Beschreibung:

This project is part of the newly funded DFG-research training group GRK2727_Checkpoints in Innate Immunity. The presence of red blood cells (RBCs), heme and iron in the tumor microenvironment (TME) controls immune effector functions of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Iron accumulation in TAMs by phagocytosis of RBCs or by applying iron nanoparticles (SPIONs) induces an inflammatory anti-cancer phenotype and is a promising strategy to improve current anti-tumor therapies. Complementary to our research in macrophages, the MD project will investigate how human natural killer (NK) cells respond to red blood cells, iron and SPIONs in terms of cytokine secretion, proliferation, cell surface receptor expression and cytotoxicity. The project will be jointly supervised by the Prof. Martina Muckenthaler (University Hospital Heidelberg) and Prof. Adelheid Cerwenka (University Hospital Mannheim). In the frame of GRK2727 there will be the option of educational courses and interaction with collaboration partners from Sweden and Austria.