Description of the research topics
- Cytotoxic (CD8+) T cells selectively detect and eradicate cancer cells. However, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes become dysfunctional (or exhausted) over the course of tumorigenesis, leading to cancer evasion to the immune response.
T cells express distinct profiles of exhaustion in response to a persistent antigen (as observed in autoimmunity, chronic viral infection, cancer,…). How the tumor microenvironment specifically contributes to the irreversible dysfunction (or “terminally exhaustion”) of tumor infiltrating T lymphocytes is still poorly described. Our group investigates the genetic, epigenetic and metabolic changes underpinning tumor-driven T cell exhaustion in the context of a mouse model of hepatocarcinoma. We also evaluate the role of liver resident memory T cells in the therapeutic response to immune checkpoint inhibitors and their potential relationships with exhausted T cells.