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Immunology and Infectious Disease

The Texas Medical Center Library

Theses/Dissertations

Tumor microenvironment

Publication Year

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Stat3 Inhibits Type I Interferon Signaling In Type I Conventional Dendritic Cells, Taylor Chrisikos Dec 2021

Stat3 Inhibits Type I Interferon Signaling In Type I Conventional Dendritic Cells, Taylor Chrisikos

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) are an essential immune population, responsible for controlling adaptive immunity and tolerance. Recently, type I cDCs (cDC1s) have been delineated as a distinct cDC subset, uniquely responsible for coordinating T cell-mediated immunity against pathogens and tumors. Although the importance of cDC1s is now well established, the mechanisms that regulate cDC1 function remain largely unknown. Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) mediates the intracellular signaling of interleukin 10 (IL-10), an immunosuppressive cytokine. Therefore, we hypothesized that STAT3 and IL-10 inhibit cDC1 function and induction of T cell-mediated immunity. Herein, we show that IL-10 inhibits polyinosinic:polycytidylic …


Combination Of Oncolytic Adenoviruses, T-Cell Activation, And Blockade Of Ido Metabolic Circuitry For The Treatment Of Glioma, Teresa Nguyen Aug 2021

Combination Of Oncolytic Adenoviruses, T-Cell Activation, And Blockade Of Ido Metabolic Circuitry For The Treatment Of Glioma, Teresa Nguyen

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults; the current aggressive treatment results in a 5% five-year survival rate. More effective therapies should be developed. One promising alternative is oncolytic adenovirus, Delta-24-RGD, which elicits cancer cell lysis and immunogenic cell death. In fact, Delta-24-RGD produced complete responses in 20% of recurrent glioblastoma patients through immune mechanisms that activate anti-tumor cytotoxic properties of T-cells. This cytolytic effect can further be enhanced by adding immune agonists, namely OX40L, which engages the OX40 receptor to co-stimulate activated T cells for enhanced proliferation. Hence, we produced the next generation of Delta-24-RGD, …


Fibroblast Heterogeneity In Pancreatic Cancer Immunity, Josephine Darpolor Dec 2020

Fibroblast Heterogeneity In Pancreatic Cancer Immunity, Josephine Darpolor

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Fibroblasts are a unique cell type defined by their mesenchymal phenotype and exclusion from epithelial, immune, and endothelial cell subsets. Although well studied in wound healing, cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are incredibly heterogeneous, leading to contradictions as to the roles CAFs play in the tumor microenvironment (TME). CAFs were thought to be a barrier to treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, general stromal targeting strategies have largely failed in the clinic likely due to the heterogeneity of CAFs in the TME. Therefore, our groups and others have worked to unravel the heterogeneity of CAFs in PDAC. In the works …