Beschreibung:

The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors has revolutionized treatment of cancer patients. However, only approximately 20% of patients show long-term benefit. Therefore, additional strategies are needed to improve the overall efficacy of cancer immune therapy. In this context, NK cells are of special interest because they can directly kill cancer cells. Previous data show that the tumor associated macrophage receptors (TAMR) expressed on NK cells, function as negative immune checkpoints as their simultaneous inhibition can lead to improved tumor cell killing by NK cells. We hypothesize that targeting one TAM-receptor is sufficient to enhance the anti-tumor effector functions of NK cells and propose to dissect the unknown functions of each individual TAMR. The MD student will investigate the translational relevance of this approach by determining TAMR expression by circulating and tumor-infiltrating NK cells in cancer patients.