Published in Cell: TRON is part of a 36-member alliance led by the Parker Institute and Cancer Research Institute identifying parameters for better vaccine design in the fight against cancer.
As part of TESLA (Tumor Neoantigen Selection Alliance), TRON performed advanced computational analysis on samples from melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer to identify characteristics that strongly indicate which cancer markers are most likely to generate an immune response. These findings could improve drug makers’ and researchers’ algorithms, prioritizing “effective” antigens and ultimately mean better individualized treatments for patients.
Find out more from the official press release here and read the Cell article here.
The murine mammary carcinoma cell line 4T1 is a widely used syngeneic tumor model for human breast cancer and specifically triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Profiling tumor models is important to translate pre-clinical findings appropriately. The authors aimed to complement the evaluation of 4T1 as adequate breast cancer or even TNBC model.
Analysis of the whole-exome sequencing data confirmed the similarity to human breast cancer with respect to mutation rate and mutational signatures. Also on the transcriptional level, 4T1 resembled human metastatic TNBC and in particular the basal-like and immune suppressed TNBC subtype. Out of 49 selected variants, 22 SNVs and one deletion identified in 4T1 triggered immune responses in immunized mice.
The presented genome, transcriptome and immunome data can thus serve as a baseline for further studies and supports the rational design of pre-clinical studies with an important and established tumor model. The generated NGS data is publicly available at the European Nucleotide Archive (PRJEB36287).
Read more in the original publication.
TRON is delighted to announce the publication of a scientific article in OncoImmunology.
In this article, TRON authors Nadja Salomon et al. investigated combination therapy in CT26 tumors. CT26 rejection using local radiotherapy (LRT) is augmented by a lipoplex-formulated RNA vaccine that encodes CD4+ T cell-recognized neoantigens. CD4 neoantigen vaccine/LRT treatment followed by anti-CTLA-4 antibody therapy further enhanced the efficacy with complete remission of gp70-negative CT26 tumors.
Read more about this research in the original article.
Image created by Nadja Salomon.
This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB1292/TP17
TRON is delighted to announce the publication of a scientific article in OncoImmunology.
TRON is proud to join the Cancer Research Institute this June 12 in bringing global awareness about the life-saving potential of cancer immunotherapy. By wearing white together, we are driving the future of immune-based science and medicine for cancer treatments, and ultimately, cures. Learn more about TRON’s mission and work at www.tron-mainz.de.
TRON is delighted to announce a scientific article published in Oncotarget.
PLAC1 (placenta enriched 1) is a mammalian trophoblast-specific protein, which is aberrantly expressed in various human cancers. AKT activation mediates the downstream effects of PLAC1, which include involvement in tumor cell motility, migration, and invasion. In this article, TRON authors Barea Roldán et al. show, in human choriocarcinoma and breast cancer cell lines, that PLAC1 is both secreted and adheres to the extracellular matrix, where it forms a trimeric complex with fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF7) and its receptor, FGF receptor 2 IIIb (FGFR2IIIb). They go on to show that PLAC1 signaling via FGFR2IIIb activates AKT phosphorylation. Given the interest in the FGF pathway in anticancer therapeutic strategies, these data promote PLAC1 as a promising drug target for cancer.
You can read the original article here.
TRON is delighted to announce a scientific article published in Oncotarget.
TRON is participating in the fight against the corona virus.
As an innovative immunological research institute, TRON was asked by a renowned industrial partner to support the development of a vaccine against the currently pandemic coronavirus with preclinical studies.
We are proud to actively contribute to the containment of the pandemic.
[Image: CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAMS]
As an innovative immunological research institute, TRON was asked by a renowned industrial partner to support the development of a vaccine against the currently pandemic coronavirus with preclinical studies.
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Welcome to TRON
TRON – Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is a biopharmaceutical research organization that pursues new diagnostics and drugs for the treatment of cancer and other severe diseases with high medical need. A focus of TRON is the development of novel platforms for individualized therapies and biomarkers, translating basic research into drug applications. TRON partners with academic institutions, biotech companies and the pharmaceutical industry, executing research with leading-edge technologies and supporting the development of innovative drugs to promote human health.
