Center for Research in Immunology

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New publication in Cancer Immunology Research : PHD2 Constrains Antitumor CD8 T-cell Activity

The successes of immunotherapy no longer need to be demonstrated. The identification of tumor antigens, the analysis of immune responses within tumors and the effect of checkpoint inhibitors demonstrate that the immune system is able to detect and control cancer cells in a proportion of patients. However, the tumor microenvironment is complex and can inhibit anti-tumor immune responses. This environment is characterized, among other things, by oxygen deprivation due to the presence of poorly functioning vessels.
The Immunobiology Laboratory (ULB Center for Research in Immunology) studied the effect of hypoxia on the immune response in two mouse tumor models. Surprisingly, the results show that stabilization of the HIF oxygen sensor in T lymphocytes (which mimics the effect of hypoxia) induces tumor rejection in 65% of mice and potentiates the cytotoxic response within the tumor. In addition, HIF stabilization works synergistically with checkpoint inhibition, an approach used clinically. Hypoxia can therefore have a beneficial effect on the anti-tumor response and represents a potential target in immunotherapy.

Original Article: PHD2 Constrains Antitumor CD8 T-cell Activity
Charlotte Bisilliat Donnet, Valérie Acolty, Abdulkader Azouz, Anaelle Taquin, Coralie Henin,
Sarah Trusso Cafarello, Sebastien Denanglaire, Massimiliano Mazzone, Guillaume Oldenhove,
Oberdan Leo, Stanislas Goriely, and Muriel Moser
Cancer Immunol Res. 2023 Mar 1;11(3):339-350. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-22-0099.PMID: 36603132

Latest news

Solange Dejolier présentera ses travaux de thèse en cours lors de la première édition d'automne d'Immuno-Connect, organisée à l'Institut GIGA de l'Université de Liège le 24 octobre, de 16h à 21h.

September 23rd 2024 - 15:10

Solange Dejolier (du laboratoire d'Immunobiologie) présentera ses données récentes sur les rôles des voies de signalisation PD-1 et CD27 dans la différenciation des lymphocytes T résidents mémoires et T épuisés dans le foie.

The public defence in order to obtain the PhD in Sciences degree of JELENA GABRILO

September 23rd 2024 - 14:52

The role of the tumor microenvironment in shaping the response to anti-PD-1 therapy

JELENA GABRILO
will be held on
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, AT 3:00 PM AT:
The Brachet Seminar Room, Gosselies Campus
12, Rue des Professeurs Jeneer et Brachet, 6041 Gosselies

as well as online via Teams: QR code (click on the title above)

YBIS 1st annual Meeting (Young Immunological Society)

August 29th 2024 - 13:36

Senior Scientists are welcome.

https://youngbis.be/information/

New publication in Science Translational Medicine on the imprinting of monocytes by vaccine adjuvants

August 14th 2024 - 14:27

Most vaccines based on recombinant antigens rely on coadministration with an adjuvant to elicit a robust immune response. Although adjuvants are needed for many vaccines, it is less clear which adjuvant(s) should be paired with each immunogen. In this article, GSK and IMI researchers from the group of Fabienne Willems and Arnaud Marchant showed that an AS01-adjuvanted hepatitis B virus vaccine, which induces robust CD4+ T cell responses against the vaccine antigen, also elicited trained immunity in human recipients, which was not observed in an Alum-adjuvanted vaccine. These data demonstrate...

Guillem Sanchez Sanchez is selected as a finalist for the F.R.S.-FNRS best PhD thesis prize in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

July 09th 2024 - 18:07

Guillem Sanchez Sanchez, from David Vermijlen's laboratory, defended his thesis in December 2023, entitled “Decoding early life γδ T cell ontogeny and their response to bacterial infection through the lens of single-cell transcriptomics”. Recently, Guillem was selected as one of three finalists for the F.R.S.-FNRS in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He will present his work together with the two other finalists at the end of October 2024 on the UCLouvain campus in Brussels.

New publication in Nature Communications: Invariant γδTCR natural killer-like effector T cells in the naked mole-rat

May 30th 2024 - 11:33

Naked mole-rats are long-lived rodents known to be resistant to the development of cancer, yet their immune system remains poorly explored. Now, in a study published in Nature Communications, Guillem Sanchez Sanchez from the team of David Vermijlen with collaborators from the University of Rochester and from IMGT identify natural killer-like effector γδ T cells that express a dominant γδ T cell receptor and may serve a role in tumour immunosurveillance.

EDT-Immunology PhD day "Immunology Research: From Disease to Therapeutic Solutions": May 23, 2024

April 02nd 2024 - 08:58

Dear colleagues,

It's our pleasure to invite you to attend the EDT-Immunology PhD day "Immunology Research: From Disease to Therapeutic Solutions". The conference will take place on May 23, 2024 in the beautiful building of La Grand Poste in the city center of Liege (Belgium).

The registration and abstract submission are now open via this link

Abstract submission is open until April 28th and registration until May 10th.

Registration is free but mandatory for all Belgian university-affiliated members ! The event is open to all (PIs, post-docs, PhD, master students, technicians, etc) and will...

Princess Lilian Foundation – Visiting professorships 2024 - DAVID LYDEN: "The premetastatic niche"

March 27th 2024 - 09:37

H.R.H. Princess Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium, the Princess Lilian Foundation and the University of Liège are pleased to invite you to the opening ceremony of the Foundation's annual scientific research week.

This year, the Foundation will welcome and honour Professor David Lyden from Weill Cornell Medical College (WCM, USA). Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Cellular Oncology Programme at WCM, he is internationally renowned for his pioneering research on the pre-metastatic niche and biology of exosome in the metastatic process.

Day 1 (ULiège) Wednesday April 17
Opening ceremony in the...

New article in Cell Reports: How Th2 cells control obesity

March 13th 2024 - 17:53

The adipose tissue homeostasis relies on the interplay between several regulatory lineages, such as ILC2, Th2, Treg, eosinophils and type 2 macrophages. Among them, ILC2 are numerically the dominant source of type 2 cytokines and are considered as major regulators of adiposity. Despite the overlap in immune effector molecules and sensitivity to alarmins (TSLP, IL-33) between ILC2 and resident memory Th2 lymphocytes, the role of the adaptive axis of type-2 immunity remains unclear. Kevin Englebert and colleagues from the group of Guillaume Oldenhove show that mice deficient for CD27, a member...

New publication on Tumor-associated Neutrophils

January 10th 2024 - 08:32

Neutrophils are white blood cells essential to our innate defense against pathogens. They patrol the body for 1 or 2 days, then die and are replaced by new neutrophils.
Using genetically-engineered mouse models of lung cancer, several research groups, including Prof. Etienne Meylan's, have recently observed that neutrophils entering the tumor can have an increased lifespan compared to other neutrophils, a behaviour that endows them with tumor-supportive functions. Now, in a study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, Etienne Meylan and his laboratory have identified the molecular mechanisms...