Targeted and localized skin inflammation as a potential immunotherapy against cancer
Grantee: Vasileios Bekiaris, Associate Professor, Technical University of Denmark
Amount: DKK 3,987,557
Grant category: Serendipity Grants
Year: 2023
Geography: Denmark
Vasileios Bekiaris will investigate how an observed adverse impact of a drug candidate in psoriasis may be converted to a potential treatment of cancer.
Vasileios Bekiaris and his team have been studying the mechanisms by which psoriasis is induced for several years, and their goal was to find ways to suppress it. They have discovered a molecule that is necessary for the generation and function of the immune cells responsible for causing psoriasis. Moreover, they have access to a drug that targets and neutralizes this molecule, and therefore they thought that it could potentially inhibit psoriasis. Contrary to what they expected, the drug induced inflammation and exacerbated psoriasis instead of treating it. It is known that for many cancers, inflammation promotes favourable protective immunity and helps the efficacy of immunotherapy. Using a mouse melanoma model, Vasileios Bekiaris and his team have managed to generate data suggesting that the pro-inflammatory drug could in fact suppress tumour growth.
Vasileios Bekiaris will therefore investigate the drug’s potential in cancer treatment and, if successful, may open possibilities for a new immunotherapy against skin cancers. Vasileios Bekiaris and his team also believe that this data will continue their contribution towards understanding how skin inflammation is mediated.
An unexpected link between age-associated B cells and CD8 T cells
Grantee: Søren Degn, Associate Professor, Aarhus University
Amount: DKK 3,337,538
Grant category: Serendipity Grants
Year: 2023
Geography: Denmark
Søren Degn will investigate a novel link between age-related B cells (ABCs) and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.
Søren Degn and his team have discovered a new and unexpected link between a type of immune cells that normally produce antibodies (B cells) and a type of immune cells that are responsible for eliminating the body’s own cells when they are infected or become cancerous (CD8+ T cells). Their preliminary findings indicate that this link may play an important role when the immune system is erroneously activated, when an infection cannot be cleared, or when a cancer is established. It is not known which exact signals are responsible for the communication between these two cell types, and whether it occurs directly or via a third-party messenger. However, it is known that it occurs in the spleen, an important immune organ, which filters the blood and prevents infections, but also plays a critical role in autoimmune diseases.
The intention of Søren Degn is to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind this novel link. An increased understanding may enable new therapeutic strategies in the future across a range of important diseases such as inflammatory skin disorders, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.