News & Events / BME Seminar Series / Past Seminar Speakers / 2018-19Melody Swartz, PhD
BME Seminar Series Fall 2018
Thursday, November 8, 2018 at 4-5 pm
Tech L361
Host: Professor Evan Scott
William B. Ogden Professor, Institute for Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago
Professor, Committee on Immunology
Lymphatic vessels in inflammation and cancer: New roles in immune regulation and implications for immunotherapy
Tumor engagement or activation of surrounding lymphatic vessels is well-known to correlate with tumor progression and metastasis in melanoma and many other cancers. We and others have identified several mechanisms by which the lymphatic growth factor VEGF-C and lymphangiogenesis can promote metastasis, including (i) increasing immune suppressive cell types and factors in the tumor microenvironment both directly and indirectly, (ii) inhibiting maturation of antigen-presenting cells and T cell activation, (iii) driving changes in the stromal microenvironment that promote both cancer invasion and immune suppression. However, lymphatic activation also promotes increased antigen transport to the draining lymph node and triggers the initiation of adaptive immune responses against the tumor. Under normal conditions, the potential anti-tumor effects are rendered ‘dormant’ by the pro-tumor immune suppression, and the tumor progresses. However, we are now observing that lymphangiogenic tumors are exceptionally responsive to immunotherapy, implying that the anti-tumor aspects can be unleashed when the overall balance of pro- and anti-tumor immune aspects is tipped enough towards the latter (e.g., upon tumor cell killing). On the mechanistic side, we are finding that ‘lymphangiogenic potentiation’ depends on tumor cell infiltration of both CD103+ dendritic cells and naïve T cells, driving local T cell education post-immunotherapy and antigen spreading. On the translational side, we are developing novel strategies to exploit lymphangiogenesis for cancer immunotherapy. In summary, this talk will explore the yin and yang of tumor lymphangiogenesis in tumor immunity and highlight the exciting translational potential for cancer immunotherapy.
Learn more about Professor Melody Swartz and their research.