H2020Индивидуална стипендия2021–2023

Tex-Mex · A synthetic biology approach to engineering exhaustion-free T cell therapies. Uncovering and counteracting biomechanical triggers of T cell dysfunction in the tumour microenvironment.

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2021-07-15 → 2023-10-04
Финансиране от ЕС: 171 473 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Т-клетките и тяхното изтощение се изследват в контекста на физическото напрежение и твърдостта на туморната среда. Разбирането на тези биомеханични процеси може да помогне за подобряване на CAR T-терапията при солидни тумори.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

A synthetic biology approach to engineering exhaustion-free T cell therapies. Uncovering and counteracting biomechanical triggers of T cell dysfunction in the tumour microenvironment.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the EU, accounting for 1.4 million deaths and 3 million new cases in 2018, with an estimated healthcare cost of €130 billion each year. Cancer is also one of the five priority mission areas of Horizon Europe 2021-2027. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a ground-breaking cancer treatment that has demonstrated striking results in fighting blood cancers. However, T cell exhaustion, a process that results in the progressive development of lymphocyte dysfunction due to prolonged antigen stimulation in cancer, chronic inflammation or infection, has been a major obstacle in translating CAR T cell treatments to solid tumours. Inflamed organs and solid tumour growth result in microenvironments for T cells that are not only biochemically, but also biomechanically distinct from physiologic conditions. Notably, the tumour microenvironment is characterized by increased stiffness, which is thought to correlate with malignancy, and high interstitial pressures. While biochemical pathways for exhaustion have received a lot of attention, potential biomechanical effects of the tumour microenvironment on T cell dysfunction are understudied. Biomechanical cues such as stiffness are widely understood to have an effect in the process of T cell activation, mediated by the mechanosensitivity of the T cell receptor (TCR), suggesting that long-term biomechanical effects on the development of T cell exhaustion are plausible. This Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions project strives to elucidate the interplay between T cell exhaustion and the tumor biomechanical environment.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the European Union, having killed 1.4 million people in 2018 alone. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a ground-breaking cancer treatment that has demonstrated striking results in fighting blood cancers. However, T cell exhaustion, a process that results in the progressive development of lymphocyte dysfunction due to prolonged antigen stimulation in cancer, chronic inflammation or infection, has been a major obstacle in translating CAR T cell therapy to solid tumours. The solid tumour microenvironment is biomechanically distinct from physiological conditions, being characterized by higher interstitial pressures, higher stiffness and a distinctive vascular architecture. While biochemical triggers for T cell exhaustion have been well characterized, biomechanical influences are understudied. This project seeks to (i) use a microfluidic model to add the biomechanical dimension to our current understanding of the development of T cell exhaustion and (ii) use synthetic biological approaches to engineer “biomechanosensor-actuator devices”. These will be intracellular systems based on synthetic biological circuits that will integrate biochemical and biomechanical cues of T cell exhaustion and trigger genetic pathways to counteract the development of dysfunctional phenotypes. Integrating the biomechanical and biochemical dimensions will yield a more sophisticated cell therapy platform to neutralize T cell exhaustion. Ultimately this would provide a safer, more effective and universal treatment for cancer by preventing T cell exhaustion and immune escape.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA · GenovaКоординаторИталия