Spanning paradigms: Using immunotherapy to enhance human natural killer cell antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity against cancer and infectious disease
Presenter Type
UNO Undergraduate Student
Major/Field of Study
Biology
Other
Molecular & Biomedical Biology/Medical Humanities
Author ORCID Identifier
0009-0007-0587-5948
Advisor Information
Paul W. Denton PhD.
Location
CEC RM #231
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Poster Size
N/A
Start Date
22-3-2024 10:30 AM
End Date
22-3-2024 11:45 AM
Abstract
A primary goal of the Denton Immunobiology laboratory is to evaluate immunotherapy strategies with the goal of improving the killing capacity of human natural killer (NK) cells. To date, this work has been in the context of killing cancer cells. Malignancy is a disease paradigm with a nearly immeasurable scope. However, another disease paradigm has a similarly large sphere – infectious diseases. This project's goal is to determine whether immunotherapy findings in a cancer context can span paradigms and similarly impact treatment approaches in an infectious disease context. Our goal is to perform infectious disease-related experiments without the need to incorporate fully infectious agents into our experimental approach. To do this, we obtained cells that express human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) envelope proteins constitutively. HIV was chosen as the pathogen to represent the infectious disease paradigm in our studies because HIV treatments exist but are not curative (yet). Our goal is to contribute to many research efforts focused on helping to “train” the immune system to fight HIV in the absence of other treatments (e.g., antiretroviral therapy). The target cells with HIV protein on their surface appear to be infected from the perspective of the human NK cells that we have treated with immunotherapies. To allow the NK cells to recognize the presence of HIV protein, we use an antibody that is specific for the envelope and capable of directing the NK cell to perform the killing function known as antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). Data to date will be presented.
Spanning paradigms: Using immunotherapy to enhance human natural killer cell antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity against cancer and infectious disease
CEC RM #231
A primary goal of the Denton Immunobiology laboratory is to evaluate immunotherapy strategies with the goal of improving the killing capacity of human natural killer (NK) cells. To date, this work has been in the context of killing cancer cells. Malignancy is a disease paradigm with a nearly immeasurable scope. However, another disease paradigm has a similarly large sphere – infectious diseases. This project's goal is to determine whether immunotherapy findings in a cancer context can span paradigms and similarly impact treatment approaches in an infectious disease context. Our goal is to perform infectious disease-related experiments without the need to incorporate fully infectious agents into our experimental approach. To do this, we obtained cells that express human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) envelope proteins constitutively. HIV was chosen as the pathogen to represent the infectious disease paradigm in our studies because HIV treatments exist but are not curative (yet). Our goal is to contribute to many research efforts focused on helping to “train” the immune system to fight HIV in the absence of other treatments (e.g., antiretroviral therapy). The target cells with HIV protein on their surface appear to be infected from the perspective of the human NK cells that we have treated with immunotherapies. To allow the NK cells to recognize the presence of HIV protein, we use an antibody that is specific for the envelope and capable of directing the NK cell to perform the killing function known as antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). Data to date will be presented.
Additional Information (Optional)
Computer setup for Slides presentation