3/3 In collaboration with Dr. Johan Bengzon, Dr. Anna Darabi, and Dr. Peter Siesjö (Lund University), as well as Asgard Therapeutics, we seek to change the landscape of treatment for aggressive GBM tumors.
For more details: pereiralab.com/lab-news/the...

#ABTA #Glioblastoma #Immunotherapy

2/3 Here, we will reprogram tumor cells into type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) by intra-tumoral delivery of cDC1-inducing transcription factors in glioblastoma (GBM). Since GBM is highly immunosuppressive, cDC1 reprogramming offers a strategy to restore immunogenicity!

4/4 Our project includes collaboration of Dr. Inge Marie Svane (Herlev Hospital), Dr. Axel Hyrenius-Wittsten (Lund University), and Asgard Therapeutics. We greatly appreciate this donation from Mats Paulsson Foundation supporting the development of Lund University. bit.ly/3JoJKZ3

3/4 This grant will explore the innovation path of applying dendritic cell reprogramming to selectively expand tumor-reactive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). The end goal is to advance TIL therapy pipelines with improved effectiveness.

2/4 Bringing a dynamic research-to-innovation environment within Medicon Village, this foundation fulfills its commitment to society by supporting academic research in medicine and life sciences in Skåne County.

2/2 Exploring the sea of immune cell diversity, our work successfully maps future lanes for dendritic cell reprogramming and cancer immunotherapy!
Illustration by @azuravesta.bsky.social (azuravesta.com)
Read the full paper here: pereiralab.com/publication/...

3/3 By collaborating with Karolinska Institutet, Peng will explore SM-assisted cDC1 reprogramming as a strategy to promote anti-tumor immunity. Way to go, Peng!

2/3 cDC1 reprogramming offers great immunotherapeutic promise. Yet, viral-mediated transcription factor delivery presents challenges of safety, cost, and scalability. Replacing TFs with SMs can potentially surpass these roadblocks.

2/2 Yet, dendritic cells had another go with Abigail Altman, who won the Best Poster Award with "Transcription factor blueprints underlying dendritic cell diversity", now out in Immunity (www.cell.com/immunity/ful.... Congrats to both! It's great to have our contributions recognized!

3/3 If you feel you can contribute, reach out to mariana_faria.lopes@med.lu.se with a possible protocol title and small description.
Let’s connect to push forward a guide for cell engineering and reprogramming strategies! @springernature.com

2/3 The volume will cover: engineering immune cells with cellular reprogramming; viral and non-viral immune engineering; synthetic biology and genome editing to advance next-generation immune cells; clinical translation of cell engineering and reprogramming-based immunotherapies.

Huge thanks to Prof. Allison, and congrats to Ervin, who masterfully defended the promise of cell reprogramming for cancer immunotherapy!

17/17 🙏🏻 A big thank you to all the funding agencies for making this possible: @ERC_Research, @HorizonEU, @Cancerfonden, @Vetenskapsradet, @novonordiskfond, @fct_pt, #NextgenerationEU, @CancerResearch.

16/17 👥 We are grateful to our collaborators @AsgardThx, @medeea_matei, @FRosa93, @_CristianaPires, @IsabelUlmert, Signe Holst, Sun-Mi Park, Stefano Vergani, @Katha_lahl, @KharasLab, @TheYuanLab. We thank everyone for your contributions!

15/17 📖 We want to acknowledge the fantastic contribution from the Pereira Lab: Luis Oliveira, Abigail Altman, Ilia Kurochkin, Ervin Ascic, Evelyn Halitzki, Diogo Cabral, Malavika Nair @pedrocunha37.bsky.social, @WCMMLund, @Lunduniversity, @Lund_Stem , LUCC, @CNC_UC and Region Skåne.

14/17 🏠 Take-home: In this study we mapped the transcription factor toolkit that builds dendritic cell diversity — a blueprint for reprogramming immune cells against cancer. Read more: doi.org/10.1016/j.im...

13/17 🧩 Our results propose that ETS–IRF pairwise interactions constitute the foundation upon which any DC identity may be built and help define the drivers of DC divergence, advancing our understanding of DC specification and heterogeneity.

12/17 ⚖️ Surviving mice remained tumor-free upon rechallenge, showing durable immune memory. This finding points toward patient-tailored DC subsets as a new immunotherapy avenue.