VESICULAR TRANSPORT IN THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT: NEW TARGETS FOR THE TREATMENT OF CANCER

The focus of our research program is to gain detailed understanding of how intracellular and extracellular vesicles serve as hubs for signaling networks and nutrient scavenging in the communication between cells and their extracellular environment.

We have previously provided new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of vesicular cell-cell communication, further leading to the proposal of novel concepts for the treatment of cancer.

Based on recent findings and preliminary data, we will pursue original ideas of how malignant cells respond to and cope with stress factors through vesicular transport mechanisms, and how such mechanisms can be harnessed for the development of individualized treatment of cancer.

Specific aims are: 1) To unravel the tumor cell-surface protein landscape for the design of immunotherapy strategies in cancer, 2) To understand how tumor metabolic rewiring by extracellular vesicle, lipoprotein, and necrotic debris scavenging can be harnessed to impede cancer cell adaptation to microenvironmental stress and oncological treatment, and 3) To determine the functional role of “tumor associated foam cells” that we identify as a new and potentially targetable immune cell entity in brain tumors.

We use advanced experimental models at the cellular and organism level derived from patient samples, and bioinformatic tools to implement new treatment strategies well aligned with the principles of precision medicine in cancer.