Descrizione del progetto
Una nicchia ingegnerizzata per l’educazione di cellule T antitumorali
Nel corso degli anni, svariati approcci immunoterapici sono stati sviluppati per il trattamento del cancro, compresi inibitori dei checkpoint immunitari e cellule T ingegnerizzate. Nonostante la loro eccellente efficacia contro le neoplasie ematologiche, il loro impatto terapeutico sui tumori solidi si è dimostrato limitato. L’ipotesi di lavoro del progetto INCITE, finanziato dall’UE, è che l’insuccesso clinico dell’immunoterapia sia basato sul fatto che non educhiamo il giusto tipo di cellule T antitumorali. Pertanto, gli scienziati di INCITE costruiranno una nicchia immunitaria funzionale alla selezione e all’espansione di cellule T che rigettano il tumore. Generare le cellule T antitumorali più adatte per la terapia adottiva migliorerà in modo significativo il trattamento del cancro.
Obiettivo
Cancer is rapidly becoming the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in the EU, accounting for a quarter of all deaths in EU. Without breakthroughs in treatment, cancer is likely to remain one of the biggest killers in the 21st century. Immunotherapy of cancer by checkpoint inhibitors, vaccines or adoptive T cell therapy is coming of age and has the potential to cure cancer, but is still hampered by some major limitations. For instance, Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) with unmanipulated or engineered T cells (TCR-transgenic and CAR-T cells) has indeed demonstrated success in the treatment of patients affected by leukemias, but is much less effective against lymphomas and solid tumors. One likely explanation is that we do not educate the right type of anti-tumor T cells. The T cells considered to be the gold standard for tumor therapy have stem cell memory features, but the proper and safe way to generate these fit T cells for clinical purposes is still an unresolved matter. Here we propose an advanced transformative technology termed INCITE, utilizing a novel high-resolution 3D microfabrication technology to engineer a specially tailored microenvironment that will be inhabited by cells central for T cells education in order to generate the fittest anti-tumor T cells for advanced adoptive T cell therapy. INCITE will bring together a transdisciplinary consortium capable of developing this innovative platform by combining state-of-the-art 3D printing, computer modeling, bioengineering, bioinformatics, immunology, developmental and cancer biology approaches, toward the development of a functional immune niche for selection and expansion of tumor-rejecting T cells. The INCITE platform will revolutionize the treatment of cancer patients with ACT, with a profound impact on the quality of life and well-being of millions of people.
Campo scientifico
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologycells technologiesstem cells
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccines
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunologyimmunotherapy
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringmanufacturing engineeringadditive manufacturing
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologyleukemia
Programma(i)
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Vedi altri progetti per questo bandoBando secondario
H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01
Meccanismo di finanziamento
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinatore
7491 Trondheim
Norvegia