Projects
CRYPTIC TRANSCRIPTS: THE MASKED HEROES WHO BREAK TUMOR IMMUNE TOLERANCE AND FREE THE RESPONSE TO IMMUNE THERAPY. KU Leuven
In the last years, immunotherapy revolutionized cancer treatment in terms of quality of life and life years saved. Immune-checkpoint blockage (ICB) therapy, like anti-programmed death-1 (anti-PD-1) therapy, blocks the inhibitory interaction between immune-checkpoint ligands on the tumor and their receptors on T-cells (or vice versa). Despite the ground-breaking clinical success, ICB therapy responses are variable and unpredictable, ...
Preclinical development of an innovative immune therapy based on CD56 + dendritic cells and interleukin-15: recruitment of the innate immune system in the fight against cancer. University of Antwerp
Induction of multiple sclerosis (MS)-specific immune toleration using tolerogene dendritic cells and regulatory T cells. Preclinical evaluation of the therapeutic potential of cellular immune therapy in MS. University of Antwerp
Immune therapy in MM: can INKT cells be targeted? Ghent University
We will stduy a subtype of T cells, namely the natural killer (NKT) cells. These cells have features of both innate and adaptive immunity, hence they combine features of T cells and NK cells, for example through expression of NK receptors. However their activity is impaired in MM. In this project we aim to understand if and how NKT cells are cytotoxic against MM cells and whether we can use them as therapeutic tools by reactivating their ...
MOODSTRATIFICATION: Immune Signatures for Therapy Stratification in Major Mood Disorders. KU Leuven
MOODSTRATIFICATION brings together 11 partners (psychiatrists, immunologists, epidemiologists, industry) from 7 countries stratifying patients with a major depressive episode on the basis of leukocyte immune profiles. The immune profiles were found in two previous EU projects, which also delivered the novel concept, that T cell defects with episodes of chronic mild inflammation are a causal factor for a large part of mood disorders. The ...
RESPONSE PREDICTION IN METASTATIC RENAL CELL CARCINOMA TREATED WITH ANTI-VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTORTARGETED THERAPY AND/OR IMMUNE CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS KU Leuven
During the last decade, two active therapeutic approaches have been developed for metastatic kidney cancer: angiogenesis inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Both therapies can lead to prolonged disease control. In some cases, immune therapy can even lead to complete remissions. However, not all the patients will respond to one or the other therapy and in many cases, even after a first period of response, the disease will relapse. The ...
Immune effector cell therapy for hematological malignancies with a focus on acute myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma. University of Antwerp
Exploitation of lipid metabolism in improving cancer immune checkpoint therapy response KU Leuven
Immune-checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICI), aimed at enhancing CD8+ T-cell activity against solid tumours, is revolutionising cancer management, providing unprecedented and sustained responses in several cancer types, including melanoma, clear cell renal cell carcinoma and lung cancer. Unfortunately, only a subset of patients benefits from ICI, emphasizing the need for strategies that sensitise tumours to ICI. Here, by analogy with other ...
Immune stealth nanotechnology for gene therapy of hemophilia 'A': mechanisms and translational implications Vrije Universiteit Brussel
This results in the induction of antibodies, called "inhibitors", that inactivate FIX and increase ...