U-CRI • Center for Research in Immunology

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New publication: Human gamma delta T cells in humanized mice

A new joint publication by Céline La from the teams of David Vermijlen and Stanislas Goriely (Cell Reports, 2026) reveals a major advance in modeling human γδ T cell biology. Using humanized NBSGW mice reconstituted with human fetal liver CD34⁺ cells, the authors successfully recreated in vivo the ontogeny, TCR repertoire, and functional programming of human γδ T cells—including the human-specific, phosphoantigen‑reactive Vγ9Vδ2 subset, absent in mice. This work establishes a robust platform for the study of human γδ T cell development and for the preclinical evaluation γδ T cell–targeted immunotherapies.

Read the full article titled: In vivo modeling of human γδ T cell ontogeny reveals terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase as a key regulator of type 3 Vδ2 T cell development

Latest news

7th Research Day on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy program

September 26th 2025 - 09:57

Don't miss Aurélie, Panagiotis, Solange and Abdullah who have been selected for oral presentation!

Stil time to register (open until October 1)

08h30 – 09h30 Registration and Coffee
09h30 – 09h40 Welcome and Introduction
Prof. Dr. An Coosemans, KU Leuven – Belgium
09h40 – 10h25 Macrophage Subsets In Tumor Immunity
Prof. Julie Helft, INSERM - Paris - France
10h25 – 11h10 Selected Abstracts: Jolien Van Craenenbroeck, Karo Van Lil, Aurélie Detavernier
Chair: Prof. Evelien Smits, U Antwerp – Belgium
11h10 – 11h20 LiveDrop-Bio: The ModaFlow™, a microfluidic instrument for high-throughput...

ANNUAL BIS MEETING

September 23rd 2025 - 16:59

Date: Tuesday November 18th 2025

Venue: Palais des Congrès de Liège, Esplanade de l'Europe, 4020 Liège/Luik/LuHch

08:30 – Welcome and RegistraNon

Plenary Session 1: Mucosal Immunology and InfecNon (09:30–10:45)
- 09:30–10:05 | Keynote: Yasmine Belkaid (Title TBD) (30 min + 5 Q&A)
- 10:05–10:20 | Invited Belgian speaker (TBD, 12 + 3 Q&A)
- 10:20–10:45 | Talk selected from the abstracts (12 + 3 Q&A)

10:45–11:15 – Coffee Break

Plenary Session 2: Neuroimmunology and InflammaNon (11:15–12:30)
- 11:15–11:45 | Yvonne Dombrowski (Title TBD) (25 + 5 Q&A)
- 11:45–12:00 | Invited Belgian...

Uncovering Cellular Factors Driving Success or Failure of Immunotherapy

September 16th 2025 - 15:49

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed cancer treatment, yet many patients fail to respond. To investigate why, Jelena Gabrilo and colleagues from the lab of immunobiology used a preclinical model in which only part of the mice respond to anti-PD-1 therapy, enabling direct comparison between responding and non-responding settings.
This study, published in Cancer Immunology Research showed that tumors responding to treatment were enriched in tumor-reactive CD8⁺ T-cell clones expressing high levels of Tim-3, suggesting these cells are key drivers of the anti-tumor response. They...

When inflammation protects the gut

April 02nd 2025 - 09:41

Tristetraprolin (TTP) is an RNA-binding protein that plays a major role in the control of inflammation. TTP KO mice spontaneously develop a complex multi-organ inflammatory syndrome but no overt intestinal inflammation, suggesting the involvement of local regulatory mechanisms. In this study published in the European J of Immunology and led by Bérengère de Toeuf and Maxime Melchior in the team of Stanislas Goriely, the researchers observed local expansion of IL-22-producing type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) in the lamina propria of TTP KO mice. They show that these mice were...

New publication in Gut microbes on the dynamic connection between the maternal microbiome and the offspring immunity

January 06th 2025 - 15:27

Influenza virus causes a significant threat to neonatal health characterized by a less robust anti-viral adaptive CD8 T-cell response. In this publication, researchers from the group of Véronique Flamand (IMI) uncovered how maternal probiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation empowers neonatal immunity. By enhancing the development and protective function of effector and memory CD8 T cells, probiotics offer robust defense against influenza virus in offspring. Furthermore, in collaboration with the team of Amandine Everard (UCLouvain), they showed profound changes in the...

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...