Speaker: Dr.Yuting Ma

Topic:The renaissance of antineoplastic immunity from cell demise

Time: 14:00-15:30am, Aug.8th (Tues.)

Venue: Room 326, Medical Science Building

Host: Dr.Yan Shi

Abstract

Cancer becomes a leading cause of death worldwide, due to the increasing incidence and mortality. During the past two centuries, oncologist and cancer researchers have developed various strategies to defeat cancer, but cancer cure is still far from realization. Cancer therapies that aim to restrain tumor outgrowth by inducing malignant cell death can temporarily reduce tumor burden. However, a long-term control is usually unachievable and relapsed tumors can gain resistance to previous therapeutic tactics. Accumulating evidence suggest that successful therapeutic interventions require anti-tumor immunity. Therapy-induced cellular stress responses eventually give rise to various manifestations of cell death, including apoptosis, autophagy, necroptosis and pyroptosis. Importantly, these irreversible dying processes are companied by an active or passive release of cell death-associated molecular patterns (CDAMPs). CDAMPs can be sensed by corresponding pattern recognition receptors (PRR) on neighboring cells, including tumor infiltrating immune cells, and ultimately modulate immune ignorance, immune tolerance, inflammation and immune suppression in tumor microenvironment (TME). The review will focus on immune-modulatory properties of anti-cancer regimens and CDAMP-mediated communications between cellular stress responses and the immune contexture of TME. Mechanistic investigation of “inside-outside” communication of cellular stress will generate novel actionable targets at the level of both cancer cells and immune effectors. Importantly, blockade or stimulation of these therapeutic targets will elicit a strong and long-term immune protection against a broad range of cancer types. In addition, fundamental studies in this aspect will generate a series of biomarkers with prognosis and prediction value for cancer management.