Research > Focus B
Dr. rer. nat. Theresa Bunse
University Hospital Mannheim, Department of Neurology
Focus B strives to understand microenvironmental resistance to immunotherapies with an emphasis on functional consequences of 2HG and other metabolites, treatment-related neoepitope profiles, myeloid compartment and TCR repertoire as well as heterogeneity of response towards immune checkpoint blockade with focus on the differences between tumor stem and differentiated tumor cells. The strategic aim of Focus B is to identify cellular, molecular and imaging biomarkers, which allow to refine the use of checkpoint inhibitors in glioma treatment and to develop rational combinatorial therapies to enhance efficacy (B01), to find druggable regulators imitating the pro-immunogenic mismatch repair deficiency phenotype, which may sensitize to immune therapy in glioblastoma (B02), and to establish new checkpoints and modes of checkpoint inhibition (B03). B04 and B05 focus on the benefit of understanding the molecular mechanisms of standard treatments on the microenvironment with the goal of improving specific immune invasion (B04) and the potentially enhanced standard treatments themselves (B05). Focus B will tackle the important question to what extent the mechanisms for negatively influencing the composition of the myeloid tumor compartment and to counteract efficacy of high-dose radiotherapy are similar and may be reverted pharmacologically.
Link to: B01: Mechanisms of response and resistance to checkpoint blockade in gliomas
B01
Mechanisms of Response and Resistance to Checkpoint Blockade in GLioMAS
Prof. Dr. med. Michael Platten
University Hospital Mannheim, Department of Neurology
Link to: B02: DNA mis-match repair regulates immune checkpoint blockade therapy in glioblastoma
B02
DNA mis-match repair regulates immune checkpoint blockade therapy in GLIOBLASTOMA
Hai-Kun Liu, PhD
German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Molecular Neurogenetics
Link to: B03: Targeting immunosuppressive programs in isocitrate dehydrogenase mutant gliomas
B03
TARGETING IMMUNSUPPRESSIVE PROGRAMS IN Isocitrate dehydrogenase Mutant GLIOMAS
Dr. rer. nat. Stefan Pusch
University Hospital Heidelberg, Institute for Pathology, Department of Neuropathology
Dr. med. Lukas Bunse
University Hospital Heidelberg, Department of Neurology
Link to: B05: Dissecting the response of glioblastoma and its tumor microenvironment to focused high-dose radiotherapy
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Christel Herold-Mende
Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Neurosurgical Research
Dr. sc. hum. Rolf Warta
Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Neurosurgical Research
Link to: B04: Impact of myeloid cells on the adaptive immune response in IDH1-mutant glioblastomas
PD Dr. med. Frank A. Giordano
University Medical Center Mannheim, Translational Radiation Oncology, Dept. of Radiation Oncology